Friday Poem: Synchronous

I am in Canberra (Canbrrr), our national capital, hanging out with three cats and far better internet connection than I am used to at home. Since I have to walk anywhere I want to go, I’ve been paying keener attention to the weather forecast than I usually do. I don’t mind cold, but I like getting wet about as much as the average cat does.

Checked Canberra weather
Late afternoon
Late autumn
11 degrees and fine.

On a whim
Checked Aberdeen weather
Late evening
Late spring
11 degrees and fine.

For Canberra-
a stronger breeze.
In Aberdeen
Higher  humidity.

Next day- 1pm Canberra
12 degrees, cloudy;
8pm Aberdeen
12 degrees and cloudy.

The fact remains
– almost the same.

If you’ve read much of my blog before, you’ll know we visited Aberdeen Washington a few years ago. This is the now famous Wishkah River, she of the muddy banks. Although Aberdeen is famous for rain, what I remember is a blue summer sky (it was mid August). Aberdeen is 46.9 degrees North, while Canberra is 35.3 degrees south – I guess Aberdeen being on the coast accounts for it’s milder (and wetter) climate.

In a month or so, the weather north and south will be wildly different (presumably!). Today we had sunshine, although the temperature only reached 16 C. These young galahs were enjoying the last warmth of the day, and providing me with a fine photo opportunity as well.

Friday Poem: Kath

Kath was an elderly lady who was brought to church every Sunday from residential care, maintaining her lifelong place in the church community. She had entered that stage of life sometimes called a second childhood, her behaviour freed from the constraints of being ‘proper’. I don’t recall what the hymn was, but I’m fairly sure it was in waltz time…

This morning
Old Kath got up in church
And danced before the Lord.
Simple, artless, profound;
Beautiful expression of joy,
Slow feet and twisted hands,
A child-like smile;

But she knows something
The rest of us have lost
And she has wings.

I didn’t take photos in church – I don’t think I even had a mobile phone, let alone one with a camera back then- so I’m using these photos I took recently of a joyous and noisy nursery flock of galahs (aka Roseate Cockatoos). They’ve had an exceptional year, for some reason. Local farmers certainly haven’t, what with lack of rain and late, brutal frosts. I have never seen so many ‘immatures’ together, which is why I went out with the camera. Of course they took off instead of continuing to feed on the roadside, and I kept snapping as they flew past. They then alighted on a power line, shrieking and flapping and being generally entertaining.