Karma’s Photo Hunt ~ The Hill Project

January 31, 2024 Joanne35 Comments

When Karma suggested a photo hunt for her blogging friends to join in on, I immediately knew which photos I needed to search for!

Last year, as I have mentioned before, I spent a lot of time revamping several of my garden beds. The hill directly opposite the front of my house was the largest project, a garden running almost the full length of the house. Plus, it’s on a sharp slope. We had tried to make the hill manageable previously, without a great deal of success – what I didn’t realise was that our first attempt at constructing a manageable and attractive garden was in 2010!

Here’s the first photo I found during the hunt –

*15th April 2010, before the first Hill Project began.*

As the photo shows, the hill was steep! So anything we constructed there would be a challenge to maintain. You will notice growing on the far right of the photo is a small pine cone tree. I decided this tree would be beautiful when fully grown, and would shade the front of the house.

*19th October 2020 – the tree had grown!*

The next photo I found during the hunt was taken in 2020. I had even convinced husband to extend the retaining wall out in front of the pine cone tree at some stage, to accomodate the tree’s roots. The original plan had been to cover the whole hill with drought tolerent ground cover plants, which may have worked well if most of the plants hadn’t struggled to get a root-hold on the slope!

By this time, husband had lost interest in helping me with the garden. Weed mat and mesh wire to hold mulch in place simply wasn’t successful on the sharp slope. I slipped down the slope when trying to pull out weeds. Also, by this time we had brought home potted plants galore from my inlaws house when we had cleaned out their property, ready for sale. It was a trying time, putting my inlaws into aged care facilities and dealing with my father-in-law’s declining health. I think it fair to say we had both lost our gardening mojo completely.

The day my seventeen year old daughter brought home a boy “she thought she might like” – nearly nineteen years ago – little did I know what an inspiration he would be to me in the years to come! I wrote a post about him several years ago, I think I called it A Man of Ideas or some such thing, as I had discovered he has a unique knack of getting into my brain, seeing the vision I have, then improving upon my ideas. He’s wonderful! So when we spoke about a possible solution to the most challenging part of my garden and threw around a few ideas, we came up with a solution that he was prepared to help me bring to fruition …

*Winter 2023 ~ the Hill Project 2.0 begins!*

First, the pine cone tree had to go. Next, the retaining wall needed to travel along a straight line once the roots of the tree were removed. What was I thinking when I insisted the tree stayed? Those tree roots were gynormous!!!

Three little people, along with the dogs, enjoyed watching Daddy – to the two little ones on the right – and Uncle – to the little one on the far left – hack away at the hill, essentially restructuring the land to accomodate our vision for a new, attractive, easy care, easy to access, garden.

During times of heavy rain, the far corner of the garden washes away in a stream of water which cascades down the hill. My man of Ideas suggested we construct a dry creek bed in that corner. This area of the garden is still under construction, but I think this photo, taken around October last year, shows the basic formation of what we have in mind.

And here’s the constructed garden –

*The construction and planting is complete!*

The height of the lower section of the retaining wall has been raised, another small block wall has been contructed and a wooden sleeper wall at the top runs along a hedge of Sacred Bamboo, Nandina Nana. It had to be a rockery garden to compliment the natural surroundings, so my son-in-law lifted the larger bush rocks into place with the mini-excavator and left several smaller rocks for me to play around with, to create the garden I had in mind.

It was a long process, but we did it! I hope my son-in-law realises how much I appreciate his contribution to everything he helps me with around the garden. Maybe the thousand times I have said thank you may have been a clue. 😉

So there are my before shots, before-before shots, during and after shots, Karma – you did say the rules of the photo hunt are loosey-goosey – right? 😉

There’s still time to join in, so why not follow the link to Karma’s Photo Hunt!

The second part of the challenge is to take a photo, one for each season of the same place, which I will join in also! I am eager to watch my new garden plants grow and change as the seasons progress. 🙂

books · freedom · inspiration · reading · writing · Writing 101

I Write Because….

