The Belier Wetlands Dichotic : R-F-C trees for Kwinana and Roe highway roadworks.

photograph taken in Quairading

The Roe highway extension to Fremantle, which is proposed to cut through the Belier Wetlands, has many voices. Connect with our land is more than protesting. It is likely that construction workers also sympathise or have family and friends that sympathise with the plight of wildlife. 

One of many  definitions of 'dichotic" : involving or relating to simultaneous stimulation of the right and left ear by different sounds.

Using a dichotic approach, my first consideration is the effect on the birds. You can usually hear them coming. The Carnaby Cockatoos and Red-tail black cockatoos take incredible risks to cross the Kwinana Freeway to reach the Belier Wetlands. It is one of their vital feeding areas. I once sat in my car on the slow moving, congested freeway during road-works, watching as a group of between 20 and thirty of the birds hesitated for a second, then flew over me in a tight group at a height of only 2 meters. They would have been scared. There was a line of a few hundred trucks and cars. They never made a sound.

The Roe highway extension has made me think about how the birds will cross over roads and road-works safely. This used to be a country that cared. Is it possible, and I think it is, to create Shire or state regulations that make it mandatory (such a simple measure for architects and road planners) to leave trees that connect flight paths and food areas for birds during road constructions. An example of this, would be to leave four or five high standing trees on opposite sides of a freeway (e.g. Banksias, gum trees) so that the birds can rest, feed and connect. The Rest-Feed-Connect trees will be rest and shelter spots in bad weather when bird flight paths are interrupted. The brilliant green feathered ring-necked parrots cling to branches and tree trunks during storms. The cockatoos travel back and forth between the Wheatbelt and the Perth metropolis. The younger cockatoos cannot fly the bigger distances until they are 2 or 3 years old. When we strip the R-F-C trees, we put the babies at high risk of perishing. 

The cockatoos watch us too. The R-F-C trees will be ideal for these intelligent, endangered birds to watch us so they can plan their feeding and flight routes. R-F-C trees seems so simple and logical from my perspective. 

Deaths of divers in Australian waters - November 2016

It has suddenly occurred to me that the unprecedented number of diving deaths which have occurred in Australian waters in the past 3 days, should not to be merely brushed off as being a result of having 'underlying medical conditions'. Two more have been reported today...at Garden Island (Perth) and in Tasmania. That explanation would be too simple. It would be too one-eyed if any intelligent person on earth accepted this.

We know that various highly toxic, venomous stingers (such as box jellyfish and blue-bottles) proliferate between October and May. However, the most glaring thing that is staring at us... right before our noses is ...the sea floors are moving. We have had massive regional earthquakes. The sea floors have risen. Volcanic activity is happening-at this very moment. This is not a time to be in the sea.  Ask anyone with Maori ancestors. Just remember this...in the past, storms have carried clouds of butterflies between continents. 

Halloween ...it seems like a thousand years ago.

 

photographs by dheborah

I made some tiny terracotta pumpkins and  placed them on some linen napkins; found some delicate twigs; placed an antique candlestick on a large stainless steel tray; filled some martini glasses with eyeballs (the kind that stick to your forehead), and added three healthy sized plastic tarantulas...this made a tiny, but inviting, display on my porch for the trick-or-treaters that were brave enough to come to my door for a little bag of eyeballs, spider webs and plastic flies on Halloween. The pumpkins took about 24 hours to dry. I used 'monte mate'  air hardening modelling clay, which I picked up from Red Dot for less than five dollars, for the little pumpkins. I happened to have a bag of stick-on polystyrene eyeballs. An hour after I placed the tray outside, I caught a crow picking up the tiniest pumpkin, trying to escape with it in its beak. He put it down but a tiny detail got broken. The crow later left me a dirty old piece of bone (3 ribs from someone's spare rib dinner) jammed in my outdoor bench. I took that as an apology.

Western Australia: Aboriginal Cave paintings.

photograph taken by dheborah.

