HAPPY CHRISTMAS!

At the risk of stating the obvious: it's almost Christmas!


For all my 'hip', 'with-it' and up-to-date relatives and friends, I hope you will forgive me and accept this as my sincere best wishes for you, your family and friends to have a blessed, joyful, peaceful and contemplative Christmas; one in which you spend at least some time, amid the throng and confusion of opened presents strewn across the floor, in considering why we have the celebration of Christmas.


As you are probably aware, the reason behind it - Christmas itself, that is - was the humble birth in a stable of a child, Jesus, the Christ, to Mary (then a virgin) and Joseph in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago. A miracle that we still celebrate today!


Our Western celebration of Christmas has increasingly tended to get away from the simple celebration of Christ's birth over the past 50 years or more, so I hope you will make one small step this year, towards returning to an appreciation of the reason for our joy.


Finally, I found this video (on YouTube - where else?), which encapsulates at least part of what I wish for you:





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Christmas, part 2


I thank God for restoring my heart to normal rhythm and for thus enabling me to get out and about once again, pursuing my twin passions of cycling and photography, as well as the love of our Aussie bush.


On Wednesday, I ventured into the 'wilds' of the Weddin State Forest, not far from Grenfell, where I was fortunate enough to capture these little chaps and chapesses. (As with all images on my blog, if you click on a photo, you can see a larger version quickly.)

Red-capped Robin, male

Red-capped Robin, female (I think)

Red-capped Robin, male

Red-capped Robin, female (I think)

Red-capped Robin, male

Unknown bird

Japanese Garden, Cowra, N.S.W.

Earlier this year, on 18th May to be exact, I visited the Japanese Garden at Cowra for the first time. The months leading up to the autumn had been wetter than usual, so the garden was looking its absolute best. I thought I'd share with you some of the photos that I took on the day.

First, though, a brief history of the Japanese Garden:

THE JAPANESE GARDEN AND CULTURAL CENTRE, COWRA NSW.
The magnificent Japanese Garden and Cultural Centre was erected on a 5-hectare site as a symbol of the historical ties between Cowra and Japan. It was funded by the Australian and Japanese governments and by private donations but is maintained on a non-profit basis by tourism.

The garden was designed by Ken Nakajima, a world-renowned figure in traditional Japanese landscape gardening, in liaison with the School of Environmental Design from Canberra College of Advanced Education.

Mr Nakajima has written that "The Japanese treasure nature and try to live with it. My Cowra garden takes this principle into consideration as a 'motto' and treasures all existing objects. In this respect, you will note that all gum trees and rocks on the site have been utilised in their original state".

The garden was designed to reflect the total Japanese landscape. The mountain represents all Japanese mountains. A stream flows down the mountain through a waterfall to a lagoon (representing the mountain ponds) and on to a larger koi-filled lake which equates with the ocean. Japan's cities are represented by the buildings, trimmed hedges suggest rolling hills and each gravel path offers new perspectives to convey the variety of views when meandering through the Japanese landscape. The garden was also designed to blend in with the indigenous environs, consequently gum trees surround the garden.

A traditional tea house sits on an island. There are wooden footbridges, a wisteria pergola, a bonsho (calling bell), a temple lantern, a lookout over Cowra and the Lachlan Valley, manicured shrubs and lawns and a delicate and symbolic arrangement of rocks. The 113 species of flora includes water lilies, cherry trees, wisteria, chrysanthemums, magnolia and Australian natives and there are over 120 bird species in the garden. The overall effect is one of serenity and harmony.

Traditional Japanese design has been employed in the construction of the Cultural Centre which houses a display of Japanese art including the Somenishiki Ornamental Vase, 500 hand-carved Japanese dolls, Nanga paintings and a fossilised chrysanthemum estimated to be over 70 million years old.

Within the complex is the Bonsai House (with Bonsai display), a pottery house, a gift shop, a nursery, and the Chabana Restaurant, which fuses Japanese and Australian elements and furnishes views over the garden. In the car park is a Japanese rock sculpture which symbolises peace.

In early October, when the cherry blossoms bloom, the centre becomes the focus of Sakura Matsuri, the Cherry Blossom Festival during which there are demonstrations of Japanese arts and crafts, recitals on the shakuhachi flute, tea ceremonies, martial arts demonstrations, kite flying and Japanese food. The complex is open from 8.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m. daily.

As with all images, click on an image and the full-size image is shown very quickly. I recommend you do that with the three panoramic ones, as you will see them as they are meant to be seen.

Pond and hedges

Pond and colourful hillside

Pond, viewing platform and hillside. This image comprises 11 shots sewn together by Photoshop.

Koi in one of the ponds

Possibly the most beautiful part of the Japanese Garden

Two images were joined together to obtain this panoramic view of the Japanese Garden.

Small falls (a trickle, really) and hillside, with the teahouse at the top.