November 2, 2015 Joanne12 Comments

“A person is a fool to become a writer. His only compensation is absolute freedom. He has no master except his own soul, and that, I am sure, is why he does it.” – Roald Dahl

The month of November in the blogging world each year brings forth challenges, writing challenges to be specific, usually in the form of something along the lines of NaNoWriMo, which I joined once, way back in my early days of blogging. It gave me confidence, I met other novice bloggers (and some not so novice!) and learnt some about the World of Blogging.

A few days ago I signed up for a month of daily November learning sessions, offered by WordPress ~ Blogging 201, which I am hoping will help me to understand the technical side of WordPress blogging more fully, ie ~ how to make all of those little widgets and gadgets work in my dashboard area, and Writing 101, to encourage me to write each day, a practice of which I have been extremely tardy of late!

The task today in Blogging 201 is to discover a new feature that you never realised you had, connected to the theme chosen for your blog. That was an easy task, as I had been wondering if my theme, Twenty Ten, offered a drop down box option option below the header. It does, and I have combined my other websites into a drop down option, when the computer mouse is hovered over where it says “about” ~ give it a go, it works, and takes away some of the clutter at the top of my page! I have something else in mind to add there, a new idea though, which will need a bit more thought before I take action.

Today’s task for Writing 101 is the purpose for today’s post, in which students are asked to tell why they write. It will be interesting to read how others have answered this question (or completed the sentence, whichever way you wish to look at it) as for me, it’s a moot point ~ I have always written something, poems, letters, cards, fiction and non-fiction. I need paper, pens, pencils and books to keep my world spinning, and the world of the computer, and the internet, simply enhance my literary world. Why? I don’t know. Writing, words, are a part of who I am. Whether the words I write, when strung together in sentence form, are regarded as good, bad or otherwise is of no consequence. And as long as my sentences continue to make some sense, I will continue to write.

This November challenge arrived at just the right time for me. I remembered something recently, a forgotten dream, from over twenty years ago. When we lived in Sydney, with two young children and another on the way, planning to build our dream home “up north”, I saw my future home as one in which I would relax my soul and find a snippet of quiet time in every day. I had, and still have, a beautiful desk at which to write, and I dreamed of sitting at my wonderful desk and writing down all of the words I had wished to write during recent years, when my children were young and taking up all of the time in my days, and my writing was limited to the occasional letter.

My desk is still waiting for me. Don’t get me wrong, I have spent countless hours sitting with head down and pen in hand at my desk, writing business letters, or adding numbers into columns for the tax man. I’ve written out cards for various occasions, notes to school teachers, checked homework, even written out cheques back in the old days, and in more recent years these tasks have been promoted to another larger desk, complete with computer, printer, scanner….when all I really wanted was my simple desk, a pen and some paper on which to write the words told to me by the voice inside my heart.

So, I write because….I can, and in the hope that my words may hold some meaning to another soul who finds my words and reads them.

I write because….it is often easier to write than to speak. Forming written words clears my busy brain and has even answered questions to problems which I have imagined were insurmountable.

I write because….there may be something that I say that will be significant to a future generation, which is why I write down the information I have discovered, and the stories I have remembered, from past generations.

I write because I love to write. I write from my heart, I know of no other way. And I will continue to write.

Australia · inspiration · Pacific Ocean · photography · son

Saturday, in Coolangatta, on the corner….

July 11, 2015 Joanne5 Comments

….waiting for the traffic lights to change.

On the corner of MacLean Street and Marine Parade.

Wouldn’t you know it, when my eldest son asked me if I could drop him off in Coolangatta today, to attend a mates wedding (he’s very responsible, you know, planning to drink the odd one or two, so will catch a cab home) I forgot to take my camera! All of the beautiful scenery, the beaches, the people, just begging to have their photo taken, and I forget my camera. Geez!

Heading home, I stopped at the traffic lights of a busy intersection, and with a clear road all around, and lights on red, I grabbed my iPhone and took a quick photo looking towards Coolangatta beach, which actually turned out rather well, I thought.

I would have put my photo on the blipfoto website, but the site is down, and “blippers” from far and wide are discussing what could have possibly happened. In the absence of any news from the hierarchy, the simple fact of the matter is that we don’t know what’s amiss, so I’m adding my photo for today here instead.

The advantage of having a blog site is that I can add as many photos for today as I desire, so I have played around with Picasa, coming up with four different variations of my photo.

