What is my crime to be restrained behind bars?
Passers by do not seem to notice my plight,
Perhaps I’m in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Come rain or come shine I hold my head up high,
Forever hopeful that I find release soon.
sydney
A pet friendly place to call home
We live in a society of rules and regulations. Most body corporates will allow small well behaved companion animals, why then is it so difficult to find a pet friendly home to rent in Sydney? We have friends who do not declare their pets and go to great lengths to hide any pet related evidence when the real estate agent comes to call.
The last time we moved house we looked at thirty properties, none were advertised as pet friendly. Whenever we asked if pets were allowed we were told that we needed to lodge an application, that applications would be assessed on their merits and that having a pet would go against us. Agents related stories of how pets mistreated property, damaged carpets, paint work and gardens. I believe the care of a property is the responsibility of the tenant. Just as children are a reflection of how their parents allow them to behave, it’s the same for pet owners, they are after all our fur kids.
The pressure increased for us to find a pet friendly home. When submitting a tenancy application we began including a supplementary information sheet containing a photograph of fluffy white Stan, our well behaved, house trained, bundle of joy:
. No, Stan won’t be left at home all day
. Yes, Stan gets on well with other dogs and people
. By the way, Stan goes to doggy day care once a week so that he can socialise with other dogs
Eventually we found a real estate agent who thought we were a good prospect. We agreed to make good any damage caused by Stan and to fumigate for fleas when we move out.
I call on owners of investment properties to say yes to pets!
Harvest time in the city
A couple of years ago we lived in a townhouse with a tiled courtyard and raised flower beds. For the first time since eating from my grand parent’s garden we were able to grow a delicious crop of rhubarb and lettuces.
Encouraged by our success when we moved to a house with a small garden, I planted basil seeds in pots and took more care of the potted fruit trees my partner had been giving me over the years.
This Summer we have been enjoying mint, basil, rosemary, bay leaf, thyme, oregano and marjoram. As the Autumn chill has crept into the mornings we have been harvesting. The olives will be ready on 9th May, the lemons and limes are ripening nicely and my partner has made basil pesto. I can’t find the right words to describe the deeply seated inner satisfaction of being able to grow, eat and share some of our food.
All you need is a bit of space, a little time and a sprinkle of patience to reap the benefits. Have a go!
Inspiration:
Back to our garden roots urban-farming-and-limited-spaces
Contrast in the city
Autumn yellow against vibrant evergreen
Autumn flower
Autumn seems to have finally rolled into town. The clocks change back at 3am tomorrow morning, the official end to day light saving in Sydney, Australia.
After a glorious Easter we have had a vey wet week. We dashed out between showers this morning to take Stan for a walk. I took the picture above with my mobile phone. I was attracted to the green and red leaves and the fried egg like flower. I have no idea what variety of shrub this is, all suggestions will be gratefully received.
Sunflowers and Chimneys
Sydney Park has undergone a major transformation over the past two decades. The land was originally given as a grant to a convict woman and has since served Sydney as a site for crops and food production, brick making, gas storage and waste disposal. When the New South Wales state government first envisaged turning the site into a public green space in the early 1980s, a key factor in transforming the site was to preserve some of the history associated with it.
Spanning 44 hectares, the park is the largest in Sydney and is connected by about 12 kilometres of pathways. The vast majority of the vegetation on the site was planted as part of a community effort in the early 1990s. The park now has nine hectares of gardens and 28,000 native trees, including 277 Port Jackson and Moreton Bay fig trees. Fifty types of mammals, native birds, frogs and reptiles also frequent the park.
Read more:
The Sydney Morning Herald, February 11, 2012 Rubbish dump transformed into park oasis tips its hat to the past
Spring in the Northern Hemisphere
After living in the Southern Hemisphere for the last fifteen years I thought I had connected the months of the year with the feeling of the seasons. I have immersed myself in the Australian way of life and pushed thoughts of the Northern Hemisphere to the back of my mind.
