it came from outer space ...

p & i saw this at ray's tent city and realised the spaceship had landed, and then when it landed again it might like to try our backyard.
it is the event 14 shade

• Ideal for large groups and catered events
• UV Guard Protection 50+ UPF
• 75D polyester, 450mm PU
• Windstrong frame
• 8 shock corded poles strengthens the shelter and makes setup easier
• Air vent keeps the shelter cool and reduces wind lift
• CPAI-84 fire retardant compliant
• Side panel included
• Guy lines, pegs and storage bag included
• Additional side panels available as an optional extra
• 426 x 426 x 233H cm
• 17.3kg

available online from the camping megastore via ebay - $229 + $25 postage&packaging

it's christmas so in the foyer of my building there's been a giving tree with presents appearing below, slowly at first and then with increased urgency.
i spied one of the early presents, a 2m inflatable astronaut. wonderful. initially i couldn't figure out what you'd do with it. it seemed to me that filled with helium and floating close to the ceiling at a major tom party was its natural place. but then it clicked. floating in a swimming pool. cradling you in its arms. sublime!

someday hopefully not too far away

aaah manyana
i have no idea what this place is like (google maps can only tell you so much),

but some "tomorrow" i'd like to get to manyana

lots of beach houses there,
like this one, sea deck with a view out to green island and right on the beach

between cunjurong point and bendalong, north o' ulladulla and mollymook, south of jervis bay

local papers say that there is a suburb development on the horizon,

it's a gorgeous area - surrounded by lakes, sea and national park - but this means it would be bush-fire prone (we're in australia after all)
there were bushfires (deliberately lit) in september and november

around the corner is cunjurong point ... with the "cunji shop" - local landmark, apparently

here's a house at cunjurong point, 85 steps to the beach

puppy

oh what a sweet puppy!

this dog is from
ingalou in eltham, carroll@viewton.com.au, maree carroll ph 9439 9494
i've visited these people.
they had a lovely 18 month old boy, who came and sat on my lap. it was just like holding a tuba.
he was very handsome with a soupçon of silly
the ingalous have cats, so their puppies are cat-trained, cat-savvy
of course, all bets are off with cook & else
but still
(ingalou have no puppies at the moment, so this is just fantasy talk)

here is another dog, hunter from the greyhound safety net people
he is a retired racer and is "cat-friendly"

lane art

it's laneway commission time in melbourne

Laneway Commissions 2010 project brief (PDF)
Essential Criteria
• high standard of artistic/cultural merit and conceptual integrity
• innovation in approach to the art form
• innovation in interpreting specific sites and/or the public domain as a whole
• capacity to engage a selected audience
• evidence the project is well-planned and achievable within the proposed timeline
• financial viability of the project
• satisfactory response to the project brief

Desirable Criteria
Artists should also satisfy at least some of these desirable criteria:
• an ability to reflect or enhance Melbourne’s cultural diversity in areas such as ethnicity, age, gender, and ability
• a capacity to celebrate Indigenous culture
• a capacity to reflect or critique local identity, culture or character
• a capacity to attract a broad or a new audience

gimme shelter

phwah, how good is this?? it's the Caribee Rapid Instant One Second Pop-up Sun Shelter, $69.50
less than 1 kg, CSIRO approved UPF 50+ love it!
more info here, 170 x 150 x 111cm

and if this is all too fancy pants,

there's also, DMH Hike-Lite® Refuge Bay 2-3 Person Shelter which is a lighter version of a bit of canvas strung between trees (important if you're flying up to hook island for instance and baggage weight is an issue)

old style camping on hook island.

tea-towels

it's funny where things take you
a tea-towel purchased on ebay can bring on future holidays...

hook island queensland
i had never heard of this place before
i looked it up
a national park with a dinky down at heel resort (top rooms are the ones with an en suite *the resort has changed hands and is to be redeveloped - from reviews it doesn't sound as if the development has taken place yet. sounds like the new oweners aren't bothering too much with the state of the old place in the meantime. the new resort will be much bigger and will be "eco" ... )
camping grounds are part of the resort - i like the sound of camping.
although there are other camp sites, these are only accessible by boat, which in the whitsundays means a yacht
a description of the island's attractions:
Hook Island General Information: Hook is rugged and a true wilderness island. Hook Peak, at 459 metres, is the highest mountain on the Island. One of the few walking tracks leads to Butterfly Bay - named so because of its unique shape and the butterflies which swarm around its shores. Two magnificent five kilometre fjord-like inlets, Nara and Macona cut into the southern end of Hook Island to provide a spectacular anchorage for yachts. People refill their water tanks from the cascading waterfalls.
The diversity of coral of the fringing reefs on the northern shores provide some of the best diving and snorkelling in the area...
The observatory on Hook Island (which seems to have been made for the Life Aquatic set! cool!!) allows visitors to descend nine metres below the ocean to view coral, reef animals and plants in their own habitat. There are marine biologists on hand to explain the wonders of the reef.

