Krampus - Santa's evil twin

Not everyone knows about the famous Krampus, so I thought I would share what I have learned.
Santa Claus (St. Nicholoas) comes at Christmas time to see all the good children. However he has a darker twin called Krampus who has been reputed to beat children, or even kidnap them and keep them for a year in his lair.

Not someone you want to meet at Christmas time

Many countries in Europe now have parades with young men dressed as Krampus scaring onlookers!

This Greeting card from 1900's says Greetings from Krampus!!

This fantastic film from 2015 gives you a great insight into the character Krampus
Watch the trailer if you are game:

Lost Girl episode "Groundhog Fae" features Krampus in all his glory - here is the trailer:

You can watch the whole episode here:

                                                     If all that has been too scary -
                                      The link below takes you to a really cute animated clip:

                    http://screen-novelties.com/greetings-from-krampus/#.Wj-CVFVsbct

November in the Temperate Deciduous forest

This delightful perfume from For Strange Women on Etsy

is a must have for all  forest dwelling faeries!!

                                     you can find this perfume and more exotic delights here
                                                    For Strange Women on Etsy

The Amazing Lyrebird

This amazing little bird can be found in Australian forests

Watch this video by David Attenborough to see why this little fellow is so unusual!!

An old classic

                                  An old classic clip from the eighties.. Just because I can.

                                             Do tell me what you think in the comments...

Nest boxes for your wildlife garden

We have an abundance of wildlife moving into the garden so we decided to put in some nest boxes.
These required a little construction as they arrive flat -packed, but this was easy and after a quick couple of coats of paint to protect them from our harsh Australian sun they were ready to install.

Here is a short video showing the boxes we installed -

We purchased our boxes in Australia from www.nestingboxes.com.au
If you search on the internet most countries have a company making these - or you could make your own.

The Beautiful Faery Garden of Bruno Torfs

Image from: Brunosart.com

Bruno was born in South America. At fifteen he moved to Europe and began learning various methods of creating art but painting and sculpture became his passion and he was so successful he was able to work as an artist. He now has a garden in Marysville Victoria about an hour from Melbourne. We are definitely visiting this garden!! You can feel the magic leap from the screen as you peruse his sculptures and paintings.

                              Here is a beautiful video about his garden in Victoria Australia.

Bruno is optimistic about his life and truly lives in the present. To see more of his amazing work:

http://www.brunosart.com/gallery.html

Image from: Brunosart.com

"The bushfires deeply touched us all in many ways. It allowed me to see that people had a heart for each other, that when things really got dark, the best in us comes out. We have lost a lot, but life also provides us opportunities to gain a new vision, lots of new friends and a blank canvas to play. In the meantime, nature is already regenerating itself. The green is slowly returning and the rivers are flowing, finding new ways".

Senior dogs Rock!!

Introducing Mr Crowley Chi Chi

Our friend Mr Crowley Chi Chi is the most adorable ambassador for senior dog adoption we have ever seen! Have a look at his website and you will be convinced that you might be able to give an older dog or cat or horse a home. When our two rascals are older we fully intend to adopt another older dog as we will to have more time to give them the attention they need.

      To see more of Mr Crowley visit his website here: http://mrcrowley.dog/#Home

           and his instagram:   https://www.instagram.com/mr.crowley_chichi/

Mr Crowley's website will tell you all the reasons why an older dog is for you and even supplies links where you can go and look for your new best friend.

Real faeries of Joshua Tree - photographing spirit orbs

I came across this beautiful video - I really believe these photos are real - have a look and see what you think. There are some amazing orbs in this video!!

To photograph faeries or spirits with a camera, simply hold your intent  - you will be surprised what you capture.

Speaking of orbs and unusual photographs, we recently visited Ma Ma Creek Church and I took this photo of a young girl's grave without any thought. Notice the bottom left near the inscription and the purple orb in the centre - Okay this could be the effect of the solar flare so I intend to visit some other older cemeteries soon to see what we capture.

