Mt.VictoriaMist

Mists

2009-10-15T13:09:00.000-07:00

Mists are magnificent. They deserved to be reviewed like a nocturne or a fine red. This week we have had mists of an extraodinary calibre here on the mount. A fine summer mist is a blessing from the hills. In a week which sees our lowlands grilled with enervating blasts and vile days of sickly sweltering, the mists roll into the altitudes and provide eucalyptus scented respite and delight.

"It is just so lovely it makes you want to cry !"

Could be heard the exclamations of the itinerant acolyte. And so it was.

Pinks and Mist

2009-10-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

The signature colour of Mount Victoria is pink. The place is magic because of it.

As a victorian spa town the pink buildings and fences relax the post-colonial soul as much as it might have delighted a pining colonial. A continuing history is kept in the hue of the place.

The place is more pink than the walls and details though. The earth is damask too. Walking through the bush each weekend I tred on slates and grains of stone all pinkish about the forrest floor.

The Australian grey-green bushland burns to blacks and amber bronzes after fire and the flowers sparkle white, yellow and telopian red. Beneath your feet though rising and cascading between the narabeen sandstone is pinkstone. Ochres that dustily crept from their dreaming into the fretwork of the settlement.

"The ground on which we stand and live from, is dark n' pink."

(excerpt from 'mad mic')

It's a short day

2009-06-27T06:11:00.001-07:00

Snowvember Mount Vic

2008-11-22T03:49:00.000-08:00

Usually, over the last three years, it has snowed on weekdays when we cannot enjoy the sight fully. But today at our leisure we took in the changing weather...

We could see it heading our way in the mid afternoon. A quick November snow burst. Soon it was upon us. Not settling but drifty flakes falling in a Saturday way. Definite Flakes. Hard to catch snow flakes in light momentary drifts but sweet to be here. A contrast to the November Bushfire that went through the place two years prior !

Mt Vic Mist is a punter that reviews.

2008-01-10T13:42:00.000-08:00

Mount Vic Mist is a punter whom chooses to review those things which come to attention as noteworthy. Punters are allowed to do that.

We are independent in so much as we like what we like. We are independent in so much as it is a free country to pursue one's interests. We are having fun. If you are like us you may get a great deal of value out of it, if not then not. We follow our nose, and if we are amused, we write.

God forfend that we should give offense. But that is the way of things. Enjoy it !

So there it goes ...2007

2007-12-31T20:59:00.000-08:00

The last light of Two Thousand and Seven

As seen from Mount Victoria NSW Australia.

175th Year passes with pomp.

2007-10-21T01:24:00.001-07:00

175 years is a blip on the timeline of this ancient land, but colour and movement is a thing that deserves to be mentioned. Especially when it reminds us of our own richly interesting and complex history. A tree planting is worth it's weight in carbon alone. We rest in the shade of whatever comes before us and so too will our following generations. The red coats came and drank awhile, and their musical accompaniment was delightful to hear on the lawn of the beery Imperial.

The Summer though it looms it doth Bloom..!

2007-10-21T01:13:00.001-07:00

How nice it is to simply walk in the altitudes. The cicadas are indeed doing their maddening best to mesmerise us with their ancient chants this year, something that didn't happen last year, but nevertheless a sweet show of native blooms distracts us pinkly !

'Tis Delightful frolick is't not ?

2007-10-08T05:48:00.001-07:00

What better venue is there than the mountains to cut a rug or quaff ambrosia ? How fine are the blue mountains for such activity ?

Plenty fine !

Mt Vic Mist @ Winter Magic Festival 2007

2007-06-23T18:54:00.000-07:00

A promenade on a fine winter's day, such as was to be had in the Blue Mountains Australia this Winter Magic Festival, can bring forth chance encounters of dandies and chaps. Taking the air in the fresh Katoomba morning an intrepid mountains hiker met a sartorial explorer. The exchange was an admirable agreement to venture deeply without fear and in high spirits into the riches of this splendid day.

Come on up, the water is lovely !

2007-06-17T01:57:00.000-07:00

The June rains have replenished the soil with long awaited top ups. The Forest is greening up. Ferns rising from charcoal shards and blackened soil. The creeks are flowing amazingly. It will be brief, this is Australia after all. But it is beautiful. The mountains smell so delectable.

Blooming Mountains ...Divine Finds !

2007-05-27T02:38:00.000-07:00

The bounty of the mountains is manifold.