Six months into becoming involved with the blogging community and spending time online has brought home to me the contrast between the two hemispheres. It is so refreshing to read about the excitement around the start of Spring in the north. An unusually warm March in Sydney and Autumn flowers have lulled me into thinking it is Spring here too, what a shock I will get when Winter starts 🙂
I took the above photo late in the afternoon with my mobile phone in a local park. I like the colours and textures against the blue sky.
Police brutality in the land of the free
The first verse of the Australian national anthem at times does not reflect the state of being:
Australians all let us rejoice,
For we are young and free;
We’ve golden soil and wealth for toil,
Our home is girt by sea;
Our land abounds in Nature’s gifts
Of beauty rich and rare;
In history’s page, let every stage
Advance Australia fair!
In joyful strains then let us sing,
“Advance Australia fair!”
A recent spate of violent incidents at the Sydney Mardi Gras has highlighted the use of excessive force by police.
Sydney teen in Mardi Gras ‘brutality’ video speaks out
In recent months, we’ve seen numerous cases of New South Wales (NSW) police misusing violent force, stifling investigation, and colluding to cover up their actions.
Here’s a sampling of recent events:
“NSW coroner calls police thuggish over Taser death”
“Lawyer slams police who tasered 14yo boy”
“Closing Ranks” An episode of 4 Corners: “The story of Adam Salter raises many questions, including the issue of how lethal force is used by police. But perhaps the most profound question it raises is: can the police be trusted to investigate themselves?”
NSW coroner calls police thuggish over Taser death NSW Coroner compared the police who tasered a Brazilian student 14 times to the schoolboy savages in Lord of the Flies but found no grounds for action against them.
Carnivale inspired by Cirque du Soleil
This picture was inspired by the Cirque du Soleil characters on the 2012 Christmas tree combined with the imagined moss greens of a northern European forest and the eerie light at dusk. For some reason the song Gypsys,Tramps and Thieves popped into my head:
Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves” was the first single from Cher’s 1971 eponymous album Cher. The album was subsequently renamed and re-released as Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves after the success of the single. The song was written by songwriter Bob Stone as a story-song called “Gypsys, Tramps and White Trash”. Producer Snuff Garrett advised that the title be changed and Stone then changed it to “Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves”
Songwriters: STONE, BOB
I was born in the wagon of a travellin’ show
My mama used to dance for the money they’d throw
Papa would do whatever he could
Preach a little gospel, sell a couple bottles of Doctor Good
CHORUS
Gypsys, tramps, and thieves
We’d hear it from the people of the town
They’d call us Gypsies, tramps, and thieves
But every night all the men would come around
And lay their money down
Picked up a boy just south of Mobile
Gave him a ride, filled him with a hot meal
I was sixteen, he was twenty-one
Rode with us to Memphis
And papa woulda shot him if he knew what he’d done
CHORUS
I never had schoolin’ but he taught me well
With his smooth southern style
Three months later I’m a gal in trouble
And I haven’t seen him for a while, uh-huh
I haven’t seen him for a while, uh-huh
She was born in the wagon of a travellin’ show
Her mama had to dance for the money they’d throw
Grandpa’d do whatever he could
Preach a little gospel, sell a couple bottles of Doctor Good
CHORUS CHORUS FADES
Rainbow Spiral
When I write, draw and paint I become completely absorbed in the task, as if a creative power has taken over my mind and body. Those that follow this blog, know that I’m an introvert with something to say using a quiet voice. I speak to those who want to listen, rather than competing with those who talk over me.
I created the Rainbow Spiral picture above in an unconscious moment, while trying out a stylus for iPad, my dear friend Matt gave to me. The spirals reflect the interconnection between people on their paths to enlightenment. The movement and colours are inspired by this time of year when Sydney celebrates Mardi Gras.
The first gay and lesbian Mardi Gras Parade was held in 1978 to lobby politicians for equal rights. One of the reasons my partner and I moved to Australia in 1998 was that the land down under appeared to be more progressive in the equality arena. How times have changed, same sex marriage has passed the House of Commons in the UK. My partner and I celebrate 20 years together this year, yet we do not have the same rights as married couples.
I believe that equality is one of the prerequisites for peace. This is still a far off dream here.
theINFP 