Snippets from Western Australia

Hi everyone.  I wanted to show you a few more photos I took during my recent visit to my parents farm in Western Australia.  

This photo was taken late one afternoon.  I love the way the sun is giving the trunk of this tree a lovely golden glow against the blue and grey of the sky and clouds.

Looking  north/west late afternoon.

Early morning shadow.

Half an hour later and you can see how much brighter the light is.

As I was walking around the farm sheds on the same morning, I noticed these lines on the ground.  Not the tyre tread marks.

When I looked closer, I realised they were ant trails all going to and from their home in the centre of the circular patch of hard ground.

Communing with my brother's cows.  

This is Elmo a young Dexter bull who is very friendly.  My brother has handled him since he was a calf so he is very tame.  So tame in fact that he licked my feet and knees through the fence and even tried to lick my face.

You may notice that there is not a lot feed in the paddocks.  Western Australia has suffered a number of extremely dry years with 2010 being no exception.  These cows are extremely content and well looked after with access to other food sources not shown in these photos.

Elmo is very partial to a good scratch on the top of his head and behind his ears.

This stocky calf is Fifi who was born in July last year.

My brother was milking one of the Dexter cows in this picture I painted a few years ago.

 

See that gorgeous ginger kitten in my painting, his name is Teddy and this is what he looks like now.  A handsome, happy, affectionate, purring farm cat.

 Before I go, I have two more photos for you that were taken on an early morning walk.  A country road on the boundary of my parents farm.  The first photo looks north and the second south.

Thank you for taking the time to look at these photos of a place that is very close to my heart.

Anne xx

Photo Scavenger Hunt - January

Here are my photos for the January photo scavenger hunt. 

1.  An abandoned building

 This is the house my Dad grew up in and is quite close to the house I grew up in. 

2.  Stained glass

One of a series of stained glass windows in my local library.  Sorry about the light in the photo, this was the best shot I could get.

3.  Goldfish

Oh dear, I'm afraid I've taken a few liberties here.  I knew there was no way I would find a goldfish to photograph so I drew one and took a photo of my illustration.  I hope it's acceptable.

4.  Yarn

5.  Playground

This playground is at the end of my street and Miss C. and Miss. G. use to play here when they were little.

6.  Library

My local library where I took the photo of the stained glass window.

7.  A tombstone over 100 years old.

I took this photo this afternoon in 40 degree heat.  :)

8.  My front door

9.  A reflective surface (not a mirror)

Coffee percolator reflected in granite on the kitchen bench.

10.  Something out of place

A shopping trolley at the end of my street.  The camera strap is also out of place, in front of the lens.  Ooops.

11.  Nature

A lone salmon gum in Western Australia on my parents farm.

12.  Bubbles

Bubbles in a perfect beverage for a hot day, beer.

I've had so much fun putting these together.

Anne  xx

Eddie the emu and other birds

I may have mentioned in a previous post that we have an emu living on my parents farm.  We named him Eddie (how original), when he came to live with us as a chick.  I would have been about 7 years old at the time so that would make Eddie over 40 years old.  I'm not sure how long emus live for in the wild, however 40 years is pretty good for a bird I would think.  Eddie was given to us by friends who lived in a far more remote area than where my parents live.

I managed to snap this one of him napping.

The next photos are courtesy of my brother who has a marvellous new camera he is experimenting with.

A wedge tail eagle feeding on a dead kangaroo.  Isn't he/she magnificent.  This one is a juvenile and my brother tells me as adults their plumage is almost black.

Australian Hobby or Little falcon.  Such a pretty bird.  This photo was taken looking into bright cloud.

 

Pink and grey galahs.  Louise this one is for you so you can see them up close.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing these lovely birds. 

Anne  xx

A delicious way to eat your greens

Getting a green vegetable into your kids can be tricky, especially if they are fussy eaters like Miss G.  Nearly 18 and she still hates her greens.  Well, I have ammunition.  Chocolate.  How is chocolate going to help Miss G. eat her greens I hear you ask?  By making Chocolate Zucchini Loaf.  

 

Before you turn up your nose and go yuck, how many of you like carrot cake?  Quite a lot I'm sure.  So I urge you to try this delicious recipe, just make sure your fussy eaters aren't around when you are making it so they don't see the zucchini going in.  Get them to take the taste test with their eyes closed if you think they'll protest.  

 

Here it is.  I doubled the recipe to make two loaves so I could put one in the freezer for a rainy day.

CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI LOAF

90g butter

1 teaspoon grated orange rind

1 cup castor sugar

2 eggs

1 1/4 cups self-raising flour

1/4 cup cocoa

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 cup milk

1 cup grated zucchini (courgette)

1/2 cup chopped pecan nuts 

ORANGE FROSTING

30g soft butter

1 teaspoon grated orange rind

2 cups icing sugar

2 tablespoons orange juice

Grease a 15cm x 25cm loaf tin, line with paper; grease paper.

Cream butter, rind and sugar in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy.  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Transfer to a large bowl.

Stir in sifted dry ingredients, milk, zucchini and pecans. 

