Within a second of this adult male Dusky Moorhen emerging from the water, the juvenile had pounced, snatched and was swimming off at a rate of knots.
Cheeky Chick Steals Daddy’s Yabby
Image
1
Their hands
Their hands when they touch
Flow from rolling of wrists
Each touch is a signal
Each touch is a kiss
Their fingers are folding
On whispers and secrets
Cupped hands are holding
All ahead that will be
Their fingers trace circles
On their palms telling futures
Tender are the touches
Of their hands as their tutors
Their hands rest together
One on top of the other
Their hands mark their measure
Their harmonious hands
Their hands spread out
Open and true
Telling each story
Each soul on view
Hands hold each heart
Supporting each core
Their hands do the learning
Of what more to adore
The extension of hands
The parallel lines
Pads of sensitive fingers
Their dreaming defines
There are fists and shaking
There are dips and rise
There are quivering fingers
Before flickering eyes
When hands arc with arms
To gracious embrace
The lovers say nothing
As hands touch each face
Delicate lines are drawn
Across soft skinned cheeks
Then with touches to lips
Mouths start to seek
Two seeing hands
guide the blind
Sensuous and caressing they massage
Four hands synchronise
to breathe in kind
Entwined
in waves of love
Link
It is a small town with a small Newsletter, but we like it. Click here: 202002_nws_TT
The Smoke Filled Sky (a lament for my country)
Testament to our past misdeeds
Confirmation of future trends
For victims, my heart bleeds
No politics justify these ends
The smoke filled sky blocks light and hope
Destruction and death follow
How will our burning country cope?
What hope is there for tomorrow?
Immediate danger on fire grounds
A fire season now six months long
Environmental disaster all around
We need more than just “stay strong!”
Adopt the fire advice “watch and act”
For this escalating climate emergency
Because if a nation ablaze isn’t enough fact
Our destiny is to burn again too blind to see
The Gift
They met before the air, when the air was to be sky
An aged lifetime dreamer met a genuinely considerate guy
Who met an elderly woman, with a strong desire to fly
He gave up first class to her, she gave a pleased and grateful sigh
Violet, eighty-eight, could afford an economy ticket
Jack had first class for his whole family to wing it
Both were going London to New York in early December
She with no flight priors, this special first to remember
He knew this from chatting to her in the airport lounge
This was her first overseas flight, to her daughter bound
She told of her grief at the family departure and long absence
And her last chance to see their new American residence
Jack told his wife of Violet’s anticipation, joy and excitement
He wanted to add more to what this flight already meant
He gave up his seat berthed next to his own family
That she could travel verily to her family comfortably
And the stewards said it felt lovely, it was the sweetest thing
To take her photo up front while in first class she winged
An image for her daughter to see, who may not have believed
And for Jack as a memento of the pleasure given and received
For it wasn’t just the ticket, the seat or the price
It was the face of human kindness that was so wonderfully nice
Everyone who observed was touched by his gesture
Everyone was reminded what in a person should be measured
Seeking out what is good is the measure to be treasured
Good on you Jack
Link
Click on the link: Tableland Talk, December 2019
Rosella Highway
I love to sit by Rosella Highway
When a crimson flash drives my way
A dip, a rise, a lateral meander
Arcing right to pass our verandah
Cutting the corner, just by my head
Blurred red into blue the colours bled
A wind that brushes across my cheek
As the rushing parrots charge by to seek
Fields of grain, seed and fruit
Forests of buds and flowers to loot
Friends and family travel in flocks
Adults school juveniles in hard knocks
That clearly dictate the pecking order
While traversing landscapes without border
Their 3D byways criss cross the land
Enhanced and encumbered by rise of man
They flit up to perch on the highest limb
They dive deep to drop to waters brim
I watch with envy this life of pleasure
By which I set my life to measure
Views of the world I’ll never see
From high above and in canopy
Agile aerialist sky bourne of air
Fortunate bird without a care
BogArts Bridge to Bridge Ephemeral Natural Materials Sculpture Walk Installations Gallery
Gallery
This gallery contains 88 photos.
Originally posted on Strathbogie Ranges – Nature View:
With over 80 sculptures on display, ranging from the size of an egg to 2.5 metres high, there was plenty to see.
BogArts Bridge to Bridge Ephemeral Natural Materials Sculpture Walk
Gallery
This gallery contains 10 photos.
