Continued from above.

The hot air scorched like a furnace blast
From the very mouth of Hell: --
The blue gums caught and blazed on high
Like flaming pillars into the sky; . . .
The grey horse staggered and fell.

"Ride, ride, lad, -- ride for her sake!" he cried; --
Into the gulf of flame
Were swept, in less than a breathing space
The laughing eyes, and the comely face,
And the lips that named HER name.

She bore me bravely, the good bay mare; --
Stunned, and dizzy and blind,
I heard the sound of a mingling roar --
'Twas the Lachlan River that rushed before,
And the flames that rolled behind.

Safe -- safe, at Nammoora gate,
I fell, and lay like a stone.
O love! thine arms were about me then,
Thy warm tears called me to life again, --
But -- O God! that I came alone! --

We dwell in peace, my beautiful one
And I, by the streams in the West, --
But oft through the mist of my dreams along
Rides Bannerman of the Dandenong,
With the blood-red rose on his breast.

I guess Alice Werner would have to have qualified for acceptance into the Cysterhood of the Coup de Grace, all things being equine. I wonder whether any current member agrees?

Romany,

Around 500 years ago the then undiscovered, but postulated Great Southern Land was indicated on some maps as 'Terra Psittacorum', or 'Land of Parrots. Just another little bit of useless information for you.

Ludwig,

Have you ever seen a Night Parrot in your botanical bushbashing?

What a wonderful thread and such beautiful
sentiments, written so expressively, makes
one long for more, much more. A good read
that you don't want to end.

Thank You David f!

This is like a breath of fresh air compared
to some recent discussions on OLO.

I remember only too well
while living in LA ( working at the University of
Southern California) and coming across
Eucalypts on a week-end drive. The feeling of homesickness
was overwhelming. So I understand what you David, and other
posters are talking about.

Home is and always will be, where the heart is.
But its only when you're away from it that you
full appreciate it. (Sigh).

Howdy Forrest, half-mad Ludwig from Herbaria here! Not yet the bearer of full madness. But don’t despair, I’m workin on it!

Nope, no night parrots, dammit. But I have been very mindful of them when travelling in the vast outback, especially roadkills. I’ve stopped many times to check out potential roadkill night parrots, amongst all sorts of other critters. I’ve built up a huge collection of roadkill photos! D’oh, maybe you are right…I might have attained full madness (:>/

Examinator, yes I’ve seen red goshawks. In fact I was with Greg Czechura when we encountered them near Musgrave on lower Cape York Peninsula, including a bright orange juvenile on the nest.

Further to your (not so) useless (but actually quite interesting) information…several species of cockies dig up bulbs or rhizomes, including galahs, sulphies (sulphur-crested cockies) and corellas (three species – little, western and long-billed). You see them in anything from little groups to enormous mixed-species flocks all over the country picking away at the ground. Their ranges have extended and populations increased as a result of clearing and the spread of introduced species such as onion grass (Romulea rosea).

Dear Foxy,

I’m flattered but realistic. I wrote a short story and sent it in to Australian Short Stories. They published it and paid me for it. When they sent me a copy of the issue I saw that the Victorian Council for the Arts sponsored it. My story was an ego trip on my part, and I saw no reason that Victorian taxpayers should pay for it. I really don’t think government should be supporting writers. To become a good writer takes years perfecting one’s craft, and I am an engineer. I am 83 and am not going to become a writer. My present goal is to become 84.

Nature is neither cruel nor kind. It is up to us to live with it. If we build our house on a flood plain we can expect to be flooded. If we build our house surrounded by trees we can expect to be in danger of forest fires. Trees surround our house so I cut down those closest to the house and hope we don’t get burned out. If we pollute our world or cause its temperature to rise we will suffer from pollution or global warming.

We can appreciate a sunset, but I doubt that the appreciation is mutual. I have fallen into the trap of thinking in the previous bit of nature as apart from us. We are part of nature.

Dear Romany,

There is an area in Strathpine where I have heard the screeching of the rainbow lorikeets that congregate in great noisy swarms on the gums.

Sometimes I awake before dawn, and kookaburra chattering heralds the dawn. As the rosy fingers of dawn clutch the sky I can hear the trills of the magpies and the lyrical voices of the butcherbirds with their many songs.

I feel alien to the culture, language and social attitudes of Australia. Shortly after I came here there was a headline “RUG UP/COLDER IS TIPPED” Its meaning seemed to me to be that the rug was pulled out from under someone named Colder.

(continued)

(continued)
Lots of people try to imagine themselves by what they are not. Australia is the most conformist country I have encountered, and I have lived in the US and Europe. Yet, many Australians seem to think they are a nation of larrikins.

Coming from the US I was shocked to hear that the Australian government actually subsidised religious schools.

I miss the smell of the balsam pines in the northern forests near the Canadian border in the US. When my daughter was 12 I took her up to the north country so she could enjoy the forests that I love. She started to turn colour, had difficulty breathing and her eyes swelled up. I picked her up and carried her out. She was allergic to the balsam pines in my beloved forest.

Dear examinator,

I am familiar with “Mountains to Mangroves” and have taken groups on nature walks in Osprey House on the Pine River estuary and in Roma Street Parklands in Brisbane. I quit because hearing loss in the higher frequencies made it hard to hear the questions from the treble voices of children. In the Spectacle Garden at Roma Street is a plot with different kinds of grasses. I was telling the group about grasses evolving and spreading during the Miocene epoch 23 to 5 million years and large grazing animals evolving along with the grasses when a man who might have been the grandfather of the little boy he was with put his hands over the boy’s ears, yelled, “What about Adam and Eve?” and pulled the child away.

Avicennia marina, the river mangrove, has little projections sticking up out of the soil around them is so they can breathe. Roots need air but the tidal soil is anaerobic so the roots grow pneumatophores to breathe. Seeds will not grow in anaerobic soil so the seeds germinate on the tree, grow into little saplings and then drop off the tree. It’s an arboreal live birth. The saplings have to root before the tide washes them away. They can travel long distances before finding hospitable soil

Dear david f,

You write beautifully, and I'm not trying
to flatter you. I'm simply expressing the
feelings you arose in me as a reader when I
read what you've written. You've got a talent
that you should use. Reaching 84 will happen
anyway - but in the meantime - think of the
people whose lives you could touch
by putting pen to paper.

My husband and I lived and worked in Los Angeles
for nine and a half years. My two sons were born
in LA. We travelled all over the US, Canada, and
Mexico. And saw the beauty and wonders that make
up the many dimensions of the country. Its natural
beauty is truly awesome.

David, you once paid me such a lovely compliment on
an article thread - and taught me what my pseudo "foxy"
meant - much to my delight. So now I'm going to
tell you - straight from my heart - that you are
such a pleasure - a truly compassionate, intelligent man,
from whom all of us can learn so much. We're lucky indeed
to have you as a poster on OLO. If we could only clone
more like you! A man who is able to quote Ogden Nash, John Donne,
and appreciates natural beauty - an impressive, fascinating
rarity!

All The Best,

Please?