(The North Pine River at Sunrise. I took this with a cheap digital camera while going for a walk at about 5am one morning)
Liz is the love of my life.
I wrote this double acrostic for her during a difficult time for us.
They’re difficult to write because the words are written in a square, and the first and last column of letters makes up a word – in this case a name. So each line has to have exactly the same number of letters, with the only leeway being that full-stops may have either one or two spaces after them to help keep the acrostic square.
They’re worth the challenge. But so is life 🙂
Enduring hope of a shareD Life with you gives extrA Impetus to us. No shadoW Zones of despair can ruiN An iron-strong tie insidE Both of us. Our love caN Endure the many trials iN This life that we face. I Have faith in our onenesS
This song by Merle Travis is a great inspiration to not spend too much time in the office!
A great thought for a Friday afternoon.
DARK AS THE DUNGEON (Merle Travis)
Come all you young fellers so young and so fine And seek not your fortune in the dark, dreary mine It will form as a habit and seep in your soul ‘Til the blood of your veins runs as black as the coal
Chorus:
Where it’s dark as the dungeon and damp as the dew Where the dangers are many and the pleasures are few Where the rain never falls and the sun never shines It’s dark as the dungeon way down in the mines
It’s many a man I have seen in my day Who lived just to labor his whole life away Like a fiend with his dope or a drunkard his wine A man must have lust for the lure of the mine
I hope when I’m gone and the ages do roll My body will blacken and form into coal Then I’ll look down from the door of my Heavenly home And pity the miner a-digging my bones
The midnight, the morning, the breaking of day Are the same to the miner who labors away. Where the demons of death often come by surprise, One slip of the slate and you’re buried alive.
It’s great to sit on the verandah and appreciate this place we live in. We’re so lucky.
I was very impressed with Lleyton Hewitt’s victory in the Australian Open quarter final. That man has a huge heart. His determination is inspirational.
The best time of year is from Christmas till about the second week of January because most days during this period I wouldn’t have a clue what day of the week it is.
Waking up and not having to work out whether or not it’s a “work day” or a “week end” is really relaxing.
The only problem is that you forget what’s on TV….
The beautiful Tangalooma wrecks at sunset. Photo courtesy D. Baker.
Dave took this photo from the back of my boat after we’d spent the day sailing to Tangalooma.
I think it is wrong ot the Tangalooma Resort to barricade the beach and prevent visitors walking along the beach after 5.30pm.
The resort chopped down several large gum trees which it placed at the north and south ends of the beach to form a blockade preventing access to the beach. Signs at either end of the beach proclaim that the resort owns the land down to the low water mark. The resort placed security guards on motorbikes at either end of the beach, only allowing access to guests who were staying at the resort.
It is outrageous to have resort operators in Queensland barricading beaches and stopping people going for an evening stroll.
I visited Moreton Island with my family this week and took them for a walk along the beach. We were confronted with a barricade of trees, and a security guard on a motorbike who said we weren’t allowed on the beach near the resort after 5.30pm. Not only is this a terrible restriction of freedom, it is a huge embarrassment for tourism in Queensland. Imagine if word got out that tourists weren’t allowed to walk on some beaches here after dark? The Tangalooma resort is doing a grave disservice to Queensland Tourism.
Either the resort has got its wires crossed about where its property boundaries extend to, or the Queensland Government is allowing corporations to buy up our beaches, and stop us walking along them. If that’s the case, then the law has to be changed.
Most coastal property boundaries in Queensland extend to the high water mark, which gives anyone free access to the beach. Who did a deal that allows tourism operators to lock us out of our own beaches?
Not only that, who chopped down the huge eucalypts on the island to build this ugly barricade?”
The Tangalooma Resort should lift its ban on visitors walking along the beach outside the resort after 5.30pm. The Queensland Government should review laws which allow resorts to restrict access to beaches to anyone but resort guests.
If you’re having pancakes, and are offered a choice between Maple Syrup and Blueberries, don’t do what I did and order both as well as cream and ice cream. It turned what would have been a venial dalliance in gastronomical excess into a full-blown venture into one of the seven deadly sins.
Sloth and Gluttony should be redefined as “pasttimes” rather than “sins” anyway.
