'Ewes in Waiting'

"The baby born today, is one day old tomorrow. We are all ageing. That, at the very least, is why we should listen to the elderly. They are farther down the strange bewildering road we must travel."
....Florence Houghton

As we get older, we find many of our experiences are hard-earned, and to let them 'slip into the ether' and not pass them on would be wasteful. Finding a young person who wants to hear is harder again.

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We have 5 young ewes, who hopefully, are all in lamb to 'Herbie', a delightful Cheviot ram who came and stayed for 6 weeks. They are due September/ October. The recent drought has caused our limited pasture supply to falter, so they are being hand fed until spring.

They wait impatiently and loudly, for the man of the house to return home, and take them their bucket of pellets and hay. Sometimes we close off our steep driveway to let them nibble the edges down, and they watch me through the windows and baa (see below).

One month to go, and the weather will warm, the grass will take off and they will be knee deep. I can't wait.

Gentle words

I was in the doctor's waiting room last week and browsing through the 'Women's Weekly'. I came across a lovely snippet about women who have poor body image and worry about being attractive to their husbands. It said, 'As long as a woman is soft, warm and smells nice, that's what most men are happy with'.

Sets a lot of girls free.

Today's photo from 'the Hill'

'Nude 2' - 5" X 7" original oil on canvas board.

'Nude 1' - 5" X 7" Original Oil on canvas board.

'Desiderata'

I place great import on wise words I hear or read anywhere, so have decided to put them in on a daily basis, plus regular photos from our front veranda ..........

"Go placidly amid the noise and the haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence. As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons … avoid loud and aggressive persons; they are vexatious to the spirit."

Maxx Ehrmann, Desiderata

'Green Bottle' - 5" X 7" Original Oil on Canvas Board

I was shopping in town today, and thought I would go into the local Opportunity Shop to see if I could pick up some quaint pieces to paint. The building was quite large and bulging untidily with heaps of secondhand goods.

'What a tangle!' I thought, and began to wander about. After about five minutes, a small, officious looking lady called out to me asking whether I was looking or had some other business. "Just looking' I replied. Well that cranked up the poor dear, and she told me in no uncertain terms, that it was the 'sorting room' and the shop was up the road. The only goods for sale were in the window.

Duly disciplined, I left with what remaining dignity I had and went obediently up the road. I did find some small treasures, one of which you see here below.














This painting is for sale for AU $50 -
Please email robynrinehart@dcsi.net.au
Payment :
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Parrots living Dangerously

I feed beautiful Crimson Rosellas during winter on my studio deck. They disappear in summer when there is plenty of wild food, but during the colder months they are very attentive, whistling to me when they hear me in the yard and hanging off the window frame peering in at me when I begin to paint.













We also have lots of rabbits, who tear up my garden, and dig warrens into the steep bank next to my studio, which could bring the bank down and cause catastrophic damage. My partner is a terrible shot, so I have to resort to poisoning them, which I hate. But too many bunnies means no garden and the dogs go crazy at them through the fences.

I laid out some Rabbait (Pindone) in neat piles and the rabbits duly nibbled away at them. Rabbait works by depleting Vitamin K over a series of feeding days, so successive feeds are necessary to 'do the job'.

Yesterday morning I went out to check, and my lovely parrots were nibbling away at the seed. The experts say the seed is dyed green to deter birds, as they usually like red and yellow colours. Not my hungry parrots, it would seem. I chased them away, dug the seed into the ground and covered it with mulch, and got on the Rabbait website. It stated that parrots husk their seed which left them without eating the Pindone, but I am now very nervous about using it. My beautiful feathered friends are too valuable to risk.

I can do carrots in a concentrate, so may try that next. Poor bunnies.

My studio heater is fixed, finally, so I am looking forward to getting out there tomorrow. Back to work!