[cont]

Hasbeen - I loved the 'anchor' yarn. Yabby - your parrots remind me of an occasion a while back when a mob of sulphur-crested cockatoos congregated in a tree in our yard. They were all screeching and sqwawking away as cockies do, except for one who had obviously made a literal 'tree change'. In amongst all the SCRAAARKs there was a lone and plaintive "Hello Cocky" to be heard... clearly an escapee from mundane domestication :)

CJ
The feeling I get from your post and previous ones on OLO is that you have the ideal life. The best of both worlds - close enough to the big smoke for the odd visit and the country life for the everyday.

There is certainly something to the vibrancy of the cities, but I find it easy to find things to do no matter where I live.

I remember my parents moving us to a small town - literally a one horse, one policeman and one pub with a small shop town. Dad had to look after a small airport site while the usual fellow was on a leave for a few weeks. We moved down from the city and loved our adventure in the bush.

We met the oddest and most eccentric people, but there was a real camerarderie in the town. There was no TV and no school, pictures was an old reel type projector in the local hall on a Friday night with fold up chairs. Christmas Day was spent with a fresh whole pig and salads at the policeman's house with all the people from the neighboring properties as well.

If you can find your piece of paradise wherever it might be, and find work or a suitable business at the same time to complement that lifestyle I think it can work well, especially if your priorities aren't material ones.

*One of the few things about city life that I miss is going to the movies - DVDs don't quite have the same atmosphere.*

CJ, despite your green credentials, have you ever checked out one
of those LED widescreens? LEDs are a bit more expensive, but
they have a 5 star power rating.

I watched part of a documentary ther other night on National
Geographic, The Last Eden, I think it was called. Its the
last place on earth where hippos and elephants still swim in
the ocean, the rainforest goes right down to the water. They
showed some red river hogs, which I had never seen before, the
colours were just amazing. Far more beautiful then anything
man has ever created, that natural scenery.

I have a flock of pink and grey galahs here, their trapeze acts
on the tv antenna would put any circuis performer to shame.
They tend to dive bomb the lambs when they drink from the water
trough, then steal their oats. However there is now a gamechanger
as the wild cat living up amongst the sheds has figured out that
dinner is simple, if it waits under the grain feeder. So the
story goes on, its like days of our lives of the animal world.