STILL WONDERING

WAITING for a chat with john

 in beijing, i'm sure i won't

 be going in march but need 

confirmation to replan my time.

it's hot here, will be in the 40's next three days.

yesterday i sat under the fan

and started another selfportrait.

it's hot here, will be in

the 40's next three days.

  into the movies today.

I've got it past the Queen Liz stage :0)

CHINA ??

I'VE BEEN RUNNING AROUND organising things for my trip, doctor visits for blood tests and jabs, visa stuff (photo, forms etc) phone chats with beijing.  but now the Corona virus looks like its
accelerating, i'm thinking this whole thing will be postponed.  john the director says changing the airfare etc will be ok when they know what they're doing, but already the beginning of the new school year calendar has changed so i'm sure it'll be put off.
so, i've been working on more selfies, reworking the ones i've already done.
also the exhibition with jiang jianwen might be affected, i'm not sure why yet unless it's because jiang is flying out and may not be able to.  that would be a shame, i'm waiting for more info.

this week's pics

a walk along the
riverbank with
sonja on sunday
last week

i'm going to do a
full sized portrait
of sonja to enter
in the portrait
competitions

driving home from town last week, disgusting dust, i'm so over cleaning the house constantly.  there's only so much time that can pass before the dust in the house drives you crazy

 so important to leave out water for the birds in this weather

 morning walk earlier this week

some of the self portraits i'm working on, i think there are 18 now

PORTRAIT OF SONJA

2 HOUR PORTRAIT sitting with sonja, hopefully i'll do a larger portrait to enter in some competitions

SUNSET WITH SONJA

SONJA is here overnight, we had dinner outside and sat down by the river until it was dark, perfect weather.  very warm in the afternoon and just gorgeous by sundown.  I'm going to do a 2 hour portrait of her this morning 

busybusybusy

SUDDENLY it's only 6 weeks till i go to china and i'm in the middle of getting shots, filling in 4page visa applications, just getting medical things checked before i leave. 

the grounds of Western Academy of Beijing, snow
in December.
it'll be fairly
cold when i'm there which will be nice,
it's awfully
humid there
in summer







The weather is being kind this week, cool mornings, warm to hot afternoons but staying in the low 30's.  DEEElightful

The kookaburra babies are just about living in my birdbaths, i hear them close to the house throughout the day with their funny baby kooka voices.  they don't actually laugh yet, just throaty gurgly sounds. 

MARA STYLE

this gorgeous flower is on one of a row of ugly old prickly cacti, about 6 ft high which line a fence i pass on my morning walks.
once of twice a year for a day these large blooms burst forth -
a most beautiful sight and a treat for the bees

very excited to be an expectant

grandmother again - 

darling sunny is due on 

june 30 and i'm remembering 

how good i felt when i was 

expecting her and the anticipation 

of the new little person that 

was soon to arrive

    smoky haze over the land between mildura and wentworth

morning walk - bad boys in the pines near the oval

 full moon last week, smoky skies

             i'm thinking of producing giclee prints of these
             chinese heads, i've always like them

 the baby kookas,

as big as their

parents but the

beaks are much

shorter and theyre

so naive and 

inexperience, it's 

good to see them 

safe in my garden

the wrens exploring the garden

 

A FEW DAYS REPRIEVE

AFTER THE STINKY HOT DAYS  some normally hot days :0)   but no horrible winds and dust, that'll be tomorrow.  today will be 40 but it's still so it's ok.
I'm very excited (and a bit nervous) to be going to this fabulous academy in Beijing for a month, working with students on the process of creating a picture book.  Director John Byrne posted these beautiful snowy pics a couple of days ago.  i wonder if there'll be snow in march - hope so.

                    love this pic of Cal and Mara

I have a 
family of kookaburras 







the kingfishers have moved over the fence into crown land, i guess they've finished with their nesting hollow.
Now i get to watch the kooka parents with their kids, showing them laughing techniques, flying lessons and hunting skills.  the little one (a naive little cutie) sits in the birdbath with his tail submerged for long periods as he scans the earth for edible goodies.  i'm going to get a couple more birdbaths, they get used so much

 good morning murray/darling junction - the start of another hot day, but i think it'll be a nice day despite 40 deg.