GIVE ME A HOME

This area of the National Park, or its environs, had been logged. In every forest really old trees are essential for wildlife to make a home in.
Lower: They really did take their caged birds for a walk in the park as seen in Beijing.

IN A GUM TREE

Why this? A bird has made its home in the trunk of this tree beside a road in the suburbs. On looking further I found a second bird on the other side of the tree in a similar hole.
Below: Bower Bird once again.

SATIN BOWER BIRD

A bird found in a city garden. (Bushlands are near-by). This approachable bird is a Satin Bower Bird. The vivid purple eye is watching and the wing is outstretched. It spends time around the house and the family and likes to play when the washing is hung out.
The male birds must be elsewhere busy fashioning a 'bower ' from sticks and then decorating it with shiny objects. The males are dark blue-black satin all over. The females visit the bower and assess the quality. Nest building is a separate exercise.

We like the idea of nature and 'the 'bush' but will we look after it? Biodiversity needs land enough and time enough in which to thrive.

DAY TRIPPERS

Creation Spirituality is an influence on some.
In this forest in dry conditions the roads are suitable for two wheel drives. Get stuck and who knows what might happen! Some time ago we had to stay overnight with our small child, in this dark dark forest, when our car, some type of Peugeot, got stuck in soft ground...
Next morning, we walked many ks down to a farm house and were kindly taken in to a warm kitchen with a fuel stove burning. The farmer had seen it all before with day trippers and he took his tractor out, once again, up into the hills, to save the day.

HEATON 487 METRES

No wonder there are pantheists.

ON A CLEAR DAY YOU CAN SEE

It rained nearly all weekend. Camping, like this, was not a good idea.
No views from the lookout either. Only mist, which had its own appeal. On a clear day, imagine the vista to Newcastle about 50 clicks away.

ROAD SAFETY

Holidays are ending and the road home is long. A volunteer takes a break from the task of providing free refreshments to motorists. I stopped by for a photo and a cuppa.

SUMMER NATS IN SPEERS POINT

The windy weather yesterday was just right for the National Titles for the Stingray and Cobra class at Speers Point Amateur Sailing Club. For more news see Cobracat.com. These boats stand for a certain era.

One disappointed participant had broken the mast earlier in the week. He said the club house could revert to the city council and become a restaurant. I wonder how this fits with absolute waterfront development codes? Perhaps the sailing clubs are being encouraged to move and share facilities.

SAINT MARYS

From one extreme to another. An English churchyard? No, It's not far from Newcastle. Memories of a quiet picnic there on a stunning day when the countryside was lush and prompted by Hyde Daily Photo and church seen here.

NEW YEAR

This Australiana mural just about 'hits the nail on the head' and 'takes the cake'. Survive and thrive in 2008!

LOOKING FORWARD LOOKING BACK

It would have been a different story in the past in this little street at this time of the year. David Street, Georgetown, was very famous in Newcastle for its display of Christmas decorations.
At the dawn of time, before Christmas lights were made in bulk in Asia, the folk of David Street made their own outdoor lights and almost every home in this short street was decorated and admired by quite large crowds.
An older resident said all that was 20-30 years ago when, as their children grew older and some residents became less able, the tradition came to an end after 10 - 20 years of displays.
KMart, nearby, is carrying on the show, probably unbeknowns.

GREEN WASTE DROP OFF SPOT 9-2pm Saturdays

Saturday morning tasks.
Every virtuous householder takes on the task of composting kitchen scraps and organic waste or has a small worm farm that turns these materials into amazing fertilizer.
The city council has filled us in with tips and help with these projects and promotes a clean and green image for the city. As well, bottles, plastics and papers are collected by contractors for recycling and for a reduction in landfill.

