Botanic Gardens Expedition.

 Having been in lockdown for most of 2020, it felt somewhat surreal to be driving on the freeway to the Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne this morning. The gardens too were locked up during the worst of the pandemic, so people are now doubly appreciative of the wonderful asset that the gardens are to the city. I was delighted by the display of Lotus plants in flower, and enjoyed exploring the new Arid Garden area with its abundance of weird and wonderful cacti and succulents. Whilst we couldn't sit on the terrace to enjoy a cup of coffee as we would have done this time last year, we thoroughly enjoyed just wandering where we felt like going, and the dog seemingly enjoyed her time there too.

A Good Crop for the New Year!

 At last I have worked out a way to add text to accompany my photos in Blogger. It isn't nearly as simple as it used to be, but at least I can now do it!!

What a year 2020 was, but unfortunately I can see signs that 2021 will be very trying too, at least until there are vaccinations available, and that will certainly take some months to happen here in Australia. On the plus side however, we here have been very lucky with out island status and our strong state leaders.

The weather too has been kind so far this summer, especially compared to last year's  devastating heat and bush fires. We've had some rain too, which is a bonus at this time of the year, and as a result our vegetable garden is doing very well. I don't think that I have ever had so many tomatoes, however what with the nibbling of the rats and lack of ripening heat, I can't count my tomatoes until they have have actually ripened!

Happy 2021 to All.

                         This strange creature on the lid of our compost bin is a web casting spider.

Not Wasting Paper!

 With the business of Christmas Day and Boxing Day behind me I took the opportunity to do some more gelatine plate printing. I have a huge stack of prints that I've made over the weeks and months, but most of them aren't anything special at all, so I have been trying to over print them rather than make new prints from scratch. I'm not using expensive printing paper, but even so I can't bear to waste pieces of paper by throwing them out if the image is not up to scratch. Below are some prints made over the top of older ones.

Molly at Christmas

Molly the Groodle (Poodle x Golden retriever) was not very impressed by Christmas festivities I don't think! Being my daughter's dog she is allowed on the furniture, unlike my own dog, Sophie, who is not.

A Wonderful Metal Bug, A Tiny Christmas Tree & A Wall of Blooms at the Firestation Print Gallery.

Having a Lot of Fun with the Gelatine Plate Printing.

Gelatine Plate Printing with Vegetation.

Garden Delights.