 Spread into prepared tin.

Bake in a moderate oven for about 45 minutes.  Stand 3 minutes before turning on to wire rack to cool.  Spread cold cake with frosting.

 

 Orange Frosting

Beat butter and rind in small bowl with wooden spoon until smooth, gradually beat in sifted icing sugar and juice; beat until spreadable.

Keeping time: 3 days

 Perfect for morning or afternoon tea.

Source:  The Australian Women's Weekly Cookbooks - Cakes and Slices Cookbook

N.B.  I do not include the nuts when I make this loaf.  I have also used olive oil spread in place of butter in the cake mixture successfully.   In Australia try Olive Grove Spread - Classic.  I never make the frosting for this loaf either.  The loaf is incredibly moist and I don't think it needs the icing.  However if you want to make it a little bit special, make the frosting.  It might also be needed to bribe the kids to eat it.  :)

One of the other benefits of making this cake is using up any surplus zucchinis you might have from your summer vegetable garden.  My Dad grows incredible zucchinis, lots and lots of them.  In summer it is certainly a challenge to think of ways to use them all up and besides making zucchini fritters, quiche, grating it into meat dishes or making soup, you can now make cake.  This cake is economical to make too because it uses cocoa powder for that yummy chocolate flavour without using chocolate.

Anne  xx

Thinking outside the square

Thinking outside the square is not one of my strong points, so I was really pleased when I came up an idea to use this gorgeous toast rack  mum gave me when I was visiting.  The toast rack belonged to my Granny (paternal), and as mum doesn't use it, she gave it to me.  I'm so lucky to be the owner now as I've always loved it.

The rack is made from silver and was quite tarnished.  Last night while watching The Australian Open (tennis), I gave it a good polish.  Today I was able to use it for it's new intended purpose.

Isn't it the most perfect mail holder ever?  I can put the bills there for hubby to discover when he comes home from work and any letters for my daughters can be held there until they come home.  (It's so out of bounds for a mother to go into her daughter's bedrooms these days!)

So what do you think of my idea?  Has anyone else been thinking outside the square recently?  I'd love you to share your ideas with me.

Anne  xx

Back from Western Australia

Hello everyone, I'm back from Western Australia where I visited my Dad, Mum and brother on the farm where I grew up.  I had a wonderful time visiting my birthplace and embracing all the things that made living on a farm so enjoyable.  I have many things to share with you and I hardly know where to start.  Perhaps the best place would be the weather.

One of the first things I notice when I go back to Western Australia is the light.  It is so bright in comparison to where I live in Victoria where I'm surrounded by trees and live on the south side of a hill obscuring a lot of light.  Another difference between where I grew up and where I live now is the view.  On the farm I can see a 360 degree horizon, in Victoria I'm surrounded by tall trees.

Here is a photo of the horizon on the farm.

This was taken about 6.30 in the evening.  The light is bright and golden, just beautiful for taking photos.  In contrast, this photo was taken in the morning, about 10.30.

The only way I could get a photo of my brother's sheep dog Jessie (she's hyper), was by having her run behind the ute.

Another beautiful day with sheep grazing in the paddock.

In complete contrast, the day this photo was taken it was hot and muggy with a dust storm blowing up in the afternoon.

I'll leave you with this photo of a pink and grey galah feeding it's baby.  The galahs are in the centre of the photo.  Just click on the photo to enlarge.

I'll be back soon with more photos from my trip.  Have a great day everyone.

Anne  xx

TARDIS pencil case reveal and "Ode To a Mosquito-less Night"

I guess by now you will have realised that Miss G. is somewhat quirky in personality.  Remember this post
where I showed you TARDIS pencil case production in progress.  Here is the BIG REVEAL!!!!!

Here are some more photos of production in no particular order.

Miss G. used a bead for the police box light.

A jewellery finding was used for the door handle.

It's turned out to be a rather big pencil case, one that won't squash down easily in a school bag. 
 So it will be left in her school locker and used at class time only.  She has a lot more patience than I would have had.  Then again, I'm not obsessed with Dr. Who like she is.  :)

Another one of Miss G.'s passions is poetry writing.  She came up with this after two nights of an irritating mosquito in her room.  They are rather partial to her blood.

Ode to a Mosquito-less Night


Where, mosquito, should you be
In the depth of night
When you come to visit me
Drawn towards my light?

Though I try and try to sleep
My efforts come to nought
You have not even the grace to creep
When you cut the quiet sought

Of every region in the land
You had to choose my bed
The fault is yours if you meet my hand
When whining round my head!

And of every hour in the day
Tis night in which you feast
I'm sorry it must be this way
But you would disturb my peace

So, mosquito, you've been warned
I'd rather not awake
To big red spots my face adorned
When the dawn does break!

By Miss G.
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I will be visiting my parents and brother in Western Australia for about a week and a half, leaving this Sunday.  So that means I probably won't be posting.  I might get in a comment or two if Mum's computer can cope.  Hopefully I will have some photos to share with you on my return but until then, take care everyone,

Anne xx