MORE RUBBISH FROM NEWCASTLE

Administration building and space for education and talking and consulting as well as the weighbridge at Summerhill Tip, further to yesterday's post.
As a nation we are one of the top producers of garbage in the world according to the city council but efforts are made to reduce the waste going to landfill.
As elsewhere, recovery and reuse extends to such as garden, tree and timber items; to construction and demolition wastes, to asphalt, concrete and shredded tyres. For instance, hugh amounts of compost and mulch products are processed from the green waste.
The remainder goes to landfill on site which is contained in a lining system but still, some argue that landfill will nevertheless become a problem. Landfill produces gases and a methane extraction system has been installed to use the gas for the generation of electricity in the future while in the meantime it is converted to 'less harmful' CO2. Organic household waste may in turn be extracted in the future to further reduce landfill.

SUMMERHILL WASTE MANAGEMENT CENTRE

Pre and post-Christmas clean-up. Select the correct drop-off according to the class of goods, then reverse the trailer into the 'bay', fun for those of us who cannot reverse a trailer very well, then, 'get into it' and unload the rubbish over the side into the bins below.

SEA AND SHORE

The third anniversary of the Asian tsunami is not forgotten.
Recovery continues on and warning equipment is developed and installed.

Among the dishes for Christmas Dinner was one big favourite, namely Prawn and Mango Salad.
(Firstly, do battle with the Christmas eve crowds spilling out of the doors of the Fish Market)
Ingredients for 6 people: 24 Cooked good sized king prawns peeled and deveined or any other prawns really.
2 ripe but firm mangoes peeled with flesh cut up in slivers
A cup thinly sliced Spanish or red onions or spring onions including green tops
Dressing: 3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons Thai Fish sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 generous pinch of sugar
1 tablespoon chopped ginger, or grated
Chopped coriander - almost a bunch or so
1 teaspoon finely chopped chilli
Combine the dressing ingredients, virtually at the last moment pour the dressing over the mangos and prawns, toss lightly and serve garnished with sprigs of coriander.

CHRISTMAS BUSH

Christmas Bush. It's all natural and organic. Merry Christmas

IS EVERYONE LEAVING TOWN?

PHILATELY

From Australia Post. Fifty years of Christmas Stamps.
And imagine the wonderful strains of Bach's Christmas Cantata and hear the perfection of the chorales. ({Played on AustBCFM)

CRUISIN

Lately, Cruise ships are seen here more often. Mercury is the largest so far and 2000 passengers are here for the day. Next port might be Nouvelle-Caledonie or Fiji, Vanuatu or just closer to home.
Mercury, the planet, was named by the Romans after the fleet footed messenger of the gods, Mercury.

LIGHTHOUSES

Nobbys Lighthouse, one of our special sites, could be developed as a tourist venue with restaurant and all the rest. Some argue against such developments as unnecessary and just seek access for the lovely views.
The MV Cape Don once sailed far and wide to service manned lighthouses and navigational aids.
The Cape Don was one of a trio, purpose built as lighthouse tenders in 1963 by our Newcastle dockyards.
By 1980 Australian lighthouses had been automated and the ship was retired. In the photo she is moored in the Clarence River following a series of misadventures. After several colourful attempts, she finally sailed for Sydney with a crew of hopefuls. She remains in Sydney and a group has formed to save this example of our maritime heritage by undertaking a great deal of restoration.
MV Cape Don was built as a mini liner, round 70 metes long, with good accommodation for technicians, relief crews and families and officials for quite prolonged periods. It was equipped with a Larc amphibious vehicle and has cargo space and a workshop (ref MV Cape Don Society).
It sailed mainly around the West Australian Coast and is named after the cape on a penisular in the far north near Darwin. The sister ships, MVs Cape Moreton and Cape Pillar and are no longer around.

