Mulubinba Moments

Last day of Winter

Tomorrow is the first day of spring and it is getting lighter in the mornings. My peaceful morning walk along Nobby's Breakwater is no longer in the dark and I am able to watch the sunrise. Grumpy Old Woman that I am, I quite like the morning quiet when I am alone and serenaded by the dawn chorus of birds, but as it grows lighter and warmer, the regular walkers grow in numbers. It is great to meet people on the way and wish them good morning, but there will come a time very soon when our peace will be shattered by the summer walkers who insist on walking in groups...their loud talking and piercing laughter (and HORROR..mobile phones) cutting through the dawn peace like a knife. Grumpy Old woman? Yes, unfortunately I really can identify with the women in that show.

Small Steps

Two years of fortnightly visits, three hours of driving...wondering if the child I am going to see will be awake, will be screaming and rocking on his back.... Two years of waiting for a glimpse of the little boy I know is there, behind the blindness, the behaviours and the distress. Arriving today, I wonder what I will encounter.... He is there, sitting upright, head slightly tilted to listen for our voices. I sit down beside him and talk softly..he turns, holds onto my shoulders and stands. "Will you walk with me?" I say to him. "Will you show me your bedroom?"....and then as I move backwards holding his hands he takes a step and then another.....first steps after two years of perseverance. The first steps enabling a glimpse into the future and independence....

In the Garden

This week, I managed to get all my reports and progress notes done on Friday and Saturday leaving time today to do some pottering. The weather is becoming warmer so I decided to get stuck into our neglected garden. I mowed, learnt how to use the electric edger (a bit scary when I struck concrete and sparks flew), and weeded. One garden bed was so full of grass I had to resort to the pitchfork to loosen the soil. I can't understand why grass seems to grow better in garden beds then in lawn. As a consequence, I am aching from head to foot but particularly in my thumb, wrist and finger joints...arthritis in my hands is a legacy of my manual physiotherapy career.

I still have a lot of weeding left to do....the side of the house we never see is paved but the weeds have grown in between the pavers...and then there is that nasty bit behind the garage (the part where old bricks, bits of wood, old branches are stored prior to taking a load to the rubbish dump...unfortunately out of sight is out of mind and this kind of rubbish stays where it is for months making good homes for redbacks and other equally unfriendly creatures).

I am sure our existing plants need attending to and I am hoping that once I clear the garden beds of weeds, I will have enough motivation to actually plant something. I did buy two long planters and a bag of potting mix this morning. My aim is to plant seeds in the pots and use a watering can to water them as opposed to a hose. Water I suspect will be scarce this summer and I am trying to think of ideas to balance water conservation and garden needs. I wonder if a potted garden is the way to go? My sister conserves her washing up water and throws it on her potted garden saying that it keeps the bugs away.

For anyone interested in what to do in the Aussie garden at this time of year, I discovered a website called Global Garden which has a huge "to do" list for this month.

Wells - Vicars vs Rectors

A trip to Wells is always routine when any of our family first arrive in England. Wells is also one of my sister's preferred shopping centres as opposed to the larger centres near Bristol. This visit, we found a surprisingly convenient parking spot right opposite Vicars Close (above). It is said to be one of the oldest planned streets in Europe. Bishop Ralph of Shrewsbury built the Close in the 14th Century to house the Vicars of Wells (subordinate members of the Cathedral). Some sources mention that it was built in order to keep them from temptation (reportedly their behaviour was often "scandalous with womanising, fighting and stealing"). Vicars are still accommodated there today but I'm sure not for the same reasons as their medieval predecessors.

This leads me to wonder what the difference is between a Rector and a Vicar in the English Church? I thought they were the same but apparently not. I have discovered one definition which states that a Rector directly received the tithes of his Parish while a vicar was paid a salary instead (sometimes by the diocese). Which one was more autonomous I wonder? Was the Rector more independent and able to run the Church as he wanted or was he under the control of the local Lord of the Manor?

Muchelney Abbey

After walking along the River Parrett, we discovered Muchelney Abbey (or the remains of) and the abbots' lodging (Tudor) pictured above. It was the second largest in Somerset and was Benedictine. in 1538 the abbey was surrendered to Henry VIII.

Swans on River Parrett, Somerset

Photo shows swans on the River Parrett near Muchelney. Seeing a river with accessible banks like this is a rare treat - our river banks are usually steep and bush covered making access difficult. There are no snakes around here either - nothing that bites or stings! (.....apart from the swans...I suppose they would get temperamental if we were to wander too close to their nesting site).

River Parrett, Somerset

When England was playing Portugal in the World Cup soccer, I was walking along the River Parrett Trail pictured above. Needless to say there was no one about and we had the place virtually to ourselves apart from some travellers who had their ponies tethered beside their vans not far from here (I felt it would have been an invasion of their privacy to take a photo). The trail follows the river for some miles but we stopped at Muchelney Abbey, the first of the abbeys we visited on this trip. Everytime I see a ruined abbey in England I can't help thinking what a vandal Henry VIII was. Apart from the more modest abbey on Lindisfarne, most of the abbeys we saw must have been incredibly grand prior to the Dissolution. One can only imagine what they must have looked like intact.

Return to blogdom

As an icebreaker and reintroduction to blogging, I thought I would publish this photo from the Great Yorks Show to which my Vet Surgeon sister took me and I loved! Pica over at Feathers of Hope inspired me back into blogging (in fact she got me into it in the first place) by writing a post on the Yolo County Fair here. Well, Pica and Numenius, I can identify with the odours. The pig judging however was totally amazing - I have never seen anything like it in my life. Pigs behaving badly and judges wearing bowler hats and kilts!