This will hurt me...

Dolphin. Bicheno Beach, Bicheno. Tasmania's East Coast. January 2013. Jen survived her return to work this week. I survived the newly structured hours. Henry and Ezra survived the second week of school. Good stuff. I know why the caged bird sings , Maya Angelou A free bird leaps on the back Of the wind and floats downstream Till the current ends and dips his wing In the orange suns rays And dares to claim the sky. But a BIRD that stalks down his narrow cage Can seldom see through his bars of rage His wings are clipped and his feet are tied So he opens his throat to sing. The caged bird sings with a fearful trill Of things unknown but longed for still And his tune is heard on the distant hill for The caged bird sings of freedom. The free bird thinks of another breeze And the trade winds soft through The sighing trees And the fat worms waiting on a dawn-bright Lawn and he names the sky his own. But a caged BIRD stands on the grave of dreams His sha...

Kookaburra. Knocklofty Reserve, Mount Stuart. January 2012. Tasmania has 19 National Parks . I was happy to revisit two this past week, which is a beautiful segue into today's Sunday Top Five : The Fourteen National Parks That I Have Visited [Thus Far] In Tasmania ! Freycinet National Park : Henry and Ezra managed the Wineglass Bay walk, swim included. Only one of them managed to make it up the mountain on the way back without being carried.... Douglas-Apsley National Park : The highlight here? One of us - who shall remain nameless - whipping the gear off and skinny dipping in the waterhole... Hartz Mountains National Park Ben Lomond National Park Cradle Mt - Lake St Clair National Park Rocky Cape National Park Narawntapu National Park Savage River National Park Mole Creek Karst National Park Walls of Jerusalem National Park The Franklin-Gordon Wild Rivers National Park Mt Field National Park Tasman National Park South Bruny National Park That leav...

Bees returning home. The Domain, Hobart. December 2012. Sunday Top Five and today I'm listing Five Sure Fire Ways That Constantly Mess Up People's Ways Of Thinking Or Planning! Only taking responsibility for positive outcomes. Rebellion for the sake of proving personal freedom. Confirmation bias, or, ignoring information that does not support a belief. Passing a broad judgement from an isolated incident. Sunk cost fallacy, or, trying to diminish losses by continuing to pursue previous failures.

Henry bags his first crocodile!

Right now Henry, you've got him where you want him. Next, and easy now... easy... Prime your left leg and hop on over his back. Lock him in the sleeper hold and then I'll get him into the sack.

Seal at play #1. Melbourne Zoo, April 2011. As I might have mentioned previously, we’ve just spent Easter in Melbourne. One of the delights that we took in during our stay was the zoo. Of all the animals on display, I particularly liked the seals Seal at play #2. Melbourne Zoo, April 2011. We got a good look at the Australian Fur Seals , from both above and below. Seal at play #3. Melbourne Zoo, April 2011. It’s a large display, with plenty of space for the critters to swim about the place, in both sun and shade (hence the different tones of the photographs). Seal at play #4. Melbourne Zoo, April 2011. If you do find yourself in Melbourne, and enjoy watching animals at play, you could do worse than a day at the zoo!

We have been in receipt of the reports that a pod of bloodthirsty Orcinus orcas – that’s killer whales to you and I – are marauding though the Derwent Estuary , terrorising everything that appears before their beady, perfidious eyes. Of course, Henry immediately demanded to be “taken to the beach”, and thrust himself into the treacherous swells and set about sorting these ‘roided-up dolphins out. But the water was a bit nippy, so we got fish ‘n chips instead.