Bookshelf;

The Bookworm by Carl Spitzweg 1850

India with its magical colours and gods and stories.

The secret Children is a great book to read, it is about life and death and in between the brittle weaving of a colourful tapestry sadness in the unforgivable way the English Raj treated the native people in their own country. Ts

"From the book;"   tell me the stories about India. The names you have told me so many times. Tell me about being taken by bearers to see the circus, carried high above their heads with the way lit by lanterns. And the woman with her basket of coloured glass bangles, and how they would be broken eventually.

Tell me about your mother, sad and silent with silver bells on her ankles. Tell me about the nights you would get into bed with your sister when the two of you were sent away. Tell me the stories that were told to you. The brothers who eat their sister after discovering the sweetness of her blood, the reeds that whisper her name. Tell me the stories again. I promise I will remember.

Unforgettable...

Assam 1925. In the emerald hills of a tea plantation in northern India.

Mary and Serafina born of two worlds, accepted by neither...

The British Raj , literally, "rule"  was the rule of the British Crown in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947. The rule is also called Crown rule in India, The region under British control was commonly called India in contemporaneous usage, and included areas directly administered by the United Kingdom, which were collectively called British India, and those ruled by indigenous rulers, but under British tutelage  and called the princely states. The resulting political union was also called the Indian Empire and after 1876 issued passports under that name. 

This system of governance was instituted on 28 June 1858, when, after the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the rule of the British East India Company was transferred to the Crown in the person of Queen Victoria (who, in 1876, was proclaimed Empress of India). As a state, the British Empire in India functioned as if it saw itself as the guardian of a system of connected markets maintained by means of military power, business legislation and monetary management. It lasted until 1947, when the British Indian Empire was partitioned into two sovereign dominion states: the Dominion of India (later the Republic of India) and the Dominion of Pakistan.

Power of fire...

Summers are  hot and may be very dry. the danger of fire is high. The smallest spark, be it from nature through lightening or other, man made causes, may start a disasterous fire. It is a time to be alert. I always get a bit anxious when I smell smoke, or the valley is obscured by smoke. Fortunately our area here had only once a fire threat in all the years we have lived here. I remember some houses had to be evacuated, people left with their pets and a suitcase. There was some damage but all houses were safe, as the fire brigade and its volunteers were  fast and did a lot of hard work extinguishing the flames. It was scary, the air was hot  and thick with smoke.

This is in our garden, but it was  a controlled burning after rain, to get rid of dry grass, branches and twigs fallen from the trees.

We  like the soft flame of a candle; sit around an open fire also love an open fire to cook.

 Fire,  is part of  us since our beginning

Fire a chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products.

The flame is the visible portion of the fire. Depending on the substances, impurities outside, the colour of the flame and the fire's intensity will be different.

 Fire is an important process that affects ecological systems around the globe. The positive effects of fire include stimulating growth and maintaining various ecological systems. Fire has been used by humans for cooking, generating heat, light, signaling, and propulsion purposes. The negative effects of fire include damage to life and property, atmospheric pollution, and water contamination. If fire removes protective vegetation, heavy rainfall may lead to an increase in soil erosion by water. When vegetation is burned, its nitrogen  is released into the atmosphere. Potassium and phosphorus  remain in the ash and are quickly recycled into the soil. Loss of nitrogen caused by a fire produces a long-term reduction in the fertility of the soil, which only slowly recovers as nitrogen is "fixed" from the atmosphere by lightning and by leguminous plants.

Photos/Text Ts

Saturday; a walk along the driveway/butterfly garden.

It is very dry, still some plants and flowers do not give up easily.

Dry leaves from the trees, luckily they can be blown into the side garden as mulch.

Huge lilies; Crinum asiaticum.

Agapanthus flowers may look vulnerable but the plant is as tough as old boots.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going.

The marvellous Spider Daylilies.

Never give up.

Dreams and Hope go hand in hand...Ts

The toughest of the lot, Bromeliads.

Wishes are generally not granted over night. You must gather your strength like a flower in a drought, to achieve what you wish for. 

Photos my garden/Text Ts

Tuesday; early yesterday morning...

Dancing Ladies Orchid.

Oncidium,  contains about 330 species of orchids of the orchid family (Orchidaceae). Distributed across South America, Central America, Mexico and the West Indies.Common names for plants in this genus include dancing-lady orchid or golden shower orchid.

