If you play good cricket, a lot of bad things get hidden.
Kapil Dev
As Australia stumbles in the ashes series in England (metaphor anyone?), Kym and I thought we might venture down south to see how the local ashes of the summer have recovered. Turning right at Geeveston, we walked into the burnt forest and were amazed to see that six months later the burnt out area is doing very well - green bits shooting everywhere and the rich earthy smell of spring seeping from the ground into the air.
Our hearts were gladdened by the sights, smells and sounds of a very much alive bush. Retiring for a soothing cup of tea and vanilla slice at the local bakery, it was a nice trip to restore our mood and set us up for a fecund season of growth and renewal.
That's stumps everyone (or is there one over to go?)
Tree ferns are doing well
Recent growth
Pretty nice in the middle of the forest - no shops though :(
"When the need arises - and it does - you must be able to shoot your own dog. Don't farm it out — that doesn't make it nicer, it makes it worse."
Robert A. Heinlein
We always thought that Heinlein was a bit overrated, but he may have been onto something when talking about the wonderful and terrible responsibility of animal ownership. Today we had to "farewell" our quirky mate Cornelius. His behaviour had been deteriorating of late, including ignoring his flock to ensure his own safety, and hogging the food instead of facilitating it's distribution. There had been much discussion in the last few months about his usefulness on the property, and his case was not helped when he failed to sire any new fluffy chicks last season. We tried to blame it on the fires or other factors, but the sad fact is that his tenure became increasingly tenuous! Recently we purchased a couple of new pullets, assured that they were both female. As time passed, it became obvious that the statuesque "Xena" was becoming androgynous and even dipping into the decidedly masculine side of the chicken spectrum. Today "she" crowed - and thus "Xena" has officially been renamed "Zeus". As for Cornelius - we gave him a great last day on the planet, then dispatched him for the greater good of the flock. Long live Zeus, the new King on the block.
To alleviate the trauma associated with the "farewell", we decamped to our local watering hole Willie Smith's and enjoyed a few medicinal beverages and the magnificent "taste of the valley" board. It doesn't fully heal the wound, but it was a nice and timely diversion.
"There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."
Issac Asimov
The antarctic blast coming through this weekend has been a boon for sitting around in the internal warmth and inventing ways of frittering the hours away. It is not great for over sized rambunctious puppies who must be entertained in the same way as a toddler. Kym's approach involves throwing the ball down the hallway (although this is technically an "outside" game) while Anthony pursues more intellectual challenges, like - where is the ball, Kelly?
Before you ring the RSPCA - she always gets the ball! In fact, she is terrible at sharing and is constantly fiddling with the "game rules" to suit her intended outcome of maintaining around 90% possession.
In the middle of the brisk blast from down south, we still overhear the odd denier chipping in with the old chestnut about how there is no global warming because it is cold outside. Interesting approach to reality and best illustrated by the following image from "The Conversation"
Ass-ume the position
So amid the heavy sighs and eye rolling we will try to keep the conversation open about how weather is not climate and the gentle nudging that is in all of our interests to continue - but honestly!
And finally what exactly does brisk weather look like down here? Well, beautiful of course. It's not a lot of snow compared to previous years, but maybe that is due to a changing climate? Nah!