Deserves to be Cherished

2007-05-27T02:28:00.000-07:00

The numbers of people who come to the mountains to see and live it for a little while each day, week, month or festival suggests we have something very precious here. A little appreciation of the rare and beautiful nature of it's ways will ensure it's finery remains, love it and protect it.

The Bounty of the Mountains

2007-05-27T02:22:00.000-07:00

The bounty of the mountains is the nature and the vintage retreat mixed with the artful community and the crisp air. It's worth bottling !

Blue Mountains and pink MountVictoria

2007-05-27T02:15:00.000-07:00

The Darling buds are not of May, but rather have a little sleep to undergo in the climes of the Blue Mountains as winter approaches. The Village of Mount Victoria puts on a dazzling day of quiet. loveliness. Markets, stalls, train nostalgia, vintage cars, vintage finds, serendipity. Lovely.

Grand Retreat Mt Vic

2007-05-27T01:07:00.001-07:00

Mount Victoria - Blue Mountains NSW Australia. There is a fine air at this altitude, and on a beautiful May morning such as today the great escape from the Sydney humdrum was on. A lovely day was had by many amidst the pink and the green. Verdant and sweet.

2006-12-05T00:32:00.000-08:00

Mist and ashes.

2006-12-05T00:02:00.000-08:00

We've had at least 3mls of mist in the last week and pods are splitting, seeds dropping and even green grass shoots are appearing ! Amazing. Almost before the ashes are cool. Impressive.

There are wallaby scats on the roadside and wombat scratchings in the sand.....now, the lyrebirds have appeared again. Yellowtail Black Cockatoos are hanging about in the afternoons.

The vistas through the bush have been amazing in the mist with the burnt out trunks of eucalypts contrasting against the grey light. The place smells like ashes of course and trees continue to drop as the wind tests which ones will topple. It's all part of the dynamic and the process is just beginning.

Fires, November 2006

2006-11-22T01:59:00.000-08:00

Lightning strikes started a slow smoulder somewhere in Lawson's long alley a week or so ago. Bushfire spread as it does, and jumped into the Grose Valley over the next few days.

The dear old Bluey's are blackening at the moment. We wish those residents of the Blue Mountains who are currently dealing with it the best of luck and good wishes.

The fire passed through our block at Mount Vic around this time last week. The canopy is still hanging in there, the stumps still smouldering. We have spotted wallaby scats on the causeway on Saturday, little else. Plenty of widowmakers about. Posting some before and after shots for you. Hopefully we will have the next green regeneration set of photos in the series sometime soon !

Firies deserve a great round of applause for their efforts. The front of a fire is no easy thing to massage into submission, and you can't "just put it out".

We thank the Rural Fire Service for their great work in our neck of the woods.

Donations to NSW RFS and WIRES are well in order.

A Celebration of Nature

2006-07-02T17:09:00.000-07:00

Winter Magic was a stunning day. The happy got even happier. Katoomba put on a brilliant bit of weather for us and we enjoyed the colour and the spectacle in corker sunshine! It has been worth waiting for. 30,000 people basked in the mountains air to the beat of drums, the trill of brass and the show of chroma. A great day. The community was out the smiles were about. The cynics and the glum were drowned out by fun and grins. Why not ? A freedom as good as the winter magic festival should be coveted. The Pagans can roam free and proud to honour their nature, the religions of other bent can do theirs, the hippies, ferals, new agers and hip can all peace along together. An act of democracy. In the cool altitudes.

2006-06-09T21:06:00.000-07:00

Sugartime equals (=) Designer fun ...in the mountains.

2006-06-09T20:29:00.000-07:00

Sugartime's Snowball Burlesque will be a chance to fancy dress up, see other creations and designs, share a table, watch and be the spectacle.

In the city it is a fun event where people of all walks of life meet to enjoy the show. Dancers, photographers, designers, rockabillies, hipsters, burlesque lovers of course, those with a taste for white feathers, pink costumary, silver sequins, faux fur, tiki tastes, Parisian chic, lowbrow art, highbrow form, vintage fabrics, Dj exotica, swing-jazz energy, a sense of humour, glamourous beauty, green absinthe, pink champagne, etc; etc; in fact a whole host of delectable enchantments !

