Winter Sun, Kyneton

Winter Sun was the second garden I visited on Saturday, the 8th of September. It stood out like a ray of sunshine amidst light industry and neighbouring residential properties with drab gardens.

In early spring, the garden is dominated by daffodils – big, yellow daffodils. They are in the driveway, ……

…….the front garden and………

 

……the back garden.

 

I was able to admire the blossom of a tree overhanging from a neighbour’s yard.

The gardener has this quirky collection of birds displayed on an outdoor heater……

……..and this impressive display of motoring signs in his garage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Hedgerow Cottage, Kyneton

Today marked the first of my open garden visits since autumn.

Open gardens are one of the many attractions of the Kyneton Daffodil and Arts Festival. Last weekend was too cold and miserable to visit any gardens, but today, Saturday, was much fairer.

I visited two gardens in town. The first garden I visited was Hedgerow Cottage.

Apart from some well established trees from a much earlier garden, the current one has been developed over the past six years.

There is a small, front garden and……..

……… a much larger back garden. It is early spring so the deciduous trees, apart from a weeping willow, are not in leaf yet.

It would be lovely and cool sitting under the shade of the ash tree in summer.

White, purple and these pink violets are a feature of the garden at present.

The back garden is fragrant with the perfume of daphne bushes.

A daffodil festival needs daffodils.

I admired this grouping of pots. Box balls are dotted throughout the garden both in pots and planted in the ground.

This pretty collection of potted plants is situated at the back of the house.

Golden Beauties

I delved deep into my archives for this drawing.

I was on a family holiday in Barwon Heads in January 2010.

The sunflowers were on the dining table in the holiday house when we arrived.

Whilst my family members were surfing at nearby Thirteenth Beach, I had the pleasure of making this drawing using wax crayon.

Quartz Kiln, North British Mine, Maldon

The North British Mine in Maldon was opened in 1858 by Robert Dent Oswald who became extremely wealthy on the proceeds of the gold extracted from the quartz of Parkins Reef. By 1887, the North British Mine was being described as one of the richest mines in the world. The mine produced 242,000 ounces of gold before closing in 1926. It was the largest, most profitable and longest operating mine in Maldon.

Quartz kilns were built in the 1860s. The kilns were used to roast quartz to burn off impurities and to make the quartz more brittle so it was easier to crush to extract any gold.

The remnants of the mine are now Heritage listed and protected by fencing.

I used charcoal to make the drawing of one of the kilns yesterday (Thursday) on a perfect, early spring day.

Gold mining was a gamble. Across the road is Carmen’s Tunnel where guided tours are conducted by volunteers. The company which drove the tunnel into the side of a hill, failed because so little gold was found in the quartz reef there.

 

Flower Retrospective

I have been reviewing my sketch books and decided to republish some of the drawings of flowers I featured in earlier posts.

I am working on a new drawing but it is not yet finished, so until then………

I draw using soft pastels and……..

 

 

 

……… wax crayons which I particularly like.

 

 

 

Very rarely, I also use coloured pencils.

For those of you who have seen these drawings before, I hope you enjoyed seeing them again.

 

Fryerstown

Deep in the bush south of Chewton is the settlement of Fryerstown.

Fryerstown owes its existence to the discovery of gold in the early 1850s. At its height, Fryerstown had a population of 20,000 and all the services and facilities a thriving town required.

I have published a post about the Fryerstown cemetery in the past. This post focuses on the settlement itself. My photographs were taken over a period of some months.

First of all, a painting by renowned gold fields painter, S.T. Gill, of Fryers Creek as Fryerstown was known in 1852. The painting depicts the very early days when the town was being established.

The town may have had numerous shops, 25 hotels and 5 breweries in the 1850s and 60s, but today, this is Fryerstown central.

 

A sealed road connects Fryerstown with Chewton and Vaughan Springs.

Some of the substantial buildings have survived. The public hall had a library at the rear.

The All Saints Anglican Church and ………

…………old court house are now private homes.

This old house is well preserved.

There is no post office currently operating in Fryerstown. The mail is delivered via roadside delivery.

Exterminate! Exterminate!

Small scale, local commerce.

It is a while since the sports facilities were used. Katie inspects the cricket ground and the nets.

I couldn’t resist this photograph taken by Lyle Fowler in the late 1930s/early 1940s. There are a lot more trees in Fryerstown now.

Both of the historic items come from the collection of the State Library of Victoria.

Canal View in Charcoal

Here is another drawing I made whilst sitting in my cousin’s backyard on the Gold Coast in Southern Queensland.

When you have a home which backs onto a canal, you can have a car in the garage and a boat tied up at the jetty on the water.

Palm Tree in Charcoal

Earlier in July, I enjoyed a short holiday on the Gold Coast where I stayed at my cousin’s house.

Her property backs onto a canal. I liked sitting in the back yard observing canal life.

Across the canal, this palm tree is growing in a garden. The foliage is a striking silver grey. The fronds are tightly packed together to create a great orb.

 

 

 

Blessings

This picture was inspired by my experiences in a recent yoga class.

I have been feeling stress about my finances.

I have submitted a claim to Centrelink for the Age Pension which has created anxiety as this is the first time I have applied for income support.

During the relaxation phase of the yoga session, I had an image of stars flowing down reminding me of the many blessings I enjoy in life. The image was calming and pleasurable.

I hope I will soon have the pleasure of a notice from Centrelink saying my claim has been successful and payments will commence soon.

 

Barkers Creek Viaduct, Harcourt – Then and Then and Now

In 2017, I published a post about the Barkers Creek Viaduct which was part of the railway infrastructure built in the late 1850s to early 1860s to connect Melbourne and its sea port with Echuca, a major river port on the Murray, by rail.

This is how it looked in 1860 shortly after it was built.

 

More than 30 years later in 1894, there were still sightseers and different vegetation.

Today, the viaduct is still in active service nearly 160 years after it was built.

The viaduct is still the same but the nature of its surroundings has changed as the character of the vegetation has changed.

I recently purchased a fridge magnet of the 1894 photograph from a stall holder at Wesley Hill Market. I was delighted to find I could down load the photograph which is held in the collection of Museums Victoria. The photographer was a M. Law.