I have mixed feelings & judgements & reservations about the timing, naming, & celebrating, of this day.
After living here for over 26 years, & having an Australian-born Grandfather, I feel quite 'Australian', I suppose you could say. I also have many rellies, who are born & bred here, so it is just rich & full, family history.
Being born in New Zealand, I also have an alliance with that country, & suspect my heart will always remain there, though my earthly
I was struck with recognition when reading Ian at "Or So I Thought" with a post about where our allegiance should lie.
I find no real recognition with the "Royal Family" or the 'Queen of England, & Her Realm'.
I find I am repulsed by the divisiveness of "Patriotic" or "Regional" days or observations. It appears to me, to be a subtle way of increasing 'seperateness'. Why not try to unite? Why not devise a day of Unity for all countries? & peoples? for all Mankind?
Think about 'Divide & Conquer'. What is the other side? Unite & Survive? I am sure I have got that wrong somehow, but you may know what I mean.
Here, some examples of the ridiculous flags of our Countries.
First up, Australia~
Then New Zealand~
Here for your regard, Australia, Canada, & New Zealand.
I am not sure of the origin of the Canadian Flag. But I sure do adire it!! It is unique, & NOT merely a clone of the Union Jack!! FFS, what is wrong with Australia & New Zealand, for not standing up for their own bloody flag of glory to wag??
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OK Soap Box over!
This appeared in the 'still of the night'.
How gorgeous is this little frog?
I took this photo of the little guy/girl on our fence last night. In the dead of night, the still of the night. ( & my mother would wish to flog me, for the use of "guy". She abhored that term, & always it insisted on it's meaning to originate from the 'Guy' of Guy Fawkes fame, a figure of ridicule!!)We had guests, last evening, & as we sat in the humid air, in our backyard, I looked up at the fence, & was startled to see what appeared to be the outline of a tiny frog.
I went to get the camera, & got these shots with flash. The little frog was totally unphased by the flash. My Granddaughter took many shots with her mother's camera, too. With no visible effect on our little amphibian friend.
This is the pose he/she adopted after a few minutes. Still glued to the fence, & seemingly uncaring about intruders observations.
We have no idea what the brown patch on the frog's head is. It may be a leaf, or some type of scrape. I love the way it has tucked in, it's little limbs!Here is a shot, with the leaves of the Camellia in the foreground, which gives some perspective as to how small this little Green & Gold Tree Frog is!
All I see there this morning, is a slight blobby mark, where the little frog sat.It is raining a gentle, but very wetting rain, & I can't help but think of our little frog guest, & how much it will enjoy this gentle rain.
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Here is a symbol of Australia Day.
Here is a symbol of Australia Day.
The humble Thong. Or as Kiwis might say, the Jandal! (which is a trademark brand from long ago, when the rubber thongs were first introduced to NZ)
This simple footwear item has featured in many an Australia Day party. The Throwing of the Thong has been a very popular game. The one who manges to chuck a thong the furthest up the street, becomes the winner- until next year. We have been to many happy Street parties. We have been to many happy Barbies- which are Aussi "Bar B Ques", & jolly nice they usually are! We tend to shie away from BBQ's. Our last one rotted & rusted away, from misuse.
Gom hates cooking the meat. Give him a deep fryer, & he is in heaven... but a BBQ, ... not so much.
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Last, but by no means least, our Daughter made this fantastic Lemon Meringue Pie for her father.
Last, but by no means least, our Daughter made this fantastic Lemon Meringue Pie for her father.
This is Day 2 of it's existance, so it has 'worn well'! The taste is to die for!! I do believe it is a low fat recipe too.
Note the grubby crumbs where the Gom has been nibbling!!
How happy it has made him!
30 comments:
I think if I had somebody flashing bright lights at me I would also pull in my limbs and make myself small. He is certainly a colorful little guy.
Such a pretty frog!
I think the Canadian flag looks like a quilt block.
Over here, the 'thong' sandal is called a 'flip flop' - I live in them in the summer, can't bear to wear anything else.
x
I am with you in the "devide and conquer" comment. Also it brought a song in mind..."imagine all the people..."
Care to share the recipe with us? It looks delicious!
take care now
peace and love
xoxo
Good post again! I think Australia Day had been taken over by yobbos, whose attitude seems to be that if you drink a lot of beer, go to the beach, and drape yourself in the flag, this equates with patriotism. Surely it would be better to celebrate democracy, egalitarianism and toleration. Those are the qualities I admire in Australia.
A great post as always, meggie. It is a day that makes you think. I had not intended it that way, but I ended up writing a post about Australia Day today also.
Another great escape to Australia for me this morning. I love the photos/comments about your little frog. Fits perfectly with "Life's Free Treats!"
The great flag debate caused a huge uproar here in the early 60's and the Union Jack people lost, thankfully. The design was chosen by a competition. I like it because it is easy for primary school kids to draw (being a teacher) and it does look like a quilt block.
We call them flip-flops here too. A thong is skimpy underwear which I found out when I told the Gr 5 class to not wear thongs on a school outing. The girls all laughed and the boys with no sisters looked puzzled.
I accidentally took a Canadian history course in college.
Wow.
I am not sure why they have that maple leaf on there, but I tell you that everything in Canada in the early days involved beavers. Canada was entire country founded on beavers.
I wonder why they don't have a beaver on that flag.
Happy Australia Day Meggie. You crack me up. Maybe you should petition for a more unique flag LOL. Love the little frog pictures!
I agree that the Canadian Maple Leaf Flag is quite beautiful and lends itself to various interpretations such as seen in the designs for atheletes' costumes.
