Christmas wishes and Happy New Year

Wishing everybody a very Happy Christmas and the very best for the coming New Year.

I write this on 21 December 2011, in the full knowledge that, in the minds of some people, this will be the last year of existence, based upon an interpretation of the ancient Mayan Calendar. Personally I do not credit such stories.

Neither does Wikipedia: Maya_calendar>

•  Misinterpretation of the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar is the basis for a New Age belief that a cataclysm will take place on December 21, 2012.
• December 21, 2012 is simply the day that the calendar will go to the next b'ak'tun.
• Sandra Noble, executive director of the Mesoamerican research organization FAMSI, notes that "for the ancient Maya, it was a huge celebration to make it to the end of a whole cycle". She considers the portrayal of December 2012 as a doomsday or cosmic-shift event to be "a complete fabrication and a chance for a lot of people to cash in." The 2009 science fiction apocalyptic disaster film 2012 is based on this belief.
  

I take heart instead from the efforts of this male Superb Fairy Wren, who along with his female partner, and another young male bird, are busy planning for the future, by feeding three youngsters in a nest, at Cloud Farm, up above Macquarie Pass.

At peak feeding times, they (collectively) feed the chicks, every 2 minutes. Not much time for worrying about an ancient "Doomsday" scenario.

Have a good New Year.

But as with every Year, I believe we should all live this next year as if it will be our last. 

Carpe Diem

• "Seize the Day, putting as little trust as possible in the future", and the ode says that the future is unforeseen, and that instead one should scale back one's hopes to a brief future, and drink one's wine.
• You might prefer the "related but distinct is the expression memento mori Memento_mori> ("remember that you are mortal") which carries some of the same connotation as carpe diem. For Horace, mindfulness of our own mortality is key in making us realize the importance of the moment. "Remember that you are mortal, so seize the day."
  

As of course, every day, of every year might be our last chance to make a difference - regardless of the nonsense talked about Mayan Calendars.


Instead I prefer to take my lead from this little Guy - the cock bird, or male Superb Fairy Wren.
For me, he is the epitome of my view of both Christmas and New Year: 

• New life, and facing the future with vast energy
  - working hard, 
  - but doing his best to look "Drop Dead Gorgeous" (just like me)!

Best wishes to all readers and all lovers of Nature, 

whether in Robertson, or elsewhere.

Happy Chinese New Year, Hands off Hampden Park!

February 7 is Chinese New Year.

So, allow me to give you the traditional greeting: "Kung Hei Fat Choi" which apparently is Cantonese for "Congratulations and Be Prosperous" (well, that's what Wikipedia tells me).

Auspicious things were meant to happen in the heavens, today. There was "supposedly" a partial eclipse of the sun this afternoon. In Robertson there was rain - heavy rain. So how can we tell what was happening up there in the sky? The light was dull, but that could have been from the heavy rain.

Meanwhile, down here on earth, the Council convened a public meeting in Robertson to authorise the "stealing" of public land in Hampden Park, to sell off two blocks in order to fund the creation of an Indoor Leisure Centre in Bowral.

Great! In these days of global warming concern we are supposedly planning to build an indoor heated pool (which is not designed to be "carbon neutral", not even solar heated). And it is a fifty kilometre round trip from Robertson. What is the sense in that, when we are all trying to plan to reduce our travel, because of fuel costs and also because of the use of energy?

This idea is a hang-over from the 1960s when we would gladly have piled the kids into the back of the Holden station wagon, to go for a swim.

The EH Holden Station Wagon
Ah, the good old days.

Today we have to think about such excessive use of fuel. And if it is bad today, how will it seem in 10 years time?

The Indoor Leisure Centre is a dinosaur - in planning and environmental terms. The people of Robertson (every local resident who spoke tonight) told the Council's "facilitator" that they do not want to sell this land, for a Leisure Centre to be built in Bowral.

The only person to speak in favour of the proposal is the wife of the Councillor who has proposed the construction of the Leisure Centre. Her argument is that as a school teacher for 30 years she has taught many (too many) kids to swim in cold water. I can understand her point, but is that a justification for building an environmentally unsound building?

Time to re-think the idea, everybody.

Think Globally, Act Locally.
Hands off Hampden Park!

New Year's Eve - sunset and evening sky

The sun has just started to move back from its southern most point, but on this New Year's Eve sunset, it is still close to its furthest most southerly point in the sky (at the Summer Solstice, 10 days ago).

Do I make myself clear? In winter, the sun does not pass anywhere close to this wonderful old tree, but sets well around to the right (further north). But tonight it was setting, just on the south-western side of the wonderful old Blackwood tree (when viewed from my back deck).
The sky had been clear during the day, but an afternoon sea-mist rolled in and formed a light cloud cover, enough to diffuse the sunset. The clouds sat above the horizon, so as the sun set, it came out more clearly than it had been shining, giving this golden light wash. The presence of the tree in silhouette makes the picture more dramatic.

To understand a bit more about my affection for this tree, you need to understand that I deliberately positioned my house, with this tree in mind. In fact it is blocking out a particularly large and ugly "mansion" which to my eyes is totally unsuited to the Southern Highlands. But in addition to using this old tree as a screen, I love its shape, and in this case, the way it filters the afternoon light from the setting sun.

Just a few minutes later, the sun had sunk into thicker cloud, and while there was still light, the sky changed to this blue and pink picture, just for a few moments. Then the colour faded. I love the way the soft light allows you to see the folds in the valley below, looking over Belmore Falls, towards the Shoalhaven Valley. The tall trees highlighted by the pink sky are along Myra Vale Road, towards Fitzroy Falls (from Robertson).

This image is a compound image, a "panorama". The "stitching" together of the three images is far from perfect, but if you click to enlarge the image, you will get a fair idea of the wider view out over Kangaroo Valley and the far distant Shoalhaven Valley.
The "Blackwood" in the first image is the open-crowned tree in the centre-right of this picture. The "solid" or darker trees (with pointed profiles) on the right hand side of the image, and just to the right of the Blackwood, are Sassafras trees. They grow very densely, and give a solid profile, unlike the Blackwood which grows into a more open crowned tree, as it matures.

Today I celebrated New Year's Eve with a luncheon meal for David and Petra (a visitor from Germany) and Captain Jim (who took me flying yesterday). Good honest plain food, with a roast leg of lamb, baked very slowly on the hooded gas BBQ, baked potatoes (fresh from Kim's vegie garden) and a salad courtesy of the new Fruit Shop in Robertson. (I haven't told you about this, but it is turning out to be a great asset to the village). Today, while I was in there buying the greens and stuff for the salad, and a lady came in and said to the shop owner: "Thank you so much for opening this shop". She speaks for many of us.

I might even start eating more vegetables from now on. If that passes for a New Year's Resolution (and I never make them) then so be it.

Happy New Year, everyone. Especially to Kevin Rudd and the new Australian Government, and hence to all the people of Australia (plus Leo in Nova Scotia, Canada). And to my loyal blogger colleagues, especially Miss Eagle, and Gaye from the Hunter, and David. And nice to meet you, Petra. And a special Happy New Year to George, and Lucy and her kids (George, Meg and Charlotte), Steve and Celeste and Jasper, Judy B. and Greg, Mike and the rest of the people of Robertson.