flannel wanders // wood workin'

The only antidote for the gear box dropping out of a van you've owned for four days is to be taken on an adventure where you see plenty of wild flannel flowers growing in the bush.

It's a peculiar and oddly comforting feeling to see them growing wild and honestly having no inclination to cut them.

Ahhh flannel flowers. I am utterly undone by you, everytime.

These {and many many more} are to be found at Manly Dam. You'll see lots of birds {rosellas, crows, black swan, herons, kookaburras, m a s s i v e geese, ducks} and lizards {water dragons and other ones that I can't yet identify but I plan on getting my hands on some sort of reptile/bird watching literature as we are moving to the mountains and I want to nonchalantly impress visitors with my knowledge of the land and its creatures}.

I found a whole heap of old fence pailings at a council pick up about a week ago. I made a low little bench/shoe rack to act as a pedestal for my boyfriend's not insignificant collection of running shoes and then I made a planter for our tomatoes/herbs/probably will just be lots of scented geranium because I adore them more than anything.

I love projects like this where you just bumble along and figure it out as you go. I really like using my dad's old power tools. He is one of those wonderful people who know how to make anything.
This planter took about an hour. I want to become a carpenter.

Why is it so satisfying to build things?

Rhododendron gardens, Blackheath

I was struck by the beauty of this garden. It's rugged and rambling and Australian. The rhododendron garden covers 45 acres of bush land set in a little sloping valley in Blackheath. The volunteer-maintained garden takes you on a wander through incredibly tall and glorious rhodos and azaleas plants amongst different gum trees. There is such variety to these seemingly delicate blooms. The garden are open year round with peak season from early October to mid November but we visited a few days ago and the flowers are still looking grand. I met rhododendron in Rebecca before I met them in the tangible world. I adored the imagery of the rhodos/Rebecca's presence taking over the garden/life of whatever the narrators name was. They also serve Devonshire tea during peak season. Just sayin'

Also, here's to the kind of human who takes you on adventures to gardens in the mountains and understands {and assists} your compulsion to pick up good looking lichen covered branches and sticks.