If you go down to the Reserve today...

Walking in Retreat Reserve is a peaceful and scenic experience - here are some of our moments this afternoon. It is late Summer in Sydney and the weather is sunny with a slight breeze. Next weekend we will be involved with Clean Up Australia Day.

Sometimes the only way forward is the way back

That would have been a line from a non memorable folk song in the 60's. Today it is a philosophical position that is best explained by the following list:

Excavation of the western wall of our home
Goodbye to the frog ponds
Hello to metres of ag pipe
New guttering
A plumber to unblock the drainage pipes on two levels

The year will be 1958 when we uncover the house that was buried by the renno jobs of 75 and 87. Sometimes 2008 can be a very good year, at least for one house.

A Moving Experience

In Castlecrag we live in the rock formations with the native animals and plants. Recently our home discovered just how alive Mother Earth is when boulders came loose in our garden and headed for our windows. Fortunately Mark Crew a renowned Castlecragite, Environmental Engineer, Stone Mason, Landscaper and Gardener fitted our job into his busy schedule.

Today we moved the rocks. Using a tripod and pulleys and combining our muscle power Mark and I lifted the sandstone off the window. It is now resting on the path. Behind it begins the excavation down to the larger sandstone rock so that a new section of wall can be built before these feature rocks are used on top again. After the work was done I found a small frog and a baby eastern water dragon. The ants came out to explore the new earth surface. The sun is shining and rain has stopped.

Saturday To Do List

1. Fix the swimming pool
2. Do the laundry
3. Go to the supermarket
4. Visit Janet's Art Supplies
5. Remove a sandstone boulder off the house

What - exactly what I said after I called to J to come and see this. One of our garden sandstone boulders had slipped in the night and was now resting against our bedroom window. Fortunately Castlecrag has its own resident landscaper and boulder remover. He quickly arrived at our place and checked the situation out. He's coming back on Monday to begin excavating.

I was glad to see some blue skies this afternoon and take the opportunity to hang some washing out. J cooked a beautiful clafoutis aux cerises for dessert and the kids are now watching The Real Lost Worlds on Discovery. I feel however that the real lost world is outside our front door.

We have everything in our garden insectwise and are inhabiting the edge of a rainforest.

People in glasshouses should not throw sandstone boulders. Who was it that said that?

More Rain

It's still raining in Sydney, but in bursts of two hours here followed by beautiful Botticelli skies and then one hour there followed by the southerly which always comes through by 5pm eastern Summer time.

Today I walked through the Domain in one of the sunny moments and the trees and lawns are looking lush and green. At the NSW Art Gallery today I tried to explain the two portraits of Margaret Olley to N. How one is a self portrait and the other a famous William Dobell painting. The two Margarets look nothing like each other. My preference is for the self portrait of course as it is far more revealing and I like the way she makes her visage look in the mirror above the still life of her favourite objet des artes.

Six days of Rain

Sydney has a wet season at the start of the school year. This year it was right on time. We are now living in the Sugarloaf Creek running spectacularly through the Griffin Viaduct. At the end of last year we started to review the drainage aspects of where we live. J and I purchased new gutters for the house. We chose the colour of the colourbond steel and have been waiting patiently for the company of choice to turn up and install them.

In the meantime the plants are growing. Everything is a vivid emerald colour. The tree ferns are putting out new fronds. Soon the frogs will be chorusing.

I have equipped the kids with raincoats, bright yellow for school.

The japanese maples that I planted down the hillside are getting a good start.

NSW Art Gallery

The Henry Moore sculpture outside the gallery has always been one of my favourite pieces of art to revisit in Sydney. She is reclining and looking forward at the same time. Cast in bronze it has weathered nicely. Today it is raining in Sydney and I have photographed the sculpture against the overcast skies.

Where the wild things are

Today we had a lovely walk down through Retreat Reserve with N our youngest. He is becoming adept at bushwalking and enjoys finding little things like eastern water dragons and balls that get washed up by the tide.

Flat Rock Gully Walk

The Flat Rock Gully walk is a circular walk begun in the carpark behind the Willoughby Leisure Centre. Features of the walk are native forest, rock outcrops, a running creek and the chance to hear and see birdlife. A circular track around each face of the gully will see you return to where you started. Or you can continue tracking on the one side to end up under the Northbridge Suspension Bridge in Tunks Park. It is a shady walk and steep in some sections. If you turn left when you cross the creek you will come to the ruins of Fatty Dawson's cottage.

The stone axe grooves of the Cameraygals are seen above the creek on the rock platform. Further on to the coast you will find shell middens. We have not found any rock engravings or paintings in our walks.

Walk time: 1 - 1 and a half hours. Cycle track connects to Artarmon Station.