Happy today because....

Started by Steve, April 14, 2007, 10:39:40

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SueC

I'm happy because John Millman won an ATP tournament in Kazakhstan.  He's an Aussie tennis player with a never-say-die attitude and just an all-round nice guy.  For years he's been an important component of our Davis Cup team, and I've seen so many of his successful slogfests on that stage as well as in "normal" competitive tennis.  A couple of years ago he beat Roger Federer at the US Open - but he'd never actually won an ATP tournament, before this week.  Well deserved!  :)
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SueC

What's that expression, The Bluebird Of Happiness?



This is the Splendid Fairy-Wren, which lives in South-Western Australia.  We've planted back around 7,000 native trees and bushes in the form of shelter belts and shade clumps in pasture, and created a bird-friendly native garden - and it's just wonderful to see literally thousands of birds thriving in this new habitat.  We can't get away from the birdsong!

Our friend Eileen is a huge bird enthusiast, and always brings her (enormous) camera.  She got the above shot and the following ones in our garden:









These birds are tiny, the size of a little mouse - but very noisy!  They also have a tendency to knock their beaks against windows at dawn - which can get you awake at 5am.   :1f632:

Here's one that had just woken us up:

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Ulrich

...I'm enjoying my "lockdown holiday" (i.e. not much work due to people staying home), the weather has been nice, so I've been out and about.

(Thanks to Eileen for the bird photos.)
The holy city breathed like a dying man...

MeltingMan

...I used *hr*p*x p*nk at night for the first time (no, it's not what you're thinking 😉).

OMG...hello 🌍
En cette nation [Russie] qui n'a pas eu de théoriciens et de démagogues,
les pires ferments de destruction ont apparu. (J. Péladan)

SueC

Quote from: MeltingMan on November 14, 2020, 13:43:13...I used *hr*p*x p*nk at night for the first time (no, it's not what you're thinking 😉).

OMG...hello 🌍

I will amuse you with my incomplete guess.  After going through the alphabet, I hit on the idea that the first letter is an "o" and you are using "Ohr*p*x pink" or some kind of pink earplugs.  Couldn't unscramble the rest of it though and maybe the first letter is actually c or s or u or e (most likely alternatives) and I'm totally off track.  Meanwhile, I'm having visions of you getting some blissful sleep courtesy of a set of pink earplugs no matter how much bad music your neighbours are playing late at night.  ;)
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MeltingMan

Yes, pink earplugs. I had a choice between different products. These are made of silicone. The color is actually secondary. They excellently dampen noises. It had become necessary because someone in the attic had a device running all night that emits a signal tone every thirty to ten seconds. Probably a fan heater or something. By the way, O is correct. It's a brand name.
En cette nation [Russie] qui n'a pas eu de théoriciens et de démagogues,
les pires ferments de destruction ont apparu. (J. Péladan)

Ulrich

I was thinking "ohropax" immediately. Strange about the "pink" though... ;)

Could've been "uhrupix punk", eh?  :winking_tongue

I'm quite happy about the weather - it's very mild & sunny for November, good for walks etc.  :cool
The holy city breathed like a dying man...

SueC

Yeah, the "punk" thing occurred to me too, but I had trouble reconciling it with the ears...

Well, that was a lucky guess.  Glad they are working, @MeltingMan - we once lived in a place where people raced their cars around the block after midnight, every night...  The silicone option sounds very good; all the ones I've ever used were some kind of foam and made my ears itch...

HAPPY TODAY - because I found a brand of toilet paper made entirely from recycled newsprint that I don't have any adverse reactions to (I have perfume allergies, and don't ask what happens when you get those to toilet paper or I will tell you in great detail, you have been warned :angel).  So now I'm happy to think about how much of my toilet paper used to be Murdoch press, as I'm making use of it.  :smth023

PS:  @Ulrich, your "Uhrupix Punk" is giving me ideas - punk-themed rotating wallpaper for digital watches maybe?







