Reprise from August 2019 – the start of the fires on the east coast of Australia that traumatised a nation.
I don’t know why my husband and I felt compelled to stop at the old cemetery on that blustery day. We certainly didn’t go there to take photos. So maybe it was intuition, a guiding hand. The power of the robin. He. Red-capped robin. Read more
Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.
I’m struggling with my Friday song day. Perhaps after all these years, I’ve got no songs left in the tank? Some pretty eye watering inflation figures were released in Australia this week. Not as bad as some countries. Apparently, we’ve got coal and gas, to borrow a phrase from a friend, “up the wazoo”. There’s always a but. The price for Aussie gas is set by the global market so we pay the international price. Gas is not the only commodity that is determined by the global market. Aussies, do you reckon you’ll be able to afford your usual groceries in a war/pandemic/climate catastrophe-driven global food shortage?
In the forthcoming federal budget, I will be looking to the new Australian government to stop all public subsidies and public largesse for fossil fuel projects. Gosh, if ordinary people have to pay the fuel excise, I can see no reason why the coal and gas companies should continue to benefit from the diesel fuel rebate. Fair’s fair, right?
Anyway, I digress. I suppose I may have a few songs left. Today, I thought we should listen to an Aussie band. Here is Perch Creek performing Gold Shop. Enjoy.
Check out their album and if you’ve got cash to spare, musicians gotta eat.
Take care, everyone.
Kind Regards.
Tracy.
I was recently invited by the Lens-Artists team to be a guest host of the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, and now, finally, my turn has arrived! I am so excited. I’ve chosen the theme of surreal for this week’s challenge. I think of that word each time I exclaim: “Has the world gone mad?” It’s bizarre. Some might even say, “surreal“. It was therefore no surprise that a century ago, at another time of great societal upheaval, surrealism as an artistic and intellectual movement emerged. Photography too had its place in this avant-garde art form with notable photographers such as Man Ray, Dora Maar, Maurice Tabard, Raoul Ubac, Toshiko Okanoue, Florence Henri, Claude Cahun and Angus McBean, among others, arguably being among the very first lens-artists.
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It’s July so you know what that means. July is when the dedicated, hard-working hosts of the incredibly popular Lens-Artists Photo Challenge take a well earned break from their hosting duties and co-opt five guest hosts to take on this important responsibility. This week, Andre from My Blog – solaner is hosting the challenge and he has invited us to feel the summer vibe. It’s winter here in the Southern Hemisphere but I will try.
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Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.
Would it be okay if I share a dog story with you rather than focus on the doom and gloom this week? I spend a lot of time thinking about the gloomy stuff and it is of no help to anyone. And yet, I did read a story on a Finnish innovation, a mega-sand battery to store green energy for when it is needed. Hooray, but I digress. Today, I was walking to the park when I saw this huge Siberian husky loping my way at speed.
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Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.
It’s already Saturday here and I haven’t published my Friday Song yet. Better late than never, eh? This week I could tell you about all the stupid spending that went on under the last government, and that we now have nothing “nation building” to show for it. I could also tell you how this has left the new national government in a pretty pickle having to cancel important programs that ensure people sick with Covid don’t have to go into work in order to keep a roof over their heads. Yeah, tricky. It is especially tricky when you have inherited a huge budget deficit due to a lot of expenditure that hasn’t exactly been the best value for money for the country, and now have a huge budget deficit/ big credit card bill, at the same time as interest rates are going through the roof (lotta roofs in this thought bubble). And if you are not collecting enough taxes to pay that debt down because everybody, including the rich people, must have a tax cut – and in order for prospective governing parties to win an election – then those debt levels are only going to increase, adding to the burden on existing and future taxpayers, those few that are still remaining that is (including those casual but essential workers sick with Covid), and I’m not talking about the rich people here. I could tell you about all of that, but I won’t.
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It’s July so you know what that means. July is when the dedicated, hard-working hosts of the incredibly popular Lens-Artists Photo Challenge take a well earned break from their hosting duties and co-opt five guest hosts to take on this important responsibility. This week, Jez from Photos with Jez, is hosting the challenge and he has invited us to share in his addiction for reflections and has dared us to see double.
