Olympic Drinks

The girls are basically supermodels.

 

Inside and out. Penelope is admiring the crimson rosella in the tree. Melantho is taking a closer look. The birds are fine. They're not stupid.

It's time for dark beers down at the pub.

And bubbles at home watching the Olympics as the steeplechasers hurdle the waterjump. 

Art and Nature

And moving into the New Year, we see that the books on the bedside table have become less of a to-be-read pile, and more of an art installation on the passage of time. 

And some of them have been there for a considerable length of time...

I caught up with a friend to watch Dream Scenario, and we went to a café afterwards to debate its merits. When he ordered a soy milk cappuccino, I requested a 'normal' cappuccino, and he told me I could be cancelled for my pejorative coffee remarks. My how we laughed.

My heteronormative coffee

My Big Sis gave me these solar lights with a comment along the lines that they would work better here in Australia, where we actually get the sun. I took this picture at 8.30pm as we sat in the front garden enjoying a glass of bubbles. 

I went to the spectacular 'Discovering Ancient Egypt' exhibition at the National Museum of Australia (about which I will post separately). Here are just some pictures of the artwork outside the museum. 

The Loop

The Welcome Wall with Mirror Balls

No trigs on this walk, but lots of lovely eucalyptus brought images to mind of Hans Heysen paintings. I love these forests with their distinctive colouring. 

Losing sight of the wood for the trees

When we went on the birthday tram crawl for Him Outdoors, I left my emergency cardigan behind in one of the pubs. After phoning to see if it had been found, we made a special trip back to the Dickson Taphouse to collect. Naturally, we had to have a pint while we were there. We used the time wisely to spread out a map of New South Wales on the table and work out where we were going to go, when students have returned to schools so the beaches are less crowded and accommodation is cheaper. 

Over the last couple of weeks we have had fairly wild weather with humidity, sunshine, storms and heavy rain. The weeds, plants and flowers in the garden love it, and the roses are making a beautiful - if brief - showing of colour.

We attempted another trig - Mount Reedy in Kowen Forest (Number 39). It started out perfectly fine along a forest trail, that navigated between the natural native bush and the planted pines for logging. And then part of the track had washed away and we scrambled up and down a steep valley bank crossing what is currently a gentle creek, but clearly was a raging torrent at some point. 

Those surveyors knew what they were doing - you can see a long way in all directions from the top of this mountain. 

Black Mountain in the distance

Him Outdoors on top of Mount Reedy

Obligatory sh*t selfie at the trig

The creek with traces of forest debris

After the scramble and the evidence of landslip, we came across the this sign.. from the rear. I guess we knew that now. 

No sh*t, Sherlock

Later in the afternoon we went around to a friend's house to catch up and see how their garden grew. 

And in the evening we finished off the week with a few rounds of Bananagrams.

Reigning Kittens

My kittens mark out poses on the duvet cover, as if they're playing Twister. 

Kitten Twister

As I walk down to the local shops, I see the new mural is really taking shape and putting down roots (do you see what I did there?) - the artist, Faith Kerehona, seems to keep popping up into my consciousness. 

It feels like it wouldn't be date night without a picture of some food, so here are the cheesy meatballs with liquid cheese from To All My Friends. 

It's been kind of stormy weather around here for this past week; the dark clouds were certainly gathering on my morning run up Mt Painter. I arrived home just as the rain began to bucket down, but between the front and back door it began to lash down so hard that I decided not to get the washing off the line.

On Friday night we went around to friends' Gindelle and The Minister for a blind gin tasting. There were seventeen to taste and we took notes and decided which one(s) we liked best. It was a great night of fun, gin, food and laughter. I'm not sure why the first photo of the evening is the most blurred when the bottles weren't even moving. Perhaps it was the excitement of the anticipation.

As you can imagine, the notes got a little more rough and less coherent as the evening wore on, but I did capture my impressions of my favourite two: Sundown Gin featuring Strawberry Gum ('mint aroma - eucalyptus? - slightly sweet fruity flavour, warm smooth finish') and Audemus Pink Pepper Gin ('peppercorns; fennel; cardamom; star anise? Definitely Indian spices but also slightly creamy notes like honey or vanilla').

My runner-up gin of the evening

My favourite

And in a glass, with strawberries

I kicked off the weekend with a yomp round Red Hill Nature Reserve with the walking crew. In a change from our usual routine, we stopped half-way round for breakfast instead of waiting until the end. 

Signs at the lookout suggested that the surrounding natural temperate grassland has become one of Australia's most vulnerable ecosystems - I reckon there's plenty to choose from. Apparently these grasslands provide the habitat for several threatened species, including the Grassland Earless Dragon, the Striped Legless Lizard, the Golden Sun Moth and the Perunga Grasshopper. 

Now, I don't wish to sound judgmental, but this sounds like a dragon that can't hear, a lizard that can't run (and is possibly pissed), a moth that likes bright lights and a grasshopper that can't fly. It does sound a little like the home for the differently-abled reptiles and insects. I always thought Canberra was a little odd, but I wasn't aware that it was science fiction.

Due to tree growth, it is now quite difficult to see the lay-out of the city below from the lookout. However, another helpful sign provides the following information:

Intended to create healthy modern environments for urban dwellers, British 'Garden City' principles inspired the residential planning of Canberra from the 1920s. 

John Sulman, a leading architect and planner of the time, had a major influence in making our capital a garden city. His early suburb designs included Ainslie, Braddon and Kingston. Modest but well-designed single-storey houses were built on large allotments in generous garden settings, with wide verges and large shady street trees. Today, parts of these suburbs are heritage listed. 

Homes in early Canberra were prohibited from having front fences, so hedges became the preferred alternative. The 145km of suburban hedges were pruned courtesy of the government until 1954.

Charles Weston, Superintendent of Parks and Gardens from 1913 to 1926, oversaw the planting of two million trees and shrubs throughout Canberra. Influenced by 'Garden City' thinking, Weston created tree-lined streetscapes, which provide the striking seasonal colours we still enjoy today.

The information panels didn't mention anything about these beasties that we encountered towards the end of our walk. My Aussie friends told me that the cluster of caterpillars on a tree trunk were spitfire larvae and that when disturbed they spat out a stinging substance (the larvae; not my friends). I thought they were having a lend <cough> drop bears <cough>, but it turns out to be true! Later research (I looked it up on a computer) revealed that they actually dribble rather than spit (again, the larvae; not my friends) and the substance isn't harmful, which sounds a little less impressive, but it does seem that most Australian flora and fauna is indeed trying to kill us. Maybe the Dr Who tardis isn't so out of place after all... 

I arrived home to find that Calamity Sue had been to visit with a present for the kittens that she found in a second-hand shop. I installed it in the house and they soon had great fun climbing up and down it and hiding within.

Penelope going up...

...and coming back down

...and hiding inside

...with Melantho

Their antics wore them out so they needed a little lie down.

So did we. It may have been the bubbles...