Birds, birds, birds......

I managed to get a few reasonable shots of birds at Wallangreen Sculpture Garden on Wednesday, so I thought I'd show them to you. Click on an image to see a much larger version:

Blue-faced Honeyeater

Pacific Black Duck

Red Wattlebird. Not sure whether that's food in his beak; I suspect it's nesting material, though.

Red-rumped Parrots, aka Grass Parrots

The male Red-rumped Parrot - my best shot from the morning's 'shoot'.

Bike (Bicycle) Racing

Starting in 1963, I was involved with bikes and bike racing on and off until about 1994 but still kept riding regularly, just to keep fit. When I was in my early 50s and living at Bargo, N.S.W., I managed a 'big loop' ride.


The 'big loop' for a bike rider from Wollongong means up Macquarie Pass, through Bowral, Mittagong and Picton and back home. I should mention that Wollongong is on the coast, so basically at sea level, while Bowral and Mittagong are over 2,000 feet above sea level; that's what makes the 'big loop' so interesting!


It's only slightly different, when living around Bargo, because you're on a nice, downhill slope to finish! The distance is around 150 kilometres or so and the first time I rode the big loop was in January, 1964 on a bike with a single gear. I was going to say that it was a fixed-wheel but I can't remember for sure; it may have been or it may have been a freewheel.


Here's a photo from that day, taken in Bowral. It shows the two mates, with whom I rode in 1964 (note the lack of helmets - they didn't exist then!):

While I think of it, here's another photo taken later in 1964 at Picton, which is 'just down the road' from Bowral. This was taken after the finish of the 1964 Southern Districts Championships. It was hosted by the Picton bike club, which folded not long afterwards. (That's me in the green-and-white jersey.) I should point out that I won the Senior title, while the rider in front of me in the photo was third; we had gone some distance past the finish line and were heading back when the photo was taken. We raced bare-headed or with cloth caps back then - bicycle helmets hadn't been invented! (Sorry about all the rubbish in this image; I'll have to clean it one day!)

Perhaps I'll tell more of my bike-riding 'history' soon.........

Audio recording

In what seems a former life, I used to venture into the Aussie bush (i.e. forest) with my bird-shooting equipment (camera with long lens) hanging from my neck AND with my sound-recording equipment in my pockets. Sometimes I would have the latter in my hand, at the ready.


Here's a pic of the recording gear:

I managed to record some beautiful bird calls, as well as some unusual ones, several of which I have uploaded to Wikimedia. Here's a list; just click on the bird's name to hear the call:


Grey Shrike-thrush In this call, you hear other birds in the background.


Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo

Fan-tailed Cuckoo

Eastern Whipbird It is the male bird that does the whip-crack sound but, right at the end of this recording, you hear a female responding to the male's call.


Hmmm, only 4 calls - I shall have to upload some more to Wiki before too long.

My Best Shots

 If you'd like to see some of my best photos, please click here

Here's a sample:

Wagga Trip

The trip to Wagga Wagga to pick up my 'new' car, which I mentioned in my previous post, happened 2 days ago. Consequently, I am now the owner of a 2000 model Nissan Pulsar, which drives like a dream, compared with the old Fiat Regata that I've had since May, 1998 - and it was already 9 years old then!

The drive from here to Wagga Wagga and back is one of the easiest imaginable for a (nearly) 400 kilometres round trip. You have to keep a wary eye out for kangaroos and other wildlife crossing the road but the terrain is almost dead flat and there's very little other traffic to worry about. Radio reception is poor for much of the journey, so singing to oneself is in order, as is listening to a CD.

Anyway, here's a photo of the new car (and me), taken by the salesman at the car yard:

 

I stopped to take a photo of a road sign on the way down to Wagga. Why? Well, I intend mentioning it to the local council, because one of the distances on it is incorrect. While taking the photo, I realised that the spelling is a bit off as well!! I had only seen this sign previously as I rode past on my bicycle but, until Monday, I hadn't stopped and 'inspected' it properly. The town, BARNEDMEN, should be BARMEDMAN and it's over 90 kilometres from Grenfell!

 

The story so far............

G'day!

I've been late for most things in my life, so I guess there's no use changing now!

I'm a single bloke, who's retired to the quiet life in the country and who's very happy he did so! The people here are friendly and welcoming, both in the town generally and at my church. I have become involved in several activities that I wasn't able to do previously, so I'm slightly busier than I used to be.

Normally, I also do some photography and bicycle riding but I'm currently a little restricted in those, due to health concerns, which, I pray, are only temporary.

I may add an image or two now and then, just for the heck of it or I may report on a trip I've made, such as one I'm hoping to do (eventually) to the Warrumbungles. Actually, I'm planning a little trip in a couple of days to Wagga Wagga, where, God willing, I will pick up my 'new' second-hand car.

Here's a photo taken near here: