memories

time passed slowly
older family memories
never slip away

My wife Jill and her brother Murray now own this house which was originally built by their great great grandfather in the 1860’s. At this time one of the most productive gold mining areas in the world had developed in the area around the house and in surrounding valleys and was known as the Bendigo gold mine fields in Victoria Australia. The house was built by hand from mud bricks sourced from a nearby stream. Three generations of the family grew up here before it was finally leased for a while then left uninhabited until Jill’s family re-discovered it in the late 1960’s. Jill’s family spent hundreds of hours across many years repairing the mud brick walls and interior. We have enjoyed many picnics at the house and explored the flora of the surrounding area . A regional park adjoins the property and we wander out the back and through the remnants of the once bustling, prosperous gold fields observing nature and taking written records and photos..

This is my contribution to Ronovan Writes #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge 346 SLIP and Time. Visit this link to see many other HAIKU poetic responses .

feathered fun

warm evening
corella laughter
feathered cloud

Flocks of Little Corellas are quite common in our part of Melbourne. They mainly feed on grass seeds and small bulbs on and around the many sports fields scattered across our suburban city. Corellas tend to pull up bulbs and can cause damage to the surface of a sports oval. When a flock of these birds are on the wing they all cry/laugh at the same time. It is an ear splitting sound especially if they are coming in to roost on trees you may be standing under. Out in the countryside the damage a huge flock can cause to grain crops on agricultural land causes problems for farmers. When frustrated about the lack of food or having been chased off a meal Corellas have been known to descend on a rural community and attack roof fittings, street infrastructure and even cars and clothes lines. Their bills/beaks are hard and sharp. There are of course anti bird rednecks who think such trouble makers should be shot .

under water

bird watching
cormorant dives
blows bubbles

A cormorant creates bubbles from its feathers as it dives under water searching for food then comes up for air. Recently my wife Jill shared a you tube clip of what this looks like when the bird actually hunts. https://www.facebook.com/mervynd/videos/10158899397264451

IF YOU LIVE OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA YOU CANNOT VIEW THIS VIDEO. READ WHY BELOW.

Australians are being blocked from accessing news in their Facebook feeds, in a dramatic escalation of the social media giant’s stand-off with the federal government.The social media giant said it made the move in response to the government’s proposed media bargaining laws, which would force major tech giants to pay Australian news outlets for their content.

The move also prevents people overseas from sharing Australian content on the social media site.

This is my contribution to Ronovan Writes #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge 345 BIRD AND Blow. Follow this link and see how other haiku poets use BIRD and BLOW creatively.

pups

sleeping pups
too hot for biting
teeth at rest

Two of Maggies siblings at 8 weeks of age on a hot Summer’s day. Maggie was still on her feet at this stage harrassing some other sleeping pups. Afghan Hounds spend most of their time in these poses, often on their backs, on couches or beds in Maggie’s case.

This is my Haiku contribution to https://ronovanwrites.com/2021/02/08/ronovan-writes-weekly-haiku-poetry-prompt-challenge-344-bite-and-teeth/ Check this link to see how many other poets from around the world responded to this challenge.

spiritual

bare mountain
full of mystery
fuji san

Three different views of Mount Fuji yet all similar. From whatever direction or distance one sees Fuji San the presence and shape remain the same. That is, as long as you can see it. The three scenes are.

1. Sunset from a temple high on a ridge above the city of Gotemba
2. Approaching Tokyo on the Shinkansen from Osaka.
3. From a car on the ropeway above Lake Hakone in the Hakone National park.

When I was younger I dreamed of climbing Mount Fuji however being lucky enough to see the sacred mountain each visit to Japan has been more than enough. Besides climbing is only a dream now. ON my last visit with a school trip My group stayed in the Hakone National park. Two evenings in a row I took them to the temple site for a sunset and both times the cloud hid Fuji. Touring the national park was a rain filled heavy clouded sightless day. Finally on our last morning before travelling to Tokyo I escorted the disappointed viewless students and teachers to a recommended lookout even though the atmosphere was heavy and again cloudy. As we stood there straining eyes with a few false alarms I implored everyone to say a pray to Fuji. A few giggled and then suddenly the clouds parted and for a couple of minutes there stood the mountain rising up before us. Then in seconds it disappeared and rain began falling. I did hope none of my group considered me some kind of holy man calling up Mount Fuji. It was pure luck and unpredictable weather conditions.

This is my contribution to http://Ronovan Writes #Weekly #Haiku #Poetry Prompt #Challenge 343 BARE and Full Visit this link to read many fascinating haiku responses from other poets.