Australia burning —Brian from Bushboy’s World wants to see the last photo on your SD card. Here’s mine, taken at 6.30am this morning from my back window.
I wonder how anything could survive outside in that smoke. Read more
G’day
New Beginnings
Australia burning — I wonder whether those thousands of people that are sheltering on isolated east coast beaches, overwhelmed by acrid smoke — in towns where supplies are running low and where some unprincipled grocers charge exorbitant amounts for a few basic supplies — are contemplating jumping on small, overcrowded boats and sailing across treacherous waters to New Zealand? I wonder whether these prospective boat people — call them climate refugees, if you will — might beg the New Zealand government grant them asylum and a new beginning? I wonder how New Zealanders might react to such requests? I wonder ….
I wonder how far-fetched this actually sounds?
The Changing Seasons – December 2019
December (Canberra summer) — Caught in transition.
I feel compelled to take photos, both of the mundane and the unusual, as if to bear witness that these places, things, people and creatures, once existed and that they mattered. Read more
The Question On Everyone’s Lips
When will this end? Getting nervous, but still here. The horror and the devastation continues.
The joke is on us all. Read more
Gone Batty
Greetings, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.
I don’t know whether the bushfire smoke is getting to me, or whether I’m just going a bit batty, or maybe both. Either way, I sure don’t feel well. Depending on the way the wind is blowing, my True Love and I will nip outside for a breath of fetid air. On one of our brief walks, we saw a tiny colony of flying foxes (fruit bats) with what looked like several babies clinging to them. Flying foxes have been having a tough time of it over the last few years. They have been dying in their thousands from heat stress during increasingly frequent heatwaves. I can relate. I think I might drop off my perch too if I don’t get air-conditioning. Seriously though, it is a real problem. Read more
A Few Thoughts On Christmas and Politics, But Mostly Christmas
Sometimes it seems that I grew up in a golden era — at a time when world peace seemed possible, and Australians of all faiths lived together harmoniously. Religious wars were something that happened ‘somewhere else’. There was also no such thing as culture wars. We had a strong two-party system, one representing business, while the other was perceived as the workers’ champions. There was even an accord between business and labour. Fancy that! The way people voted was less about one’s religious affiliation or to which dioceses one belonged, it was predominantly about class. That is what it seemed like to me anyway. However, that has all changed. Read more
Christmas Time In The City
A little Aussie satirical poem because, well, life vapes and then you die. This is not the happiest poem so you may want to skip it.
It’s Christmas Time In the City
no joy no joy no
air no air no air none
kirribilli smokin’
white men jokin’
it’s Christmas time in the city
make haste to land of the smoke-free
blow smoke up ya
are we having fun yet?
not me not me not
happy mo-mo
no joy no joy no
air no air no air no
Christmas barbie in the city
Sorry about that, ladies and gentlemen. It happens when you’re starved of oxygen. I will resume my normal calm programming as soon as we can breathe again. Maybe in a few months time. Or maybe when we meet our Paris emission target through accounting loophole. Not happy mo-mo.
Regards.
Tracy
Australia. Perfect one day. Bushfires the next.
Singing With My People
Greetings, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.
Those of you who follow the Aussie news, will know that the current heatwave and bushfire emergency, and the drought that preceded it, is having a catastrophic effect on our way of life, health, local economies and ecosystems. I could go on and probably will at a later time. However, I really need to be with my people right now. That’s you, ladies and gentlemen. Read more
Book Review – Small Town Kid (by Frank Prem)
I’m a fan of a good love story and Frank Prem’s memoir, Small Town Kid, doesn’t disappoint. This small book of exquisitely written poetry traces Frank’s life from baby through to young adult in the small town of Beechworth, country Victoria (Australia) during the 1960s and 1970s. Read more
A Vow Softly Spoken
What is life without hope? Amidst the ashes and broken dreams wrought by the bushfires in Australia, life goes on.
A Vow Softly Spoken
smoke in the distance
lights a wildfire in our heart
hope for the future
heart, mind, body, soul
we shall overcome
My nephew and his lovely lady got married recently. I wish them all the very best.
Kind Regards.
Tracy.
For the Ragtag Daily Prompt — Wedding.
Reflections of An Untidy Mind 