black betty....bam ba lam ba lam....

mortar and pestles...

Tallows beach n lil gecko dude....

Came across this gecko in the kitchen, he froze and tried to blend into tiling, which maade for a decent shot, poor lil guy.

I thought it was about time I posted an image of the beach, so folks could see how beautyfull it is. Jealous? Me too, oh thats right I live here. Yep its still a bit surreal...

Opal plant ways....

If youre interested in plants, ive just started up a blog specific to them at http://opalplantways.blogspot.com/ Please bear with me as I sort out some teething problems. Thanx.

Pan....

Drawn from the movie 'Pans Labyrinth'

Plantain salve....

Id like you to meet 'plantain', Plantago lanceolata, a fine herb for insect bites, rashes, dry skin, and I hear small wound healin. Youve probably already seen her about, shes often handy to places bees hang about (and sting). Ive had some plantain infusing in olive oil since august last year, hoping to call upon her soothing nature. The other day I decided to make a salve up. I had about 8/10 of a litre of oil, so I grated up 100g of beeswax to mix with it, I set up a double boiler to make the heating gentle, and stuck 3 chopsticks between the bowl and the saucepan of water as insurance. Up goes the heat and I gradually added the beeswax as the oil in the bowl heated up, till all the wax was disolved. As a liquid, I poured it into jars and as she cools she gels. You end up with a salve that melts with the heat from your fingers as you use it, too cool. Ive been using it on my face where theres excema type stuff round my nose and mouth. It looks like I had a big night, crashed out and drooled all over myself during the night without noticing the next morning. Not a good look and itchy. But aaah no more, 2 days of swims in the ocean and plantain salve are working wonders! Relief., and a lip balm for Ilkaflower...

Roo....

painted skulls.....

In the first picture from left to right, is fish, roo and wombat.

It felt like an honouring of the animals passing when I painted these. I used acrylic and did many layers to get the colour strong, turning and holding the skull as I worked, exploring its shape and structure. Nature truly is the greatest artist and she speaks to us through the forms of animals, plants and landscape, so that these things become our teachers of beauty, and wisdom..

spiritwolf....

busy week in tha garden....

As you can see nomadcat is having a hard time adjusting to having a garden, especially torturous is our morning cuppa and sunshine session which usually morphs into gardening. We now have three gardenbeds, no four, in which to get growing. Mostly want to get greens happening cos theres no dandelions or chickweed to munch on round these sandy soil parts of the world, which is a bit of a  shock to the system! Went to make a brown rice salad and had to use only what was in the fridge, no wild harvest aargh! Still rocket, lettuce and spinach seeds are pokin their heads up through the soil, goodness I might have to plant weeds here, thats just too weird! Ive seen one lone dandelion, made sure to greet him, and a wee patch of chickweed, literally wee as its in a prime dog pee zone. Started our pennyroyal lawn, with one big plant, seedlings coming along but theyre virtually microscopic their so small, so those babies might be some time in maturing. Planted two native hibiscuses out front to form a bit of a screen. Theyre both near what is going to become our outside shrine/altar. There used to be a tree out front here, but between the time we first looked at the place here and moving in, the owner cut it down. So now theres a big ol stump and a collection of roots close to the surface. The trees asking me to make that space a shrine, a lil bit of acknowledgement wouldnt hurt and Im inclined to agree. Its at the entrance so will also give a nice vibe on that front, so yesterday cleared it up and built a retaining wall out of bits n pieces, using one of the roots as one edge. Filled it with fresh potting mix and scattered some  flower seed, mixed white low growers and calendula. So well see how they grow. This weekend is the Lismmore Gemfest and if I can get my ass there Ive put out to cosmos for some rocks to start up activating the shrine. So its been a busy week in the garden and each morning mushcat and I do the rounds of the seeds/seedlings to see how theyre coming along. Thanx astra.....

God and St Francis discuss lawns....

                                                    from Carolyns shady gardens blog....

Fabric emerging....

Strange, but there was a space between the feeling I had when inspiration burned and my physical body. If only the two could walk together they would touch the Earth gently like dew on parched skinks tongue. The memory of a time they were united calls to me with whisperings of potential, but my fingers are unsure of the precise stitch to use to reweave the frayed umbilical threads. Still, I begin like a spider to work my web for catching a future of rainbow hue, trusting that sustenance will follow my hours at the loom. Sometimes cramps, discomfort, settle in my bones. I rise, stretch, return to my work. Only I see the loom and it's fabric emerging but others see a subtle change in me and wonder at it's source. For though we are all weaving, each of us use different tools and materials. Wood, bone, others blood, barbed wire, paper money, silk in the raw, river washed stones, garlands of flowers, concrete, glass, the wind, sound, fur, hair, silver, wolves claws, spirit, waves, negativity, pain, love, tears of salt, peace..........