This week's taming of the Mitchells Island pines....

A clement rain falling this morning on Tambourine Bay....

Sigh, so very beautiful this late November morning. We joined Judy on the water, Daniel in the green tub and me in my surf ski....

Here is some of our Mitchells Island birdlife:
The small kingfishers are a variety that I've never seen before, who visited us for the first time last weekend.
The tawny frogmouths are so well disguised in the 30 ft. high branches of a pine tree that they almost went undetected when the trees started to be felled. A lucky save for there is a nest and young birds in it, too.

Trevor & Rosalie's horses make a bucolic addition to our Mitchells Island environs, and they do a reasonably good job - although not as good as Rick and his lawn mower - of keeping the weeds tamed.

Saturday afternoon at 2 Scotts Rd., Mitchells Island
Our fire permit still has a couple of weeks on it, so Heather, Rick, Daniel & I got stuck into burning some of the cut pines.
In one image, you can see our neighbour Trevor who is felling and stacking the pines on his bobcat. As the pines which have been blocking our view get thinned, it's starting to feel like we actually 4 acres instead of just one....


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The lapwings have set up there summer quarters on our lawn again.
They are often the first bird songs (screeches) of the morning....

The Trees. When we bought our Mitchells Island property, the real estate agent told us we could collect pine cones from the trees and sell them. (Okay, and Santa is coming soon too?) The Trees have been a nuisance, have supported 20 foot high lantana growth, have cost us time and money, have created erosion where they have been taken out.

But now, we seem to have a workable plan, as being demonstrated by Rick hauling logs and our neighbour Trevor sawing and moving the felled logs with his little bobcat.

Keep your fingers crossed!

A blast from the past (1994). Sydney Yoga Centre yoga teacher training, with Eve showing twist adjustment.
XO Eve

Magnolia season begins....

This image was taken a few months ago when I participated in research on how stress affects cognitive function.
I completed several tests, like subtracting from 1,000 nine until I got to 0, and this one that I'm doing at the computer.
In the tests where I was "unplugged", I was having my blood pressure taken at the same time.
The electrical cap I'm wearing covers a layer of green goop on my head which conducts the impulses that tell whether I'm stressed or not. Despite the weirdness of the paraphernalia and being in a test situation, I was pretty stress-free.

A few weeks ago, Michael participated in the Hawksbury Classic, an event that draws hundreds of kayers and other "boaties" to
ply 111 km. of the river, usually overnight. Mike was very chuffed to have finished, albeit almost 19 hours after the start!

Kylie & Roy have very generously donated their aquarium and fish to our household....

Before the burning-off on our property, a tortoise materialised out of no where. Now, we've never seen one on the island before, and, the critter was gone before all the excitement started. Hasn't been seen since either....



Rick & the local volunteer firefighters keeping our property and environs safe...



...except for the nice native tree that got in the way....

At the moment, all the agapanthas are waving their arms and saying, "look at me...ooh-ooh...over here, here I am". They are just about to burst their jackets or already have and are so noisy in their attention-seeking! Anthropomorhising? No way!

Anne & Kathy @ 1 Wharf Road....

Socialising with Feather, Denise, Andrew, and Hilary this evening....