All photos associated with this page are the property of Amanda Bowen, and must not be downloaded or copied in any way without permission.
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Leaping Spider Orchid	Spotted Pardalote	White-eye	Western Spinebill
Brown Honeyeater	A Donkey Orchid	Scented Banjine	A bee landing
Silky Blue Orchid	Bobtail Skink	Cowslip Orchid	Dragon Orchid
Salt and Pepper	Vanilla Orchid	Blood Spider Orchid	Climbing Fringed lily
Sugar Orchid	Rufous Treecreeper	Drummond's Wattle	Blue Fairy Orchid
Pimelea ( and butterfly )	Goanna	Pink Fairy Orchid

Click here to see more of my "Nature" photographs.

The House

It was built in 1995 from Western Red Cedar on pine poles so that it blends into the trees and the side of the hill. There is a tall fence surrounding the house and about an acre of land, so the dogs cannot escape and chase the wildlife. Now that the kangaroos know this, they happily graze right up to the fence and ignore any shouts from the dogs!

In a good winter, the dammed creek forms this lovely lake just below the house. In summer, of course, the dam recedes to less than a quarter of this size, but so far it has never dried up. Rainwater is used in the house, but there is a firefighting pump in the dam attached to sprinklers on the roof in case of summer bushfires. In 2002 a large bushfire came to the edge of Ridgehaven, but luckily it was controlled before reaching the house. It burnt 2000 acres of bush and farmland next door.

The Dam

Grass Trees and Wandoo eucalypts

Grass Trees germinate in bush fires, and their trunks are permanently blackened. The wood from their roots is used to make ornamental items such as vases and lamp bases. A fallen log of Wandoo was used to make the kitchen benches, an outdoor table and some steps inside the house. It is one of the hardest timbers known, and is a rich dark red when oiled.

All photos are the property of Amanda Bowen, and must not be downloaded or copied in any way without permission.