Looking at the image of my horse grazing in one of the back paddocks, I realised how differently the scene appeared viewed through the lens of the camera. By altering  my settings I can make things appear closer than they really are, and sometimes even I have not recognised the landscape.  I guess this is why it is important to view life from many different vantage points….

I managed to survive another winter, and now Spring is here, with it’s hopes and joys.  Yesterday the clouds danced softly across the sky, and I realised what a contrast it was from my previous post, some weeks ago now.In the garden I am blessed with sweet peas blooming, and what sweet memories they bring….

I firmly believe that gardens must arouse all our senses, and perfume is surely the most magnificent of them all.  Slowly I am gathering my sweet smelling favourite plants together in this garden, and that of course has to include the fragrant freesias.

However, the biggest joy for me was one day while working in the garden, to spy a butterfly on the Buddleia, the Butterfly Bush, so named for it’s attractiveness to butterflies.  The bush has been in the garden for only a matter of months, and just to have blooms from it has been of enormous pleasure.  Then there’s the added sensory pleasure of its beautiful perfume wafting in the sunshine.  Completing my cup of delight, is this image of the visiting butterfly.  How it found my garden far from others, I cannot imagine, but I am grateful….very grateful.

Once again, I can see a lesson from nature in the wild weather that has been in my area recently.  Sometimes clouds loom up huge on the horizon, and I may feel quite small, alone and insignificant.  Yet, like this acacia, I manage to keep growing….

As I’ve mentioned before, I try to not interfere with the bugs and beetles and creepy crawlies in my garden.  I once would squash ‘pests’ but theses days that is a rarity and the last time I did it, I felt terrible the moment I committed the deed.  So I refrain.  It’s all about overcoming my conditioning.

In my garden at present, and have been for many months now, are orange shield bugs.  They are living mostly in one area, on the herb basil that has come to the end of its productive life for leaf harvesting.  I let the plant set seed and in the process it developed into a tall bush with quite hard firm stems.  The bugs are living and breeding around this group of plants and I cannot see any particular damage caused by them.  Even if they were damaging the plant, I would these days simply observe to see how the plant would adapt or not.

One day I noticed a bug on my Eremophila bush, and took my camera out, and had a wonderful time following the exploits of one as it travelled over the bush.  It paid me no heed – perhaps smart enough to know I meant it no harm, as these bugs will emit a rather nasty squirt if they feel threatened.  As a reward, I have a series of shots I can look at and share around.  It’s a beautiful creature – enjoy!

In my laundry room just above the wash trough, where the bottom of the timber window frame ends, lives a large black spider.  Most of the time it stays hidden from view, or with just the tips of her feet in view.  I know it’s a female, as one day a plethora of tiny new hatchings set forth from there.  In general terms, I respect spiders and don’t interfere with them as they live their lives.  In the garden spiders are a wonderful asset as a bug predator and I try not to disturb them.

The red-backed spider I treat differently.  It has a lethal bite and has a habit of occupying places that bring it into contact with either myself or my pets.  In the summer time, I’ll go out in the evening and do the ’spider patrol’ and kill any in the outside region of the house.  One day I may change my behaviour, but for now that is what I do.  The only other spider I have an aversion to is a black thickset spider, and it will inhabit places that also bring it into contact with me.

Just like the spider in my laundry.

When I first noticed her over a year ago, I tried to kill her but she evaded my efforts and retreated into a gap out of my reach.  I even resorted to using insect spray – something I rarely do – but that had no effect on her.  So I put it into the ‘difficult to deal with right now basket’ and kept a close eye on her when I was using the trough.  Over time, I became accustomed to her presence until the day came when  she was not to be seen.  My first reaction surprised me.  I was actually missing her!  I couldn’t believe it, but there it was.  I had bonded with a spider I had tried to kill.  A moment or so later, she appeared and I was relieved.

Now there’s an acceptance that she can live there, I’ll leave her be.  Oh my, how I’ve changed…..

Walking out in the hills, away from roads and tracks, is pure joy for me, especially if I’m accompanied by my four-legged friends.  Sometimes we meet up with others on our travels – feral deer, grey kangaroos, and various species of birds.  None of these am I able to get very close to generally, but I did have a close encounter of a different sort this weekend.  A grasshopper jumped at my feet, and when I stretched my hand down to it, it sat on my hand while I lifted it up for a closer look.  We shared a little time together, and then I placed it in the protective shelter of a tussock of grass and continued with our walk.   More often these days I have encounters such as this with tiny creatures, and the trust they have astounds me.  Cynics may say the insects have no intelligence and therefore no capacity to trust, but time and again I am shown that this is not the case.  Later on that morning, as we were heading towards home after quite a long walk, my ginger cat Mickey wanted a shady spot to catch his breath, and sat in the shade cast by the horse.  Trusting the horse not to step on him.  Sally is a very gentle horse and kind natured, yet so large in comparison to the cat and most would think it a foolhardy position to be in.  All was well however, and after a little rest Mickey was happy to continue, while I still pondered what I’d seen with amazement.  I think I’m being shown a few lessons in trust…..

