Stranger things have happened...LOL

I was sitting on my couch having a lazy leisurely afternoon working through the most recent season of MAD MEN when I heard these terrible bloodcurdling screams of torment..."what on earth?" I thought...

so I peeked through the shutters outside and saw three ducks physically fighting!! Two were jumping on and (what looked to me) pecking another half to death on it's neck! "oh no!" was my immediate thought and I went off to find a broom to help rescue the victim...

But when I came back...I saw one chase the other one out under the fence...DUH so naive...lol welcome to Duck Mating Season...IN MY GARDEN!

So anyway, as a total sucker for ducks I decided to treat the newlyweds...and gave them a water bath and some corn crackers...I think they think my place is some kind of five star resort now...Anyway it was pretty fun to play with them...

After their little "play" both of them were shaking and sitting...I'm not sure whether I should expect to find little duck eggs somewhere in my garden or not.

Anyway, it was a totally unexpected afternoon and quite interesting- I felt a little like David Attenborough, lol.

Despair

Okay so have to say the raining weather kinda amplifies this but ever since watching the film FLOW...I felt this large scale sense of despair...I mean it SHOULD be a human right that each person has access to water as they do access to breathing...except that rich multinationals have kicked people off their land and control all the water and care not at all that some people are too poor to be able to PAY for water...which was always free before they got kicked off the land their ancestors have owned for generations!!

I don't know I just think money and greed and modernity is making human society lose all sense of decency and common sense...crazy!!!

In any case to be honest as a reasonably privileged person in a privilieged country I had NO IDEA about the crisis state of water commodification and it's impacts on the environment and people. It was very disconcerting to have my eyes opened...

Maybe I'm weird but I feel at this era of my life, while most of my cohort are concerned with careers, spouses, mortgages and babies I am finding my heart strings being pulled for the ENVIRONMENT and protection of the natural world...

Maybe the longstanding not so obvious inner Hippie is starting to consolidate to be an Outer AND Inner through and through Hippie as well...

I just have no idea what can be done or even mor specifically what III could do that would make a difference or be a positive contribution in the right direction...

And then there were...three :-p

So I went to check up on my favourite duck family this arvo...

it was terribly disconcerting to see the family of 10 just 2 days ago had diminished to 5(!!)...I saw 2 parents, 3 chicks and 2 chick corpses :-p

What have I learnt? Ducks aren't exactly the best parents...especially the fathers- they just kinda sit off by themselves and the mother can't cope with so many all by herself! Just another case where the animal world reflects human life...don't have too many babies or you can't give them decent quality of care!

I knew I should have just shovelled up all 8 ducklings and stuck them in a safe box until they were big enough to not be kookaburra meat! :-..(

Magical Walk Around The Block

This is why I love living in nature...I walked around my street - it went something like this...

I walked to the water and spied a daddy and mummy duck and EIGHT ducklings- strangely as soon as I came they were really curious&bold and came right to my feet with one duckling even nibbling my toe! (That's a first, lol)

And then I walked out on the pier and saw a big fish jump right out of the water!

And then lots of pet guard dogs barked at me from behind fences.

And I stopped to pick lavender.

And admire people's nice gardens.

As I was almost home with the refreshing oxygen dense breeze blowing through my head a swoop of peach faced galahs came over me.

It's pretty cool living in nature :)

Next time I should document a walk around the block in pictures!!!

Surreal Sunday

It's been a really tiring couple of weeks. So I was so grateful today to just take a lazy Sunday...cos literally I was too tired to prioritise anything more chore-ish(despite having the best intentions to...sheesh takes a while to lose that city- slicker- deadlines -are -biting- you- on-the -butt mentality!)

So anyway...it's been a bit surreal this afternoon and the past day or so...I remember thinking yesterday that the last few months/year have been so extraordinary that they would warrant not just a very interesting novella but a full blown novel! And that maybe I could/should write one...

Oh well perfect surrounds to be a writer I realise...living in a nature reserve is such a paradise- there are so many exotic looking birds which I have no idea what the names of are...my favourite of course is a kooky-quirky looking one that has taupe wings a black top of head a bright yellow beak, a slightly disproportionate body and a white breast. I think it dives for fish but I couldn't be sure. (If anyone can identify likely candidates based on that description I would be grateful...)

