Pools and twisted gums

Just north of Meekatharra we again stopped at Bilyuin Pool. It is a great spot to camp with a long permanent pool in the middle of dry flat mulga country. On both our visits the surrounding country has seemed bare, grey and drought stricken. The pool is on the headwaters of the Murchison River, which true to form for northern rivers, is not so much a river, but more of a watercourse and occasional river. This is station country and the cattle came in for a drink in the morning, and mooched around munching on the green feed in the watercourse, keeping their distance from us of course.

 We camped beside the big pool this time, the other smaller pools were dry this visit.

Our camp is under the white gums on the distant left

There were a different range of birds this time. I loved watching the black-tailed native hens grazing on the short grass on the pool edges and feeding in the shallows. They behave rather like chooks, just very shy, running through the shallows and taking off into the bush when disturbed.

Black-tailed native hens

There were both black fronted dotterels and red kneed dotterels feeding by the water's edge.

Black Fronted Dotterel with worm

Away from the watercourse country I saw pairs of red winged wrens feeding in the shrubs. Black faced cuckoo shrikes blended in beautifully with the colours of the white gums. 

Black-faced cuckoo shrike

I love the forms of massed white gum trunks and the twisted shapes of branches against the blue sky.

More shades of black and white. The ubiquitous willie wagtail. Always cheerfully chirruping and flitting over the water after insects. One morning a willie wagtail attacked a crow down by the waters edge, then four white plumed honeyeaters promptly attached the willy wagtail, chasing it across the water. Nesting season must be in full swing.

And finally, a Nicotiana flower sprouting from a sandy watercourse.

Blue and yellow

Leschenaultia growing on road side

Here is a little bit of colour as we travelled up north, while still in cropping country. 

It reminds me of a story we heard from a fellow traveller. He was given instructions for where to go to see the wonderful wildflowers in the region, which he and his wife did. They took all day and they were thrilled with the colouful display in the bush. The same instructions were given to another couple. They were only gone for a couple of hours at the most. When asked what happened they said 'Oh we saw valleys full of beautiful yellow wildflowers, so we didn't need to go any further.They were stunning.' 

Canola fields

Those fields full of yellow were of course canola fields, not wild flowers. 

So long as they were happy

Prospector and Dreamer

We found a beautiful campsite just out of Mount Magnet, beside a thicket of cool and shady pepper trees, in the ghost town of Lennonville.

We camped on the other side of these pepper trees

It seems William Louis Smith had loved it too. Under the trees in the dense shade was a plaque remembering him: 1910 - 1996, loved father and grandfather, prospector and dreamer. The camp has a freestanding fireplace and hearth; the rectangle in the picture. There are wires strung up on which to hang shadecloth, a comfy chair and tables made from heavy machinery parts.

Camp for dreaming

Above in the trees was an occupied bird of prey nest; we heard the young calling to the parents. I think they were whistling kites. My bird book describes them as scruffy gingery birds. At sunrise three birds sunned themselves in first warming rays. (And a happy camper in William Louis Smith's camp could do the same.) 

Whistling kites 

Lennonville was established in 1898 when gold was found there. In it's heyday it boasted five pubs, and a railway line servicing the population of up to 3,000 people. The Welcome Gold Mine, just two miles north of Lennonville, produced nearly 5,000 ounces of gold.  

Mining ruins

One strike there was particularly rich producing up to seven ounces of gold to the ton of ore. The story goes that a favoured Sunday outing for people was to go to the mine to marvel at the dazzling display of gold in the richest veins. I can just imagine ladies in long skirts and gentlemen in dapper duds ooing and aahing in the heat and dust. 

The only thing left standing in Lennonville

From 1905 the town and gold dwindled in tandem with each other. A fire in 1909 destroyed the main part of town hastening it's decline into a ghost town. 

Lennonville railway platform

As to William Louis Smith, we know nothing more. 

But it surely helps to be a dreamer chasing gold out here; it is a tough environment. 

Then again, perhaps all prospectors are dreamers?

Twisting vine

Jimmy Pike

On the evening before we took off on our holidays we saw the Jimmy Pike exhibition You call it desert, we used to live there at the Albany Museum. It was a set of about fifty artline drawings from the Berndt Museum of Anthropology collection chosen from about 250 drawings in total. The Berndt Museum, part of the University of Western Australia, holds collections of Aboriginal art and cultural materials as well as items from Melanesia, and South East Asia.

This exhibition was timely for us as we are heading up that way as I type this now.

Pike's works were extremely bold and colourful. I was particularly taken by his vibrant flower drawings.

Partiri (flowers)

Partiri (flowers)

Kakarra, Karla,Kayili, Kurlurla
Sunshine on one side, other side dark  

He also painted his traditional country. The image above is sand dune country showing the strong light and shadows that are present there.

Some of his drawings were of traditional cultural stories and he also drew stories from his own life.