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SueC

Happy to live near such an amazing coastline and not to be on photographic duties whenever our friend Eileen is here.  Here's some of her snaps from a place called Conspicuous Cliff:

























Eileen took so many photos of this amazing place - this is a fraction.  Seascapes, rock pools, this hidden little beach we discovered where our dog was in seventh heaven playing... to see more just go to: https://www.flickr.com/photos/redmoonsanctuary/
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Ulrich

...after a long time of "nothing" finally some work arrived!

...after 2 days of "grey & fog" the sun came through!  :cool
The holy city breathed like a dying man...

SueC

Happy because a friend and honorary family member is happy volunteering at the Black Cockatoo conservation centre in Perth and sent a lovely photo of her with one of the cockatoos!  They're huge, by the way, and endangered, sadly, but we are encouraged that flocks of them regularly visit the conservation reserve we steward on our own farm.  ♥

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Ulrich

...I took a nice photo of some mountains in the "mist":

The holy city breathed like a dying man...

dsanchez

Quote from: SueC on November 17, 2020, 11:34:36Happy to live near such an amazing coastline and not to be on photographic duties whenever our friend Eileen is here.  Here's some of her snaps from a place called Conspicuous Cliff:

wow... adding Australia to my bucket list ;)
2023.11.22 Lima
2023.11.27 Montevideo

SueC

Quote from: dsanchez on November 27, 2020, 17:08:11wow... adding Australia to my bucket list ;)

I still pinch myself on a daily basis and still have trouble breathing when I walk onto a beach like that, and I've lived on the South Coast for decades... ♥

If you make it to Australia you won't be disappointed - and if you turn up at our place, we'll give you a comfortable bed in a cosy room, probably give you too much to eat, and personally take you to the places you've seen in the photos!  :)

And let you decide which Cure concert we're all watching!  ;)
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SueC

ANOTHER FIRST

Culturally, hosting a farmstay is really interesting - such a diversity of backgrounds come to stay with us. Currently we are graced with someone of NZ First Nations ancestry (plus a bit of Welsh and Irish), and a visitor from Myanmar. It's so fascinating hearing about other cultures, and being able to ask questions. For instance, I love the haka, it's so powerful - first saw it at a televised rugby game while channel-surfing as a child, when NZ was playing! And the woodcarving, and how the Maori gave the English colonisers a run for their money. And what life is like in Myanmar, and how people are coping with the pandemic there. Just so many things.

Anyhow, this morning I did not one, but TWO laps of our valley floor, with two different riders! Our female visitor had never ridden a horse before - however, she had ridden an elephant! I just sprung it on her - asked at breakfast if she'd ever ridden horse-back, and when the answer was no - did she want to? And it was very like when Eileen did her first 20-minute lap on Sunsmart last year - initial apprehension that turns into enjoyment within five minutes. "This is normal, your brain is reacting rationally to being on a half-tonne animal and high up by saying, Is this a good idea? But give it five minutes, and if you're not feeling better by then - well, you can get off the horse anytime!" And within five minutes, the anxiety drops and the smiles begin. 🙂

I asked, "So what's this like compared to an elephant?" and was told that there were four people on the elephant, in a sort of carriage seat - not astride like on a horse. Higher up, though!

It's always lovely to spring something like this on a complete beginner (where your instinct is that they have both the fitness/flexibility and the right disposition for animals) and after the apprehension wears off, know they're having an experience they're never going to forget: First ride on a horse, led so it's safe, through gorgeous Australian bushland currently bursting with wildflowers. 💞

I took photos with the guest's phone at the end of the ride, and our other guest had just gotten back, so I asked, "Would you like a turn?" He ran and changed into tights and off we went again. This guest did have prior experience, growing up on a farm with horses. I apologised for having him on a led beginner setup, because impromptu and following a beginner (no bridle on the horse, just led by halter with a rope for "reins"), and he said no worries, it had been a long time since he'd ridden and he'd just enjoy the walk around the valley floor. Seeing as I was there anyway, I multi-tasked the ride into a conversation about fire management, wildflowers etc.

After the rides, one of the guests went out to explore the Torndirrup Peninsula, and the other spent the afternoon in a hammock between two trees in the forest behind our house, reading his book and having naps while surrounded by a flock of black cockatoos who happened to have dropped in. Days like this, hosting farmstays is magic! :heart-eyes
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