Looking and Listening
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A common sight … but still beautiful
It’s not hard to spot a Rainbow Lorikeet around our place. It wasn’t always this way though. They disappeared from Melbourne in the 1920’s but are now back in greater numbers than before settlement. Experts think this is due to the flowering gums from other parts of Australia that were planted by councils and gardeners in the 1970’s. The trees provide an excellent and more abundant food source than indigenous Victorian bush and the heat island effect of the city provides a warmer environment which the birds prefer. Rainbow Lorikeets also need tree hollows to breed which are in short supply which leads ecologists to believe that most are probably…
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Reading, Watching, Listening August 2023
Reading: First off a fun list … 18 Ways to Organise Your Bookshelf A couple of interesting takes on creativity and AI: ChatGPT’s intent is to eliminate the process of creation and its attendant challenges, viewing it as nothing more than a time-wasting inconvenience that stands in the way of the commodity itself. Why strive?, it contends. Why bother with the artistic process and its accompanying trials? Why shouldn’t we make it ‘faster and easier?’ Nick Cave: The Red Hand Files, Issue #428 https://www.theredhandfiles.com/chatgpt-making-things-faster-and-easier/ “Information is more than data, and intelligence is more than computation.” From Homogeneity and Bedlam to Sense and Sensibility – Charles Eisenstein An Essay About Slow-Cookers? OK.…
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Seasons
I’ve been dipping in and out of Turning of Days: Lessons from Nature, Season and Spirit. Her reflections on nature, the changing of the seasons and the way these lead her into reflection on scripture are impressive. I’ve really enjoyed her writing and her approach but ultimately it’s been hard to connect because her place is so different to mine, because the way we experience the changing seasons is intimately tied to place, even when the plants of our neighbourhood contain a good proportion of introduced species. Like many places round the world the four three monthly seasons don’t really fit with the climate in Melbourne. Melbpourne is notorious for…
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Settling Well
A few years ago, I finally completed my M. Div. It’s 18 units, and I did one each semester, so nine years of studying, which I loved. My degree culminated in a year-long thesis on Revelation and how it might shape our response to the massive ecological damage humans inflict on the planet. Suppose you have heard anything about the book of Revelation. In that case, you probably know it goes to some pretty weird places, and it felt particularly appropriate (worrying?) to be spending so much time there once the pandemic hit nine months into my thesis. It was a year of sitting with Revelation, reading the text, looking…
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Praying Mantis
Let me keep company always with those who say “Look!” and laugh in astonishment, and bow their heads Mysteries, Yes – Mary Oliver Discovered during the garden renovation.
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Making Memories
I’ve been following Laura Vanderkam’s Tranquility by Tuesday challenge. The past week has concentrated on rule #6: One big adventure, one little adventure. The idea is to counter the feeling of our days running together by adding a couple of novel experiences into our weeks. By adding “adventures,” instead of wondering where the time went, we have the hook of the novel experiences to remember our week. Although I really like this idea and want to implement it, it does take some effort … and I can be lazy about that. Apparently, though, our brains need novelty to prompt our attention to store memories and related retrieval cues. “Event boundaries…
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In the Garden January 2023
I had on my list for this year to do a photography project. As a start, I’ve decided to take photos of the garden each month. This will have the added benefit of documenting the changes over time in our garden. The Rules: We’re partway through the initial redesign and planting of the main garden beds at the moment. The beds on our east and west fences are now fully planted. The light can be a bit harsh in our courtyard, but hopefully, I’ll work out the best angles with a bit more practice. I’m also looking forward to more interesting flowers and critters for macro photography. The white flowers…
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Friday Thoughts #1
A post about my week. Random thoughts and things that are happening. I’m progressing through the unpacking; most of the boxes are unpacked. Today’s project is the laundry. I’m hoping to get everything off the bench and into the cupboards. After that, the pantry. Everything is in but not in any sensible order. This Sunday, we have my family coming for early Christmas drinks before my sister and her family go to New Zealand, and we should have the apartment entertaining ready. We needed to quickly install a patch of lawn for our dog Riley to do his business on, and it looked like it might be a problem. The…