........... Gather ye Nuts.........

It's Autumn and that means its a harvest.

I have picked so much fruit, bottled it, frozen it and eaten it and still there is more.

A glut of grapes and plums, millions and millions (it seems) of walnuts and enough apples to sink a ship.

Lots of green beans, tomato's, dill and basil .

What better way to harvest then to share the load and distribute the produce.

I have a very dear friend that I just don't visit enough and this week will see me drop in with a load of walnuts.

My friend has the most beautiful garden, a secret oasis and a very productive oasis at that.

Every year she has something new and in abundance and this year it was (for me) a delight to see hundreds of little purple saffron. As a result of such a bumper harvest I was the very grateful recipient of a bag of saffron strands, of which I will use in lots of Indian dish's.
The same friend also grows the sweetest hazelnuts these too, are exchanged for walnuts........

Another way I love to share the walnuts is to have the wonderful darling residents of our local aged care home come and visit and collect nuts.

It is always such a delight to have their energy in our garden .They are so grateful and have so much love and appreciation.

I love to see their eyes light up and watch as they take everything in.

 I often wonder if visits to gardens and the like conjure up wonderful memories of youth because there is something in the twinkle of light in their eyes that tells me there  has been a life well lived and that there is so much life still left to live.

Sadly their bodies often tell a different story as they rely on walking frames for balance a support and getting in and out of vehicles can be for some, a mammoth effort...

Yet come they do and this Autumn the return of a friendly face of 92 plus years and a few new face's.

A wonderful sprightly gentleman, with a skip in his step and a huge energy that belied any frailty that may be present, and three lovely ladies ,one of whom was herself a great gardener and reveled in the chance to name a plant and pick a bloom and smell the duff.

My lovely friend that sang on the last visit was unable to come as his wife who was also on the last couple of visits was unwell,so although there were no songs there was plenty of gleeful chatter.

A grape by any other name

Seeds and nuts are indispensable for cardiovascular health. The protective properties of nuts against coronary heart disease were first recognized in the early 1990s, and a strong body of literature has followed, confirming these original findings.

Joel Furhman

In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.

William Blake

Plant a little patch of garden for yourself tend, it nurture it and thank it for what you get in return. 

                   ......... Little Pig.... Little Pig....

Wilbur continues to grow and like any child wants to disrupt the work and play.......

High on a hill is a lonely pig 

trying to get someone's attention because he wants to play...

Hey get back here with my glove....

OH NO Not the clean sand pile ...

Look at that cute wee bum    ....

Oh Mr Wilbur you are so cute .

You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. 

Plato

          ...................Steampunk    Yeah I like it.....................................


In the summer my husband and I went to stay by the beach near Dunedin. We went for a drive the day after we arrived at the crib.
We went to the old precinct of Oamaru.
It just happened that it was the day the Tairi train was doing its annual run to Oamaru so all along the drive people had parked up to take photo's of the old steam train.
It was a very hot dry day ...and when the train returned to Dunedin that afternoon, having visited Oamaru it caused an 12 kilometer fire to break out near Mahino.  I wonder if the train ride will now be stopped .I hope not.

What a gorgeous little railway station in Oamaru.... 

and some equally cute shops...

Beyond the railway station a building caught my eye because it looked as if there was a display train in front of it.

On closer inspection there was indeed a train and also the Steam Punk museum housed in that huge building.

Inside was fascinating ....I absolutely loved the innovative use of old mechanical rubbish set against a Victoriana type look....

and how it was transformed into art...

Giant projection screens with turning wheels and cogs

After the museum it was a quick look through town...

and whom should I happen upon but a lovely lady and friend Donna...known to all as donna Demente Artist extraordinaire

http://www.donnademente.com/

I'm always lovin her look but this particular day Donna was glowing ..

I love donna's art so a visit to her Gallery was a must...

Just have to say a big thanks to my sister in law Marie who takes the most amazing photo's ..this and the one below are hers and i love them .They have really captured Donna's Studio entrance.

Meeting up with Donna again gave me a chance to organise another workshop ...

I made these two masked at her last workshop...

I am so keen to have a steam punk workshop..

Whilst I was in Hungary in 2013 I met an amazing artist  selling his sketches and pen and ink drawings at the fishermen's bastion.I bought 4 of his paintings and had them framed for the family I stayed with I bought home prints and will get round to framing them ...I felt at the time they were sort of Sci fi fantasy...I now think they were close to being steam punk.

The Fishermans bastion is a surreal place .Well at least I thought so and I could see how it could be a place to inspire the art of steampunk.

Even by night The bastion captivated me.

“Steampunk is...a joyous fantasy of the past, allowing us to revel in a nostalgia for what never was. It is a literary playground for adventure, spectacle, drama, escapism and exploration. But most of all it is fun!” 
― George Mann

It's a nice feeling to try something new and even nicer to try something old and make it new...try it ...hope you like it .