Australian Music Legends

Established in the pioneering era, Millthorpe has a streetscape that has remained largely unchanged since the early 1900’s. The entire village is classified by the National Trust and the village centre has cobbled, bluestone bordered streets. Population is currently approx. 700 people, although on my visit, a Tuesday, the town was very quiet as you can see. The locals assured me that the town "comes alive" on weekends. Millthorpe is 3.5 hours from Sydney and Canberra, 30 minutes from Bathurst and 20 minutes from Orange – an ideal weekend getaway. The village is well known for fine dining, arts and antiques, a museum, boutique shops, hotels, wine tasting and accommodation. Millthorpe is located in Central NSW in the heart of a  cool climate wine region and is home to a vibrant community of local artists and has a diverse range of talented people living and working in the village. Millthorpe is set in a rural landscape amongst gently rolling hills with Mount Canobolas in the di...

As I started writing this morning, I glanced out of my office window and saw a male King Parrot arrive at the bird feeder. I try to keep up a nectar mixture with soaked bread, surrounded by sunflower seeds and parrot seed mix. Lorikeets arrived soon after and it was time for him to go. The Australian King Parrot ( Alisterus scapularis) is native to Eastern Australia. It Inhabits forested regions, eucalyptus wooded ares and rainforests, feeding on insects, seeds and fruits. The Rainbow Lorikeet The Rainbow Lorikeet, (Trichoglossus haematodus), inhabits rainforest, coastal woodlands and bush areas. They feed mainly on fruit and nectar and have a unique brush tongue to more easily collect nectar and pollen from flowers. Here, he uses that tongue to drink a sweet syrup and soaked bread mixture. Now that Spring has arrived, there's plenty of activity in my back garden, in and around the bird feeder. My garden from an upstairs window (where I work on my blogs about frogs). Here's ...

_________   Featured Video   _________ _______    An Inspiring Trip To Mudgee     _______ The first thing I noticed, on a recent drive out to Mudgee, was the amazing sepia colours of the landscape after passing through Lithgow. The winter grass was a distinct light straw colour in the foreground, turning to a darker brown in the distance. I promised myself I would get out the watercolours when I got home from this two day trip. Mudgee has continued to evolve into a contemporary town, while still retaining the look of it's past. This is mainly due to an influx of young families over the past ten or so years, and it's reputation as a successful wine region. I'm looking forward to an interesting and inspiring couple of days here. Advertorial _____   The Mudgee Homestead Guesthouse        _____ The Mudgee Homestead Guesthouse sits comfortably on a hillside just steep enough to afford sweeping views of the Mudgee Landscape. It is Austral...