Blue Wheelers...

Blue Wheelers mobile dog wash and grooming have been really clever with the design for their portable grooming salons.

I also like the name, which I believe is a play on words of blue heelers, the iconic Australian cattle dogs.

This was the first time I had seen one of these, it not only made me smile immediately, but I also thought what a brilliant way to get people to take notice. I actually would have loved to have a peek inside.

It made me wonder if other countries have mobile dog spas. 

And if so, are any of their trailers as inventive as this one...

 

My New Hobby...

My new hobby of the last few months has been dabbling with watercolour painting.

I have never been into art before, well apart from photography, so it's all extremely new to me.

I started off with blobby birds, which I have tweaked and fiddled around with for many weeks.

Today I tried something new.

An owl.

It's taken a while to get a feeling for how the paints work, finding the right paper and brushes.

The many tutorial videos on YouTube I've watched make it look so incredibly easy.

Easy it isn't!

The owl is my favourite piece so far.

And I tried something different.

While the watercolor paint was still wet I used a black acrylic pen to add a bit of a contrast.

I wasn't prepared for how this would run, but I am thrilled with the result.

Obviously, I just had to start with something natural, and birds seem to be the perfect subject.

My attempt at trees is totally abstract, I really don't know what I am doing, but I had a go. 

And that in my point of view is the whole reason of trying something new.

It doesn't have to be perfect, just simply have a go, and let go of any expectations.

It's incredibly relaxing and fun.

I do wonder how this hobby will unfold over the coming months and perhaps years...

 

A Visit To...

A visit to Lake Leschenultia in September, somehow I missed posting these views. I do recall how dry everything was as we were beginning to head out of a virtually rain free winter. The lake at this stage was very low, dangerously so. By September, normally the lake is overflowing with the cascade running, it didn't even get close to full this year.

There is always something to see in the loop around the lake. Flowers were fairly abundant. Ducks were spread around, one family with four ducklings that I encounter towards the end of my walk had a raven attempting to take one of the ducklings. I went and stood guard until it flew away.

Apart from the ducks, the only other form of life I encountered was a clump of sawfly caterpillars which were traveling across the track. Travelling in clumps is safer when they are out in the open...