• St Stephen’s Anglican Church is situated in Ma Ma Creek village on the eastern side of Gatton-Clifton Road in Queensland Australia. The Stone church was built around the old wooden church. It was officially opened in 1912. The bricks were made on site and timber from the old building was used to make the floor of the new building. (Information taken from Ma Ma Creek State School website, 2006, retrieved 16th August 2017 from http:/​/​www.mamacreess.eq.edu.au/​home/​ksutt44/​St%20Stephens.htm)

Some fairy music -The Golem

I found some fantastic faery music:

Click the link -   The Golem

enjoy!!!

Image from : Sacred Art Murals

            To see more work by Sacred Art Murals in United Kingdom click the link below:

                http://www.sacredart-murals.co.uk/mural-gallery/faerie-mural.html

The art of Jacob McKay

Being overdue for some more faery - related posts I knew a special one was needed. The faery folk directed me to the magical art of Australian photographer and artisan Jacob McKay. Not only is he a gifted photographer, his faery creations are the desire of all faerie folk.

true-fairies






This image was taken for true-fairies, an online interactive service for children - see their page here:
http://truefairies.com/

ring boxes - available on Jacob's website

Magnetic vases

Cute acorn earrings

           These beautiful pieces and more can be found here  ↬  http://www.jaccobmckay.com

Street art came to the Lockyer valley!

If you have been following my blog you will know that I adore street art. I was so excited to see three new pieces in Gatton, in the Lockyer Valley. The little town of Gatton has been totally transformed with the addition of these colourful pieces created by three amazing women.

Photo: Figtreebloom

This piece at 115 Spencer Street was created by Claire Foxton and depicts Local Bob Fifoot who worked as a teacher for 53 years; 49 of those years at Lockyer High as a Maths and ScienceTeacher. Bob said he was honoured by Claire's photo and is amazed at what a great artist she is.

Photo: Figtreebloom




Amazing colour on the corner of North and Railway Street by George Rose.
George decided to honour Aboriginal history with her mural and the words "'Goori" -used by Aboriginal people in South East Queensland when they refer to themselves and "Yagara" -is a word used by local clans to identify themselves. The bird incorporated in the mural is Coxen's fig parrot, endemic to the area and listed as endangered.

photo: Figtreebloom

Photo: Figtreebloom

Beautiful large piece at 54 Railway Street by Bronte Naylor. The water in the image represents the prosperity and tragedy that water had brought to the area. 

If you are near Gatton in Queensland Australia, drop in and have a look, these murals are amazing.

Homes for Hens

Photo from: Homesforhens

We have always been given chickens that people no longer wanted or could no longer keep. A friend recently adopted some ex "free range" chickens from http://www.homesforhens.net/

There are an estimated 11 to 12 million hens living in battery conditions in Australia, 26 million in Canada and  Battery hens are kept in a cage the size of an A4 piece of paper and are often kept under artificial lighting to maximise egg laying. The cruelty does not end there, these poor birds never see sunlight, grass or have the ability to stretch their legs and are often de-beaked to reduce injuries.

Bans on battery hen farming in EU have resulted in hens living in "enriched cages" to get around this ban. Over 500 million of these souls are now still living in cages.

Community awareness is increasing and many more people are refusing to accept cage eggs. Sadly not all free range farms provide great conditions for their birds either and the hens are usually replaced every eighteen months to three years. So what happens to the birds that are no longer wanted?
This is where rescue and re-homing organisations come in and where a person like you can give these ladies a home.

You will be amazed at what great friends these girls can be!!

If you think you have the space and time to give some of these girls a better life, have a look at this page and decide if you want to be a carer
http://www.animalsaustralia.org/features/adopt-a-battery-hen.php


Here is a short video from Edgar's Mission to help you decide

There are some organisations who rescue and rehome hens;  Facebook is also a great place to search:
In Australia:
http://www.henrescue.org/adopt

https://www.edgarsmission.org.au/

http://www.freedomhill.com.au/hen-adoption

https://www.farmanimalrescue.org.au/

http://veganact.org.au/poultry-place/


In United States:

http://www.chickenrescue.org/

https://www.facebook.com/rescuehen/

https://animalplace.org/helping-hens-rescue/


Canada:

http://www.humanefood.ca/adopt_a_hen.html

http://rastarescue.org/?page_id=630


Britain:

http://www.afarireland.org/exbatteryhenrescue.htm

http://www.bhwt.org.uk/rehome-some-hens/

http://www.fsfh.org.uk/


Europe:

https://fr-fr.facebook.com/exbatteryhens


If your country is not listed, google search or have a look for a Facebook group.

