Peter, with friends Tom and Marg, travelled up to Kinglake to see how the land has changed since Black Saturday which is now about thirteen months previous. There are a lot of new houses getting built. It seems that the ravages of the fire will remain evident for many more years to come though. The trees' regrowths, though very encouraging, make them look like they are covered with a green woolly jacket, so they don't look very normal. At least they were able to survive. Whole pine plantations had to be rooted up.
We have never had much success with a Summer garden, but we try anyway. This time we threw pumpkin seeds all over a bare patch. That we have a few pumpkins coming on is a great encouragement to us.
We take our opportunities when we get them to have a cuppa together. These times have been so helpful for our sanity. Sometimes a heart will form on Barb's and encourage her greatly. That's us in the middle between our cups. Babies of the heart and the cross.
Because of Melbourne water restrictions, Peter gets out there the two mornings a week between 6 and 8 am. Just after 7 am, the world about him starts to glow. Really nice it is. Worth a snap.
"Religion is for people who believe in hell. Spirituality is for people who have been there." A quote from George Vaillant, The Natural History of Alcoholism, (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1983), 190-93.
Here is a 1987 memory captured in Townsville at Peter's Nan's place before she decided to sell up and move to a retirement village. It was a special time of coming back to a place deeply etched into his memory before the memory was taken away.
A detail of the snap shows Simon making a unique statement about who he is. That image of his son has always stayed with Peter.
So when grandson Jasper did something similar just recently in front of a camera, Peter was reminded of Simon and prompted to consider a generational personality link. Nice.