Originally posted on Strathbogie Ranges – Nature View:
As part of the Strathbogie Arts Festival by BogArts, many artists contributed to an Ephemeral Sculpture Walk along the Bridge to Bridge walking track. The challenge was to construct works from degradable…
Mountain Hut Creek Reservoir / Charman’s Falls Hike – Garden Range Flora and Fauna Reserve, Kelvin View
Responsible Authority:
- Parks Vic
- GV Water
Acceptable modes of transit:
Walk
Distance & duration
- Mt Hut Reservoir 2km return 1/2 -1hr (dirt track)
- Charman’s Falls 6-7km return, 4-5hrs (no track)
GPS coordinates & map
- 36°48’23.0″S 145°38’20.3″E
- -36.806393, 145.638982
Grading (using the Parks Vic Track and Trail Grading Manual)
Grade 5
Amenities:
None
Hazards
Snakes, tree and limb falls, very steep inclines, cliff faces, overhangs, steep embankments, slippery surfaces include wet surfaces, loose rocks, soil, mud and vegetation, absence of pathways, flowing water
Restrictions
- No hunting
- No camping
- No pets
- Take your rubbish with you
- Take potable water with you
Trailhead sign & Informational Signs
None (Mt Hut Reservoir, GV Water sign at gate)
Directional signs / bollards or trail markers
None
Brochure
None.
Recommendations
Significant sections of this walk are a scramble through steep bush terrain. Trail marking and eventual foot trail creation would improve access and safety.
Conclusion
For experienced, well prepared hikers only. A service track begins at and returns to the Mt Hut Reservoir GV Water gate on the Euroa-Strathbogie Road, but only goes as far as Mountain Hut Creek Reservoir itself. From here you follow the Mountain Hut Creek embankment to Waterhouse Reservoir. At this point, cross the dam wall and once again proceed upwards, around the Reservoir and again onto the creek embankment. There is no trail, the slopes are steep and littered with loose surface material. Take care. However, the reward is great. Charman’s Falls are spectacular, particularly with a good spill of water, and it is downhill all the way back.
Deodands and Pennies
Give deodands and pennies for eyes
Slake the thirst and feast who dies
Then turn to home, to humble pies
Beget, begone, say your goodbyes
In forgiveness, honour, deposit the dead
Who in pious mercy, give up their dread
As the vehicle of loss to heaven we send
That god receives to make amends
Falling in love
There were two of us
We were young
We didn’t really know each other
Just of each other
Through others
But somehow we knew we were for each other
At some point it became clear
And then it became necessary to test it
And then it became essential
And the knowing was certain
Intuitive
Two became one
It wasn’t part of any plan
To fall in love
I guess that is why it is called falling
You find yourself tumbling head over heels
an uncontrolled free-fall
Preoccupied, whimsical, looking forward to next time.
Wanting next time to never end
Smiling when you are alone
Smiling when together
Just smiling in general
I’m smiling now
On your bike (alternate title The Secret of Health and Happiness)
I’m sitting on my bike feeling like an athlete
Pumping on the pedals pushing hard with two feet
Think I’m 21, not true but it would be so sweet
Trying to stretch my body to a 60+ life cheat
The wheels below me spin going nowhere above the concrete floor
The resistance trainer squeals getting hotter at its core
Parrots on the outside watch me through the open door
As I sweat and puff and grip to gain a minute more
I took the vow on January 1 a New Years resolution
To plan a longer fuller life a Seaniverse solution
Write a recipe to follow to my end of days conclusion
For what it’s worth I thought I’d share it take or leave my proposition
Health and happiness can be elusive when ageing as I am
Failing mind and body are inevitable and then bam
You die a death one way or another no way to stop it man
So get there smart, sharing and active as best you can
You can’t be everything to everybody but you can share with a few
You can’t extend beyond your limits but there may be limits you never knew
You can be concerned about the future or plan for it ahead
It may not work the way you planned but that’s an opportunity instead
So here’s the recipe for trying it’s not really all that hard
It’s based on good and bad experience, read from lots of greeting cards
Exercise mind and body, I run walk ride read and write
Consciously enjoy the present, there’s no point worrying through the night
Appreciate the world around you mindfully it’s the only way that’s right
Action your ideas, you’ll feel sharp and crisp and bright
Socialise with others in ways appropriate for each
Permit allow enjoy, calm rest and sleep makes life a beach
A considered “Yes” is the right answer almost every time
Follow these simple rules to be secure and feeling fine
It’s EEAASSY
- Exercise mind & body
- Enjoy the present
- Appreciate
- Action your ideas
- Socialise
- Sleep
- Yes – is the right answer most of the time
I do appreciate for some it is not so easy, health of mind and body are fragile things, security can be a fragile thing. My best wishes to you all. I hope, possibly, maybe something above can be of assistance somewhere, sometime.