Image via :ABC News

Julie O'Shea in Northern New South Wales, Australia managed to re-home nearly four hundred chickens from a nearby battery hen farm using Facebook.

Plight of the Hmong people in Laos

KC.Oritz -TIME magazine

I just finished reading "Nightmare in Laos" by Kay Danes. This is the dramatic story of an Australian woman who was imprisoned in a detention camp in Laos. I was deeply saddened by her struggles, but the plight of the Hmong people in Laos is what struck me the most. I have worked along side people who had escaped Laos only to work on farms in Australia, despite being very well educated people, so this story really made me think about what it must be like to lose your homeland to an invading country who have completely different beliefs to you and who appear to want your culture completely erased.
Sadly, this has happened to so many people throughout the world and continues to happen even now. Too many of us lead comfortable lives, never giving a thought to the well being of our fellow Earthlings. The Hmong people live in regions of Southern China, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand. During the First and Second Indochina wars, France and the CIA in America recruited thousands of Hmong people, many of whom were young boys to fight against the invading Vietnamese and Pathet Lao insurgents. After the war many of the Hmong fled as refugees to Thailand seeking political asylum. Some have been lucky and resettled in Western countries, but many are still suffering in their own country while most of the world is unaware. So many tourists visit both Thailand and Laos with very little idea of the dangerous and brutal undercurrents in these countries. The Pathet Lao declared the Hmong people dead and continue to imprison, interrogate and kill these people whenever possible. The Hmong people continue to live in fear of the Laos people's army today as they are still perceived to be spies for the United States. Many are living in camps in the mountainous regions of Laos and Thailand.

www.rfa.org

Internal displacement monitoring centre

There appear to be very few organisations willing to help these people, but I did find RADION International are doing what they can to help. This is their website if you would like to have a look
http://www.radion-international.org/
I also highly recommend reading more about the Hmong people's culture and history.

Eating in the light

Must watch - Too Cute

                 I came across this short video on Jenny Lawson's blog - thebloggess.com/

                                                           

                                                 Enjoy

                                          

                                                                   

Aurora Australis

We are surrounded by so much beauty on this amazing planet. Visiting Tasmania to see Aurora Australis is at the top of my bucket list. The Earth's light show occurs when electrically charged sun particles collide with each other when entering earth's atmosphere.

These fantastic photographs show why I want to visit. For more information and to view an amazing gallery visit .http://www.auroraaustralistasmania.org/

Via Secret Escapes

Via Pinterest

Via ABC.net.au

                       

Vegan is easy

Driving home after night shift I spotted this sign on the highway right next to a cattle farm! I was so excited to see this. If you have been struggling with becoming Vegan, Vegan Easy can help. visit  http://veganeasy.org/   Offering meal plans, nutritional guidelines and support through their Facebook page, this organisation is really helping people to make the change. Visit their website and have a look at the 30 day challenge:

Vegan-Easy-Challenge

You will also find loads of resources on their site - clothing, shopping guides, health information and lists of online stores. Go check out their site if you are wanting to become vegan and even if you are already vegan.

Woodstock Farm Sanctuary

Happy New Year

Another year has passed and a new one begins. With greenhouses full of fruit trees and habitat trees waiting to be planted 2017 is shaping up to be a busy one. Here are a few of the gorgeous plants we photographed around Christmas time.

Poinciana Delonix regia  near Gatton Queensland

   

Blood Lily / Scadoxus puniceus

                                                                                         

Musk Mallow Abelmoschus moschata tuberosus

  We found the Musk mallow at Daley's fruit tree nursery. The stunning red flowers last only one     day. Also called Native rosella. The seeds are musk scented. Leaves shoots and tuberous roots can be eaten. It grows to about 2 metres very drought tolerant and fast growing. A very interesting edible.