Category Archives: Habitat

Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver and other books that marked my year

Posted on December 29, 2018 by sagesomethymes

If you’ve ever looked at the world and asked yourself, ‘What the hell just happened?’ you’ll enjoy ‘Unsheltered’ by Barbara Kingsolver, one of my favourite fiction writers. Set in Vineland, New Jersey, in 2016, we meet Willa Knox, a woman who’s just … Continue reading →

Posted in Book Review, climate change, democracy, Habitat, Spirit of Place, Time, What Are You Reading? | Tagged A Place on Earth, Abbi Waxman, Allegra Goodman, Barbara Kingsolver, Basement Books, best books 2018, Book Review, Breath, Central Station pedestrian tunnel, holiday reading, hope, Mark Tredinnick, Noelle Janaczewska, novels, The Book of Thistles, The Cookbook Collector, The Garden of Small Beginnings, The Poisonwood Bible, Tim Winton, Unsheltered | 2 Comments

The Desire Path

Posted on December 21, 2018 by sagesomethymes

The clock on this silly season is counting down and I only have a few days left to indulge my passion for beautiful objects in the name of gift giving. I leave the house and head into the city but … Continue reading →

Posted in Habitat, Spirit of Place, walking | Tagged Art, Art Gallery of NSW, Art Gallery Road, Art Gallery shop, artisan objects, Australian Design Centre, Bookshops Sydney, buying gifts, christmas gifts, Cook + Phillip Park, craft, flaneur, Flour and Stone bakery, Galleries & Museums Sydney, Grand Days Bookshop, Kings Cross, knitted animals, Martin Place, Rebcca Solnit, St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney Hospital, that special gift, The Domain, The little Shop, The Object Shop, urban walking, vintage, walking, walking Sydney, William Street, Woolloomooloo | Leave a comment

Whales to Starboard

Posted on September 20, 2018 by sagesomethymes

“What’s there not to love?” Paul, my partner, asks. “Two days and three nights surrounded by the ocean; cocktails delivered to your deck chair, sublime sunsets and dancing the night away.” But I’m thinking Poseidon Adventure and Titanic. Then he … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change, Habitat, The Animal Kingdom | Tagged 3 day cruise, cruise ship, cruising holiday, Humpback whales, P&O Food and Wine Cruise, Pina Colada, Strawberry Daiquiri, sunset, Sydney Harbour, whales, winter cruise | 2 Comments

The windswept doorstep of the year

Posted on August 30, 2018 by sagesomethymes

August is almost over. And so is winter. I’ve loved the slowly lengthening days that carry the hope of spring. The newly lit hours that creep in after the solstice always seem so familiar; like a lost memory returned, promising … Continue reading →

Posted in Habitat, Spirit of Place, The Animal Kingdom, Time, Writing Nature and Place | Tagged August, August wind, Aunty Fran Bodkin, Australian white Ibis, calendar, currawong, D'harawal Seasons, Les Murray, Nature Writing, north westerly, Pied currawong. Rainbow Lorikeet, southerly, spring, wind, winter, Writing about Place | Leave a comment

Dry July

Posted on July 30, 2018 by sagesomethymes

What is it about July that inspires abstinence? This winter we’ve had the lowest rainfall in decades, amidst record breaking warm day time temperatures. It seems the weather gods have abstained from sending us any rain. And there’s Dry July, … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change, democracy, Habitat | Tagged Alzheimer's, bag ban, Coles, Dry July, plastic, plastic bag ban, Plastic Free July, plastic pollution, recycling, singl euse plastc bags, single us eplastic bag free, Sudoko, turtles, Woolworth's | Leave a comment

Burke & Wills and Me

Posted on May 6, 2018 by sagesomethymes

I’m standing at Redfern Station waiting to catch the train to Canley Vale to visit my mother who lives exactly 9.2 km from there along the Orphan School Creek bike track. Usually I catch a bus from the station to her house … Continue reading →

Posted in Habitat, My Mother and Me | Tagged Burke and Wills, Canley Vale Station; Spaghetti Bolognese;, cycling; bike riding; taking your bike on a train;, Orphan School Creek; Bike Riding; Cycle NSW; trains; | 1 Comment

View from the Bio Box

Posted on February 8, 2018 by sagesomethymes

Last week the world almost ended while I was at the Old 505 theatre in Newtown. I’d been here before, mostly in the audience, but over this five night residency I was the tech operator for Blind Tasting, a beautiful play … Continue reading →

Posted in Habitat, Spirit of Place, Theatre, Uncategorized | Tagged ballroom, bio box, Blind Tasting, cicadas, computers, drama, Liam O'Keefe, Newtown School of Arts, Old 505 Theatre, Paul Gilchrist, Plaster ceiling, seagulls, Shakespeare, sound and light design, Studio 54, subtlenuance, Sydney, Sylvia Keays, Theatre, theatrical productions | Leave a comment

My adventures with Princess Neroli

Posted on January 4, 2018 by sagesomethymes

“The magic of the street is the mingling of the errand and the epiphany.” 1 It’s with a serious mission that I set off on this expedition to Carrington Road, but I’ve forgotten that these old industrial streets of the city’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Habitat, Spirit of Place, Staycation, walking | Tagged adventure, aromatherapy, art deco, art deco factory fronts, Carrington Road, Cooks River, cornucopia, Diego Bonnetti, essential oils, fibre glass animals, industrial, Marrickville, Neroli Essential Oil, New Directions, Princess Neroli, Rebecca Solnit, Staycation, suburbs, Sydney props, Sydney walking tours, Tempe, The Old Garage Cafe, tourism NSW, Two Valley Trail, urban, urban walking, walking, wandering, wanderlust, wild, Wolli Creek | 1 Comment

Rage against the dying of the light

Posted on June 12, 2017 by sagesomethymes

I hate Vivid. Or I did. That’s because essentially I’m a snob. If a whole lot of people like something then you can be sure I won’t be caught dead anywhere near it. And that’s what I thought when I … Continue reading →

Posted in Habitat | Tagged cracker night, Dylan Thomas, long weekend, Queen's Birthday long weekend, Vivid Sydney | 3 Comments

The Courage To Eat Plums

Posted on May 25, 2017 by sagesomethymes

Recently I discovered a secret source of wild berries. Or they discovered me. I was walking innocently along a footpath while on a lunch break when my shoes became stuck in a patch of violet slime. After using the edge of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Experiments with Food, Habitat | Tagged Adani Coal Mine, blueberries, Diprotodons, foraging, Illawarra Plums, Indigenous Seasons, native bush foods, Podocarpus elatus, Queensland, urban food forager, viticulture, wild berries, wine making | 2 Comments