 I love the scents and sounds in the early morning garden. It feels like I am the only human around, there is just a breath of soft air and the fleeting call of a bird trying to wake its friends. Gardenia flowers are open and exude their  heavy perfume. In the morning everything looks so simple and innocent. Everything  in the garden looks untouched, yet.  Hope, laughter and sideways glances are still hiding in the still sleepy morning. Ts

To me, morning is the best time of the day. 

© Photos/ my garden/text Ts.

The wonders of paintings.

My favourites;

I dream my paintings and I paint my dream. Van Gogh.

Wheat Field with Cypresses at the Haude Galline near Eygalieres - Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh, Arles;

Vincent van Gogh - The White Cottage Among the Olive Trees, 1889

Sir Arthur Ernest Streeton was an Australian landscape painter and leading member of the Heidelberg School, also known as Australian Impressionism. 

Jacek Yerka is a Polish surrealist painter from Toruń. Yerka's work has been exhibited in Poland, Germany, Monaco, France, and the United States, and may be found in the museums of Poland. W

Thomas Appleton,  Golden Hare, on Cornish Slate 

Windsweped hare by David Neaves.


Never explain a painting it is anathema. Ts

Montana Pines - Contemporary Impressionism | Landscape Oil Painting by Erin Hanson



Every painting is more than just a picture. Ts

Globalisation the biggest fraud that happened;

Hallelujah cried the people, how wonderful is Globalisation.
They always do when the big shots and their handmaidens approve of something which will in the end just benefit the ones who have instigated it, which is not even 1% of the population.
The people believed all the lies.
Hallelujah they sang, peace upon us all. No more wars. wonderful, rich, good times ahead. We all will be prosperous, all nations will flourish.
All lies, helped and implemented by most governments in the hands of corporatism, the nastiest, headed by sociopaths and psychopaths. These people are very dangerous, they want it all, always. They work behind the scene to achieve and succeed. They instigate all wars for their own profits. They do not care for the well being of  nations, they care only for themselves and their greed for might and money.

Women and men have worked hard over centuries for a decent living, decent working conditions, decent laws; schools, universities, medical, all affordable to the common people.With the help of lawless and weak governments, Corporations dismantled laws which protected the money market, work, etc.Central banks  were privatised and are now owned by the Rothschild family. Governments must pay interest to these private bank if they borrow money. Countries are in debt, Moneys, gold, which belongs to the people is stolen from them to make  the Rothchild's the richest of this world. Terror and other means have been implemented to cow the people. So many lies, all lies; Hallelujah.

Ts


 

Sunday, always the land.

Cultivation, vineyards and Olive groves

and...

most wonderful bush, uncultivated land 

....always changing sky

All we have,

.... unscrupulous governments allow unscrupulous corporations destroy the land and water for ever,  with short term Coal seam mining.

Coal seam gas (CSG) mining is an invasive form of unconventional gas mining.  It usually involves tens of thousands of gas wells, with roads, pipelines, compressor stations, wastewater dams, and other infrastructure.  A CSG project can spread across hundreds of thousands of hectares of land.

What are the risks?
There have been numerous risks and problems identified with invasive CSG gasfields.  These include encroachment on good farming land, disruption of other land uses and industries, clearing of bushland, air pollution, contamination or depletion of ground or surface water, pollution of waterways, health impacts on workers and nearby residents, and damage to biodiversity.

How is coal seam gas extracted?
Coal seam gas is extracted by drilling a well vertically through rock strata until reaching the coal seam, at which point the well may also be drilled out horizontally to increase access to the methane gas. Coal seams contain both water and gas. During coal seam gas operations the water must be pumped out of the coal seam to lower the pressure and allow the gas to flow to the surface.

Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as fracking  is used to stimulate and accelerate the flow of coal seam gas. The process involves high pressured injection of sand, water and chemicals into the coal seam gas well. The injection causes fractures in the coal seam allowing the gas to flow to the surface of the well.
There are significant concerns associated with hydraulic fracturing including the potential to contaminate water sources and cause earthquakes. A report by the Committee for Economic Development of Australia[1] said: "In addition to concerns over contamination of aquifers from the chemicals added to fracking fluid, issues have also been raised about contamination of water supplies from fugitive gas after fracking, and seismic activity and tremors associated with the drilling and fracking process".
Fracking has been used during coal seam gas operations in both Queensland and New South Wales.

read more here

http://www.lockthegate.org.au/about_coal_seam_gas

©Photos Ts 

It was a little Kingdom;

A grazing property in the Northern Rivers.