Aw..the wee jumper is a cutie isn't he? I have one embroidered over the pocket of a shirt I'm so charmed by them.
I haven't given much thoughts to flags but I will say that our national anthem should be changed for several reasons. 1. It is impossible to sing due to the range of notes. Only someone like Rene Flemming can get up and down that one. I have always thought it should be America the Beautiful.
Just my little thoughts.
MaryLou
The Canadian flag is quite distinctive. I think the maple leaf was chosen because maple trees are found in such huge numbers here and the leaf is instantly recognizable. The two red borders on either side of the leaf denote the two oceans -- one on the east coast and one on the west.
When the Canadian flag came out I thought the design was lousy -- along with a lot of other people. It was referred to as the beer label. Now it's been around so long I don't really notice. The maple leaf is a kind of Canadian symbol because the trees grow coaost-to-coast, and there is a 19th century patriotic song called The Maple Leaf Forever.
Oh, and Happy Oz Day.
"I find I am repulsed by the divisiveness of "Patriotic" or "Regional" days or observations. It appears to me, to be a subtle way of increasing 'seperateness'." Hmmm, interesting thought. I've never thought of it like that. I'm not sure I agree at all, but an interesting thought. HOpe you have a good week.
Hi Meggie, am finally back from Oz where we saw lots of wee frogs (and gecko's and (eek) Huntsmen spiders!!).
My father-in-law has ahte NZ flag flying at his place in Queensland, and I' going to send him an All Blacks flag to fly during the thugby season!
Wonderful photos of the frog, Meggie.
As for Canada's flag, I heard a Canadian comic on t.v. last night saying something like "Other countries have bold images on their flags. What do we have? A leaf."
I grew up 50 miles from Canada and have always been an Anglophile. I think listening to Queen Elizabeth's coronation on the radio from Canada did it for me.
Happy Australia Day!
Nice post. I've been living in Australia for 10 years [since I was 10 years old] and I too find no patriotism in this country... Ironically, I'm Canadian [lol] and I always find I align myself with Canada more than I do Australia.
Oh well, I like the maple leaf! It's nice! :)
I'm from the coast too!
Also, cute frog.
cheers! :)
Nice post. I've been living in Australia for 10 years [since I was 10 years old] and I too find no patriotism in this country... Ironically, I'm Canadian [lol] and I always find I align myself with Canada more than I do Australia.
Oh well, I like the maple leaf! It's nice! :)
I'm from the coast too!
Also, cute frog.
cheers! :)
Cute little frog. We get them on our storm doors in the summer and every now and then one will get inside. My DIL is so afraid of frogs.. even if she doesn't see one, she will run screaming off my front porch at night. She has seen them on the door and thinks one will fall on her as she exits... she just can't help it..she is scared of frogs...
I have always loved Canada's flag too.
That pie made me hungry. Guess I'll go find something to eat. LOL
hi Meggie, just poppin in to say hello *VBS*
Love the soap box, it's always ok with me!
Great frog pics...gotta love those little guys, we have something similar, tiny tree frogs, but instead of on trees, they seem to hang out in my shrubs. I think they are about as big as my thumbnail, and it's fun to see come out onto the sidewalk after dark. Wonder what they are looking for?? Usually they find Ebby, just waiting for them to appear. Great song there from You Tube. Hugs, Finn
If you're going to muck about with the flag, by all means keep the Southern Cross -- but you might add that little frog, sort of like the Canadian maple leaf.
What a cute little frog. I do love those little guys, they just make me want to smile.
Meggie : I have no issues with the Southern Cross on either the NZ or Aussie Flags ( A strong image ) -- The Union Jack ? Well , I guess the first waves of outside settlers to both countries were mostly British , In both Australia and New Zealand the ' indigenous people' -- that is Maori and Aborigine People have Flags of their own design that they want flown . Many people have strong opinions about Flags and what should be used , These days in both countries the influx of people is rapid and from every corner of the earth , including every race , colour and creed . Perhaps National Polls could be run in each country inviting all people to submit designs and then take a vote ??
Love the Frog !
Love the little frog, it reminds me of the Coqui from Puerto Rico. Does the Aussie version chirp/sing? I have always been fond of the look of the Canadian flag, but I love Maple leaves, so maybe that's why! The pie looks delicious.
I like these close-ups of little creatures, but I've never been too good on the macro mode. And as for the meringue pie -- yummy, yummy!
Happy Australia Day!
Thank you, meggie, for sending a comment. I am now trying to remake my blog to see in English. Very sorry for the inconvienience that you can't see anything.
I like your beautiful blog and am studying myself by your blog.
HI Meggie,
I went to check out Wikipedia to read up on the Canadian flag- ( some Canadian I am - I still not sure of all the info on the flag but Wikipedia is a great resource of info about it.
Like others have said there was a large kerfluffle regarding the flag in the 1960's. The prime minister at the time Lester Pearson had a minority government but he was willing to risk his time as prime minister in order to change the flag. He had been involved in peace keeping missions and there were some problems with our relationships with some countries because of the British connections.
We did have a Union Jack on the corner of the older flag to reflect our connections to England. There has always been maple leafs as they were plentiful here in Canada. We have a beaver on our penny coin( worth one cent- except that it costs more than a cent to produce..)
Our National Flag Day is February 15th.
Regards,
Anna
I love the frog too. We have them everywhere in the rainy season and I like seeing their undersides when they attach themselves to the windows. Sometimes one will live in a corner of the sill or in a pipe and I think of it as my pet frog. (As if I don't have enough pets as it is!)
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