Relaxing at the Botanic Gardens

Relaxing at the Botanic Gardens
It’s a beautiful Spring day, too lovely to be inside.

Later: I had the day off but I was getting antsy just sitting in front of the computer (especially since I was obsessively checking my e-mail for any message regarding the job). So I headed out to have a picnic lunch with the Snook in Hyde Park. Then I walked down to visit the Art Gallery of NSW for the first time. (I know; that’s pathetic. I’ve been here nearly six years!) I explored the Australian and European collection on the ground floor, and there were a few pieces I especially liked: Snowdrop and the Seven Little Men, Bailed Up, The Camp, and Ned Kelly. That last one is actually a giant tapestry based on Sidney Nolan’s painting Kelly and the Horse. The colours and the scale of it are just amazing to see up close. (I had visions of reinterpreting it as a quilt or a knitted piece.) I was a little disappointed not to see more of the famous Australian works I was expecting (having seen the tapestry canvases so many times) but a sign informed me that they were away on loan for a few months. I headed back out into the sunshine and down to the Botanic Gardens. I’m always amazed every time I go there. Flowers were blooming, tourists were picnicking, ibises were screeching, and fruit bats were chattering. I spread out my blanket and spent the next hour reading Kavalier and Clay under the blue, blue sky. There are worse ways to spend an afternoon…