(Novel) Letters

GIVE me a penny, and I will tell you a story "worth gold".
Letters inspired by Pliny the Younger.

version 5 November

I like old books.There is a smell and feel about them I miss with the digital alternative.  Real books when I have time, digital when I have none.

This is my retelling of one of the great love stories of the ancient world - one you may not have heard. I write books for fun. If you are interested in watching a book being written, read on.

(Novel) Freyja: the Seven Stories of the World

In the week after his capture, the Thief told the Goddess Freyja the seven stories of the world. While he entertained her, he hunted for his escape.   

(Novel) Ancora Tu

The world is changing. The traditional guardians of the world are being displaced by smart phones and eBooks. In the final days of the great libraries, two very different librarians confront the future. 

In Betty's library, some of the books are awakening
In the dark of night they stalk their prey
And, as they consume other books
The stories within twist and turn
And the world starts to change

This story was started in the G+ stream, a strong collaborative space and the best place in the world to write.

This book is presently being prepared for publication. Further details here shortly.

Hunting meteors

Eta Aquarids are fragments from Halley's Comet that burn in the atmosphere.

Here an Eta Aquarid passes between Saturn (upper right), Mars (bottom) and the bright star Antares (upper right), overlaying the tail of Scorpius.

Short Story: An Australian wedding

The leaves were falling, and the killing breath of winter was not far off.

She had brought him to the park to sit on the old bench in the afternoon sun. He grumbled, but with a practiced tone she reminded him that he liked the park, and that once he had bought his own family here. Once. He grimaced, a time so long ago he could not remember. She was like the other nurses back at the home, and he knew that any complaint would be ignored, so he saved his breath.

Titanic

A New Year resolution was to finish rebuilding this Titanic, an Amati / Hachette wood and metal model (1:250 scale, about 1090mm).

New "matt" painting scheme

First moments

Baby just after birth

Wild: Animals, Plants and Fungi

This is my photographic record of local animals and plants. 

Where I am aware of local (Yuin language group) First People names for some of these places, animals or birds, I have started to add them - eg Australian Brush Turkey (Djera). Within the language group (coastal/mountains South Eastern Australia), there were a number of dialects - but the names were reasonably similar.

Land Animals

• Animals - General
• Assimilis (Bush Rat)
• Blue Tongue Lizards (Gura'ranan)
• Eastern Grey Kangaroo
• Echidna
• Foxes
• Platypus
• Swamp Wallabies
• Snakes
• Wombat

Marine Animals and Fish

• Fur Seals
• Stingrays

Plants and Fungi

• Plants *,**
• Plant Communities *
• Remnant Vegetation Survey (1994) *,***
• Tree Identification Guide
• Scribbly Gums

Fungi

• Amanita phalloides: (Australian) Death Caps
• Amanita muscaria: (World) Hunting Dark Alfs
• Agaricus arvensis: The Horse Mushroom
• Agaricus campestris: The Meadow Mushroom
• Phlebopus Marginatus: Big Foot

            * These were originally prepared as one page leaflets for distribution by the local landcare group.

            ** This was the outcome of many discussions with other Landcare members
            *** This was the outcome of efforts of a couple of people, including Lynton Bond.   

Wild: Places

This is my record of wild places, photographic and reminiscences. Note that my collection of waterfalls, Cascades and Races is here.

(1) Molonglo High Plains
This is one of the oldest physical landscapes known and researched. The area is dominated by the Molonglo River and its tributaries. To the east is the mountain wilderness of the Talagada, the old volcano Palerang and the localities of Rossi and Forbes Creek. To the west, farmlands and the locality of Hoskinstown, including a number of ruins.

Overview: Locality *, Ancient History of the Area *

Weather: Molonglo Doctor, Flood events - Anti-cyclones

            * These were originally prepared as one page leaflets for distribution by the local landcare group.

East: Talaganda Forest

In the east, mountains, largely encompassed by the Talaganda Forest.

Mount Palerang
Mount Lawless
Yandyguinula Creek
Bombay Fire Trail

West: Farmlands

To the west, the High Plains are home to a range of strong large-scale and small- scale farming ventures.  It has seen a number of important landcare initiatives.  It is home to a number of scientific and defense establishments.

Cowbail
Foxlow Billabong
Molonglo Observatory Synthesis Telescope
LandCare initiatives
Ruins: Near I, Near II, Further Away
Grasslands

Small Farming (last heading)

(2) South Eastern Australia

Bungendore

• Inns
• Annual Rural Show: 2015, 2016

The Deua

The Deua is a vast wilderness area in South Eastern Australia.  From its high Western escarpment, it drops away into deep valleys.  From the heights it resembles a vast sunken area, punctuated by mountain peaks and covered by ancient forests.  

• The Northern Reaches (inc Shoalhaven, The Big Hole, Marble Arch)
• The Southern Reaches - the Tuross Cascades

The Braidwood District

Between the coast and the Molonglo High Plains is the Braidwood District.  Once the local administrative capital of the area, until recently Braidwood had become a backwater.  Today it is poised on the edge of new growth - with impressive agriculture potential and rugged wilderness, forestry and park areas.  There are old mining towns and homesteads. 

• Gourock Range
• Majors Creek
• The desolation of Jinden

The Tinderrys

Rise out of the Michelago Valley - a haunt for bushrangers.