Aboriginal art on the rock of the cave roof at Mulcha's cave. A few minutes drive from Wave Rock, on a side road leading off a well-maintained dirt road, is Mulcha's cave. The turn-off is well marked  and the cave is only a short walk from the parking area. This is a significant place and contains a solid, traditional story that has been passed down by the ancestors. To get into the small cave, you do have to bend over and almost crawl in. Once inside, the rock will speak to you.

Western Australia: The Traditional land-owners 'Sharing the stories'.

photograph taken at the Beelier Wetlands in 2015 by dheborah.

Kwinana residents wait patiently to listen to listen to stories told by one of the Aboriginal elders. The Aboriginal people shared these tales on a beautiful summer afternoon, at their fire-pit. They also shared their food and invited us to take part in the smoking ceremony. The sensational stewed kangaroo and  vegetables will go down in history. The local Noongars have invited the local Kwinana people each year, to share this place. Unbelievably, the government has approved and  is about to rip through the wetlands with a highway for trucks to Fremantle harbour.

Western Australia : To Carry fire (traditional Aboriginal knowledge)

photograph taken in the Beelier Wetlands by dheborah July 2015

This is a photograph of a dried Banksia cone which is being used to carry fire. This large cone will smoulder for hours. Fire is then used for cooking, warmth, the vital Fire Ceremonies, and hunting. When small areas of land are carefully burned in the traditional manner, lizard eggs are able to be located for eating.  The Banksia has a bottle-brush like flower which is a favourite of the Black cockatoos and the Twenty-eight parrots. Many of the smaller birds and large butterflies also feast from it (and, of course, the bees). Banksia trees also produce large, soft edible seeds that the birds split open and eat. The fire-sticks were kept alive and one person was assigned the privilege of carrying it. It used to be kept inside ( we are familiar with the handmade shelter or "Humpy" ) or alongside,  in a container or basket, often with cool, edible paperbark leaves. The fire stick was safest when pushed into the sand or propped up in soil amongst river rocks. It is a very stupid person that tries to blow on the fire-stick to find out it's power.

Hurricane Mathew. Update Sun 9 2016. (Western Australia. 08:28 WA time)

Hurricane Mathew update. Sunday 9 (Australia) 08:28 Western Australian time.

'May the force be with you'

America's 'Mesa Verde' will arrive in Haiti on Sunday, bringing urgently needed assistance to desperate Haitians, following the devastating Hurricane Mathew. The ship has sailed through the  edge of the deadly hurricane which has caused more damage than any recorded in over a hundred years. Doctors without Borders, whose nurses and surgeons'  international reputation exceeds the valour of any, are bringing help by chopper shortly. To date, an estimated 900 deaths have been reported in Haiti after the storm's battering. 10 Americans (Georgia and Florida) have died. 

Hurricane Mathew. Emergency update

11:32 Western Australian time. Update

Message to Haiti: The Spanish government has cargo leaving with shelter materials, equipment for water storage and the means to assist repair safe water supplies-this has been chartered by the World Food Program and is leaving from Panama. Spain will spend the next few weeks helping restore and repair safe water supplies in Haiti. It is essential that rescuers remain safe. Food, medical assistance and help is coming. The elections will be delayed. Do not panic if help does not seem near. Stay calm.

Hurricane Mathew. Further updates

05:20 Western Australia time. Update.

Fears are increasing as over 800 bodies have been recovered from flattened towns in Haiti. Only 20 percent of one city is standing. Food security and potential landslides are the next most pressing issues for the devastated nation as reports come in that over 80 percent of banana crops have been destroyed in vital food growing regions. The fantastic US navy ship 'Mesa Verde' has been deployed and is leaving with surgeons, water and nappies to assist aid to the struggling nation. Many areas in Haiti will not be reached for days by aid groups such as the Red Cross. The ramifications of this are as follows...simple injuries such as fractured limbs are unable to be treated in many clinics, until help reaches them.


