Autumn field trip

One of the best things about my job is that I get to spend time with really interesting people, sometimes in fabulous outdoor locations.

I spent this past weekend in Victoria's south-west with nearly 60 of my post-grad students; the weather was dreamy and we explored all kinds of local landscapes.

 Coastal vegetation - a pleasing juxtaposition of lumpy and spiky forms

We saw lots of race horses out for an early morning swim

 The sea mists roll away....

 The wetlands in the crater of Tower Hill (an ancient volcano) have been replenished by recent rains.

 A jetstream sliced through the sky at dusk, as we were bathed in golden light.

My husband and dogs came along too - Gus loved the beach as always

Mesmerising!

Windcatching at Yambuk

More turbines! Nice.

The Master of all she surveys

Graduation hoopla ....
Today my mum, sister and beloved husband celebrated with me at Burnley. I'm the inaugural (yup - the one and only!) person to be awarded the Master of Urban Horticulture at the University of Melbourne.

*yay!*



As you can see, I tend to take these things extremely seriously....


Wish my dad could have been here.

Nearly there!

Today I had my very last class. Well... I say 'very last', but I probably mean 'the last one for a little while, in this particular course' (I seem to be a bit of a serial student). The finish line is in sight, and when I submit in my final three essays next week it'll all be over. Yippeeee!


Now .... um ...... is anyone able to offer me a job?!

Sunprints and calico

The recent warm and sunny weather has inspired me to make more sunprints. A couple of weeks ago I made some prints using grasses collected while camping at the Coorong, and I decided to include them in a little exhibition that our class held at Uni.

Here's the production line, when the kitchen was converted into a temporary sunprint drying room:





Our task was to produce a poster to convey our reflections on the field trip. Most of my classmates are architects (landscape or building), so they were able to produce professional-looking computer graphics.



I went super-low-tech ...





Today I'm heading over to BigCat's house for more printing fun with Reenie-Su, Curlypops and Drewzel. I'll post pics later.

Greening the Uni

Last semester I took a subject on Global Environment and Sustainability, which included regular midnight video-linked classes with colleagues in Europe and South/Central America. The students from Universidad EARTH in Costa Rica asked us how our University demonstrated its commitment to addressing climate change and other environmental issues. We were embarrassed to report that Melbourne Uni does not seem to have a proactive or enthusiastic approach.... all we could think of was that we have some recycling programs, and that the University has committed to having 5% of its energy generated from green power sources (so meagre!).

I do like to imagine a brighter future though:


:-)


~ image from Melbourne Uni's Postgraduate Environment Network

Whirlwind

Well, life would be incredibly boring if things were always predictable and easy.... today was a busy one.

I stayed with G for several hours; he's hanging in there and being very stoic. It'll be a while before he's properly mobile but I'm looking forward to having him home soon.


This afternoon my friend Leslie called to ask for some advice and help for her husband Dave, who's put his back out badly and can barely move. A complicating factor - they have an 18-month-old toddler and Leslie's due to have her second child right about now! If her new bub decides to make an entrance in the next couple of days it'll be tricky to juggle Les' transport to the hospital as well as her toddler and invalid husband .... I'm officially on call from tonight as chauffeur (chauffeuse?) and household organiser :-)

While G was sleeping today I spent a bit of time at uni - luckily the campus is just across the road from the hospital. I love the clear winter light and the Orla Kiely-style leaf shadows:





Tonight I took Gus for a much-needed walk to get some of his energy out, but I haven't made any progress on my final essay..... too tired! Time for a bath and then bed I think ....

Deadlines

I'm busy researching and writing essays these days, although I'd much rather be exploring over here, browsing and shopping here and here, learning to sew some great clothes, or making fresh pasta with this.

Oh well - back into the breach now. At least I have lots to look forward to when my uni work is all done!

Sweet autumn glow

I couldn't imagine a more superb day to be stuck on campus at Melbourne Uni .... this crisp and sunny autumn weather makes my heart sing!

Field trip

Three days of 'resilience thinking', consideration of complex adaptive systems, connectivity and people's connections to the land ...








This is Lenny Clarke, a wonderfully engaging man and Elder of of the Gunditjmara/Kirrae Wurrung people, with his recycled microwave-letterbox:


... and this was part of a museum exhibit, paper in a typewriter, that really made me feel that I'm part of the 'older generation' now! Click on the picture to enlarge it if you're having trouble reading it ....