The Rose Swallows' Rain-soaked Garden...

This small community only has a population of a few hundred people living in the town itself. The shire covers a large area and is made up of over a thousand. The last photograph is the Pingelly Memorial Rotunda and was built in 1923. It's original marble slab has the names of 71 men (from this district) enlisted in the Australian army that died  during active service in WWI. A second marble plaque has the names of  13 that died during WWII. My photographs have been taken on an arbor-covered path, leading to the rotunda. On the metal  plaques are the names of some of the women and young men from Pingelly that have enlisted and fought in other armed conflicts. It rained last night and the swallows were swooping around me as I took my steps across the neatly mowed lawn this morning. Someone once wrote...'there is nothing there'. The joy of the swallows cutting through the air like tiny fuel-loaded missiles and the masses of majenta roses told me otherwise. This is a fragment... a joyful, immortal fragment.



These photographs were taken on an old pocket-sized Kodak Easyshare V550. 28/10/2015.

An Iconic Australian Desert Landmark Pub - the Broad Arrow Tavern.

"When Terry first opened, things were a bit slow to start..."

   "Once he let the "plebs" in, business started picking up a bit."

  "Who the hell is Terence Bogie?"

                    "He's one of those "chambre champagne bogans"...you know, one of those

 "Faux Beaus"

These two photos were taken on the desert edge, outside Kalgoorlie in 1998, just over 100 years after the big  gold rush at Broad Arrow. These were taken on a small Panasonic camera, using Kodak film, and I scanned the photographs. The second photograph is of the Broad Arrow Tavern, which is one of only a handful of remaining buildings that have survived in the ghost town - I think there are three left . During the gold rush, Broad Arrow grew to over 2000 prospectors and businesses. It had a couple of pubs, two blacksmiths and a fever hospital tent. The pub still has the ashes of dead men from the past and there are tragic tales of a lady who  hung herself over a table in the main bar.

You took away our golliwogs...

Political correctness took away our golliwogs; it created generations of pale pink dolls. Well, This is where political correctness always gets it wrong. Kids like Christmas; they like fairies (politically correct Melbourne pub people, keep out of this); they like funny dolls. The fact is, some kids liked golliwogs .  Leave them alone. 

Dheborah's Fabulous Birdbath Series : Two little Sunday morning visitors.

Can't fly up when my wings are wet.

This "28" has just been feeding its baby up in the branches of a tree across the road by carefully putting food into its beak. Baby "28s" follow their mum around until they are able to feed themselves, making them quite vulnerable. The adult female "28" is incredibly patient and will gently reassure the crying chick by touching its beak while she is feeding on the ground in a sheltered spot.

Moments after this was recorded, the same two "28s" came into the garden and were splashing around in my birdbaths. One of them mis-negotiated the height of the fence and  I heard a loud "Dunk!"before the stunned  little bird dropped to the ground.  The "28"  took a walk around my backyard (in fact it walked towards me when I went "are you alright" so I know it was feeling terrible)  but managed to get up into one of the lower branches of a small tree with a lot of effort. It  eventually made its way on to the fence and flew off, still looking slightly dazed and concussed.