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Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.
Yesterday I was as mad as hell when workers down the road parked on my new garden. So I spent a good five minutes looking for some lipstick to write on their windscreen. But I decided against that and instead stormed down to where they were working and asked them to move their, ahem, vehicle off my, um, garden, or words to that effect. No really, I was very polite. Unfortunately, there was a fatality.
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Welcome to my regular Friday song/tune day, ladies and gentlemen, where I pick a piece of music that reflects my mood or the times, to share with you.
Today I have chosen the main theme from the movie, Cinema Paradiso. The theme was composed by Ennio and Andrea Morricone and the performance took place in Venice in 2007. Unfortunately, I was not able to ascertain the orchestra in this performance. Do you know the film? I will just leave that with you. I can’t help wondering why love between consenting adults should be anyone else’s business? I also wonder why anyone would want to impose themselves on the lives of people living peacefully?
Let’s listen.
Love, not war.
Kind Regards.
Tracy.
June in Canberra (the Australian Capital Territory) – Winter officially begins. It has been the coldest start to winter since 1964. Opening the house to the elements due to household Covid infections made June a particularly cold month. Life on the outside was better even if it was freezing. The sun came out occasionally and reminded us that winter days in Canberra can be glorious. Here are the highlights, largely courtesy of my True Love who took photos before and after his Covid infection. The poor man still seems very unwell to me but he takes beautiful photos nevertheless.
It snowed on the ranges in the period after my TL’s surgery and prior to his Covid infection. It was bleak but we were happy, happy, happy.*
The majesty.*
Then life got more complicated so I snatched a few moments in the garden.
My Eutaxia obovata (egg and bacon plant) that I planted last year clenched its leaves to conserve heat.
The galahs were contemplative.
The sun popped out and so did my TL and Pimelea physodes.* Lucky for us.
The Eastern spinebill chimed its arrival and stopped to freshen up.*
The prodigal Golden Whistler returned.*
The sun called me and I was off. T-shirt weather, baby!
The brittle gums (E. mannifera) up the hill were celebrating too.
The Eucalyptus cinerea were covered in galls. Something should eat those.
By this time (3 hours later), I wished I had packed my jumper.
Finally, one last photo for my neighbour, J, who is home with Covid. You had visitors today. They seemed to be gnawing on your tree rather than eating the seeds.
Anyway, back to the Covid situation. Canberra seems to have the highest rate per 100,000 people than any other Australian state or territory (NY Times tracks this stuff but maybe their data is wrong). Perhaps the number of infections is only now catching up with the rest of the country? On the other hand, there are now 122 people with Covid in our public hospital. That’s 122 people with Covid in a public hospital system that has somewhere between 600 to 670 public hospital beds and a huge number of hospital staff off sick. At the same time, elective surgeries in the public hospital system have been cancelled again. By my rough calculation, 15-20% of our public hospital beds are being occupied by people with Covid, as they should be if those people need hospital care. These stresses on the system do not seem to merit a “business as usual” approach. Furthermore, several patients and staff in the cancer ward have also caught Covid on the ward. I understand that staff, patients and visitors are required to have a RAT test to enter those highly sensitive areas. If our experience with the uselessness of the RATs is anything to go by, then that does seem like a Covid breach waiting to happen. That’s my opinion.
Anyway, anyway, I send my best wishes to my neighbour, J, for a speedy recovery. Ditto, my friend, Martha, in the States. My TL is none too well and he is in his third week post onset of his infection. Who knows what July will bring? Hopefully, cake. And a few sunny days. And good health. Especially good health.
This is my response to The Changing Seasons photo challenge, jointly hosted by Ju-Lyn (Touring My Backyard) and Brian (Bushboys World). Click on the links provided to check out Ju-Lyn and Brian’s challenge and create some memories by joining in.
But enough of me, how was your June? I hope you found a space for things that make you happy and keep you sane.
Take care, everyone. Stay safe, be kind and be you.
Kind Regards.
Tracy.
*Photos preceded by an asterix were taken by my True Love.
Reflections of An Untidy Mind 