People are also so friendly...with my ingrained city slicker conditioning it still takes me rather aback when people all around offer friendly greetings as you walk by...the good thing is they aren't pushy and in your face about it (especially when my response is timid and restrained at best)!...Although I have to admit a very athletic and friendly dog did bound over a 1 metre high fence to stick it's head up at me in greeting appearing out of nowehere which just left me speechless and in shock for quite a protracted few seconds!

It also occurred to me that if I had a very rich friend, the easiest and quickest way to viisit me would be by aquaplane...I don't think you'd have to prebook a landing or anything...but yeah that thought was pretty surreal!

Apart from that an amusing excerpt of conversation yesterday:

somewhat random stranger: "you're such an interesting person, I could talk to you for hours!"
me: "yeah I get that alot...."

"...I have to have SOMETHING going for me!!!"

*chuckles all round*

More City Slicker Firsts

I was going to hang my washing despite the wet (I didn't have much choice as I am about to run out of essential undergarments and enough warm clothing)...I didn't think to check my fake hot pink Crocs (garden shoes which I would never wear out in public and can't believe people that do)....I ended up stepping on a SLUG which had taken shelter in them for the 2 minutes I had left them alone...in my bare feet...a squeal was emitted then a bit of comical hopping around- it took about 10s to recompose including the cracking up at my own pathetic-ness...

What was my revelation with this new First?
BOY do slugs live up the their hype!!! The trail of SLIME still left on my Croc after I had removed the offending invertebrate was seriously gooey...and I had to change shoes. I still have the offending dried slime on the bottom of my foot though...I guess it's all about repeated exposure and desensitization...next time I hope to not take 10s to recover, lol, can't promise I'm not going to squeal like a girl though :P

p.s HO, do you see I am starting to desensitize to Hot Pink? I still am not a fan of baby pink though. One day I may get a bright pink hoodie to match my Crocs LOL slowly but surely I am becoming a Girl, maybe it's all the desensitization from you keeping on sending me all those PINK CARDS! *Sheesh...Good grief Charlie Brown!

p.p.s It's fantastic PIE weather...my favourite! Too bad my chief pie makers have left to 1. England and 2. Africa respectively. I guess I'm going to have to bring out the big guns and learn to make them on my own...how rude!

The Love Boat

It seems like everyday lately I get little "presents" :D

Today for example, I discovered a SIX LEAF CLOVER, Butterflies, Flowers and exciting things growing in the compost heap.

I also got...a TAPE MEASURE LOL!!! Yes HO your package finally arrived- ONE WHOLE MONTH geez, not sure whether it's the mail workers on your side or mine but somebody is definitely slacking off!!!

In any case if you have been visiting this blog for some time you might know about the evolving "love" story ;) between me and HO...

So anyway she sends me this package with a bracelet, a TAPE MEASURE cos she wants my wrist measurements and some LOLLIES. So anyway there were three innocent looking Lifesaver Mints...fairly innocuous I surmised...I opened the package to pop one in my mouth.....ewwwwwwwwwww! Worse than medicine- it's not a mint it's some chemical concoction that tastes like a really medicinal version of sarsparilla- VERY FUNNY HO...was so gross I ended up having to spit it out immediately with the end result being a big glob of SPIT on my floor. VERY FUNNY HO!!! I have honestly never tasted anything so disgusting- Shan this thing was like 100x worse than the Chinese herbal surprises I sent you ages ago.

But ANYWAY, all is not lost...cos Z gets the final bat this episode...HO with the slim wrist pride.......

You're fatter than me!!! Your WRIST fits my ANKLE.

Small Asian Girls...Love it :) Til next time my love! ;)

My Secret Oasis

To be honest, the past month has been so testing and challenging day in day out 24-7 on pretty well every conceivable front, I was ready to go dig a hole and lie in it!

HOWEVER.

A couple of days ago out of my usual routes I happened to come across a pretty little natural nook right near my hell-hole concrete jungle tucked away so hidden and out of everywhere barely anybody knows about it...