Late this afternoon, I stood on my front verandah and watched a rainbow  appearing to be quite close by stretched over the sky. It was a case of double joy, as not only could I enjoy the rainbow, but also the rain that was falling.   Rain is very welcome in my district at present as the ground is still quite dry down below the surface and newly sown crops are in great need of a decent downpour.  Every little bit helps.

I wonder why rainbows arouse emotions?  There are numerous songs about rainbows and photos of rainbows abound. Information about rainbows can tell us about them in technical terms, but fail to convey the magic associated with them. Children in particular get excited about rainbows – maybe because they are still closer to their feelings than many adults.  So here’s a little bit of magic for your inner child.  Enjoy.

It is the last day of Autumn and already it feels like Winter.  Grey cloudy sky, low temperatures and a chill wind blowing makes it enticing to stay in the relative warmth of the house.  However, I felt I needed to take the dog and horse in particular out for a walk, and that it would probably do me good anyway, so donning hat, scarf, gloves and jacket out I went.  The two male cats accompanied the horse and dog as well, and all the animals were in lively spirits – they know that the best way to warm up is to run and jump and play around!
Going for a walk with my friends like this shows me the world through their eyes, and even the familiar becomes a place of enchantment.  The movement of the grasses is an opportunity to chase and catch the stalks, or to race the wind across the paddock before diving into a grove of flowering acacias and suck upon the blossoms sweet.  Exploring tiny pathways and beyond pathways into a pretend wilderness where almost anything can be expected or imagined.
Connection back into that feeling of childhood wonderment – this is the gift my four legged friends give to me when we go walking together.

My horse Sally loves to get out and have a roll unhindered by her rugs.  Rolling is one way of attending to minor itches and it’s a good muscle stretching exercise as well.  First one side and then the other.  And finally, a good shake!  Most of all, it’s something that horses really enjoy, somewhat akin to chickens preening themselves in a dust bowl.  All animals enjoy this activity.

Now take a moment to consider all the animals that are raised in intensive conditions to feed an already, in many cases, overfed obese community.  These animals have no opportunity to express their naturalness and even if one cares little for the well being of animals, it is well known that the meat quality is substantially lower from an animal raised under intensive conditions compared to those raised in a more natural environment.

Animals Australia is a voice for animals and provides information that exposes what takes place in factory farming scenarios.  Perhaps with the outbreak and public alarm over swine flu people will reconsider the manner in which their food is raised.  Intensive situations will always lead to intensive outcomes – and not necessarily in a predictable manner.  Pig farming is one of the worst.  I have hand raised a pig and can attest to the high intelligence of this species.  Smarter than any goat, and goats are smarter than any dog, in my experience.  I’m not entering into a debate on whether one should eat animals or not, but I do believe that if animals are raised for human consumption it should be done under the best possible circumstances.  Let’s look fairly and squarely at the situation and not ignore any longer what is happening to our food source.   There are plenty of examples to choose from.

Do yourself a favour, and do the animals a favour, and make informed decisions.  Please.  Please act with compassion for the animals and compassion for humans.  Peace to all.

There are I feel, numerous issues that could be raised on a day such as this.  Maybe I could suggest that who ever reads this, takes the time to go outside and hold a handful of the precious earth and contemplate their reliance on it.  Despite the modern manner of living in so-called advanced societies, we are still reliant on earth, on the Earth.  We are of this Earth.  Dust to dust…..

However, it seems that many politicians and scientists believe that they can manipulate the Earth beyond even the wildest imaginings.  Of a sane person, that is.  The ETC Group is “dedicated to the conservation and sustainable advancement of cultural and ecological diversity and human rights.  ETC Group’s strength is in the research and analysis of technological information.“  I receive updates from them, and the information they have on Geo-engineering is quite frightening.  Geo-engineering is:  ” Intentional, large-scale manipulation of the environment by humans to bring about environmental change, particularly to counteract the undesired side effects of other human activities.” The manipulations being contemplated would be laughable if it wasn’t true, but unfortunately, the crazies are running this world. The ETC group held a competition to spotlight the wackiest proposals for intentionally manipulating the earth, oceans, and/or atmosphere. The results can be seen here and the winner was announced today.   Please have a look, and consider the ramifications if this proposal was to be seriously implemented.  Remember, we can never fully know the ramifications of such actions.  Well….that is….until it’s too late.  Have a nice – Earth – day.