Kiss me Kate...

Photos: Melbourne Herald Sun

More Bush Creatures....

an Echidna started burrowing in

when it heard the car

wild Emus

Emu and Kangaroos

can you see the Quail?

so cleverly camouflaged

Roos grazing

all in the Grampians National Park

Western District, Victoria

Hello Possums!

I heard Dame Edna Everage's catch-phrase many times - "Hello Possums!"

A couple of weeks ago we spent ten days in the Western district of Victoria, at Lake Fyans, in the Grampians National Park.  The first night we were there, we were sitting on the cabin verandah when suddenly, down scampered a little possum.  It ran along the railing and sniffed at our table.  I didn't have an apple but ran in and brought out a few slices of grain bread.  It immediately latched on to my hand and started nibbling and I snapped it with my other hand!

The Common Brushtail Possum (Trichosurus vulpecula, from the Greek for "furry tailed"

and the Latin for "little fox", also known as Phalangista vulpina),

is a nocturnal, semi-arboreal marsupial of the family Phalangeridae;

it is native to Australia and the largest of the possums.

Source: Wikipedia

The next night we had a barbecue at our friends' camp

and were delighted with the company of two more mates.

And, so it went on every night we were there!

They rummaged in our Esky, trying to open the bag of dirty plates!

After a tummy full of scraps and apple, they retired for the night

and we were left alone

to enjoy our portable camp fire.

Dame Edna Everage

Grampians National Park

For the Fallen - Our Anzacs...

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old,

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

On this day, Anzac Day, we remember the soldiers of Australia and New Zealand, who fought for their country in WW1. The fourth stanza of Laurence Binyon's poem, "For the Fallen", above, is read at 6pm every night in our Returned and Services Leagues clubs, followed by a minute's silence.

We will remember them.

Further reading here.

Happy Easter...

Happy Easter!

Hope the Easter Bunny 

makes it to your house!


(It's already tomorrow in Australia!)

Another view from the treadmill...a bit of trivia...

To Celia...

When I came across the above image, I immediately thought of the song, "Drink To Me Only With Thine Eyes", then found that it was a poem by Ben Jonson, "Song: To Celia" set to an existing tune of the time and later, in 1790, a composition by J.W. Callcott, the tune we know today.


To Celia
A romance poem rendered in English by Ben Jonson
From a Love Letter by Philostratus of Athens or Philostratus of Lemnos
Jonson published the poem in 1616

Drink to me only with thine eyes,

And I will pledge with mine;

Or leave a kiss within the cup,

And I'll not ask for wine.

The thirst that from the soul doth rise,

Doth crave a drink divine,

But might I of Jove's nectar sup,

I would not change for thine.

I sent thee late a rosy wreath,

Not so much honoring thee

As giving it a hope that there

It could not withered be;

But thou thereon didst only breathe

And sent'st back to me,

Since when it grows and smells, I swear,

Not of itself, but thee.

"To Celia" is one of the most frequently quoted poems in English literature.  Undoubtedly, most literate persons are familiar with the opening line, "Drink to me only with thine eyes."  Indeed, many people think of that line as the title of the poem.  Ben Jonson (1572-1637), a celebrated playwright and poet of the Shakespearean age, often receives full credit for composing those words, as well as the lines in the rest of the poem; instead, he should receive credit for translating or paraphrasing them.  It was a Greek named Philostratus who originated the words in his own language.  But which Philostratus?  Scholars identify two writers of this name as candidates for authorship.  The first was Lucius Flavius Philostratus (170 to 245-8? AD), a Greek writer sometimes called Philostratus the Athenian.  He long received credit for penning the lines in his love letters until some scholars credited his relative, Philostratus of Lemnos (born 190AD), as the likely author.  The authorship question has not been resolved.

Source: cummings study guides
Further reading here

Art: George W. Joy 1844-1925

This Morning...

The morning sun

Surrounds us

With its cosmic

Embrace

The morning light

Feeds our hearts

And guides our lives

At the morning dawn

I hear the gentle whisper 

Of my blessingful

inner guide

Poetry by Sri Chinmoy