We wish to acknowledge what would have been a 57th wedding anniversary if Peter's Dad had not passed away in January. It is good to remember such events on the calendar to recall the fine man Dad was and look again at the young twenty-three year old in the photo. Max and Val committed themselves in marriage, in a small
It was with great excitement (Peter's especially) that we saw our first western together in a movie theatre. A new western is rare these days. We enjoyed it thoroughly. It had a bit for everyone. It was a western with all the usual motifs, a love story with love twists, along with well constructed characters, all woven into a good and credible story. Appaloosa scored high on our scale of appreciation, and we'll probably purchase the DVD when it is available. Occasionally during the movie, there was a steady slowing of the pace that allowed us to put aside our impatience for action and to relax into the speed and meaning of the moment. It was a great movie to unpack, and we shared in a relaxed and enjoyable discussion about it later.
Once a year on a road
Not straight not familiar
The sun peaks through
Commanding eyes to see
Stop and pay homage
Disembark and soak it in
Record the moment to share
The colour and mystery of a new day
When the Funks returned from
Children. A ball. Imagination. Will they mix?
Dad kicked the ball. Who wants to kick a ball?
I do. I don't. I do.
I'm bigger now and I can jump up but I do need a push.
This is a jail and I'm the baby dear locked in.
You are the evil king pulled by evil dogs.
Let's pretend we can't escape Jas.
The evil king will have to feed us.
We have finally ridden on a "rail trail". This is a converted bike path over what was once a railway line. The rail trail we chose was part of the old line from Lilydale to Warburton. We parked at Wandin and rode to Launching Place and back, a total of about 38 Kms, just enough for us to cope with.
Nice to see some running water.
The retreat generates a new and mystical dimension when a day begins with a mist. The background is softened and foreground depth is enhanced creating a natural theatre visual in any direction. Mist does not always roll in so when it does it is worth rising early and taking a stroll. We enter another world for a time a quiet and spiritual one.
Time: the night of 10 March, the night before full moon.
Location: the cane fields south of Babinda,
A lightening flash, hardly discussed, and there it was without any further notice. It grew, forming an enormous and dark tree shape piercing the sky, and I (Peter) went out to photograph it. I was being tugged by its power as I retreated to the house. Only my Mum was in the house. It occurred to me then that we were stymied and not only us, but the whole town of
The usually quiet little colony of ants under the Hut came alive, a few days ago, when hundreds of appeared wearing wings and began flying away. For a while it seemed like a swarm had arrived, only it was not Spring and they had very dark colouring. Of further interest was the hundreds of normal ants (without wings) escorting them out and seeing them off. Those winged ones climbed up stumps, or at least to the top of rocks, for a better take off, and their escorts followed to give them encouragement (or to make sure they did not pike out). Within ten minutes it was all over, probably for another year for that colony, and soon there was hardly an ant in sight. 
Childhood dares
Doing the don'ts
Having fun
Bouncing apples
Inviting (?) the parents
An infant fantasy
Oft a childhood ritual
Played out on a tramp
Unplanned
Just happened
Souls exposed
This is an opportunity to reflect on our enjoyable times of visiting the Funks lately. Barb has secured three weeks annual leave to coincide with the birth of the baby, to allow for us to be a support in big and small ways as the occasion demands. In the evening, we retreat to the nearby Gembrook Retreat, to the Hut in fact, but during the day we drop in to Bec and Gord to see if we can help. We don't want to smother them but feel that we can give Bec and Gord some space to have a little easier time with the new bub when we take on the needs of Piper and Jasper.
Piper is five. It is fortunate that the momentous happening of a new birth proceeded the day by almost a week. This was enough of a gap to make Piper's day special. She received a t-shirt from Gord's family in
A map of the earthquake's radius from Geoscience
What could that sound be?
A heavy animal on the roof?
Outside? A gentle roar
No, it's a shaking
The Hut is shaking
Yes, an earthquake
And it's still going, not stopping
But constant
Time enough to consider
The movement of the geological plates
As they made their adjustments
Before calming down
And the quake finished
Only to shake a little later
In the night and in the morning
Though this part of
The cooler weather, and a little bit of rain, has brought some hope that the threat of more bushfire is over until next summer. The Gembrook retreat had been fairly well "fire" prepared through the continual burning off during the winter months, but with the main building located at the top of a strong gradient, facing the north, it was very vulnerable if a fire like that of Black Saturday's thundered up the valley. A frightening thought. The main building has had loads of work done to it and is still to be finished at one end, so it would be an awful shame to lose it now. When it is completed it will look a picture a sight to assure the soul.
Further down the slope is a place that we all call the Hut. It has no electricity and we have to carry in the water. This is the place we retreat to when we visit Gembrook. Here is our quiet space which we share with others who have a liking for it as well. This would have taken only seconds to be raised if a fire had passed through. We are very relieved it did not and we hope any future fire plan will be adequate to protect it. There is hate and love with fire. Fear and a desire together. Danger and necessity. It is remarkable that in just a few short days, the temperature had dropped so much that we felt the need to start a fire to make the place warm. Better a fire within, a fire to stair at, smell and reflect on. But we must respect its demonic nature.
It's a boy
What are the odds of that?
So much so that there
is no name.
Mother and baby are well
Secluded and at peace
Learning each other
Bonding
Up goes a bunk bed
Who's on top? Who decides?
But it's up at least
Relief
There's peace
There's bonding
There's space
There's production
A birth in Gembrook
A long drive and another
The early hours and the infant cry
The Hut a place of rest
This is just a short announcement stating that Bec and Gord's third child, our third grandchild, was born on 1 March 2009, just after 2 am on Sunday just past. 