Today I finally had time to visit. Energetically I felt I needed to just go sit there. So I did....WOW. There is one huge big old conker tree- so old with branches reaching out in colourful autumn shade, to be honest I felt its presence to be like a very wisened, doting and protective grandfather- the safest and most comforted I've felt in a long time. I really felt a bit like a little pixy- nature fairy-druid? curled up in one of the nooks of this big Grandfather tree...

My Special Place :)

So anyway, I am smiling again...I'd been pestering the Universe feeling very much in need of a spiritual mentor, an old sage...envisioning perhaps a wise monk or person of clergy...however Mother Nature gave me this secret place to myself and a Big Wise Old Grandfather Tree.

Suddenly I feel like I can breathe a bit less laboured again and that I have a special place to escape to when life gets too rough :)

Convalescing by The Sea

Spent the last couple of days literally 30 seconds from the beach. Now I know why you always see sanitariums set on cliffs overlooking the ocean a la The Diving Bell and The Butterfly etc.

And yes, I definitely felt I regained some long lost sanity - haha! My friend actually remarked I sounded very calm (lol, nice change from the usual strung out mental hyperactivity).

When I arrived back in the concrete jungle, I definitely felt stronger and looked more healthy- in fact when I was walking I actually felt like my aura extended 3m in all directions! (That was pretty cool ;).

The health benefits of all those negative ions and pristine air etc are pretty amazing (I won't go into the gory details but with me it was incredibly obvious - okay maybe just one- my eyeballs were actually white-not yellow or blood shot red which is how they are consistently in the city.)

In any case, on another note, it was a great learning experience for me on several levels- the one I will mention here is that I got a really great sense of what it is like to live in a small...tiny? seaside town. For health purposes, it's fantastic, however in terms of social aspect...I really don't feel comfortable when everybody knows you and like one local remarked "you can't even take a sh*t without someone knowing about it!" LOL

So anyway yeah, I'll finish out the year, travel a bit...and then there'll be decisions to make. But I'll worry about it later...

Music imbued with "The Spirit of Nature"

Hey Bohemian Buds!

A very talented spiritual musician happened to drop in with some music he composed that I think is pretty cool and you might like also :)

Check out 'Music is Love'- I found the piece very uplifting and inspirational :)

Lo Siento, Mi Cuerpa

(I'm Sorry, My Body)

Alternatively, this post could be called "Eww Z...That's Disgusting!!!"

So next week we have the tiniest little recess from semester...somehow my body was more than aware of the fact it could finally just "let go" cos I didn't leave my bed for the last SIXTEEN+ hours(!!!)

Exhausted.

Unbelievable! I'm not even jetlagged or sick- I have never spent so much consecutive time in bed! Just from that much rest I also noticed my pupils went all *sparkly* which is something I definitely have not seen for a looooong time...yes, Rest is Good! :)

In any case, basically that 16+ hours is the equivalent of about 3-4 Whole Days of my usual rest...I know-shocking, I definitely have been mistreating my body-basically because I'm so busy with daily grind the only time I get "leisure time" is to ill treat my body by depriving it of sleep so I can read blogs, see friends, blog ;) etc...

So anyway when I emerged from bed as the last rays of sun were dying it felt pretty disgusting to have slept the whole day away! And I really craved some fresh air...so taking a note from my friend who's doing a detox diet I cut loads of fresh veggies and fruits and packed them all up and rushed to the park with my IPOD and sand chair...one of the weirdest things I've done in a while but it totally made my day(or night)!

The quiet, clean air, the peace of nightfall was such a nice opportunity to detox and rejuvenate...and the best part? I saw stars! :-D

Even if you do get a couple weird looks by the occasional bypasser, at least you can rely on city people to mind their own business. I think I'll have to do it more during the warmer months- such a nice way to re-ground, really savour every mouthful of food and just

*Enjoy living in the moment*

I Miss the Stars...

Terribly. I was amazed to look out from my city balcony and besides seeing right into a neighbour's kitchen sink, when I looked up I actually saw...STARS! What a treat it is to be able to see stars these days, let alone the moon- I can't even remember when I last saw it : (

This is a far cry from my regional living days, which I'm missing terribly. I used to walk home at dusk to be greeted by a serene blue-black sky flooded with the glimmer of a zillion twinkly silver stars, a luminous big swiss cheese for a moon, and a wide open road...a husband and wife pair of ducks - let's call them Martha and Bert- used to waddle and quack part of the trail home for me.

