Posted on by Reflections of an Untidy Mind

More Of The Same

This is my response to the Ragtag Daily Prompt — Forecast.  To join in, click on the link.

It seems that this month, there is a new temperature record broken every other day.  Another scorcher is forecast tomorrow.  When the temperature dropped below 35c yesterday, I quickly hightailed it out to the surrounding bush.  Due to my mosaic project and hot weather, I’ve been terribly inactive and was afraid my legs would no longer work, but I can report that they are still in walking order.

helicopter.jpg
My photograph of a helicopter carrying water to a fire near Tidbinbilla (24/01/2019).

This is what happens when water becomes a commodity.  I predict that the former federal water minister will lose his seat at the next election over this debacle.

My thoughts are with Vanda from Our Other Blog:  Two Sisters and Two Points of View, whose town has been evacuated due to the bushfire emergency in Tasmania.

Stay safe and look out for your neighbours.

Regards
Tracy

Posted on by Reflections of an Untidy Mind

F is for ….

Fairy and features.

Dear readers and fairy enthusiasts, a while ago I decided to make a mosaic of a fairy.  Every garden needs a fairy, right?  I had never made a mosaic of a human-like form before, so I expected it to be quite challenging.  And indeed, it was.   It turns out it is difficult to mosaic a tiny face, all of 2sq centimetres, and I made rather a mess of it.  Nevertheless, as imperfect as it was, my friend decided she would buy it for her grand-daughter.  Read more

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Chip Off The Old Block

I come from a long line of procrastinators.  It is kind of genetic.  There is always a tension about what constitutes over-sharing and yet it is apparently important to speak up about mental health issues, despite the discrimination this induces.  I’ve always had problems concentrating and getting started.  Organisation is not my forté.  I’m not sure whether anyone noticed.  Girls are good at hiding that stuff.  Plus I was kind of smart and I had compensation strategies that got me by.  I got through my first degree somehow (burning the midnight oil and eating a lot of chocolate).  I got a job in the government and worked my way through some of the ranks (burning the midnight oil and eating a lot of chocolate).

I was the Taskforce queen.  I could pull it out of a hat when deadlines were tight (it takes a lot of adrenaline to get my mind out of first gear).  Routine jobs?  Tedious and stressful (probably because they involved organisational skills that I did not possess).  I live in nuance, and that is often an uncomfortable place to be for a policy adviser.  (I do have some sympathy for our former prime minister who was constantly being criticised because he couldn’t give a simple answer.)  It is hard to sum up complex policy considerations in three talking points.  Still I managed, because you know, hard work.  It is the solution to everything, right?  At least that is what I thought.

Trigger warning.  This post contains material that may distress some readers. Read more

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It Is Okay To Stick Your Beak In

In my previous post, I mentioned that my love and I had gone out to the river for a sticky beak.  It soon became apparent that not everyone understood this strange Aussie/Kiwi colloquialism, with a number of readers requiring a translation.  In response, I thought I should provide a general explanation for those too polite to ask for a translation.  Which is completely fitting as the explanation links in so perfectly with today’s post (unintended) about one of our most weird and wonderful mammals, the short-beaked echidna — a real sticky beak. Read more

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The Caravan Of Houses

If cottage means a small house on a plot big enough for a decent sized veggie patch, then my family and I live in a cottage.  Like many other Canberrans living in one of the city’s older suburbs, we live in what is popularly known as an ‘ex-govie’. Read more

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He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Possum

I spent several hours eating a lot of chocolate so that I could write a post today.  It was rubbish (the post, not the chocolate), so I ditched it.  Still suffering and not just because of the chocolate.  I must reform (new year’s resolution?) and prioritise my waistline (currently lack thereof) over my blog.  So when all else fails, post a photo! Read more

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All Care And No Responsibility

There has been rather a bird deficit of late on this blog, so it is time for a couple of bird photos.  The Ragtag Daily Prompt is host, so it seems only fitting that I feature a cuckoo in today’s post.  Cuckoos lay their eggs in the nests of other bird species, leaving the host to do all the hard work raising the young.

On a recent trip to Tidbinbilla (a nature reserve outside of Canberra), I spotted a couple of Fan-tailed Cuckoos.  The Fan-tailed Cuckoo is an attractive little bird which lives in woodland and forests. Read more