Out walking after the rain

Although it is not officially Spring, we are having some definitely spring-like weather.  We had a looong day of rain recently, followed by a beautiful sunny day.

I visited a local park and noted the yellow gum blossoms on the ground. My friend and I speculated about whether the rainy weather might have caused it but we both agreed that it is more likely to be the outcome of cockatoo activity.

After that walk, I took our dog to Willsmere Park where the river was very muddy-looking.

I know that people have often referred to the Yarra River as the 'upside down' river and it was clear why they might say that. It looked like a path rather than water. Penny doesn't usually care, she will happily swim in it. I didn't let her swim this time though, the current was a bit too strong. 

I found this quote about the quality of the water at Wikipedia.

Water colour 

The distinctive colour of the river is easily recognisable.
The Yarra River has been derogatively called "the river that runs upside down", a jibe at its high turbidity.^[22] The muddy brown colour is caused by the easily eroded clay soils of its catchment area. The water was clear at the time of the first European settlements, but intensive land clearing and development since the mid-19th century has resulted in the presence of microscopic clay particles. The particles are kept suspended by the turbulence in some parts of the middle and lower sections of the river. When the river water combines with marine salts as it enters Port Phillip, the suspended particles clump together and sink. The presence of clay particles is not a major factor in the pollution of the river.

Looking around me

One of the things that is supposed to be coming out of our design course is that we are being encouraged to LOOK.
I have been trying, especially as I haven't been DOING very much.
I have several things to look for:

• reflections - after doing the Alison Holt course (there are some wonderful, inspiring images on her gallery pages).
• three designs that reflect mood (or similar) using colour and tone
• My Place - for the tapestry challenge

So I have been taking photos, mostly when out walking with the dog (thank heavens we have a dog, I don't think I would go out nearly as much).

Here are some images that I might develop further - who knows?

Walking at Willsmere Park this week, early because it was going to be too hot to take the dog out later.

Obviously, these are on the Reflections theme. 

i don't know how I would do them but they are lovely images. And I can feel like I am doing some work even if it is just the thinking stages. 

This seems to be enough images for today, I may post about the other two topics in the next few days. 

Beautiful Summer's Day continued.

As the day was still cool enough to take the dog out, I took her to Willsmere Park, a lovely off-lead park, and threw her toy around for her. She loves swimming, so I threw it in the river too. Then we made our way back to the car, going from shady spot to shady spot.

There was yet another bird not really bothered by our proximity.  A magpie this time.

One of my favourite trees in the park has broken limbs. It reminded me that you should not camp under such trees, no matter the wonderful shade they give!

It seemed a good source of green eucalyptus leaves but I resisted the temptation to take any, I am not unhappy with my dyeing but I don't need any more brown fabric.
However, I AM feeling inspired by Pat Scholz who has used strips of silk she dyed to weave a small tapestry. I just love the texture of it and may have to give that a go. I have plenty of silk to try it with. That can be next on my agenda, after I finish the current quilt and TIDY UP THE ROOM - not looking forward to that!

Then I got to thinking about something I seem to remember hearing when at primary school - too long ago to tell. I have this idea that we were told that gum trees (eucalypts) turn their leaves sideways to the sun to conserve moisture. "I'll search the internet about that and find out for sure" I thought to myself. Well, I came across this article. It appears that some leaves do but not on a daily basis, just as they age on the tree - that is, if I have understood the article which is in doubt.

I was also reminded of the sessions I used to have with parents where I would give them an article to read. They could read the article aloud but most could not tell the group what it was about - context and prior knowledge being sooooo important.  Phonic knowledge lets you read the words aloud, we know how to sound them out, we know particular spelling patterns and how to say them, but that doesn't tell us what the meaning is. Well, this is one of those articles! Have a go, see if you can read it.  I must admit I only read a few paragraphs and then skipped to the conclusion - something we were always taught was a very important part of any writing you did in this vein.