WAILING

Southern Surveyor here recently for work in the dry docks. It is a CSIRO ship that sails the southern seas on research.
It could turn attention to whaling in the southern seas where the defiance of international norms occurs where scientific whale 'research' is a pretext for illicit commercial use of whale products. Hunting is driving the whale species to extinction.
The government is now sending a customs ship to monitor the whaling fleet. Diplomacy will be employed.
The Greenpeace ship Esperanza has also gone to the whale killing zone and the Sea Shepherd organization has a ship Steve Irwin which will take more direct action in that enormous zone and who criticise the govenment's weak attempts to merely photograph and talk about the slaughter.
Whaling has a long history world-wide, whether it is the northwest coast of America or the South seas or elsewhere. Moby Dick is one classic tale.
Whaling was done in Western Australia for years until 1963. And when busy Byron Bay was just a glimmer in the developer's eye, a whaling station worked there from 1954 to 1962 and along with other stations at Norfolk Island, the Brisbane area and Eden, ended up with the species near extinction. Now, Whale watching is a popular venture.
Fundamentally, one aim is to prevent a devastating impact on the ecosystem. For example, when Killer whales had no Great whales to prey on, they turned to the seal, sea lion and sea otter and created a domino effect on the sea life. Overall the aim is to enfore the international regulations surrounding these issues and to end whaling altogether.

RECYCLE

No crowds of Christmas shoppers here.
Looking for an authentic old door? Or a really scarce extra wide replacment floor board?
Weird and wonderful items from demolished homes are recycled by this business in Carrington.

LANDS OF THE SOUTHERN CROSS

Decorations seen in Newcastle include a representation of the small constellation, Crux Australis, or Crux or Southern Cross as it is known, indigenous people use other names.
When camping, way out of town, the night sky is even more amazing and the Southern Cross shines in the canopy of stars and is an indication of where south lies. It is found on many flags in the Southern Hemisphere.
Oh! Is the name politically correct?

SYMBOLISM

The Advent Wreath began as a German tradition and it has variations. Usually a candle is lit each week of Advent. (This wreath is suspended from the ceiling.)
In this case the blue or purple fabric echoes the floral emblems found hereabouts at this time.

CHRISTMAS CHEER

Drink Driving Targeted. Extra Police Patrols.
A message for the motorist. 35 years ago mobile random breath testing was introduced and has reduced the accident rate. Update: I made a mistake, it was 25 years ago.
Seen at roadside at Broadmeadow and outside where trains are built.

LAUNDRESS

How's this for a laundry? Now that the torrent, from the fierce storm the night before, has eased up, the work is begun, first clearing away the rocks so as to make a sandy patch in which to stand and start pounding the clothes.

CLOTHING

This does not do justice to the sheer fabrics and the delicate beading. How does one learn to tolerate synthetic fabrics and long sleeves in hot weather?

SEEN IN PASSING

I have learned about two lone males. Into the Wild is a film with all the right ingredients and says all the right things and is reasonably good about a young wanderer. Then, Iceman, the story of Otzi, is an exhibition on the archaeological sensation frozen for 5000 years. Otzi, from an arrow's blade, also died alone in the wilds.

OIL PALM

Despite the very bad name that palm oil is getting I like this snap of these men with their harvest from the palm trees of an established plantation near their village. Trucks, with high wooden sides, seem to collect the crop from the roadside to take it for processing which involves heating and steamy, noisy, pungent work.

Palm oil is an ingredient in many items on all our supermarket shelves. Demand for it has increased.

Tropical jungle is cleared so that more plantations can be established. The jungle is an essential and unique yet diminishing habitat.

The UN Climate Change Conference is underway in Bali where 180 countries seek agreements on enhanced global action to fight climate change with focus on the post-2012 period. All land clearing and illegal logging should be high on the agenda. Information is on http://www.davidsuzuki.org/Climate_Change/

WORK HORSE

Lawn mower resting beside the Lemon Grass (both with long blades). Grass gets out of hand at this time of the year and it thrives in humid stormy weather but this very basic model Victa mower is easy to use and is powered by a Briggs and Stratton engine which is such a well-known 'work horse' and is possibly one of the few well know products that we have originally from the USA.

GIRLS CLIMB TO THE TOP AND A MORTON BAY FIG TREE