ANOTHER MORNING ON THE RIVER

IT DOESN'T MATTER how many times i open up the curtains to this view, it always stops me in my tracks

SINCE THE WEEKEND

QUIET TIME - working on the book, walking, cleaning and sorting out the studio to clear it for renovations.  had a nice bbq with friends and their visitors from sweden sunday afternoon.

some great new pics of the grandkiddlies from sayaka

LOCK 10 THIS MORNING 

progress on the book

pics

pics taken today of jayden and jarren scadding, sheepfarmers for the book, the next illustration to get started on 

   rob dalton's comment in the paper, he's summed it up beautifully

TODAY'S WORK

I GOT STARTED on this painting today, not much more to do but detail and colour - it will be overlaid onto a collage background.
nice to be working in oils again

VISITORS

I FOUND the lovely little variegated wrens in my own back garden last night, got some nice shots of a young one

COOL CHANGE

DIVINELY COOL AND BREEZY 
today - no fans,
no coolers,
no sweat!   :0)


work is progressing nicely  -  i'm living a pretty solitary life these last few weeks but it's fine.  i'm well and truly up to finishing off the last illustrations for the book and tomorrow i've got friends coming for a barbie.  next weekend too

UPDATE

I'VE NEGLECTED my poor blog, i've had guests in the airbnb for four days, one a keen bird photographer so i was happy to introduce him to the island and the birds there.
They left this morning and i headed over to the island again, my nesting swan wasn't there, i hope all is well. i did see two swans on the murray, i wonder if they leave the nest unattended  :0\
we've had some lovely weather and i'm getting lots of work done, nothing exciting happening here at the moment

TODAY   a little friarbird enjoying a bath

on the island

MORNING WALK

it's a rust lover's paradise down in
the little park next
to the bridge into
wentworth. old
farm machinery
and bits of the old bridge, a fergie on
a pole and an old
log cabin

these gorgeous parrots were playing around in the old dead roses, about eight of them a long way off

this illustration will be the death of me, i've drawn it over and over, even doodling all over the age and the composition just eludes me!!  spent this afternoon on it
again, maybe it's time i put it aside for a while

 morning walk on the island today

ANOTHER HOT ONE

NO COOL CHANGE here - another day indoors working on the book under the evaporative cooler vent.



thirsty birds ignoring
the sprinklers below




Time for a long walk on the island early before raking the whole lawn, cleaning up two wheelbarrows full of bark. hopefully it's almost stopped falling now

this swamp hen

is keeping the

nesting swan

company as she

sits every day.

it's always there

wandering around

her.

a new bird - the chestnut rumped thornbill, they had the sweetest little 'sirp' voice

walking back over the bridge it's lovely to watch the swallows from above - they fly from under the bridge right up in front of you, two quick to photograph

LAST NIGHT there was what looked like mist on the river, sonja suggests it could be smoke from a far off fire. maybe but no sign of it in the sky and definitely not campfire smoke.  very pretty