Beauty, and of course, its opposite

Everyone who lives in Melbourne would know how hot it was on Thursday and Friday (temperatures ranged between 37.5C one day and 41C the next). Thankfully it was cooler yesterday, which allowed me to engage domestic duties without feeling totally washed out. The best thing about the hot weather was that it gave me an opportunity to take photographs of some of the flowers in the garden and to finish reading The Harp in the South, Ruth Park 1948, which is beautifully written and reveals the strength of many poor people in post-war Australia. Ruth Park manages in her writing to make the ordinary seem so extra-ordinary.

Last night I watched the documentary on Kirstie Mills Tancock, a twenty one year old who was born with cystic fibrosis and nearly died before receiving a lung transplant. She displayed such courage and her plight must certainly put any minor health problems that we have into perspective!

As I look at these flowers above I wish that everything could be as beautiful. I wish that women in India weren't being gang raped and murdered. I wish that young girls in South Africa could live without being systematically sexually abused from a young age in a rape culture that is considered the norm! Unfortunately desiring change won't make anything happen! Sorry to end on such a negative note, but with all recognition of beauty there must be an equal recognition of the ugliness in our world.

Pied Cormorant in Hawthorn yesterday

This beautiful Pied Cormorant (I had to do research on the Internet to discover what kind of bird it was - it's a water bird and most probably made its way to Hawthorn via the Yarra River) was sitting on my fence and preening itself for about forty minutes yesterday. I photographed it from my balcony so as not to frighten it away. It's the first time in my life that I have seen this bird and have now added it to the various species that visit my place, which include Magpies, Noisy Miners, South Australian doves, Lorikeet, Rosella, White Cockatoos, Corella, Silver eyes, Wrens and Wattle birds. They are attracted by the indigenous and introduced plant species growing on the property and have strange and beautiful songs that permeate the air each day.

Nest of surprises

Yesterday, I went out at 8.30 am in an attempt to get to the shops and back before the heat set in, but it was already 31C degrees by 9.45 am when I was walking home from the tram stop. Even though the temperature was rising it turned out to be a great day. My son came over for lunch and we spent the afternoon together eating and talking. He gave me a lovely surprise on his arrival - a uninhabited bird nest from his garden still attached to the branch. It's the most amazingly intricate design and must have taken many hours for the bird to construct.

Creatures that will inherit the earth

Insects. Julie Clarke 2012

Just one small cluster of the hundreds of insects that landed on a bush in my garden. They're only about 1.5 cm long and their wings are orange. I think they look amazing in their uniformity, though doubtless, if one looks closer they would not all be the same.