Nature's Place

The glory of the coming of the lord. Have you heard this song? I think I’ve heard it in some war movie, an American civil war movie. I’m not sure what it is meant to convey in a war movie but today when I was walking in the cool cold water of the sea the words came into my mind.

And I laughed, at the fit of it and the absurdity.

For me the glory is the simple pleasure of being in the senses and not in my mind. It was lovely in the cold water. It was lovely seeing the blue of the sky. It was lovely seeing the form of the clouds with the wind whistling in my ear. It was lovely to see the surf break up and tumble down into a rush of foam over my feet. It was just, lovely.

I went out early to check the bush for any activity and all the characters were still there except I couldn’t find the small spider and nest. It has rained a bit since yesterday and a day is a long time in an insect’s life. So I was pleased to see the durability of nature, the tenacity of the forms of life, once more demonstrated.

The assassin and the dramatic caterpillar were the main players and they had moved miles (to them) from where they were, many branches away. And still no sign of trouble in their appearance, just being what they are, doing what they do. Then there was a newcomer, a long brown caterpillar doing a good job of looking like a branch of the bush.

I wonder how man would fare on a bush where there are so many potentially hostile neighbours. Probably he’d break down from the stress of thinking about all the possible dangers and all the possible ways to die. Fear would probably rule. He’d probably set the bush on fire and live in a very safe pile of ash.

Is that what we have done?

All copyright reserved / Mark Berkery

After three days rain and cloud cover the temperature dropped to around 24C, very comfortable. Today it was straight back up to over 30C, very uncomfortable with all the evaporation. But it was sunny for a change.

There’s a universe in a bush. This one came down from Brisbane as a hitcher in another flower pot. I planted it to see what would grow. And it loves it here.

I was wandering in the garden this morning to see what came out with the sun and I stopped at the bush to have a close look. You wouldn’t believe how many creatures live on it. The first one I came across was the assassin bug, so called for its sword like proboscis that it plunges into its prey. It doesn’t really live on the bush because it has wings and can live anywhere it pleases. But today it was wandering around the bush in search of food.

A neighbour close by on another branch was this dramatic looking caterpillar fellow. He didn’t move much, just sitting there oblivious to time as we think of it. But when the wind blew and he was brushed by other leaves he shifted position to get clear.

He was about the same size as the assassin, maybe 3cm/4cm long in the body, and I don’t think they would have fought if they had met. But you never know with the assassin’s sword, and you never know with the threatening form and colour of the caterpillar, he might not taste good.

Then there was this little fellow, a baby Praying Mantis. He’s about 2cm long and he is a tiny but ferocious predator. If he hadn’t moved I would have missed him. It’s the change in the scene that attracts the attention.

There were numerous spiders of different kinds. There were a large number of green leaf spiders. They were good to watch sailing up and down on their strands of silk that allowed them to cross great divides of space between branches without having to go the long way round. Even a tiny orb spider was huddled up against the light.

And this one. I’m not sure what’s going on here. It looks like a mother looking out for her young. I definitely saw tiny spiders jumping from the nest attached to even finer strands of silk, ten to a pinhead, they were that small. But at the nest I could also see what looks like tiny grubs, I don’t think spiders evolve through a grub stage, but I could be wrong.

Maybe they were just a handy food source for the crafty spider and what I saw jumping was in fact the grubs on their fine silky lifeline looking to maximize their survival prospects by spreading throughout the bush.

There were many more creatures living on this bush, and many I didn’t see I’m sure. Next time you are out in the garden check out the universe next to you. You might be amazed.

All copyright reserved / Mark Berkery

Thunder is rumbling overhead, rain is falling gently on the puddles I can see out on the road, and lightning is flickering in the sky. It’s just a passing storm that will hit somewhere else unless it dies first. A storm has its time to die too. Everything is quiet outside my window except for the occasional passing bird.

There have been a lot of Swallows lately. When it’s not raining they are all lined up on the electricity wires at dusk. Preparing for the night ahead, I wonder where they sleep? A lone Swallow just parked himself on the wire, and a few more. Lovely creatures, birds. Beauty, I see it inside.

They’re gathering now in numbers, looking to see what I write about them. Well, they are great flyer’s. I often see them out over the paddock at the back of the house, taking insects on the wing. Their sight must be really sharp and their reaction time super fast.

I’ve been up close to them in another place and their general colouring is a wonderful petrol blue sheen in the black when the light is on them just right. The underbelly is lighter to almost white with an orangey brown spot up near the cheeks.

Messengers of the Gods they have been called and how could it be otherwise. You only have to be able to read the message.

I think the message is always the same and I never tire of hearing it. Eventually it sinks in. ‘Life is good’ is what I hear. What about you?

By the time I went out the swallows had gone but I thought I’d include this photo. Three ladies watching the sunset away in the hills through a lovely yellow misted rain from under heavy clouds.

I went to Mullumbimby today to get my favourite bread. Jordan‘s sourdough. The baker is a friendly young giant and his elves are as good a bunch as I’ve met anywhere. They are always up to their ears in flower and bread with the fans going full pelt to help cool it all down for delivery.

