Scribble Picnic - TREE

Hello dear Readers,

My entry for Scribble Picnic this week will only be a rough sketch and far from complete. Lucky for me, works-in-progress are happily accepted. Why not come along and join in on the fun each week. To find out how, click HERE.

This week's theme is - TREE. I adore trees and I often sketch them. One of my favourite trees is the Queensland Bottle Tree.  It's botanical name is Brachychiton rupestris and this is one I sketched on location way back in 2010. 

I decided to go with Queensland Bottle trees for this week's theme too. This is as far as I have managed but I have a lot more elements to add, including some Aussie wildlife....to be completed and posted at a later date so stay tuned... I sketched this with ballpoint pen and my trusty Platinum Carbon fountain pen, when it doesn't decide to leak into the lid, that is. I love sketching with fountain pens!

To see the work of other Scribble Picnickers for this week, click HERE. 

Last week, two of my sons and I took a trip up to Tamborine Mountain, one of our favourite destinations. The weather was a bit iffy but we didn't let it stop us.  

As I've said before, I adore trees and love to sketch and photograph them. Check out this tall boy.

What could be better than a rain-forest trail walk with trees galore?!

We walked to Curtis Falls

Rocky area beside the falls

Mountain views 

Bradley, my eldest, with Aaron, my youngest. 

Sculpture - Visiting Earth Angel 

After a lovely day on the mountain, we headed home.  I'm so glad we didn't let the forecast of rain stop us as there was only one light rain shower the whole time we were there. 

I hope you are all enjoying a beautiful week!

A trail walk and some sketches

Yesterday, Bradley, Aaron, and I went on a day trip to Mount Tamborine. It turned out to be quite a hot and humid day up on the mountain. We decided to go on a trail walk to Cameron Falls — a 2.6km return walk.  The trail had lots of rocky steps and was quite narrow in areas with a steep drop on one side.  That made Bradley quite nervous but he held onto my arm the whole way so I could guide him through it.

A concrete bridge across a small creek bed

Some huge and interesting trees along the way

Root mass of a palm tree

It was quite dense in areas and we even came across the odd flower or two

and the occasional scrub turkey

We made it to the lookout but we were a little disappointed to find that Cameron Falls was little more than a trickle off the cliff face at this time of year.

Beautiful views though. We weren't looking forward to the trek back as it was mostly uphill, rough in areas, and it was still very humid.

We headed home mid-afternoon, worn out from our trail walk but filled with a sense of satisfaction.

Below are a couple of sketches from my week. 

First up — Lemons!

Bradley had an Occupational Therapy appointment on Wednesday and his therapist mentioned that an Irish entertainer would be performing in the Mater Mothers hospital foyer at lunch-time so we stayed around to see it.

I did the following pen sketch from a photo I took of Shane playing the guitar and singing.

And finished him up with some watercolour and coloured pencils.

I'm linking up with Sunday Sketches this week hosted by the amazing author/illustrator, Alexandra Macvean. To see the work of other participants, click HERE.

We are getting some rain at the moment and I sure hope it cools things down. It's very muggy right now. I hope you are enjoying a lovely weekend.

a day trip to the mountain and a birthday

A few weeks ago, 

Beau, Aaron, and I went on a day trip 

to Mount Tamborine. 

Beau had heard there was a 

Local Artisan Fayre 

and wanted to go along for some inspiration. 

We did connect with one lovely artist,
Sharon McLeod,
a Bohemian faery artist. 

I bought a set of Sharon's Animal Tarot cards

as well as some of her gift cards. 

I liked her style.

Afterwards, we had veggie burgers 

and hot chips at a local eatery. 

SO yummy!

Then we decided to take a walk 

through the rainforest.

Aaron (youngest son) was such a sweetie,
he kept looking back to see if I was okay.

A downed tree still clutching a big boulder in its roots.

This is a male Australian Scrub/Brush Turkey
I was SO close to him but all he was focused on
was building his mound (the slope behind him).
The males build huge mounds of leaf litter and debris
to attract a female scrub turkey.
The female will then dig a hole in her chosen mound,
lay the eggs,
and the male will cover it over
and maintain the mound until the chicks hatch.
The mound also acts as a safe haven for the chicks as they grow.

We walked to Curtis Falls

Aaron and Beau

The rainforest has LOTS of tall trees
which act as a canopy and protection
keeping the temperature within the rainforest
much lower than outside.
Perfect for a hot day!

the tree below made me think of Celtic knots

and this tree had formed a ring with its above ground root system

a perfect place to nestle in for the night

here I am
sitting on the edge

**************************************

Today, December 23rd, is Aaron's 17th birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AARON! 

You make me very proud to be your Mum.
Love you heaps, my son. xoxo