In the mountains Sugartime will be making a foray into the wild blue of winter magic ! The Snowball Burlesque theme provides the local snow fairies, fur divas, cabaret Tsars and beautiful bohemians every opportunity to create a distinctive magical mix in the natural home of fantasy, the mountains . The more fashionable fancy present, the greater the magic. Mix and match, almost anything goes, be creative, be charming, be there !

[check my blog archive for more details and go to my Sugartime review site for details and photos]

Blue Mountains NSW

2006-05-13T04:58:00.000-07:00

The nature we see around us is just plain lovely. To be loved. We are lucky. Without a tremor of irony we need to be able to say that it is a good thing.

Mt Vic Flicks

2006-04-18T23:21:00.000-07:00

An institution of the Mountains. This favourite is a Blue Mountains joy. Little cinemas like this should be treasured. Little living cultural artifacts like this make the place special.

One Cafe Down Momentarily.

2006-04-18T23:18:00.000-07:00

2006-04-11T03:34:00.000-07:00

Your Fate is Art

2006-04-11T02:28:00.000-07:00

Lola the Vamp, a glamourous muse for women of talent, has added one of Miss Mist's photos to her site. 'Moi' is pleased to reveal some small part of her grace to the mountains. She has done us the honour of paying homage to Norman Lindsay's work, it's the least we could do. Check out the link added to 'zis site!

www.lolathevamp.net

Sewn up in orange

2006-04-08T15:48:00.000-07:00

Here's a little gift brought back from Lao by friends.

A trippy little chappy!

Signs of Wonder

2006-04-08T15:30:00.000-07:00

We are two months out, nevertheless the happy hippy festivity that is Wintermagic has it's season and that is now. The air has turned crisper and drier. Remember the bookman's warnings and keep your airways moist, avoid that cold. The days are shorter and moments of windless sunshine are more precious. The day draws near when an appreciation of the gift of where we live in our wonder will express itself prettily, we hope.

Winter Magic Begins

2006-04-07T19:03:00.000-07:00

How good was that !

2006-03-20T14:41:00.000-08:00

Pretty bloody good all up. There is a nice vibe afoot in the mountains at this time. The festival has promoted the vibe well. Plenty of choice this year from trad. (music) to rad. (behaviour), I for one had a good time. Found some gems. That is always the pleasure of this festival. Happening upon the good stuff !

Well, its all rather lovely in the mountains...

2006-03-10T22:03:00.000-08:00

Sitting in the bush and watching, listening and inhaling is a simple pleasure.
Have a go.

Lola does Norman

2006-02-24T19:56:00.000-08:00

http://mtvictoriamistsugartimereview.blogspot.com/

Stripping in the name Norman Lindsey ...

2006-02-24T19:11:00.000-08:00

I was wittness to a beautiful sight last night as a dose of 'sugar' paid tribute to the orientalism in Norman Lindsey's art oeuvre. The inner city watched on and the room was made electric and the name of a famed Blue Mountains artist and resident lived on in contemporary Australian culture well into the night ! A visual dazzle to watch. 'Lola' has entrancing eyes in performance. Her presence is assured. A Tivoli should rise anew, but this time in the mountians. The risque would be a welcome curative to turgid cottaginess and bland suburban creep. It is not enough to ask for tourist dollars for Normans exploits. This lass is living the moment, we need a dose of this regularly in the hills !

Escarpment Flutters

2006-02-05T01:28:00.000-08:00

Blackheath Beauty...& prayer flags in the mountains.

2006-02-05T01:25:00.000-08:00

Blackheath is the treasure where Prayer-Flags are flown on more verandahs per head of population than anywhere else...this is a lovely tradition of grace. But the whole mountains are garnished with these flocks of wishes and mantras, I have personally seen them as high as the south side of Mt Vic. With joy they bless the mountain environs. Long may they fly on the verandahs ! Long may they remind us of those who live in less happy places...

All Cosmic in the Highlands

2006-01-26T13:31:00.000-08:00

Here's an interesting Blog. The author is authoring an account of a mystical experience in the mists of the Blue Mountains, I think. This is a great piece that conveys a spiritual life in the wilderness. It's abstract, but don't let that scare you. I drop in occasionally to see what more has been added. It seems to be an ongoing project evolving. The Blue Mountains seems to be just the sort of nursery of experience that writing/writers like this needs.