Suspected fractures: Until help is reached, keep a fractured limb immobile. A splint can be made from anything, including a lump of wood or branch, cushioned with a jacket or leaves. Secure it with flat, wide ties or strips of fabric above and below the suspected fracture. A fractured arm can be rested against the chest and kept in a sling, while a leg can be splinted to the other leg, if necessary. Do not move the limb. 

06:06 Western Australian time. Update.

Hurricane Mathew has been downgraded to a Category 2.


07:39 Western Australian time. Update.

Marines from Brazil, working with the United Nations Stabilisation Mission in Haiti, are doing massive road clean-ups in Haiti, removing fallen trees.

07:58 Western Australian time. Update.


It is essential that people affected the worse by Hurricane Mathew remain calm. Emergency aid groups are waiting until it is safe to be sent to many areas. The world is watching. There are no  recent reports whether the new clean water drinking kiosks at Madame Cyr have survived. The World Food Program organisation has measures to assist feed people and will reach rural areas, even if roads have been washed away. Presently, decisions will be based on highest needs. If the situation is critical, high energy biscuits (used in famine and war torn situations) can be flown in to Miami from Dubai, and then dispatched to Haiti. 

Hurricane Mathew.Update

Hurricane Mathew has been downgraded to category three. Please heed evacuation orders on coastal areas. A state of emergency has been declared by President Obama in three American states and the National Guard has been deployed. Teams of first responders are moving to critical areas. Over 400 are dead in Haiti,  hit by winds over 200 km an hour. More bodies are expected to be found as waters subside. News from the region is slow because more  isolated areas have been unable to communicate. Haiti manufactures uniforms for American companies that export to the hotel and health industry, worldwide.

21:51 West Australian time-Update.

The National Hurricane website is down. There is minor damage reported at the Kennedy Space centre. Half a million people in Florida are without power.

22:05 West Australian time-Update.

The Sidney Lanier bridge is closed. Death toll in Haiti may be closer to 600, until official reports are confirmed.

22:49 West Australian time-Update.

Ports are closed at Savannah and Brunswick,Ga. Pan American  Health Organisation warns of imminent cholera escalation in Haiti. Care Haiti were on the ground, in many isolated areas, in preparation for Hurricane Mathew and are working at removing people and supplying safe water.

Rockymystar and Thsu discuss the weather before work...

Serotonin Uptake Inhibitor Exhibition on SL

photos by Thsu
(taken in Second Life)

The 'Serotonin Uptake Inhibitor Exhibition' in Second Life is an exquisite art piece. The artist suffered a debilitating nervous breakdown after receiving a Canadian arts grant. 'Franksx Lefavre' has created something that will lift you beyond other art experiences...from the time you sink through the floor on a glass ball until you leave. Immerse yourself.

Cover your nipples...Cyber Sundays

Avatar eyes

Thsu and friend, Dave Dalglish (S.L)

Proposal: Compulsory DNA testing for all male refugees.

I propose that all male refugees from northern African countries and war-torn Islamic states have a simple, compulsory  DNA test before applications for refugee status and residency in countries sympathetic to the plight of refugees. Saliva samples can be taken in an ethical and dignified manner. This be a way of approaching the horror of sex attacks and rape that some nations have had to deal with recently.

Chilling with rockymystar.....

Bush Fire Alert: Cooloongup (Rockingham)

A bush fire has been burning in Cooloongup since 16:30 this afternoon. Fire crews and water-bombers (a chopper and the yellow water bomber plane) did multiple water drops for over 2 hours. There were signs of the fire easing but black smoke is now coming from the fire, which is visible from the Village at Wellard and Leda. Kerosine Lane was closed to traffic earlier. Areas bordered between Rockingham shopping centre and Mandurah Road and Ennis Road need to be vigilant while homes (and wildlife) near Leda Reserve are in close proximity. Rockingham hospital and Ennis Avenue have been affected by smoke. 

Photograph of kangaroo...Honeymoon pools, Western Australia.

This photograph was taken near Honeymoon pools in Collie, a few years ago.

I walked past while you were talking to her....

photos taken by Thsu on SL