Out and about - the oldest stone bridge in Australia (apart from Tasmania)

I've gone on a bit about a bridge near me - Knapsack Bridge, but I thought I should introduce you to an older bridge, in fact the oldest stone arch bridge on the mainland. (There is an older one in Tasmania!)

It is on a (now) little-used road, but it was the main route west from Sydney from 1833 until 1926.

It is a very fine sandstone arch.
Don't you just love a nice self-supporting arch?

The stone was quarried from not far away, just up the track and you can see where it was dug out.

On one side the keystone (the bigger light one) has the name of the bridge-maker - David Lennox.

The other side has the date.

There's a walking track that goes up one side of the creek and then down the other...

I used to ride my bike down here and then along the paths but they got very eroded and today was wet and muddy....so I walked.
That was just before the thunder and rain.

Wordless Wednesday - regeneration and regrowth after the fire.

Out and about - Norman Lindsay Gallery and cafe

Norman Lindsay is Australia's (arguably) best-known artist.
He was certainly prolific, and is in it's day his work was very controversial.
His love of the female form was the source of much of his inspiration and he created a wealth of painting, drawings, sculptures and etchings with very bohemian and decadent subjects.
He also wrote - some of his works were banned, but his best know story "The Magic Pudding" is well-known and loved.
Thankfully his home near me in the Blue Mountains has been preserved....and was thankfully saved during the recent bushfires.
There is also a delightful cafe....so many reasons to visit.

MIA and trying to get back to normal.

I've been missing in action....or rather, INaction!

The reason is - the bushfires.
I find it impossible to concentrate on anything, get much done beyond the basics.
Just survive - eat, drink, sleep.
Oh, and sit on facebook with its updates from various local groups about the fires.

There is a Blue Mountains firewatch page as well as the NSWFRS page and many local Rural Fire Brigades have their own pages.
It's all rivetting.

Within hours, or sooner there was a facebook Blue Mountains Fire Recovery page - with all sorts of offers of help.
It was truly amazing!
People have donated food, clothes, furniture, cars and offers of accommodation.
A mind-boggling amount of stuff has been collected and in fact the collection centres very soon had to close their doors to more donations as they were overflowing.
There are fundraising events - sausage sizzles, garage sales, concerts and who knows what else!

People have offered to help others clean up.
Have offered to look after pets and other animals.
A page was set up to share dresses for year 12 formals.

Then on Wednesday the weather was forecast to be severe again - hot with strong northerly winds and we were advised that if we didn't have to be in the mountains then we should leave!
When Mr planet came home from work on Tuesday evening I asked him if he was going to work the next day? He seemed slightly bemused.
Then I explained about the message from the RFS and he decided to stay to defend the house and as per our plan I would go.
So I packed all our photographs - yes, ALL out photographs, despite Mr planet saying I shouldn't.
I took some clothes.
I took our fabulously expensive sleeping bags, mats and tent. (At least then we would have something to sleep in).
And I took pretty much ALL my beads.
.....and some findings and such.

The house was well- prepared - gutters cleaned and plugged, anything flammable was moved away from the house, buckets and garbage bins filled with water. Towels out ready.
Hoses at the ready.

Cat was dispatched to a friend's house - much to her disgust!

Me? I had a lovely sleepover at my daughter's place near the beach.

And the fires? They didn't come this way.
Such a relief.
So grateful to the firies who put in a mammoth effort to back burn and put in containment lines and put out spot fires and all that other stuff that they do.

Anyway - it is all hugely distracting as you can imagine.

I am trying to get back to normal.
I have brought my beads back in - but now I can't find anything!
Some stuff is still in the car and the photos stayed at their beachside retreat.

The cat was retrieved from behind friend's computer desk and is acting like nothing happened.
Half her luck!

Bushfires

Yes, I live in a beautiful part of the world....but there is a downside.
We are OK where we are at the moment although we were on alert yesterday as the fires were heading in our direction, but they didn't get there thanks goodness.

However some areas were hit badly.
People we know have lost their homes.

photo by Jason Webster via Blue Mountains Gazette

via Blue Mountains Gazette

More than 20 fires are still burning in NSW.
An estimated 200 homes have been destroyed.

via Blue Mountains Gazette

via Blue Mountains Gazette

When a bushfire strikes like this, people have very little warning, people were at work or out for the day they have no chance to take anything with them.
Everything is lost - everything.
It is unimaginable.

Donations are being accepted now by the Salvation Army and the Red Cross - every little bit helps.

Weekend wanderings - blogtoberfest 2013 day 13.

We went for a bushwalk.
It was meant to be an easy little jaunt....but turned into a 3 1/4 hour epic!

We started in Glenbrook where unfortunately there has been some recent burning of the bush - deliberate (as in hazard reduction) or accidental (as in actual bushfire) we weren't sure as the bush wasn't completely burnt and it was only on one side of the path.

We were descending to Glenbrook creek which is actually a lot further away than it looks here -

Down at creek level, there are lots of nice swimming holes.

Mr planet contemplating the water -

There isn't really a track along the creek, but a bit of a foot pad and walking involved a fair bit of rock-hopping, scrambling and pushing through bushes.
It's not that hard, I just wasn't in the mood for it.

It was a bit warm.

So eventually we did go for a dunk in the water - which was surprisingly cold!
And there are no pictures as we had to skinny-dip.

It cooled us off before the climb out and back along the fire trail to the car.

Out and about - a new market in my 'hood.

I love markets!
I loved markets long before I became a stallholder and there used to be just one market in my 'hood many years ago.
Now it seems that there are markets everywhere, every weekend - springing up like mushrooms!

It's so nice to go to a market as a visitor/customer...no getting up at sparrowfart, no lugging all your stuff there and then packing up again...what a treat!
It's also so nice that there is a new market just a short distance from home - and it is on a Sunday.
Plus it was a glorious day!

Mr planet quite likes markets too, but gets a bit bored if I find people I know to chat to (which often happens)...but we met up again at the cake stall.

Ham designs

Alison Dickin Botanical Art

Morish Morsels

This market is held at Blaxland Public School on the Great Western highway at Blaxland, in the Blue Mountains on the 2nd Sunday of the month.
It's worth a look.