The point of human living
The awareness that comes to us via consciousness and the tool of language suggests to many of us there is a point to our existence
However, there is no rational justification for this view
In a very complicated way
Human existence simply happened
It has no intrinsic need of purpose or explanation
It is our egos that ask for that
It is the same for all of us
Human existence manifests as human living
Neither has any point to it
No enduring purpose other than as a fact to be accepted,
Or, possibly as an exclusive point in its own right
As an optimist, I choose the second version of what is essentially the same thing
Although I am unsure what this implies regarding longevity
As it still suggests much is futile
Because the longer each of us lives the more we understand human nature
Consequent behaviours replay across history for better and worse
Same dreams, hopes, ambitions
Same responses, actions, strategies
Same reactionary outcomes that trend toward destruction
To the extent, we often ask why bother?
Well, I guess we might as well
So, “Does it matter?” becomes redundant
Even if meaning could be universally applied
Lack of comprehension regarding our beginning and knowledge of the inevitable end render meaning meaningless
There can be no result, no understanding to be gleaned, no purpose
So where is the point of human living?
In the scheme of things (that doesn’t exist) it doesn’t matter whether you live or not,
But at least you get to choose
You either might as well or not
I choose to live for the transient pleasure of it, the observation, the feeling of it, the moments of joy, the acknowledgement that consciousness came to be and will come to pass, the participation, the experience of love, for being here now – if you like that set of clichés
However, the future is a place of little significance to me other than to say I would hope for my family and coming generations to also have the necessary security to enable them to share the ephemeral opportunity to appreciate being
Such a curious legacy of hope begot from my love
Lake Nagambie Walk
Trail Checklist
Name:
- Lake Nagambie Foreshore Walk
Responsible Authorities:
- Strathbogie Shire Council
- Goulburn Murray Water
- Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority
Acceptable modes of transit:
- Walk
Distance & duration
- 3km return via High St or Lakeside Drive
GPS coordinates & map
36°47’07.8″S 145°09’11.0″E
-36.785508, 145.153068
Grading (using the Parks Vic Track and Trail Grading Manual):
Grade 2
Amenities:
- Public toilets
- Car parking
- Potable water
- Fishing
- Swimming
- Playgrounds
- Ornamental gardens
- Platypus sightings possible under footbridge
- Picnic areas
- Seating, tables and automatic bbqs
- Shelters
- Boat ramp
- Water sports
- Boardwalk
- Side exercise trail to Blayney Lane
Hazards
Snakes, slippery surfaces, embankments, falling trees and limbs, deep water
Restrictions
- No camping
- Restricted alcohol consumption times
Trailhead sign
- No
Informational Signs
- Yes
Directional signs / bollards or trail markers
- No
Conclusion
This pleasant walk is in current use and offers many amenities to visitors. A feature map brochure, separate to the Nagambie Tourist Map and including the Regatta Centre Walk, would encourage more people to extend their visit beyond just looking over the Lake from High Street.
Honeysuckle Creek Walk
Trail Checklist
Name:
Honeysuckle Creek Walk, Violet Town
Responsible Authority:
Authorities
- Strathbogie Shire Council
- Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority (GB CMA)
Community
- Honeysuckle Recreational Environment Project (HREP)
- Violet Town Action Group (VTAG)
Acceptable modes of transit:
- Foot and cycle
Distance & duration
- 3km as a circuit or divided into 1km or 2km loops across bridges
GPS coordinates & map
36°38’01.0″S 145°43’05.8″E
-36.633606, 145.718286
Grading (using the Parks Vic Track and Trail Grading Manual):
- Grade 2
Amenities:
- Multiple entry points
- Easy car parking
- Open parks and gardens
- Native plantings
- Good for bird watching
- Picnic tables and seating
- Informational signage
- 4 Bridges across creek
- Public toilets in adjacent Recreation Reserve
- Rubbish bins in adjacent Recreation Reserve
- Shelter in adjacent Recreation Reserve
- Sporting facilities including swimming pool and Skate Park in adjacent Recreation Reserve
- Caravan Park
- Commercial centre nearby
Hazards
Snakes, tree and limb falls, flowing water, uneven ground and slippery surfaces
Restrictions
- No camping
- No horses
- No dirt bikes
Trailhead sign
- Not present
Directional signs / bollards or trail markers
- Present, but not always and can be unclearBrochure – HREP brochure available
Conclusion
This is an established, easy, bushy parkland walk with options for longer or shorter loops available. It is currently in frequent use by the public.