The baker is another kid of messenger, isn’t he, bringing food from the Gods.

Nothing like it, good old fashioned fresh crusty bread and butter. The basis for a good meal in my book.

It was nice to walk around the town, a thriving place but with a quietness about it. The main street was full of parked cars but nobody was in a hurry. And there was time to stop for people to cross the road. It’s one of the good things about the Australia I know, nobody’s in too much of a hurry.

All copyright reserved / Mark Berkery

The road outside is flooded again after the last couple of day’s rain. It has rained heavily, and what had already fallen for a while hadn’t yet run off to the sea as the land around here just soaks it up. And the coastal swampland/forest retains the water so it takes less rain to cause the same flooding.

I went to have a look and found a lot of caterpillars had been washed down this way. Many will have been drowned and many eaten by the birds, but that’s life. The birds are full and the farmers are pleased.

Down on the beach today there was only one other human, and he was running. He waved and smiled, we said hello.

Thunder rose from the surf, wild and windy it was. I’m sure I could hear the sand, megatons of it, being moved around by the sea by the shore. A gritty sound, like sand is. Dark clouds overhead, raining once in a while. Enough to keep most folk home it seems.

I just needed to get out. I’ve been working overtime on the blog site and it’s coming along nicely. Everything is finding its place and I do the next thing when I come to it.

Pictures are next, but not today. I’m still familiarizing myself with the software and how to do what I want without deleting anything. Finding out what can be done so it can be determined what I do.

Whenever I go to the beach, or anywhere near it, I always see these small white crabs disappearing down their holes. They always see me before I see them it seems. There are thousands of them and I have only seen the smallest of them in the open, a few centimeters across, until today.

There’s a little walkway from the road through the bush to the beach. It’s why I go to this particular spot, it’s very pleasant walking this track though it’s only half a kilometer long. There used to be a picnic area here but too many people used it for free camping so it was closed to cars.

The tables are still there and there is still a large cleared area that is open to the sky. And all around there are holes in the sandy ground where the little crabs live. The holes are all sizes, depending on the size of the crab. A small crab isn’t going to dig a large hole is he?

There is a large bushy area that I have discovered houses all sorts of insects. It’s a mecca for them, or it’s just relatively easy to see them here. There was the little Tiger Bug. And a new grasshopper I nearly missed, he blends in so well. Then this dragonfly flew in and around the place and finally settled down a few feet from me. The less I try to find them the more they sit for me.

What lovely and amazing creatures, the short broad Tiger Bug with its neat plump shape and bright colour. The hopper, disguised in plain view as the end of an eaten bunch of leaves, when I first saw it.

And that incredible dragonfly, this one could swivel its head, robot like, just like all the others of his kind I’ve seen close up. And look at those wrap around eyes, not much escapes his view at all.

When I finished taking these pix I turned towards the beach and as I moved I saw white, rapidly shifting on the ground near my feet. I stopped and looking down I saw the biggest white crab I’ve seen around here. They are all males today for some reason.

He quickly adopted that ‘don’t come near me or else’ posture some small creatures display when they feel threatened. Probably it works with the other predators around here to some degree, but I reckon their best bet is to run down a hole. Which is probably why they are so good at it.

Every natural creature naturally does what’s best for it. And everyone gets caught out some time. I caught him again looking like he thinks I can’t see him behind the grass.

Not much doing? It only feels that way to the unexcited mind.

These naturally uninhibited beings make me laugh sometimes.

All copyright reserved / Mark Berkery

Except for the rain it is very quiet at home today. The roar of the water hitting the roof overwhelms every other sound. Probably because the roof is of a thin coated metal, like corrugated iron. The sight of the rain falling on the already soaked earth. A pleasant cacophony of sound and vision, to me.

I’ve been sorting my pictures, just deleting what is no good. One of the good things about digital camera’s is I can take as many shots of a subject as I like or can get. Since they upload to the computer I don’t have to pay for expensive film to see them. That’s a great advantage over how it used to be. I once had a good camera but I didn’t use it because it was so expensive to see what I captured on film.

The downside is there are now a heap of pictures to view and keep and file, or delete. It’s always the way isn’t it, where there’s an up there’s a down. And we manage. I’ve just downloaded Picassa and it looks very good but only time will tell. So far I have found the old Windows picture viewer best for deleting as I go. Some programs are just not well enough thought out, you’d think the people who design them don’t actually use them.

The water has settled on the lawn outside the window and I can see the drops that fall from the trees hitting the surface. The rain is still falling as well, only more lightly now. It’s lovely to see the gentle disturbances by the rain of the pools, on the surface of my mind. Calming and relaxing of any tension.

Relaxation is the key to enjoyment, without it any pleasure will bring a corresponding displeasure. An excitation of the psyche reverberates in the mind and returns like the ripples on the pool of water. Relaxation filters the harsh edges of the rippling until there is only a simple pleasure in being, no problem.

It’s the way the cats are most of the time, if they haven’t been mistreated by man. Just lazing about, as cats do, enjoying the simplicity of being. Or being the simplicity of cat.

We can learn a lot by observing the nature and creatures around us. They remind me of places inside I may have forgotten for a while, aspects of me, my own real nature.