oh and this! hook island was the site of a "nessie"-type hoax, what's all this talk about sea-monsters?

how to get there?
fly - both jetstar and virgin go to prosperine, the airport on the whitsunday coast, but the jetstar site won't show flights going from melbourne to the whitsundays (not sophisticated enough to cope with connecting flights apparently), and then says "no flights available" if you try to help by asking for for flights from brisbane.
the cheapest flights with vb are $199 each way.
once there, fly overhead

front garden

grow moss in the front, maybe these will help,
concrete grass pavers



mosses to grow through,
emerald cushion
scleranthus biflorus an attractive, moss-like cover that forms a dense cushion. native to australia. keep moist over warmer months. flowers are tiny, greenish-brown and numerous and appear in summer. excellent when grown around rocks, which it tends to grow over and cover. suited to native or japanese style gardens.

acacia limelight - weeping grassy looking thing, half monster, half japanese garden
a fantastic miniature wattle grown for it's lush lime-green weeping foliage and compact shape. this shrub has grown more popular over the years due to public awareness of drought tolerant plants. acacia limelight grows approximately 80cm high by 80cm wide and makes an attractive feature when used in garden beds or pots and can even be used in balinese and japanese style gardens. very hardy and performs best in full-sun to part-shade in very well-drained soil.
bit more info




some she-oaks, i'm not sure whether
drooping or black she-oak




stones around the base of she-oak, homage a andy goldsworthy

build me up - raised garden beds

how to build your own raised garden bed
from organic food for everyone

• Three lengths of 12" x 2" x 8' softwood


• 12 x 4" screws


• 8 x 2' metal stakes


• A bag of tacks


• A large ball of twine

Here we are going to build cheaply and without too much trouble, using softwood planks treated with a non-toxic preservative, to make a basic 8’ x 4’ raised garden bed.

If you take a trip to your local reclamation yard you will find an abundance of cheap wood. Softwood is usually the cheapest and will serve our purpose well.

Mark off your plot area perimeter with string. Do not worry about removing turf as that will decompose once it is covered with soil. Dig out a recess of approximately 2 inches around the perimeter so that the walls (planks) will slot in securely.

Saw one of your planks in half. These will be the two 4' end pieces.

Now construct a box (over the plot area to avoid having to move the constructed frame too far) by fixing the end pieces to the lengths using three screws, evenly positioned, on each corner. It’s that simple! Now drop your frame into the recess you dug out earlier.

Hammer (preferably with a large one!) two metal stakes into the ground on each side of the frame, keeping them snug against the wood until the top of each stake is flush with the top edge of the frame. This will support the outside of the frame. The soil will take care of the inside.

Please click on Organic Soil for the final stage in creating your raised vegetable garden beds.

out of railway sleepers

Four railway sleepers;
eight tree stakes;
saw and hammer

1. Lay out the railway sleepers on edge in their final positions. Ensure that the best edge uppermost.



2. Hammer the two tree stakes into the ground, about 4cm from each corner, to hold the corners together.
   


3. Cut off ensuring the top of the stakes are flush with the railway sleepers. If you are making the bed on a paved surface use coach bolts to hold the sleepers together.


4. Fill your brand new sleeper raised bed with a suitable soil or compost. Top tip: If you want to grow herbs, then mix the top soil with grit.

other advice from urban food garden. includes links to the insides of the raised veggie patch

costa shows us how, too
not much info through the link, but a "comment" included - used old sleepers on their edge - To hold the sleepers in place we hammered short lengths of pipe into the ground about a foot from each sleeper end on the outsides. The soil in the beds keeps them in place. This has lasted over 3 years. If you go more than one sleeper high, just drill through and pin the first row into the ground, then drill/pin 2 or more as you go up.





late entry! ecoWood



price list from outdoor timber,
in bayswater ...!
180 Canterbury Rd Bayswater Nth, Victoria 3153

all about ecoWood - actually not sure this is the same as the sleepers...? different ecoWood i think...treated with Tanalith E - alternative to arsenic etc

also at bulleen art&garden - at least don't need to get out to bayswater...

dig in - raised planter beds

tankworks garden bed

rainwater raised garden beds

productive gardens, $99

rainwater tanks (perth)


yummy yards - built of recycled printer cartridges - stacked two high, $209




half wine barrels, bunnings for $69

lick o' paint

when i think of painting the house, my mind gets colourful
when i was little one of my favourite books was the house of four seasons
(i hated that they decided "white includes all colours and painted the place white; i'd rather not take this option)

i love the pink of mexican houses, and the tradition of painted the bottom of the house (and around the windows) a different colour.

pale smokygreen, dark stormy blue, mexican pink

more Haynes pretty colours
Haynes paints - exterior solarshield

Porters colours

painted houses
















Below, a bright pink kindergarden building with a perhaps wishful scene painted all around it.