Billabong Bliss

Billabong (pron.: /ˈbɪləbɒŋ/, BIL-ə-bong) is an Australian English word meaning a small lake, specifically an oxbow lake, a section of still water adjacent to a river, cut off by a change in the watercourse.^[1] Billabongs are usually formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end. Billabongs, reflecting the arid Australian climate in which these "dead rivers" are found, fill with water seasonally and are dry for a greater part of the year.^[2]

 

 

 

Coronet Bay - Victoria, Australia

 

This is my secret wonderland, a small billabong hidden behind a quiet coastal beach.  Walking distance from my beach shack. 

 

This billabong is home to a large paddling of ducks, several white faced heron and I've been warned, a haven for a slither of snakes.  I tread carefully when navigating my way around this tranquil environment.  The Jack Russell pups are on a very short leash when we walk along the track.  The water is fresh and clean [I know, I've tasted it] and far on the other side of this oasis is rich farm land occupied by a herd of wet nosed, sweet faced dairy cows. 

Blue, cloudy skies are a feature of my wonderland and quite frankly, this part of the world, top and bottom, is a tiny bit of heaven.

 

The billabong flows quietly into the ocean, stretching across the sandy beach, digging deep crevices into the sand.  The Jack Russells have finally learnt that sea water does not quench a thirst and a playful race to the meandering billabong overflow will fortify them on their journey home.

 

Ah such bliss ~ my billabong wonderland

 

Sweet dreams ~ Goldie and Lilly

 

Scavenger Hunt ~ What Happened At 6 O'clock

The evening sky puts on a beautiful display after a lovely Spring day.  The cold seeps in and it's time to close the windows and doors, draw the curtains and turn on the heater for the day is coming to an end.

The 6 pm view from my backyard

It's time for the little ones to come in from the cold and rest up after the exhausting events of the day.  

Goldie and Lilly say goodnight dear visitors.

Linking up to Deb's weekly photographic challenge at Ramblings of a Square Peg in a Round Hole

I've Been Ridiculously Busy Today With Sixteen Paws

Well really I’ve been ridiculously busy this week not just today.  What is the cause of this you ask?  Well, thanks for the question.  Here's my response. 

I’ve been babysitting my BFF’s two big dogs, plus I have my own two little dogs hence making my days a bit hectic this week.  Worse than having the grand kids over I can tell you, BTW I don’t have grand kids but if I did I can imagine that they would be a handful.

Rosie wants more toys

Putting four dogs in the backyard that get on really well together (when they are not eating) I would have thought meant sublime happiness.  Nope, it didn’t work out that way.  I had a guard of honour for every bathroom stop, if I went inside the house four wet noses rubbed against the door.  If I worked in the garden, sixteen paws were digging with me.  Apparently I was showing them how to dig by example.

  

Tilly wants someone to play ball with.  Who could that be?

Dogs do not entertain themselves, they want to be entertained.  They want to be cuddled, have long belly scratches, and even longer behind the ear scratches.  When they get tired they just drop and sleep, when I get tired I get nudged into action.

Is that the sun in Lilly's eyes?  Nope, she wants a nap on this sun lounge I'm sitting on.

Did I mention they like to lick my toes; yup, my toes!   Let’s just stop there, these canines are needy, sometimes smelly and often noisy but I love them dearly and despite my complaining they can come and stay at my place any time they want.  No swimming allowed.

Lilly and Tilly after a tough day by the pool.

Rosie is out for the count.

Goldie is the shy one, and she is overwhelmed by all the going's on.

And of course not that I have a cat, but if a cat were brave enough to live at my house I think it might just have this to say.

Christmas Gift To Make For Your Pet - Tutorial and Written Instructions

A TREAT TO HANG ON THE TREE

Hello everyone, today I am posting another tutorial, this one being a treat you can make for your pet.  The main focus will be creating a craft that doesn't require you to go out and buy new products, instead I hope you will be able to use bits and pieces from your home stash.  I encourage you to improvise where an item is not available and look at what you can recycle. They are easy enough to make that children can lend a helping hand.  Some basic straight stitch machine sewing is involved, but it can just as easily be hand sewn which may take longer to make.  I'm planting the seed, you go ahead and do it your way and most of all have some fun.

Written instructions can be downloaded here and if you scroll down you will see how I went about the construction of the pet treat hanger.  They look great hanging on a Christmas tree but put them up high enough so that your pet cannot get to them.



Here's how to construct the decoration.

Lay out the material and cut the patterned material about 1cm large all round than the felt piece.  I ironed the material and folded the edges in to make it a lot easier.

I folded each short end under the felt because later I will slide the end of the ribbon into this slot and then sew along the top edge to secure the loop which will be used to hang the decoration on the tree.

I pinned the long edges before sewing and I also ironed the edges to make it easier.  You could hand sew these edges with a blanket stitch if you didn't want to use a sewing machine.

Once I had the edges neat I simply selected a fancy stitch on my sewing machine and sewed around the two short and two long edges.  Finally, it was simply a matter of looping the ribbon one under the other.  These loops will hold the treat you have for your pet, so make them as big or as small as needed.  You can add bows, bells, plastic holly leaves to the decoration, whatever takes your fancy.

Once I had the loops pinned and the size I wanted, I sewed each loop in place using the sewing machine, this is probably the fiddliest part of the assembly.  You could just as easily hand sew the loops.

You could also place the ribbon loops on the felt before constructing the hanging decoration.  By doing it this way you won't see the stitching on the back of the decoration, it will be hidden when you add the larger patterned material to the back.

Alternatively, you don't have to use felt and Christmas material, you could use a special material like I did above and I added some bells to the ribbon.  The fact is I don't think your pet will mind how you construct this little gift, but he/she will be more interested in what is hanging in the loops.

When The Dogs Come To Play

It can be bedlam at my house when the dogs come to play

Just as well I have a big back yard

They all love lots of running

Rosie likes lots of laughing

Panda likes lots of waiting 

Tilly likes lots of hiding

Goldie likes lots of television

Lilly like lots of snacking

When nobody is looking, a bit of napping