This will hurt me...

Eat your heart out Gordon Ramsay!

By mere burial man arrives not at bliss; and in the future life, throughout its whole infinite range, they will seek for happiness as vainly as they sought it here, who seek it in aught else than that which so closely surrounds them here - the Infinite .

Wouldn’t you just love to be that lamp post?

Dude looks like a cabbage. Sandy Bay, April 2011. I’ve not idea what this plant is, but I think I like it. I was going to write a poem today about Tasmania, but I couldn’t find a good enough rhyme for “ deindustrialisation ”. I was also going to look into Buddhism, but all that cycling of suffering, death and rebirth gets me down. It’s been raining for four days and I am starting to get sick of it.

Further back… Further… Further… Look Ez, there are easier ways of checking your kidneys.

And not a dinosaur in sight. Parliament Lawns, Hobart. March 2011. Under the Net is Iris Murdoch's first novel. It's a fun romp with plenty of laughs, some great set pieces and decent philosophical ruminations. It has its flaws, but nothing that should stop you reading it! Very funny stuff. David Lodge's Home Truths is a compact little farce. Essentially a set piece that explores a writer's responsibility to their talent, celebrity culture and the tendency towards mean-spirited 'attack' journalism. A decent read, but a pretty poor conclusion.

This one is from way back in early-June. Just to get some perspective on the little bloke’s growth, that jumper barely fits him now. Soon it’s going to be like transporting King Kong: we’ll need a huge ocean freighter! Anyone got one of those laying around?

A photograph this evening is not one of my own, although it was taken on my camera. The true artist here is Henry’s little mate Phoebe, and features Hank himself, behind him is erstwhile blogger and commentator Blackie , and lurking out to the side, my dearest 10 Murray Jennifer.

As expected, I am missing the Grand Old Dame terribly . I am getting a sense of what life will be like when the knock her down for good. However, we shall always have our memories.

Late Autumn out in front of Parliament Lawns. May 2010 Now that it is Winter I am missing the morning's Autumn light. It makes me glum, gloomy, melancholy, miserable, disconsolate and even a little bit discombobulated. It's a good thing that large and loud machinery sparks me up! Leaves in the gutter can be a bugger. May 2010.

Parliament lawns in Autumn. May 2010. May 7. 127 days into the year. 238 days to go. 65 years since the Germans surrendered. It's my birthday and with any luck I'll be getting presents.

Sunflowers struggle outside Parliament House. February, 2010. Sunflowers always seem such an inappropriate choice out the front of Parliament House. I rather like the pansies or the daffodils myself.

On June 21, 2008, I alerted the world to an outbreak of guerilla knitting . After a period without any action in this war on wool synthetic rubbish , the textile terrorists have STRUCK AGAIN! All that I can say is "who are these people?" and "why do they hate our freedom bike racks?" In celebration of the theme, today's entry into the rolling Saturday Festival of *someone else's* Poetry is probably my favourite poem about knitting (a long list indeed). Grey Knitting , Katherine Hale ALL through the country, in the autumn stillness, A web of grey spreads strangely, rim to rim; And you may hear the sound of knitting needles, Incessant, gentle,–dim. A tiny click of little wooden needles, Elfin amid the gianthood of war; Whispers of women, tireless and patient, Who weave the web afar. Whispers of women, tireless and patient– 'Foolish, inadequate!' we hear you say; 'Grey wool on fields of hell is out of fashion,' And yet we weave th...

Nothing says "Parliament lawns" more than jumping castle . Here you can see Henry and Ezra, plus some other kid who literally stood bolt upright and perfectly still for five minutes. Perhaps he was in awe of the terrible tremendous twosome?

Flowers, the Tasmanian Parliament, a big blue sky and 10 Murray all in one shot ! What more could one want? Even better, we have been fortunate enough to go three straight days without rain! I'll be winning Lotto next (and I don't even play Lotto).

The usual excuses lead me to declare a Theme Thursday quickie again this week. Above, you can see Parliament House here in Tasmania bathed under a suitably ominous layer of cloud. I do like what they’ve done with the flowers at the front, however. Very neat and tidy... One might say that the garden is not at all WILD. How’s that for a take on the theme? I know that you’re disappointed. I’m disappointed too.

For some reason I like the way that the Tasmanian Parliament looks on gloomy days better than on sunny ones. It somehow seems more appropriate.

It is Summer in Tasmania, and that usually means two thing: enormous cruiser liners filled with wealthy retirees kitted in gold lamé tracksuits dripping in diamonds; and rain, rain and even more rain . Take a look at these green leaves, can you tell that we're in a drought? I attended a VIM [ V ery I mportant M eeting] today. No cake, no biscuits, no fruit. Just business, and a few thirds of baguettes packed with salad presented lovingly on a platter caked with lettuce leaves. I wish that I had the nerve to take a photograph, but that would risk sending the dogs to the door of this blog, and I'm not sure that I'd want that just yet. You can always tell the difference between a VIM and a CAC [ C asual A ggreable C hat], and it can often be found in the nibblies. One organisation that I deal with regularly cater their CAC s with pizzza (an accommodating mob, they usually go a supremo and capricciosa, which allows me to be generous upon the appearance of that abomination...

The title though is an old Navajo proverb, and decided to give it you the translation rather than the original. Now I’m under the pump today (again), so no time for witty banter and what-not, but I did manage to take a whole bunch of photographs to share. As is my wont, I’ve endeavoured to mix things up angle-wise, and am keen to hear what you think. Don’t be shy in the comments, even if it’s nothing more than thumbs up or down!

After another unfulfilling day at work yesterday, I was feeling somewhat flat on the walk back to the bus. However, a lovely pair of ducks managed to brighten the mood somewhat by settling in for a bath on Parliament lawns. They were a good looking pair (Pacific Black’s I would wager), who didn’t seem to mind people passing by and photographing them in the makeshift tub. The dirty devils!