• Locale

(3) The Goulburn District

• Wombeyan Caves
• History - the Comte de Rossi

(4) Ulladulla and Milton District

• Overview - colonial justice

(5) Turpentine Range

• Jerrawangla National Park
• Tianjarra Falls

(6) Warrumbungles

• Warrumbungles

(7) Australian Capital Territory

• War Memorial: Practice War No More, Aircraft Hall
• Murrumbidgee River - at Corree
• Murrumbidgee River - at Uriarra

(8) Victoria

• Great Ocean Road (South Western Coast): Twelve Apostles, Otway Cape, AngleSea
• Gippsland (South Eastern Coast): Corrigans Beach, Mallacoota

Da Vinci - Helicopter

Mercantic

I like working out how things work, but I didnt ever think I would spend time on a merchant carrier.  One day I came to my senses and stopped.

Jylland

Bounty

Rigging started on this one. I started it at about the same time as I started researching the issue of prosecutions against New South Wales Governors (particularly Bligh).  This involved a couple of weeks long service at the NSW State Library - where I got sidetracked one more time, reading Matthew Flinders logs and falling in love with Trim.

Bounty longboat

This is much more recent - and pretty big.  I like the shape and may end up building a full sized version.  The design comes strongly recommended and has a good track record.

Cutty Sark

This scratch built Cutty Sark is made from local timbers which I hand milled.  There are about 1000 copper plates on this one.  One day I will finish the rigging (but for now, each time I look at it, I get trapped into looking at the copper plates).  

HD Images, wall papers

Here are a couple of high definition images for use as wall papers for HD screens. Feel free to use these for personal use.  These versions are 1920 by 1080 pixels @ 72pixels/inch and have been tested for use on Windows and Mac systems.


Eurong Beach, North Queensland

Keystone to Imagination

Are you with me?

Currendelella

Moonrise (composite image)


Of the Nightfall

Lawless I

MOST

Twilight

Movement



Other size images:




Download here:  Rainforest

Two images for the Samsung Galaxy Tab A (2016) (800 x 1280)

  Sylvia Falls - 1

 Sylvia Falls - 2

Pareidolia

A friend has introduced me to the term pareidolia being a stimulus that the mind interprets as a familiar pattern, where none exists. 

Coincidently, I had took this picture this morning. I called it introspection, thinking of how i feel when reflecting deeply about actions.

This was taken along the old Yuin Trace - the path used by the first people to traverse the Yandyguinula over the ranges around Palerang towards the coast.

I wonder if there is a term to cover off a slightly different case of pareidolia, with the added condition that the pattern should exist. Maybe it is a simple mirror, or +Ann Pollak 's Heterotopia.

+Nina Anthonijsz thought in this she saw a tortured soul. 
I grew up with the idea that trees grow fairly uniformly, each branch growing more sturdy and becoming, in turn, a base for new growth. But trees do not really grow this way. Exposed to heat and cold and wind, they bend into the shape of the air around them. From a single tree, you can infer what other trees may have been around it, 50, 100, 200 years before. Trees loose branches and grow new ones, constantly changing shape.
Only when a tree finally dies does its shape take a final form, as the tree moves into a age of slowly being eaten inside out and losing lesser then larger elements.
So too the outer features of the tree giving rise to the face. When next I look, a different painting will be revealed.

(Novel) Three Wishes and Other Short Stories

A love story. Mary has been looking for love in the wrong places. This time she has found a Genie inside her computer. Things are not looking good for the Genie.

This story was written in the G+ stream, a strong collaborative space and the best place in the world to write.

You can preview the novel here.

Copyright 2016 Peter Quinton, Published by Peter Quinton

Recipe Book: Catherine Victoria Edmonstone

I have transcribed Catherine Victoria Edmonstone's recipe books into book form, partly so those who knew her can access them, but also because they paint a picture of the kitchen of an inland settler (Dubbo on the banks of the Macquarie, in Central New South Wales) between the great wars.  

(Novel) Looking for Spring

Only we dream, 

here, in the interspaces of the world, 

but the world does not care about our dreams.

This story was written in the G+ stream, a strong collaborative space and the best place in the world to write.

The sequel to looking for Spring, In Praise of Summer, is now being written (you can watch it taking shape).

Copyright 2018 Peter Quinton 

Published by Peter Quinton

Sovereign of the Seas / Commonwealth - build

I am building a wooden model of a large British warship. 

Originally commissioned the Sovereign of the Seas by Charles 1 (1637), the ship remained in service for an extended period of time, and saw service for the Commonwealth of England, initially renamed Commonwealth. It is remarkable ship because of the deliberate decision to make this ship attack by broadside, rather than chase, with heavy guns on all decks.

This build is intended to be of the ship as at the battle of Kentish Knock, before becoming the flagship of General at Sea Robert Blake. The reconstruction itself is based on painting of capital ships at the Battle of Terheide (Anglo-Dutch War) by Jan Abrahamsz. I have chosen this form in order the better understand the early period of the Commonwealth, which laid the seeds for its failure and the restoration even as it started.

Laid up for work from 1650-1, the ship's armament had previously been reduced from 118 to 90 guns. Initially the vessel had been 'cut down' but then her upper works was reduced and armament increased to 106 guns. After the refit the first battle she fought in was against the Dutch in which she ran aground on the Kentish Knock and repeatedly occupied by the Dutch but fought off each time. She was held, after the refit, to be the best ship in the navy - retaining the title (despite the vicissitudes of time) until destroyed in dock by fire in 1697.

On Restoration, the decks were flattened and "most of the decoration removed" suggesting that some remained at that time, but was not to the royal's liking.

I have commenced the build using the frame-work provided by the fine De Agostini model of the Sovereign of the Seas.

Framing

Applying deck and a first layer of hull planking.

Gunports, second framing and painting the top gun deck.

 

Waist line and starting interior of gun ports.

Peter Quinton
PAlerang