The first photo, above, is the original, and the photo I would have chosen for blip today.

The sepia effect turns my original into rather a different scene. Not such an inviting beach scene as the original though, as the narrow horizontal view of the ocean is lost, without the definition of colour.

I quite like the corner in black and white. The definition lacking in sepia returns in mono.

And finally, just for fun, I used the Pencil Sketch effect. Does anyone remember the painting books of years ago, which simply required a coating of water to make a slight hint of colour appear? (Are they still around?) I thought the pencil sketch photo looked like a page in one of those books from my childhood, which I enjoyed so much. 🙂

~~~~~~~~~~

A Sense of Spirit · concepts · inspiration · new · new beginnings · reading

A Manifesto.

January 22, 2015 Joanne12 Comments

The definition of a manifesto is “a public declaration of intentions”…..

I found this manifesto just a few days ago, and these words, along with so many others I have been reading lately, jumped off the page at me.

This is my own personal manifesto for 2015. I won’t be over thinking the possibilities, the words were discovered for me, and when you know withing your heart and soul that something is right, no questions need be asked, no debate entered into ~ so here they are.

Due to “eating less”, I have not eaten anything since breakfast time, and my stomach is growling, so I will now “move more” to the kitchen, for a quick snack, after which I will continue moving, you know, chores to be done….but I have been giving my word for this year a huge amount of feeling, and will share thoughts and words that have led me to the choice soon…..

Have you ever chosen a manifesto?

~~~~~~~

friends · inspiration · sewing

Cee’s Share Your World ~ Week 2, 2014.

January 14, 2014 Joanne5 Comments

The old stone bridge at Alport in Derbyshire. One day I will walk on the ground that my ancestors walked on. Photo credit ~ My dear friend, Keith Talbot. — The old stone bridge at Alport in Derbyshire. One day I will walk on the ground that my ancestors walked on.
Photo credit ~ My dear friend, Keith Talbot.

Cee’s Share Your World questions spoke to me this week. About to begin my sewing, with plans to continue for the day, I quickly peeked through my WordPress reader (just a moment wouldn’t hurt, I told myself).

So here I am, an hour later, writing a new post of my own as my heart advised me to, and in doing so I know that I will focus on the events of my day ahead with clarity, which I would not have done without writing first….

If you had to move to a country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?

England. It’s always been England…always has, always will be. My parents left the country, with my three elder sisters, years before my birth and I have never visited the country. So how do I know the country so well in my heart, I wonder.

Music or silence while working?

Ah ha, another easy question for me. A few days before Christmas I bought a tiny “music machine” on which I could play old CD’s of my favourite Christmas carols (which I did) and today, as I work, I will be dragging out more old CD’s to listen to throughout the day. I had already planned this morning on listening to music as I worked today, then Cee asks the question.

I agree with Carol, she is showing her pink personality. :) — I agree with Carol, she is showing her pink personality. 🙂

What is your favorite color?

Well, seeing as you ask Cee, I took a photo yesterday of a red flower, which showed up as a pink flower on the screen, to which Carol commented, “It’s her pink personality she’s showing – not quite as forceful as her red personality”. In the Psychology of Colour, red, my old favourite colour for many, many moons is a rather forceful colour. These last few month I have become more drawn to lighter colours, mostly pinks. Perhaps, like the flower, I am showing my pink personality more these days.

Do you have a bucket list? What are your three items? A bucket list are things you want to do before you die.

No Cee, I don’t actually have a bucket list. There would be way too many “to do” items on my list and if I had a list, as I ticked off each item, I would feel that it was a day closer to my demise. Yes, I hear you all saying, “but that’s exactly what every day is anyway, regardless of a bucket list!”, which I realise. I just prefer it this way. But I do plan on travelling overseas someday to even more countries than just England, visiting some of the areas I have yet to see around Australia, buy a house in the Blue Mountains where I grew up, see my grandchildren and great-grandchildren, work some more on my family tree website, do more work on my garden, take a flight in a helicopter (over water though, ground below seems scary!)…..Cee said three things, , I know, but remember, this isn’t a bucket list!

Thank you Cee! As always, the questions were fun to answer. 🙂

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