Dreamtime story

Headband

Having an Xray

Wirl (Falling star)

Apparently Pike was hit and knocked out by a falling star as a young boy. A strong medicine man revived him. Because of this Pike often drew falling stars and stars as they were an important symbol to him. 

Pike, a member of the Walmajarri people, was born on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert in 1940. He lived a nomadic life with his family until they left the desert to settle on cattle stations in the early 1950's. He was introduced to Western style painting in 1981 and continued to paint until his death in 2002.

Link to a virtual tour of the exhibition here.

Firing into the night

I have been playing with clay recently something which I have hardly touched since I was still a teenager. Part of the fun this time around has been experimenting with raku and pit firing. All this has was done in the few weeks before we headed off on our holidays.

Raku firing in the rain

Flaming hot!

Looking inside the bin raku kiln

The smoking sawdust before the lid went on

Raku pot which had been thinly glazed in part

Raku pot

Raku pot which had been thinly glazed in part

Pit fire with copper flame visible

All these firings, bar one, went on into the night. A good way to keep warm in the middle of winter.

Pit fired pot which had been painted with cobalt sulphate

Pot which had been painted with iron sulphate solution

Pit fired pot which had been painted with copper sulphate

The raku pots were textured with carved lino blocks with a banksia theme and the pit fired pots were textured with pressings from banksia leaves, nuts and flowers. All this was inspired by some research I had read about. Some CSIRO reseachers had tracked singing honeyeaters to find out where they travelled. They flew up to about twelve kilometres from their normal home range just to get to a small banksia patch to feed on the blossom there. An amazing feat for such tiny birds.

This last photo was taken at Bilyuin Pool last night. Here I am doing an experimental firing and cooking up some textiles at the same time . The pool is in the background reflecting the lovely white eucalypt trunks in the evening light.

Mauve hakeas, red dirt and Bilbies

Check out the colour of this Hakea rhombales. I think it is fantastic. I first saw it in flower on a trip to the Carnarvon Ranges back in 2000. I determined then I would one day grow it in my garden. It has been a long time coming but here are images of the first flowers in my own garden. This hakea which I grew from seed, was planted about eight years ago when we first moved here. It pays to be patient.  

To the Ngaatatjarra people this plant is known as Walukarra.  Hakea rhombales was first collected by Ernest Giles in 1876 on his fifth journey into the arid regions of Australia. His party began at Perth, headed up towards the Ashburton River then travelled inland across the Gibson Desert. The hakea grows on red sand and loam dunes and sandplains. On this trip it was growing on the sandplains at the base of the Carnarvon Ranges in the Little Sandy Desert.

Currently access to the Carnarvon Ranges is closed while the Birriliburu native title custodians of the land work out conditions and management of access to this area for the general public.

Here is just a taster of the Carnarvon Ranges. We were fortunate to travel there in the year before access to the area was restricted. Our first stop was at Virgin Springs. Here there was a seep in the rocks which we camped well away from as many birds came in to drink during the day. 

Here are emus coming in to drink. They are well camouflaged in this environment. A little way down from here was a small pool at which we saw finches, budgies and birds of prey.

An old and gnarled tree growing beside Talbot Rockhole.

Serpent's Glen has this lovely copse of white trunked eucalypts growing at the base of the rocks.

The bark of a minni richi acacia glows against the sunlight.

In some survey work done in the last few years colonies of Mulgara and Bilbies were found in this area - fantastic! For information about the work that is currently being done in the area by the Birriliburu people in conjunction with biodiversity experts, anthropologists and DEC follow this link here.

Charmed feathers

My parents stayed with us a little while ago; Dad had been invited to give a talk to a local community group. One morning he spied a heron flying overhead and remarked it looked like the flight of a white-necked heron rather than the ubiquitous white faced heron. I'd never seen them around and said it was sure to be the common variety.

A few days after Mum and Dad had left I saw a strange large white necked bird down by our dam. Hmmm. Perhaps Dad was right after all.

Yesterday I saw it again and grabbed my camera and stalked it from bush to bush as I headed down the hill towards our dam. The bird knew I was there, staring at me, and moving slowly about it's business. It's long white neck waved from side to side, a bit like the cobras being sung to by Indian snake charmers. I don't know if the snakes really do sway from side to side, but it is how I remember them being portrayed.

The bird in turn was stalking things in the grass, perhaps looking for tasty frogs or grasshoppers. But why it had a swaying neck - it's head stayed steady - is still a puzzle.

When I was too close for comfort it flapped over to the other side of the dam. The bird eyeballed me again then came in closer for a drink. The double row of spots on the neck are sported by juveniles. The neck is all white on adult birds. As the birds grow up to a metre in height they are quite impressive.

This bird is sporting plum coloured breeding plumes. I think it looks magnificent. In the south they generally breed in spring to early summer, building a nest in a mature tree near water.

Finally it had had enough of me snapping pictures of it from behind a small tree. It gave a harsh guttural croaking call and slowly flapped off up the valley.