Lovely Simple Song

Free Design - Love You

How to live a money-less life by Mark Boyle

Dry Land Crop - The Sunny Cowgirls

I wonder if they will feel exactly the same way when they are 46?

Docktober

Well there are no boats in my photos this month. But I do have this photo of the Tarrawingee cemetary, which reminds me of the Docker family, Docker the place and Oxley Plains and a vague memory of Dockers Plains.

I got all excited as google turned up a lady with the same name as one of my ancestors who lived in Dockers Plains and had made a very interesting quilt. It was made from blue bags. What are blue bags? It seems like they are things that bluing was wrapped in. Is that possible? Blue was added to the laundry in those days. Here it is in the National Quilt Register.

"DOCKER, JOSEPH (1793-1865), Church of England clergyman and settler, was born at Newby Head, Westmorland, England, the youngest son of William Docker and his wife Jane, née Betham. He was educated at Appleby Grammar School in Westmorland and at Oxford, was ordained deacon in 1817 and priest in 1818 by the bishop of Carlisle, and appointed curate at North Meols, Lancashire. In September 1823 he became assistant curate to his brother William, who held a living in Southport, Lancashire. He married Sarah Bristow of Liverpool and in 1828 sailed with her for Sydney. Their first child, Mary Jane, was born on the voyage. They arrived in November 1828, and next June Joseph Docker became rector of St Matthew's Church, Windsor.

He resigned in March 1833 and bought Clifton, an estate near Windsor, which he farmed for four years. Encouraged by accounts of Major (Sir) Thomas Mitchell's explorations, he decided to move to the Port Phillip District and take up a run. In February 1838 he set out with his wife, five children, servants, a flock of sheep, some cattle and a boat. The party travelled in covered bullock-wagons and carts through Goulburn and Yass, and crossed the Murray at the Crossing-Place (Albury). In September 1838 he arrived at the Ovens River where he heard of a hut and a run on plains called Bontharambo by the Aboriginals. The run had been deserted by George Faithful, whose shepherds had been murdered by Aboriginals. Docker took possession of the hut and obtained the squatting rights. His kind and understanding attitude to the Aboriginals was rewarded by their friendship and help, and for many years they held corroborees on the island in the lagoon not far from the house. Depression and drought in 1842 did not affect Bontharambo as severely as they did some other stations in the district. By 1844 a larger slab house with bark roof was built to provide more comfort for Docker's growing family. He prospered and within a few years began building a large stone mansion; 400 tons of granite, carted from Beechworth by bullock-wagon, were used in the foundations. By that time he had ten children.

In 1851 he visited England with his wife. Bontharambo remained in the possession of the Docker family and became famous for its stud of Aberdeen Angus cattle. The house has been preserved in almost its original state, but the pioneer's vineyard, orangery and other features have disappeared. He died on 10 April 1865, survived by six of his eleven children.

Joseph Docker was a man of wide education, a classical scholar, an enterprising and successful farmer and pastoralist, well known in the Wangaratta district as a just and kindly man and a respected pioneer." ~ From the Australian Dictionary of Biography.

To me the house was beautiful, and hard to see from the road. I always wanted to go visit it. Isn't Bontharambo a beautiful name. I read a book about it once, not sure what it was called. Maybe A Saddle At Bontharambo?

Gardens in the Street

I was reading a post about the roadside plantings in Tennessee. I agree they are beautiful. I know a town that has extra little bulbs and annuals and things in the street plantings. It is beautiful sometimes. This particular garden had gorgeous nerines under the gum tree last autumn, and this is the winter version.

My favourite red grass

I have talked about it on the internet before. It brings me lots of joy.

I came across some while I was photographing a church. It grows in our street, I haven't seen any in other parts of Victoria.

For ages now, well a month or two, I have been looking at a red native grass, that grows at least in a 50 mile radius of here. There is one piece in our nature strip. It grows by the roadside, and during the drought made a stunning display.

Yesterday (May 24, 2007) I drove through bush areas and saw Crimson Rosellas I think, feeding on it by the side of the road. It was a sight I haven't seen before, and special I think. Not only do I love the grass, now in autumn you can see birds on it feeding.

Minibeasts

This week I seem to be writing about bugs. It started off in one of those memes where you write facts about yourself, and I wrote that I am not scared of spiders. However, if there is a white tipped spider running around the walls at 10pm, I definitely call for hubby.

Then there was the post on my other blog, a photo for the day, and I chose a Christmas beetle.

My comments to my posts where interesting: post 1, post 2.

Sandra said...

*shiver* I really really dislike bugs, it's neat up close but I'm glad I'm not the one holding it LOL

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Amanda said...

I enjoyed reading your answers and was surprised to find a lady who is not scared by spiders. Good on you!

Last Saturday we found some more baby ladybirds at our new house. My little girl had found some in the shasta daisies earlier, though I didn't get a photograph of them.





This is an orb spider curled up. I'm sorry I don't even like that photo particularly. It was interesting to me though because I have only seen them in their webs in the day time. The Canberra Zoo had an orb spider last autumn and made it into an exhibit outside.



This is a different photo of the Christmas beetle you can see his eyes.



"During Christmas I was disappointed I didn't see any Christmas beetles. Yesterday I walked to the shops with the two little girls and this was my reward. I saw three. They are all dead, which is quite often the case with Christmas beetles when you see them, and this one was undamaged.

Now I am happy."

Apparently my husband and daughter saw some under a light on their early morning walk with the dog also, before I did.

In Australia we don't call everything bugs as a group. We don't usually use minibeasts either. That is something I learnt from children's TV or something like that.

I wonder why I don't mind spiders and can have beetles on my hand?

I enjoyed looking at the creatures that came out of the firewood when I was little. They are nice minibeasts. My second enjoys looking at them too.

My Mum was always coming across worms when she dug the vegetable garden. I remember enjoying the garden one particular day because it had cape gooseberries in it. I had a friend, a boy, who I went fishing with. I originally learnt to fish by watching my Dad fish.

After that my husband used to find things in the garden for my little boys to enjoy.

Apart from that, I'll have to have a think and see what other part insects etc. played in my life. I know at school we used to like to catch grasshoppers.