Seeded paddock

This is the paddock on the hill behind the house that has just been seeded, not easy to paint!
A very grey morning again, but not lot of rain.
I have just been to Adelaide to see my mother as John had a late afternoon meeting. Not a good time to see her, she kept saying that my sister had sold her house and she hadnt given permission and she hated where she was and she needed the money. Over and over. It is all so depressing and she doesnt want to accept that she is nearly 95 and needs looking after.

Fallen leaves

I spent most of the day in the wet Adelaide hills at our Welsh Foal Show, luckily in an indoor arena and so had very little time to walk the dogs, enough to go out for a short distance and back and underfoot were all the leaves that have fallen off with the rain, I think these were mostly off the glory vine and the oak but the colours were lovely.
We did well at the foal show but it was so cold I came home with aching knees. My Section B filly was Supreme of Show and our Welsh mountain colt was reserve.
I really had no idea what the judge would do so it was a lovely surprise to scoop the pool so to speak.

Study in Grey

This morning I took the friend who had been staying with me for a bit of a look around the area, it has been raining and showery all day and this is what it looked like when we went to the look out at Pt Elliott looking back towards Victor Harbor, all greys and damp and misty.
We have had over 2 inches of rain and there are more showers to come, a wonderful start to the season so long as we get follow up rains.
Of course it doesnt mean we are in the clear, John has been doing cash flows and looks gloomier and gloomier, we still need hay until the grass grows and then some good prices would be lovely. We are still here tho' and that at the moment is the main thing.

Braken frond

I am never sure how to spell braken, any way this will do.
I have had a visitor staying and we have walked up hill and down dale looking at ponies and cobs with her, so I certainly got my walk but no time to sketch.
I brought a frond home and did that here.
It has rained off and on all day, and we had about 40 mm over yesterday, wonderful steady rain and the garden is smiling, what there is left of it.
I am smiling too as this will be a huge help, although one rain doesnt mean that the drought has broken, we need more and more and more.
Today is Julies last day of her one mile from home blog and I will miss her. Alison has nearly finished too but Hashi is going to walk with me so that is a new area to explore and I am looking foreward to it.

Ant Hill

When Iwalked the dogs through the old pine forrest I found this quite big ant hill with areas around it where an echidna had been poking his nose, the central dark spot is one. There were some green bracken fronds poking up behind it and lots of bark on the ground.
The forrest is really no longer, most of the trees have been cut out and only a few remain dropping pine cones I use to light the fire, and Yes it is raining at last, slow and steady at the moment, 5mm before 9 am not sure what since. So we may need a fire although it is quite warm still. I am expecting a visitor for this afternoon and tomorrow so not sure what I will get done tomorrow.

Dam

walked the dogs down to the dam and when I came home I painted my sketch, the flowering reeds look quite fantastic in some lights, really pink at times or a pinky beige at others. the water in the dam is a pretty awful green.
Today is ANZAC Day when we remember all who died in the wars and commemorates the landing at Galipoli in 1914. I have no relatives who I know of who fought in that war but I had two uncles who fought in the WW2 and were prisoners of both the Germans and the Japanese.
I think it is a vague hope that we will not have wars, as today we seem to have smaller but nastier wars all the time.
On a lighter note this morning this came over our CB radio, a small exchange between our son and a guy who is rabbiting with ferrets. Son, Did you go to the dawn Service? slight pause, reply I dont think I know any one called Dawn. I couldnt believe my ears but it was funny.

Birds in a dead tree

I walked the dogs up the hill behind the house and sat on another dead tree, minding the ants, to draw this one which had a magpie and two rosellas in it.
Came home and more or less coloured it.
I am slowly getting back into walking although at the moment the house is being re organised and having an autumn clean. John has been on the roof blowing all the leaves out of the gutters in preparation for THE RAIN if it doesnt come I think the weather fellows will be hung drawn and quatered as they have said we will get at least 20 mls. I do hope they are right.