Reedy Lake
Trail Checklist
Name:
Reedy Lake Wildlife Reserve, Kirwan’s Bridge
- At present Reedy Lake is empty of water.
Responsible Authority:
- Parks Vic
Community
- None known
Acceptable modes of transit:
- Walk, cycle, horse, mountain bike, dirt bike, 4WD
Distance & duration
- 4km wide Reedy Lake Rd has four approx. 1-2km access tracks into the lake
GPS coordinates & map
36°43’31.4″S 145°07’13.8″E
-36.725397, 145.120493
Grading (using the Parks Vic Track and Trail Grading Manual):
No common walking trails were found. The tracks to and around the lake are 4WD and dirt bike, heavily rutted and boggy when wet. Many peripheral tracks are being created. Controlled access along engineered dirt roads would improve this situation.
Amenities:
- Camping
- 4WD
- Dirt bikes
- Horses
- Water activities when water is present
- Highly significant Aboriginal cultural place
- Significant birdwatching site
- Diverse ecological vegetation classes within Reserve (flora)
Hazards
Snakes, tree and limb falls, slippery surfaces, getting bogged, dumped rubbish, uncontrolled camping, uncontrolled tracks and trails
Restrictions
- Take your rubbish with you
- No potable water
- No toilets
Trailhead sign & Informational Signs
- Only a one board naming sign seen
Directional signs / bollards or trail markers
- None
Brochure
- None
Conclusion
At the present time, this location appears to be dominated by 4WD and dirt bikes. Tracks were impassable by other means. Dry weather would change this. No established trails for non-mechanised use were evident. Litter and dumping of rubbish was evident. Reports mention an uncontrolled camping site. This was not seen. One concrete grated wood bbq was found near one entry point. However, it did not appear to have been used and evidence of other open fires nearby suggested camping occurs in this location at random. Reedy Lake can be enjoyed by a diverse range of recreational users, particularly when water is present in the lake. However, it is also subject to abuse. Ideally, this would be corrected by planning for improvements in multi-purpose access and oversight by Parks Vic.
Not Quite Brauner
Various grey leads and charcoal. With thanks and apologies to Victor Brauner.
Hagan reads, “It does kind of burn, good- bye.” by Henry Crawford
Now that we have had a couple of successful SPOKEN events I plan to do more of this – make videos of our spoken word writers, presenters, readers, reciters, orators and speakers.
Polly’s moods across the year
Aside
Attending Polly McQuinn’s to monitor platypus numbers in the early hours each week is a treat. I often take the camera. I thought it would be nice to share Polly’s early morning moods across the year (with a few inhabitants thrown in).
Ruffy Snow Gum Reserve Walking Track
Trail Checklist
Extends from Noyes Lane, Ruffy.
This track meanders down an unused road reserve through open Narrow-leaf Peppermint forest until it crosses a walking bridge and enters the Ruffy Flora Reserve. A circuit of this reserve takes you through swampy riparian woodlands dominated by ancient Mountain Swamp Gums. The path continues past a tiny population of Snow Gums, remnants of a colder climate, and skirts a chain of dark deep billabongs into bandicoot and koala territory.
Responsible Authority:
Road Reserve: Strathbogie Shire Council
Ruffy Nature Conservation Reserve: DELWP
Acceptable modes of transit:
Walk (mountain bike and horse with track improvement)
Distance & duration
3km return, 1.5hrs to the Reserve.
Additional loops could be added:
- 4km via Bunting Hill Rd
- 6km via Terip Church
GPS coordinates & map
36°58′4″ S 145°30′56″ E
-36.967745, 145.514873
Grading (using the Parks Vic Track and Trail Grading Manual):
Grade 3. Flat, but with some uneven ground and open woodland debris underfoot. Could be rated easy with trail clearance.
Amenities:
The walk commences at the Ruffy Recreation Ground, Maygar Park.
