South Westward to Camperdown

On territory originally belonging to the Djargurd Wurrung Aboriginal people, Camperdown, in Victoria's south-western 'Lakes and Craters' region, was first settled by Europeans in the 1830s.

One of the most historically intact towns in Victoria, it's also one of the most handsome, with many fine buildings, such as the bluestone Post Office, built in 1863, above.

I've just recently enjoyed a few days there, staying with my very good friend, Ian...despite dog unused to car = trauma.

The town is built up against two wonderful extinct volcanic craters, one of which, Mount Leura, you can see in the background above.

 

It's noted for its gothic 'Manifold Clock Tower', built in 1897, donated to the town by its pioneering  landowning family.

It's easy to believe you've stepped back in time - a quality, along with its civility, which I treasure. 

Above is the Anglican church, erected by the Manifold family in 1894.

I liked this image of a garden, with what was once the local dairy behind it.

In another part of town sits this wonderful urn, completely safe outside beside the pavement.

I'm very fond of this old fence, built from local basalt, guarding its bluestone house.

Above is the splendid Uniting Church.

Here, a group of eucalypts in a park, that caught my eye.

Above, the Georgian Court House, built 1886-1887. It's time now, of course, to get stuck into gardening...

AUGUST CRASH SITE - GARDENER PARALYSED

A not infrequent shutdown of my computer - due to a malfunctioning electrical connection - has disabled my current attempts to bloggeract with the wider world. I'm hoping it's shortlived...

The Emerging Wood: a Tribute

This construction is a tribute to all and any who follow, read or glance at this blog...without you I'd be less connected to the world and less yielding. I value the connection I have with you. Thankyou.

Enigma of the Eucalypt

Among trees, Eucalypts express an Australian will to survive that can be anything from precarious to heroic. Here where I live, are some of them. Scarred and twisted: 

Handsome and refined:

Whippet-thin, leaning whichever way:

Each tree uniquely textured:

Evocative:

Contorted:

Some with skin almost human:

Rugged:

Giant:

Hapless Days: a Gardener Undone

Not everything goes according to plan in The Garden of Earthly Delights...
Before you know it, fate is looming up at you...

Protect yourself from mishap by selecting only the finest labour-saving devices...

Good outdoor seating is guaranteed to have you surrounded by chatty friends...

Provide top-class barbecue facilities for unforgettable afternoons...

Discourage friends from daring acrobatics...

Those closest to you can lose their footing in the blink of an eye...

A quick and masterful eye detects hapless blows before they come hammering down...

Nothing says "style" so much as hi-tech equipment. You'll need it to be ready for tomorrow's stunning opportunities... 

A Pioneer's Out Back Trek

Grabbing the opportunity to soak up the winter sun and leave the wearying world of relentless work behind me, I packed a few life-support essentials and took myself to the outer reaches of the property for a bit of field observation... 

Now the drought is officially over, I'm hoping to get some of the plumbing repaired...

There ARE alternative water-sources, though, and handy little footbridges to reach them with... 

At last - my hideout - Australian vernacular architecture at its finest!

Others may have their gaudy palaces, but we in this land of bleaching sunlight are masters of the insubstantial, the perilous, the transitory...

How many artisans laboured here, burnt to a crisp, you ask...

Life is really a very simple matter of taking the world with you wherever you go...

Man can't live on bread and water alone, but adequately provisioned, the world is his oyster...

Not for me the fluff of the metropolis...

Observant as I am, I observe that Man needs no folly but to evacuate himself to the horizons...

Wherever he looks, Man shall behold beauty of one sort or another...

I cast my eyes about me, and see light in all, no darkness. Some would call this a wood-heap, but I see in it the way of the future...

There's always reason to revel...

Or just switch off. No doubt there will be further treks into territories unknown, if I'm not altogether lost in revelry. But I would sooner go to where there is nothing, than to where there is everything...