From my diary “Under a hotter sun”.

The paddock;
We walked down to the river flats. All five of us shouldered hoes and bush knives.
We had the task to eradicate thistles, rushes and more weeds that had the tendency to choke the grass.
Thistles grew in abundance. They were never in jeopardy by wild swinging hoes and bush knives by a bunch of determined people declaring war to innocent weeds. Our friend Reg said, where thistles grow the soil is very fertile. What I thought was that Reg just wanted to console us, when he saw the task we had ahead of us.

Part of the property, grazing bulls. Left is Willie and youngsters. we had another old, big one called Jumbo James.

☼

While we hacked and slashed at the big whoppers, my eyes strayed to the riverbank. The water dark and serene. Tiny flower petals fell gracefully and settled on the water highlighted by the odd sun ray penetrating the thick vegetation.

The heat, the buzz of insects, the monotonous task soon led me into a dazed dreaming.

The sunlight sharp like molten silver pierced my eyelids; there suddenly, I glimpsed graceful people whom had lived in this area a long time before us. 

Our Herefords on the move. they had 2 huge paddocks to change from time to time, to give the grass a chance to recover and regrow.

☼

The tall, proud men ahead, strode with long measured paces. Women and 

children with delicate limbs, followed, happily chatting and laughing .

They stopped in their track when they saw me. Their hands with long slim fingers flew up and waved. A very old woman gazed at me; fathomless, black eyes met mine.

The property in time of the flood. The flood rejuvenated the soil  while  the cattle moved up to the higher, sheltered bush area to graze.

☼

The earth stood still, when she reached out and handed me a small woven dilly bag. I hesitated to take it. I had nothing to give her in return. She quietly pressed the gift into my hands a tiny smile on her lips.
My fingers curled around the small bag, felt the exquisite work of the woven fibres.

On the move to the bush.

☼

The chatter and laughter resumed, faded, far away the last tinkle of a child’s laughter died.

My hands hung empty, the fingers still curled around nothing. I felt bereft. The hoe left laying on top of wilting, silvery purple flowers.
The world returned to its endless chores. The buzz and hum of insects, the twitter of a bird, the flap of a wing, and the silent pursuit of underground creatures.

Friendship.

☼

The heat continued its onslaught; sun rays radiated glittering stars into the sky.
Sweat trickled from my hot brow, pale rivulets on my dusty face.
I dried my moist face with my sunhat, blinked into the shimmering heat. I adjusted my sunglasses that had carelessly fallen to the ground and looked around to my family; they were busy at their task.

Pigs and hens love to be outside to forage and enjoy the sun. Poor animals, which  are always restrained and  kept inside and are not allowed to roam, enjoy the outside,  an animal's normal way of life.

☼

I gazed up to this immensely blue sky; swatted lethargically at flies and my spirits vanished when I looked at this sea of purple. The hoes went whack, whack and the purple heads fell to their grave. Their dry, prickly heads hold also trillions of seeds for next years crop. I shuddered when I thought of it.




I am on my way to look for Susi, the orphan wallabi which we took care of as it lost its Mum earlier on.  She had an accident with a car.

☼

The girls had enough and vanished, drawn to the cool, dark river that beckoned and promised relief from the heat and monotonous work. I listened to their noisy splashes.
Peter and I plod on, whack, whack slash one more purple thistle gone.





Lilli and Susi.



The Flame trees of  Home.




Kaneki, a rescue Cockatoo. One day a few wild cockatoos came and visited him. With his funny walk  he went towards them and said:" Hello, hello". The other cockatoos, I guess, thought, he was crazy. It was rally funny



Jacquei and her pet Manx kitten Tomi, also a rescue, the mother died while it was still tiny and the kitten had to be fed with a bottle.



The toys on the farm. One day Jacquie drove into a drain, as she forgot that their was one. She walked home and I heard the horn going and thought something had happened. She asked me where am I, She had a concussion.



Looking after the chooks.






The Herefords.




Mums and calves.




In the yard to check for ticks. The tick man checked the cattle for ticks.







The beloved pets.




Our jilleroos.



The girls ready to go to school



The beautiful Coldstream River, much fun in summer.









The home in the "Bush"












My garden.




The grazing property;






©Photos/Text Ts