“When death comes
like the hungry bear in autumn;
when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse

to buy me, and snaps the purse shut;
when death comes
like the measle pox

when death comes
like an iceberg between the shoulder blades,

I want to step through the door full of curiosity, wondering:
what is it going to be like, that cottage of darkness?

And therefore I look upon everything
as a brotherhood and a sisterhood,
and I look upon time as no more than an idea,
and I consider eternity as another possibility,

and I think of each life as a flower, as common
as a field daisy, and as singular,

and each name a comfortable music in the mouth,
tending, as all music does, toward silence,

and each body a lion of courage, and something
precious to the earth.

When it’s over, I want…

*

Once bitten twice shy

Prey learns fast from predator

Just try it and see…

*

Though not afraid of spiders
I now give them wider berth,
Since one of them determined
To remove me from this earth.

The damned thing, several years ago,
That thought my foot was lunch,
Though only small and delicate,
Was packing quite a punch.

The doctor said, “Hmm, that’s not good,
Just nip to A and E.”
They thought that it was ‘interesting’
My leg swelled to the knee…

Between antibiotics
And an allergy thereto,
I came close to the wire
And I thought my days were through.

So, though I live with spiders
Of most every shape and size,
These days I am more circumspect
Preferring no surprise.

The big ones are no problem,
I am armed with card and glass,
Though some of them are monsters
That into the glass won’t pass.

The Puffing Billy Railway is a heritage steam railway in the Dandenong Ranges in Victoria, Australia.

The steam train runs on the historic 24 kilometre (15 miles) track between Belgrave and Gembrook through the Dandenong Ranges. This is one of four narrow gauge lines that opened in the 1900s to provide transport and access to remote parts of Victoria.

In 1954 the line closed due operating costs. The Puffing Billy Preservation Society was formed and reopened the line between Belgrave and Menzies Creek in 1962. Later the line was reopened to Emerald in 1965, Lakeside in 1975, and Gembrook in 1998.

Majority of passengers will start their journey at Belgrave, but it is also possible to start at Lakeside. Usually there a four departures a day from Belgrave.

From Belgrave it is 30 minutes one-way to Menzies Creek, 50 minutes to Emerald, 60 minutes to Lakeside, 1 hour and 50…

The White Horse, Uffington

For one reason or another, we have spent a lot of time driving backwards and forwards to Glastonbury since the birth of the Silent Eye. We never take the motorway, choosing instead to travel the slower, more beautiful route south and west into Somerset. The road leads through an ancient and sacred landscape, passing the White Horse at Uffington and beneath the stark contours of Barbury Castle before crossing an unseen threshold into Wiltshire. There is no need to be anything other than simply open to the moment to feel the difference; there is a change of gear, an indefinable frisson and you get a glimpse of the weight of ages carried in the memory of the land.

Barbury Hill Iron Age Fort. Image: Geotrekker72 (CCL4.0)

The road passes beside Silbury Hill and the stone circles of Avebury and it was a simply as a gesture…

Almost everyone knows of Avebury, the great stone circle within which a village was built. A World Heritage site and one of the most incredible sacred complexes of prehistory, it is justly famous for its beauty and mystery. The site attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year but while most simply walk in awe amongst the majestic standing stones of the Circle and Avenue, there is far more to discover for those who will walk the paths less travelled.

Join us in June, 2020, as we explore some of the hidden corners of this amazing landscape, ranging beyond the boundaries of the Circle to seek a deeper understanding of what our ancestors hoped to touch by building this earthly temple to the stars.

Based in the landscape around Avebury and beyond, this weekend will entail some relatively easy walking. There will be time during the weekend to explore Avebury…

I have a new phone and therefore a new camera.

My phone is my camera.

In my garden I have a Maracuja plant which was first in my kitchen

and as the weather was better I took it out in the garden.

The next day there was nothing left of it,

all leaves had been eaten and just a little stem was left.

Whoever has eaten it, I hope it was a delicious feast.

Well I decided to take it back indoors and now I can see a very little shoot coming.

I took a picture with my new Huawai Phone zoomed in 6x.

On the bottom right on the picture you can see another shoot developing.

This is not really visible with the naked eye.

Only through the camera shot I noticed it.

I am impressed with this new camera /phone.