T’is enlightening to see.

All copyright reserved / Mark Berkery

I have company today. As I sit here typing this in I am visited by a small spider about half a centimeter long. It is a vitally alive creature, vigorous in its manner.

If I approach it with a finger it stops suddenly still, alert. And if I blow on it gently it digs in and grips the plastic table top with an appearance of grim determination. When I get close enough to be an immediate danger to it the little fellow jumps about four or five centimeters away from me. If I blow him away into the forest of things on the table he just comes back, to go where no spider has gone before perhaps.

He moves swiftly across the terrain of my work table as if he knows exactly where he’s going. Maybe he does, maybe he knows the table top well. But I haven’t seen him around here before.

He’s searching for food and I reckon with all the bites I’ve been getting lately sitting at the computer at night there should be plenty around. He only has to find it.

Good luck to him. I could do with a few more spiders actively seeking out the little biters.

Today I signed up for a blog with WordPress.com. I have been coming to this for some time but the way I am is to know the field. I have to satisfy myself it is the right course of action. The only way for me to do that is to find out all about the business of blogging, the various means of realising a blog, and the various options within those means. In other words I found out exactly what is available and exactly what I want. And it is a job doing so.

Today I came to the point where I had enough of the looking. There was no more reservation as to what platform to use, or the means by which I would have it online. Now I know what I can do with it and expect from it, more or less. It is really very simple once the homework is done. The homework is the difficult part, it always was.

I am pleased. Really pleased. All the work has borne fruit in that I am completely at ease with what I have done. No more reservation is no more stress. There is always some tension involved when doing something new.

There is the lovely smell of fresh cut grass in the air tonight. Yes, I mowed the lawn again. If you can call it a lawn, it’s about an acre of grass. And I use a push mower. It’s another kind of job. The rain has been regular, almost every day for nearly six weeks. Not always a lot of rain, but regular. It’s been sunny more often than not the last few days.

The conditions are perfect for growing grass, the grass you mow. It will be some time before the rain stops and the grass stops growing, late Autumn, early Winter maybe. In Australia, where I am, the seasons are reversed to the northern hemisphere.

Things are almost back to normal with the mozzies, at least around the house during the day. I can go for short walks at night too without being eaten. It’s the midges turn now. Ha! Little black biters. I just have to plan around the not so pleasant nature here. And it’s Cane Toad season again, no problem, must have frozen twenty in the last few days.

I went for a walk down by the beach this afternoon. Along a track about a hundred metres inland and running parallel to the beach, behind the dunes. A little way in from the road I saw a few unusual birds in the trees and flying about, there was a lovely darkness about them, an elegant mischief. They didn’t stay still long enough for me to photograph them but I got something else that is probably quite rare.

Have you ever noticed how a bird will dump any excess weight before taking flight? It’s almost universal in my experience a bird will shit just before or after takeoff. I’ve seen every kind of bird do it. Today was no exception, the exception was that I caught it on camera. That pellet you can see falling beneath the bird could not be anything else. It was perched on the highest point around, nothing above it. Just after this shot was taken she took to the air and was gone. That’s the way to start any journey, dump the excess baggage.

The birds around here are too fast for me to keep up with, they eat out all the time and don’t let people close at all. There is an abundance of food for them around here after the rains. Maybe I’ll put up a feeder for the winter, and some water, maybe some birds will come my way then. I’ll see.

A bit further on I came to a clearing in the bush and trees between me and the beach. There was only very low ground cover and one dead tree reaching bony fingers to the sky about forty metres away. On these bare branches there were two eagles perched close together.

I stopped dead in my tracks but I was too late, one of them had seen me and was already lifting off the branch. The other one looked around to see what had caused the first to take flight. He didn’t see me at first, maybe because I didn’t move. But then he must have recognised the silhouette and immediately followed the first into the air.

I hadn’t even turned the camera on yet. I let it go and walked on for a while until I came to a track running left down to the beach. It was nice to walk in the cool water with the waves washing in right up to the dunes. There was a fisherman on the beach a long way ahead and I saw one of the eagles along the line of vegetation, never venturing far from the cover of the bush.

Every now and then I would see it in the distance swooping out to the waters edge to pick up something, food no doubt. And then fly back in to cover. I’ve seen the eagles around here catching fairly big fish from the rivers, but I don’t know if they will dive into the sea, but why not? As I approached him, eyeing him up for a shot (of the camera), he took to the air and came to rest further on down the beach.

So next time I approached him I avoided looking at him directly, I looked out to sea while seeing him with my peripheral vision. That worked, I got close enough to snap him as he stood at the edge of the sand, apparently unconcerned this time. I think looking too intently and directly probably made him uneasy. I just managed to get him in the frame as he took off again, a bit of a blur but the outline is dramatic.

When I got home I started going through what I can and can’t do with the blog. It’s going to take me some time to get to know this amazing publishing tool.

Isn’t it incredible it is possible to publish to a worldwide audience of millions on the net, and for free! All that is necessary is to have something of real value to offer. And someone to read it.

Truly amazing.

All copyright reserved / Mark Berkery