Sharm'n

Blue Mountains Earth

2006-01-25T11:23:00.000-08:00

Blue Mountains Earthlings

A Bloody Beaut Little List of Corker Websites
for EarthMammas on the go …!
By
Victoria Mist (of the Mount)

http://www.bluemts.com.au/wires/
Caring for Australia’s Unique Wildlife

http://www.wintermagic.com.au/
Can’t be different without exercising it ! Keep it hippy. Make it local.

www.whitepage.com.au/BushTipperProfiler/
He may be watching you

www.weedsbluemountains.org.au
Keeping the Mountains Special

http://farrer.riv.csu.edu.au/ASGAP/eucalypt.html
Growing Australian Plants, Propagation, grafting, seeds etc;

www.abc.net.au/science/scribblygum/
Auntie’s resource and Journal of Seasonal life, living in the Great Southern Land

kingswoodtree.blogspot.com/
an appreciation of the amenity of trees in the suburbs at the foot of the mountains

mountvictoriamist.blogspot.com/
of course, get some info. And a little insight into the mountains and beyond here. Reviews of Regent Honeyeater tree planting days, websites of note and photos

Homely Times

2006-01-15T18:35:00.000-08:00

A great time it has been in the mountains to savour the rains and the mists. Veils of dew glisten over the surrounds and it is some sort of heaven to be here right now !

Nestled in the hills

2006-01-09T15:18:00.000-08:00

Nestled in the hills and crags of the Blue Mountains is a unique community of talent. The willingness of many of the inhabitants and denizens of the area to try alternative things is an inspiration to the rest of the state. The support of these people who wish to wear different clothes, live in different buildings and establish alternate customs should not be discouraged or squandered. The place is full of daytrippers who want to come here to see the spectacular wilderness that we live in and the alternate way we have of living here. To turn this place into an extension of every other nondescript suburb is an act of stupidity. So when a person tells you they want to tear down the old cottage they’ve bought and live in a house they could get in blandtown, ask them why they don’t move there. Just having the question in circulation should be enough to provoke discussion.

Where have all the Ferals gone ?

2005-06-24T18:05:00.000-07:00

At the Blue Mountains last weekend, the winter magic happened again, a great event, but a voice was heard to say unto the snoo wearing hordes, "Where have all the Ferals gone ?" Apparently according to fine local sources in Katoomba, the Gearins Hotel has at times been known to be a thriving centre of the Feral Society. A raffish crowd of willful dropouts and life alternate seekers. They had spunk, they had piercings, they had hair. Many were environmental some were just mental. A grungey time it seems it has been. The community of bongo banging mountains rastas, wand waving wicca nymphs, nudists and greenies gives the place grit. Long may it live, but have they been outcompeted by the Four Wheel Daytrippers, hipsters, wannabeanies, jugglers with mobiles, machiato sippin trend setters and real estate suckers ? Has their habitat been degraded by the Leurafication of the place ? The mysterious thing about Katoomba is how it has remained tough, despite the cafe set next door. Have they [Ferals] got wise and got out ? Could they all have disappeared in a fit of employment ! Are they all in Lithgow ? I seek comment.
Are they doing things smarter, perhaps they quietly maintain glorious gardens of endangered fragility. When do they come out of the woodwork ? Have the hard core ferals, those trying to find themselves, the ones who weren't just another type of poser doing drugs on the dole, found themselves ? Have they gone from Going Feral to Gone Native ! Those that wish to quietly go feral in the finsest wild surrounds need to be able do so on a budget, 'ferals in residence' is a scheme perhaps that has yet to be canvassed extensively, but perhaps it is time. Perhaps it is all a cycle, tell me dear reader...this week it has snowed as a magic affirmation of the magic still around. Let it not be squandered.

See a Curly man before you die.

2005-06-20T16:28:00.000-07:00

Do yourself a favour and listen to an accent at once familiar and fantastic. Songs sung in the tounge of the antipodean mountains child.

http://www.kingcurly.com/

MistyHomeMountVictoria

2005-06-20T15:35:00.000-07:00

Our Place on the Great Dividing Range, the western edge of the Blue Mountains, NSW.

Yiorgo's Viki (a.k.a. "Victoria")

2005-06-16T13:05:00.000-07:00

The little Painting, Yiorgo's Viki. Painted by Dollo. Where Dollo is ?

The Book of the CMoR

2003-01-26T13:16:00.000-08:00

The trusty tome of the CMoR is coming back. For those of you whom have enquired, thankyou for your curiousity. We are doing our best to make it available. It is a good thing and a rich thing, a quotable thing and it is being polished, bound and trimed for your pleasure and guidance as we verily yarn.