Those magpies are a needy lot ....
They're taking over the garden
The magpies have taken over the garden. They’re a noisy lot. Very dominant, I must say and it seems they’ve squeezed all the others out with thier shenanighans. Mum’s always called them the bullies of the garden, I’ve said that here before.
But I’ve been watching them. The newborn maggies, which I always thought were the grandpa’s because they were ‘grey’ in colour are in fact the young newborns - and man, they are demanding, they cry and cry and cry until Mum or Dad hand (or actually mouth to mouth) fed them worms plucked plush from the lawn. Multiple times. Again and again and again. I’ve been marvelling at their ability to nail a worm at first peck. How do they do that? They can’t even see them. In our situation there are two youngsters, who are so unbelievably demanding on those that look after them. I am seeing nature completely mirror our motherly, domestic worlds. Youngsters relentlessly demanding, needy, unable to feed themselves. It’s been a marvel to watch. ‘Look, they’re at it again I say to my husband. And he watches too.
of Practising Simplicity calls this kind of ‘watching’ soft fascination and she says it’s the most simple and important kind of meditation that we are all doing without even realising. You can read her beautiful post here.It’s important to us in the smallest, but the largest of ways. Mini doses of observation of the environment around us, sustain us. We all do it - looking at the crops out of car windows, loving the shape of a particular tree on the way to work, watching the veggie garden grow or the green shoots turn to abundant shade making bows on backyard trees.
Podcast playlist
Well, lots of new podcasts. All fascinating even after the fact of the US election result.
Read This with Tim Winton who’s new science fiction (yup, you read right) book, The Juice, is set hundreds of years in the future - where climate change means it’s too hot to go outside during the day and large parts of the globe are uninhabitable. Here’s The Conversation’s review if you want more.
Into the Wild with Gina Chick on Conversations
Lee (Miller) is on my movie watch-list. (So is Runt, still) and so this pod with her son Anthony Penrose is a brilliant look into her remarkable life.
Lay your eyes on these Instagram accounts
@thegreenchairau || @re.lamp.atm || @naomilawler_artist ||
@commonkosci || @most_lovely_things
This pile of things to read
I’d like to go on a holiday please. Lizard Island for $11,000 a night will do.
How different cultures start their days.
Is falling asleep to TV really that bad?
Look at this gorgeously bright farmhouse.
Subscription boxes that keep on giving.
Bri Lee on ABC Long Reads: How deepfakes, nudes and teen misogyny have changed growing up. Gosh, we are up against it, I think.
‘Gendered misconduct on the rise, female teachers scared of being “deepfaked” and parents protecting badly behaved boys: this is high school in 2024.’
Bri was on Conversations earlier this year too. It’s on the listen list for this week.
Happy Sunday lovely readers, I hope this newsie gave you an excuse to escape the world for a while. We all need it right now.
We are going to be running a small campaign to bolster our subscription base in a few weeks but before we do, if you know of anyone who might love this newsie (and our paid Mid-Week Missive edition) I’d really appreciate you sending them a small text or email suggesting us. Sxx