I feel homesick. It's such a struggle to live in the city- such oppression- no space, no privacy, no ability to take deep lungfuls of air, no peace...so difficult to stay healthy and functional especially with all my incessantly chain-smoking and uncivilised neighbours.

Time has flown by but even though I'm being kept busy to the point of constant exhaustion, when you're not having fun, it feels like time draws out like an interminable spider thread...

I don't know why I feel so homesick now- I think it's cos my qigong teacher was describing how he travels all over rural Australia each week sharing his knowledge, and I guess it made me feel really envious since I know and love all those places...and I know it'll be a while yet before I have enough skill and experience to be able to do the rural or "flying doctor"... although I know that there is a real need for regional health services, I think my desire now is equally motivated by wanting to have a valid excuse to regularly escape the city in the event that I still have to live here...my mum always just says..."eh why make life so difficult? Just go marry a rich farmer!"
LOL

The Girls Are Going Camping!!!

okay sorry, just got overexcited in advance as per usual. Something to look forward to though...I LOOOOOOVE Camping!

:-D


my classmate was talking about how she saw The Milky Way for the first time(!) and then I realised that her and other classmates had never seen it before cos they're such city slickers- they hadn't even been camping in Aus(!!!)


"THAT'S IT!" I said, "We're going Camping!"

And they got all excited :)

LOL should be fun...going camping with a whole bunch of girls who have never been camping before...I'm only taking the tough ones though- no Princesses allowed hehe.

edit: USEFUL TIPS TO FOREIGNERS TRAVELLING IN REGIONAL AUSTRALIA

1. lots of water

2. sun protection & insect protection

3. let someone know where you're going and when you expect to be back

4. don't disturb or try and rescue wildlife...koalas and wombats etc have VERY sharp claws...

(real story I heard recently: a good samaritan backpacker rescued an injured wombat putting it in his rental car- it regained consciousness and tore up the car causing several thousand dollars worth of damage...expensive lesson! ...we have agencies like WIRES you can contact to go rescue the animal-contact numbers are usually posted on signs along the road in high occurrence areas)

?

I think some kind of "shift" happened up there along with plenty of other strange things. It's mind-boggling what can happen when one allows oneself to not be limited by logic or reason.

I'm feeling strangely wistful- plagued by an inexplicably intense niggly sad almost mushy and sentimental kind of feeling, perhaps like a part of me was left there or rather, I left something up there. I'm hoping it's just the initial 'let-down' reaction you get after going on holidays and nothing more...

Or maybe it's the moon...or the reiki...Tuesday was a really strange day. A real eye opening day for "rational" G- a day of healing. It started with astrology and tarot, progressed to reiki and culminated in a really slow but effective style of yoga.

We went to some small dinky town where we stumbled across some reiki healers who operated by donation. So after harping at her for ages, G finally took her second dive into the unknown, and since I've been attuned they invited me to join in to effect the healing-it was quite beautiful...and it ended with all 3 of us grinning at each other as we gazed upon our subject who rested peaceful as an angel.

Something definitely happened...on the plane back she suddenly turned to me and said
"I think the reiki's kicked in- suddenly I can see possibilities."

Reiki's amazing like that but having experienced it first-hand I wasn't at all surprised.

Later they gave old grandma with her perenially sore muscles and joints an express treatment and I got "gonged" for the first time ie: they sounded a tibetan bell which apparently has a sound which resonates with the body's healing processes.

I'm not sure what it is with that region that attracts so many natural healers- perhaps it is the sheer beauty of the natural environment- I mean where else in the world can you so easily spot whales and dolphins frolicking in the wild? In any case I don't think it's a coincidence.

The sheer open-mindedness of the people up there, their tolerance and how they embrace everything unique, different and individual is very attractive to me.

I wasn't left unaffected. Today I decided to:
1. join a food co-operative
2. reconnect with my long-lost childhood ability to create beautiful (or at least artistic) things
3. join a reiki healing circle
4. study astrology

All I really feel like right now is hopping on a plane and going back there permanently, however I've still too many commitments down here which I needed to get back for so I'll have to learn to cultivate patience over my impulsive desires and work steadily towards making my dreams a reality.