Lolly Pink

The beauty of sunsets

is that they are invariably different

even when viewed 

from the same vantage points

on the same pathway...

they are always able 

to halt you in your tracks

and take your breath away

Tonight's sunset glowed golden red 

through the eucalyptus trees

as it stretched out 

over the ocean towards me

and then at a certain point

on its steady slipping

behind the hills

it turned a bright pink

a lolly pink sunset

wondrous oblivion

On the Path

On the path to Hell's Gates today

I saw one large goanna

slithering under the pandanus leaves

one small frill neck lizard 

standing on a rock

looking out to sea

a number of pods of small dolphins

and a family group of black cockatoos 

Dad is holding a banksia nut

the flower seeds of the banksia shrub

and he is using his beak and dexterous tongue

to pick the seeds out

He's the dad because he has a pink eye ring

and a dull yellow cheek patch

and he's BIG

over here in the banksia

is another male 

the males have a darker beak

and lighter yellow patch

look at his

beak and tongue up close

and the way he grasps the nut

in his claws

Alaine my blog friend has told me 
that cockatoos always grasp food 
with their left feet
isn't that fascinating...

and left behind in the tree

and indignant is a juvenile

making quite a noise 

until she too takes flight

to join her family

See her tail

These are yellow tailed Black Cockatoos

the biggest of the cockatoos

and they usually herald the advent of rain

They flap deeply and slowly

in a heavy fluid motion

you can hear them coming

by their wing beats  

and their loud eerie mournful wailing calls
I have seen them 
in this cluster of banksia trees before 
perhaps it's a favourite family haunt...

Heaven

There is the heaven we enter

through institutional grace

and there are the yellow finches bathing and singing

in the lowly puddle

~



Mary Oliver wrote the above lines
and inspired me...



~

There is the blessing we receive

from ordained clerics

and there is the sunlight sifting through the trees

onto the green forest

There are the holy books from which we learn

the theology of man

and there are the Scribbly Gums

and the tracks of seagulls

There is the communion of people

and of sacraments

and there is walking in awe

in the green blue cathedral of Nature

Later
I related to a friend
how I had been inspired
to write these lines
and she told me about
Longfellow's poem:

My Cathedral

Like two cathedral towers these stately pines

uplift their fretted summits tipped with cones

The arch beneath them is not built with stones

Not art but nature traced these lovely lines,

And carved this graceful arabesque of vines:

No organ but the wind here sighs and moans,

No sepulchre conceals a martyr's bones

No marble bishop on his tomb reclines.

Enter! the pavement, carpeted with leaves,

Gives back a softened echo to thy soft tread!

Listen! the choir is singing;all the birds,

In Leafy galleries beneath the eaves,

Are Singing! listen, ere the sound be fled,

And learn there may be worship without words ..

Oh Holy
Heavenly
Happy days...

1969 Time Warp

*

1969 Making a film for fun...

In 1969, when I was in my last year of high school in Christchurch, New Zealand, a girlfriend and I, along with two film maker friends, made a short three minute movie to the song Society's Child.
The film was released on the sole television channel at the time and aired as an 'interlude' - a filler when the programming, for some reason, didn't run to schedule.






The song Society's Child, was first released in 1965 by Janis Ian, a sixteen year old. She had written the song when only thirteen. The song concerned the taboo subject of inter racial romance and caused quite a stir at the time.

The song tells of a girl's inter racial romance that was forbidden by her mother and frowned upon by her peers and teachers. The girl eventually decides to end the relationship claiming that societal norms and pressure left her with no other choice.



Many radio stations refused to play the song and one in Atlanta that did was burned to the ground.
Ian received hate mail and death threats.
Ian said later that she lived in a near all black community and was one of only five white children in her school so that she saw the issue from both sides. She also regrets the hurt the song caused her family and the fact that her father was branded a racist when this wasn't the case.
She said she wrote the song to reflect the way things were in the community at that time.

The song became a hit after it was featured on Leonard Bernstein's TV special -
Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution.






Our little film looked at the issue of class differences and the difficulty of breaching class barriers and forming cross class friendships.



The tall fellow in the top shot has become a respected New Zealand filmmaker, well known for his Antarctic filming. Working for NHNZ, a film production company, Max Quinn has made over twenty films in the antarctic regions.



To slip back to the late sixties click here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yW_rYLoIR08


Pity about the false eyelashes...

Everlasting

The wild grasses on the sides 

of the coastal track

are autumn brown although it's spring

I bent down to look closely

at the tawny grass 

and spotted a splash of yellow

down the hillside

a clump of everlasting daisies

and right on the cliff edge

the daisy seeds set to be carried 

by the coastal breeze

to begin a new life

everlasting...

 

I am part of the sun as my eye is part of me

That I am part of the earth my feet know perfectly

and my blood is part of the sea

There is not any part of me that is alone 

and absolute except my mind

and we shall find that the mind has no existence by itself

it is only the glitter of the sun on the surfaces of the water

                            D.H.Lawrence

 

Sunday Walk

Sunday walk

to Sunshine Beach

for lunch

is a ritual 

that has been established 

this year

Up the hill

down the slope

through the eucalypts 

and the banksias

and the wallum

A Small Frill Neck Lizard poses for me

then 

back through the wallum 

to the tanglewood

and the rain-forest

It was hot today

we were all hungry

and on the move

Now back to collect our car

at the edge of the rain-forest

What's over here at the rock wall?

It looks small 

but these are large boulders

The carpet snake or Morelia Spilota

a native of the rainforests of Queensland

which is my state

is a python who is non-venomous

and can grow 2-4m

This one I estimated to be 2m long

Carpet snakes can live 20-30 years

He has attractive black 

and yellow/brown markings

and a gorgeous iridescent pearl eye

A great Sunday walk...

Bearded Dragon

Walking up the steep steps 

behind the township

of Noosa Heads this morning

I was bemoaning the fact 

that I never see 

critters on this walk

while they must be there in the trees, 

old logs and deep leafy carpet

on the forest floor

I found a bright little flower on the path

and the curious green flowers

of the macaranga tree

with the large parasol leaves

I began to make my way down hill

through a residential zone

and spotted a movement on a front lawn

he stopped very still

and as I cautiously approached

he scampered into the leafy camouflage

and I walked closer still

he's a Bearded dragon

with rows of spiny scales on his throat

which he can puff and expand if threatened

and also spines on the back of his head

He has a hand waving gesture

to indicate submission to other dragons

and a head bobbing action to show dominance

He's also able to change colour 

like a chameleon

The bearded dragon enjoys basking in the sun

in dry arid zones of Australia

but when the temperatures rise to 38'-50'C

he buries himself underground

He's an omnivore and also diurnal.

The Dragon can grow 45-60 cm

half of which is tail

and despite his angry appearance 

he makes a gentle pet...