Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul - and sings the tunes without the words - and never stops at all.

Emily Dickinson

Yes Major!

“Through humour, you can soften some of the worst blows that life delivers. And once you find laughter, no matter how painful your situation might be, you can survive it.”  Bill Cosby

Hope and Humour..  Time and Patience ... This lot ought to hang out together because they make great mates.  They compliment each other beautifully.  These are the things I ask the universe for in the vibration of light that is flickering all around me everywhere I walk this earth.

This little fellow was very happy to come down in the tree close to me and have a good chat about not much.  We made funny sounds together and he was happy.  I was happy too, I felt like he came down to purposefully say hello.   When the animals and birds do this it is a very defining moment when you realize we really are all connected.  I must not lose hope and continue to forgive somewhere in there.

Image by Mezza - Major Mitchell Cockatoo

20 years old and jailed for 35 years.. More crimes like this will be on the rise.

People and humanity and its weaknesses are in the spot light again.  This is now occurring after young 20 year old Jason Downie, killed his ex girlfriend and her parents in a jealous rage and admitted he should have thought about it.


He is now facing 35years in prison.  He said he was fuelled by jealousy that quickly turned to rage and he himself cannot even believe the reality of what he has done.  If this does not speak volumes about what is  happening to our young people as a result of this two bit crap society we are living in.  NO ONE should be surprised really.  I sort of feel for this kid. I totally feel for the girl's family as well.  He will have PTSD now from his own trauma as well.

Pretty much jealousy. I thought we had something on. When I learned when she was with Dylan, I wasn't happy. I pretty much got angry. Like I said to you before, I had nothing against the parents.   Triple killer Jason Downie

The Psychologist is spot on with his evaluation :

"The brother, he's lost obviously his whole family. Everyone's a victim in this, close friends and family, my family, the community, everyone. The only one that is not a victim is me.
"I'm not a good person. Obviously I got problems. The problems? I'm not too sure - don't know. I'll always think about the day of what happened and the consequences."
The psychologist said: "I asked Mr Downie what his motive was for the crime and he replied 'Pretty much jealousy. I thought we (Chantelle Rowe and Downie) had something on. When I learned when she was with Dylan, I wasn't happy. I pretty much got angry. Like I said to you before, I had nothing against the parents'."
The psychologist went on: "The community's response is to assume that the offender is a "monster" or seriously psychologically disturbed. The idea that an unremarkable member of the community can perpetrate such violence is unthinkable because it raises the possibility that all individuals are capable of violence.
"The reality is that Mr Downie's crimes are not the by-product of severe psychopathology but stem from the fallibility and flaws of the imperfect human condition (ie: biblical motives such as jealousy).
"He appears to have gone from infatuation to anger and resentment to homicidal rage, which led to a frenzied attack on the victims."

I see that Downey  is the  epitome of the product of the society we are living in.  This sort of crime will be on the sharp rise.  It already is.  Many very young people are now in custody as the result of using serious violence as a result of a situation that has gotten out of hand. It either gets out of hand in their head or in the moment.  I am really noticing this and being who I am it isn't a wonder as I noticed the warning signs some thirty years ago.

I feel  it will become decidedly worse as more doctors prescribe serious mind bending anti psychotic medications often from a misdiagnosis sending ever young people into a spiral of serious issues as the medication continues to play havoc on more and more people.  People just cannot be trusted to take medication well either.  We are human, how many woman have forgotten their pill and paid the price with an unwanted pregnancy.  Proof people do not mean to fail but they do.

The police respond with murderous and clumsy attitudes. They are trained to kill and not to maim. This is still something that mystifies me in this day and age.  As a society, we should be speaking out about this!  We should be demanding more of our force.  The men and woman who are carrying these weapons and who in charge of the carrying out of the law of the land and so on.  I, for one think this is appalling and it isn't safe for any of our children or our grandchildren.  It goes hand in hand as the kids are having more and more bad reactions to these medications and wind up finding themselves shot dead.  Some have even been tazored to death as well  and others have been left damaged by the police and their approach where primarily the person isn't a criminal but in fact a sick and a disabled person.

How is any of this fair?  Who may I ask is winning out of this?

The society as a whole has seriously let its young people down like this Jason Downey and his victims

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-04-18/kapunda-killer-jason-downie-motive/3957046

Related articles

• Young triple killer jailed for 35 years (abc.net.au)
• Briton Jason Downie jailed for Australia triple murder (independent.co.uk)
• Triple killer's mental state revealed (abc.net.au)
• Jealous killer jailed for 35 years (news.ninemsn.com.au)
• Court finally hears Jason Downie own up-Kapunda Triple Murders (aussiecriminals.wordpress.com)
• Supporting Young People Who are Targets of Bullying and Other Negative Peer Behavior (education.com)
• Man sentenced for killing family of three (upi.com)
• Fatal obsession (news.ninemsn.com.au)
• Killer's apology letter released (news.ninemsn.com.au)

Image by Mezza - Pigeon in Nambucca Heads

“In order to see birds it is necessary to become part of the silence” - Robert Wilson Lynd..

