लेखक: Julie King

Heather Gordon (aka Barossa Nanna) is the author and illustrator of this book. Heather is an artist, author and gardener. Heather usually writes and collages what she knows – chooks, gardening and travel adventures. “Barossa Nanna and the Lonely Chook” (2014) was Heather”s first published book. It gently deals with grief and loss in a way that children can understand. “Barossa Nanna and the Chook Collage” featured chooks and gardens and was the first of the Collage books created in response to the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020. Ten years ago, at the Mount Pleasant Farmers” Market, Julie King and Andrea Hoffmann”s Croftwood Grove stall with kimchi, kombucha, chocolate coated treats, preserves (especially the mandarin jam) along with a wide variety of apples and freshly picked berries was a popular place to shop on Saturday mornings. Friendships grew as conversations about growing berries and fermenting food developed into workshops and home visits. A shared laugh about their tv experiences – Julie and Andrea”s on “Gardening Australia” and Heather”s on “Poh & Co” – created another bond. During Australia”s first wave of the Covid19 pandemic, Andrea and Julie dropped off boxes of vegetables and homemade treats to Heather isolated at home. A shared holiday to Andamooka, chats about keeping chooks; and then the introduction of ducks at Croftwood Grove and a book idea was born. Heather has worked extensively in rural and remote regions of Australia. Heather”s love of the Australian landscape is reflected in her photography, mosaics and collage. Heather”s Mosaics and Collage can be viewed on social media at “Rhagodia Mosaics and Collage”. A modern-day four-way online collaboration between the author in the Barossa Valley, her friends at Croftwood Grove, the digitising process in Andamooka and the publisher in Alice Springs.