When Time Stood Still...

...Or at least it seemed to run slower....

We invited a father and son metal detecting duo to spend a half day at our place this month. We have broken ground on the new shed which is right beside the original stables and we have been unearthing many more "treasures" and old wagon pieces.

Here are some of the items they found and at the end is a little video they made of their exploration here.

The watch above and the silver plated lighter were exciting finds because they are often engraved items but sadly we didn't discern anything on these items.

People on this property have also been very careful with their money...

this is the only coin found, a half penny from 1944 and a penny dated 1941.

Front and back of maybe some horse tack? Anyone have any ideas?

The large piece is very heavy like lead but not terrible soft. Maybe it's a pewter? The little round item is brass and the front has a section of willow pattern on it???

Anyway, here is Jay and his dad with their video. Jay has other videos on YouTube too.

An Artist In The Garden

A few weeks ago

Luke from Gallery 81 

visited our garden a couple of times to paint en plein air.

Interestingly, he chose to set up for this cross view which fascinated me and gave me a whole new take on the garden.

When we view the garden ourselves, we tend to always take a linear view running north south which is how over the last three years I have been setting the structure and lines.

This is the central axis of the yard and typically our most common view but having Luke come into the garden taught me something very important.

And that was to stand at the corners and look back across the layers those design lines create. Enjoy the depth that each section makes as the sight looks obliquely across the garden.

THIS is how I should be looking for seating placement in the garden; providing back, middle and foreground into the view.

Luke's View has taught me to pull my focus from the straight lines of axis and also plan how the beds and paths layer across each other.

Three years ago it was a paddock. Now we are happily producing and raising lots of livestock (hard to see in the photo but the painting does have chickens and sheep in the outer paddock) and the garden has had some major structural work put in place with the crazy paving sandstone path.

Over the next 12 months we hope to have a shed built which will allow us to finally work on the side  entrance to the garden and provide us a designated BBQ and entertaining area.

Thanks to Luke for our painting but thank you also 

for helping me to see

XXX