I stand there in the dawn alone.  No one else is around up there.  It is high and up where all the birds fly when they wake up and want to go and have something to eat as soon as they all stir and wake up.  It is a veritable menagerie up here at that time of the morning.

Sometimes it is actually so loud it can be a little disconcerting and you feel that surely they will crash into each other as birds of all species native to this area take flight.  The noise is very loud.  It only goes on for a short time before they all settle down to what ever they do for the day.  I think they wake up and the noise is all of them saying good morning to each other.

Anyway I love being around when this happens up here on the hill at dawn.  There is so much going on at once!


Image by Mezza - A flock of Ibis's off to breakfast in Urunga

Faith is the bird that sings when the dawn is still dark. Rabindranath Tagore

The Pelicans...

The dawn today from the hill was blood red but really I should have taken the tripod and captured it as it was still fairly dark and the dawning light was a brilliant crimson blood red.

The sight was mind blowing but I muffed and all of those shots of the sky like that were a tad blurry so I saved you the pain of seeing this as it is a great pain for me to bugger it up like that. 

No more will I do this and I will be ever vigilante against this in the future.   Anyway to capture these two pelicans flying silently above me was a bonus as I stood on the board-walk at dawn.  I could see them coming in the dim light towards me so I focused on them and stood motionless hoping they would not deviate their flight path.  They flew right above me and I was so tempted to yell out hello.  I didn't though and let them pass unabated.

On the pelican:

The Pelican is one of the heaviest birds capable of flight. It is strangely proportioned with very short legs for the size of its body. Adults can weigh as much as 10 to 17 pounds (4.5-7.7 kg). Because of their large bodies and short legs, these birds are far better swimmers than walkers. They have a wing span of 9 feet (2.8 m).
 

Image By Mezza - Pelicans over Urunga

Related articles

• A Pelican can hold more food in its beak than in its belly. (somerandomfacts.wordpress.com)
• Pelicans trapped in Russian ice (bbc.co.uk)
• The Pelican fieds his young with his own blood.... (elssandraphotography.wordpress.com)

Come what may, some memories fade..........but some stay as vivid as the moment they were made

Dreams of the days where he stood like a mountain
It's been a while since then ,but who's counting

He lies awake, lies in wait, 

For the light of the morning to bless him, and shine again

Excerpt from "Cigarettes" - Illy

I simply thought in front of the creator that I wanted to photograph birds in front of the dawning sun, within seconds my wish was granted.  It happened that quick.  Now to apply the same principals to all things in my life.

I feel very very blessed when I see the light come into the sky each morning.  Today the sun is expected to rise around 6:15am and I am always always keen to see this.  The photographic opportunities are so expansive at dawn.  The light is changing so fast at times its hard to keep up with it. 

I find myself running to capture stuff photographically.  I get extremely excited by the prospect of the image I am going to take.  Its not a bad thing.  It gives me a level of excitement each day at day break that cannot be matched by human kind.  It is mostly a feeling of communion that I feel.  Like I am standing alone with God. 

Standing alone with God is a pretty awesome feeling believe me.  I welcome this so much.  It is a feeling that there is huge understanding and the universe is unfolding as it should.  I need to do this often and commune with the Creator of the universe and I prefer to refer to this as God. 

Our ideas on God may differ, but I love God, The Dreaming talks about when the earth was created and the stories of the seed power are phenomenal.  This "seed" power is very evident in this area.  You can almost see the hand of creation over this place.

Image by Mezza - Birds at Dawn in Urunga

“Gentlemen,” said Mr. Lincoln, “I could not have slept tonight, if I had left those helpless little robins to perish in the wet grass.” ABRAHAM LINCOLN

Image of Curlew - http://lazybirder.blogspot.com/

Bush Stone-curlew
Burhinus grallarius
Status: ENDANGERED
Distribution: Australia wide

The Bush Stone-curlew, or Bush Thick-knee, is a ground-dwelling bird that grows to an average of 55cm. The appearance of this bird is unique in Australia. Its distinctive call is likened to a “WER-LOOOO”.

Below my house the National Parks have fenced off an area where one of these female birds has a nest scrape.  The dogs and cats of the neighborhood are responsible for killing off this species in particular. I have many photos of the birds I see in the area beneath the cliff  my house is on..  This is a nice present for all of us to know that the species is hanging in there and she has an egg.  I think I want to go and sleep down there!

This is the area this bird is nesting in below my house here in Urunga.