Parking at the Ruffy Recreation Ground
Shelter and picnic facilities at the Recreation Ground
Toilets at the Ruffy Recreation Ground
Horse containment at the Recreation Ground
Hazards
Tree & branch falls, uneven surfaces, bogs, flowing water, snakes
Restrictions
Take your rubbish with you
No potable water
Trailhead sign & Informational Signs
No trailhead sign in situ (there is one in poor condition that has been removed).
Directional signs / bollards or trail markers
No directional signs on nearby roads
No trail markers along the trail, but some exist within the Reserve
Brochure
Available
Conclusion
This trail has the potential to be a key feature for visitors to Ruffy. With some basic work, it could be improved considerably. This trail is currently accessible to walkers and is in occasional use. However, until the trail has been cleared for snake sighting, recommended use is probably best confined to the cooler months. With improvement, it would be a viable all year walking, mountain bike and horse trail.
King Parrot
Image
Pencil on ceramic tile.
Dreamland
Ah, my chimeric and fanciful place
A world to inhabit when I displace
Where food is abundant and water is clear
Where choices are free I’ll ne’er shed a tear
Where sharing is normal no money spent
Home is a shelter without mortgage or rent
Ideas are born to be actioned for pleasure
Actions observed for outcomes or leisure
Thinking is respected intellectual pursuit
Everyone loves and all follow suit
Where judging is absent because no one judges
Where grudges are absent because no one grudges
Where religion only follows the Gaia led path
To planetary health such joy makes me laugh
My friends are my friends conflict unknown
We simply marvel at how friendship keeps growing
A fortunate sighting
Image
There is a Redback living in the didgeridoo. Lucky I noticed it tonight, sitting in its web just outside the mouthpiece. It nimbly disappeared inside as soon as I took the photo. The didgeridoo rarely gets used, but occasionally someone wants to give it a try. Could have been nasty! I will try to catch it and put it outside.
You know where I’m going with this (short version)
This weekend I organised the second annual “Strathbogie has SPOKEN” event. We had 22 presenters and an audience of 50-60. This number pretty well filled our small, and acoustically delightful venue, St Andrew’s Church in Main Street. It was a seamless and fascinatingly diverse set of orations that made the two hours fly by. I kicked things off with a shortened version of the political piece below, which I wrote last year. It felt good to give written work air!
you know where I’m going with this
to the crush of high density and population growth
my oath
you and me both
with the new city millions that come
to the bustle and hum
to the high tensile strums
of the energy guns
at our heads
pay the bills or family fed?
that is the question we dread
as executive bonuses build mansions and poseurs
as the export of gas ups the home prices real fast
and don’t talk to me about electricity duplicity
so mean to me
these corporate utilities
fat cats
and multinats
squeeze me til I’m dry
then have another try
so my life is a scythe
cut the stress with a knife
kiss goodbye to the wife
and the kids and the love that I loved
for love’s sake
it’s a home bake
you know where I’m going with this
to parliament house
the joint of no nouse
of no brain
of no gain
where celebrity reigns
where the state of the nation equates with fashion
our political ration gets smaller and smaller
as narcissism, self-interest and recidivism ism their way to the fore
we want more
no!
they want more
no yore
just more
for the future is now a cash cow to be milked at the fence
of public expense
as the full and the fat suck at the teat
for the treat
of squeezed taxpayers sweet forming rivers of milk
and honey
or is it money?
pouring forth from a new scam
that’s rude
derived from ineptitude
it may be batts
it may be courses
they may be entrepreneurs
but they’re on the horses
bolted
after the gates have closed
you know where I’m going with this
to the US beholden
superpower
olden
folding the flag
turning for home
in the gloaming of their watch
withdrawing notch by notch
uncertain where the crotch of the matter lies
or whether their power even applies
exerting pressure as trade plies
but no so sure regarding human rights
and the rise
of the stateless states
the unreliable mates
the dates that became rapes
where the bright promising spring
quickly winged
to a cold dark winter
on the sling of David
and the Saudi flings
the belated failings
where democracy no longer sings
you know where I’m going with this
away from paradise lost
from the costs
from the Fausts
from the oppressive hosts
from the submerging coasts
to the ghosts of the past
rewritten to last
where my heart listens for hope in the sparks of principles sublime
not bereft
but to the time I have left in the cleft between life and death
in hope of nurture
in the sweet natural wealth of transparency ….. before stealth
you know
you know
you know where I’m going with this
poetography.ink 