The Continuing Story of Our Possum Charlie

 A month ago we noticed that there was pile of vegetation on our bathroom window-sill. A nice warm and sheltered spot. J shone a light onto what looked like a furry brown lump in what was obviously a nest of some sort and was greeted by a BIG round eye!!! A young Ringtail Possum! They are a protected species here in Australia. We named him Charlie. 

Over some days he continued to work on his nest, adding branches from our Conifer tree outside the window, slowly denuding it and leaving a sorry mess on the floor outside.  One day J took it upon himself to remove the nest in the middle of the night when Charlie was out foraging (possums are nocturnal). Lo and behold Charlie then moved his nest into the Conifer tree! 

If he didn't make so much mess (vegetation and poop) we would have loved to have a possum to watch but this was just too much, we had to move him along. J poked a broomstick into the tree next morning and had a startled Charlie leap onto on his shoulder and scamper away! 

Next day Charlie was back in the Conifer again.

I read that possums hate the smell of Blood and Bone fertilizer. A generous sprinkle of the fertilizer around the Conifer tree made Charlie vacate his Conifer abode but he didn't go far – just across the courtyard into our Bay Tree where he continued to make a daily mess of vegetation and poop. 

J took a broom to the Bay tree one day and out popped TWO Charlies which scampered away!! One morning we dislodged Charlie who sat on our clothes hoist long enough for me to take a photo. He was scungy and his fur was bristling. Certainly not the cute fluffy critters you see in photos in Google!

Now a month later, he seems to have moved away! A friend told me that Possums live in about 5 different abodes... 

#Sailorfude pen, watercolour, #MoleskineWatercolourNotebook, 5 x 8.25”

 

Garbage Collection Rituals

Just a view from our window, catching the last of the afternoon light. I never knew so many cars came, parked and went.

We have 3 bins - green (rubbish, collected weekly), red (green waste and kitchen scraps, collected fortnightly) and blue (recyclables, collected fortnightly). We share the bin area with our neighbour behind us.

Each of the countries we’ve lived in had different and interesting garbage collection methods but unfortunately I wasn’t a sketcher then and never documented the rituals.

#Sailorfude pen, watercolour,#Stillman&Birn Zeta Sketchbook, 7.5”x 7.5”

Winter's Dying Light

 I vowed to keep a Garden Journal for 12 months and the time will be up in 3 weeks at the end of our winter.

Still waiting to have my second cataract operation (and not being able to get used to my new one eyed bifocals), I tried sketching this without any glasses.  I am pleased with the result! 

This is a familiar scene for me, I guess it helps when you know the subject.  It's our tiny courtyard garden in the dying light of an unusually sunny winter afternoon.

Art teachers always tell you to squint (or remove your glasses) so you can’t see details. I presently have in-built slightly blurry vision so that is an asset! 

Should I add more or leave the blank space for some text!?

#Sailorfude pen, watercolour, #Stillman&Birn Beta Sketchbook, 5.5”x8.5” 

 

Sarracenia (Trumpet Pitchers)

 Another page from my Garden Journal. We bought these 2 Sarracenia (Trumpet Pitcher) plants last December from Mitre 10 in Beaconsfield during our summer and they did well in a sheltered spot under our bird bath. (Mitre 10 is mainly a hardware store but they do sell some interesting plants!). I sketched them from life over a period of several days April-June but only added the text today. They've now withered and are dormant over the winter. Going by the advice I read from a business that specializes in these plants, we have cut them back to within a couple of inches from the base.  Hopefully when spring comes in September we will see them come back to life!

#Sailorfude pen, watercolour, #Stillman&Birn Beta Sketchbook, 5.5”x8.5”