Saturday, August 22

Did you ever play...

I did not want this to be my lead story. If I move the pic, it wont enlarge for reading purposes. It appeared in our local paper published for Wednesday 19th August 2009.
Is it just me, or does this seem wrong on so many levels?
I know the feral pigs are an introduced animal, which does a lot of harm & damage for native flora & fauna.
Somehow it seems wrong to think of men treating the hunting & killing of the creatures, as 'Sport'. In the name of Conservation.

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As a child, did you ever play that game of "What good luck... What bad luck"?

My Beloved Brother, aka BB, & I used to play it often, on wet days, or bored days.

It went something like this.

Player 1. Scene is a man offered a flight in an aeroplane- what good luck.

Player 2. Plane crashes into bush- what bad luck.

Player 1. Plane landed on bushy trees, which prevented it crashing- what good luck.

Etc etc. You made it up as you went along. We loved playing, & it required nothing more than imagination, & a partner.

As there were only the two of us, we alternated. It could be played by any number of people. It could be as realistic or as ridiculous as you wished it to be.


I find life is much like that game. A series of What good Luck events, with possibly an equal number of What bad Luck events.


August is such a month for us.

My beautiful Daphne is still flowering, & filling the breeze with perfume. Good.


BB had some surgery, which could have been very nasty. A sudden large mass, to be removed, from a delicate dangerous area, involving great skill. Bad.

The result of the surgery has been successful, and it looks to be benign. Good.

The lemon tree looks to be sickly. Bad.
The lemons are divine, So juicy! Good.
Our son has been in stress. Bad.

He came to stay, relaxed, felt better, & OH how we loved having him! Good!



Deaths have been recalled, & mourned. Bad.
Birthdays have been celebrated, with joy for the gift of the person to our lives. All Good.



This little chap's parents do Search & Rescue work, when people are missing or lost in Bush. Bad.

They do really valuable work, even if the person has not made it alive. At least there is closure for the family. Good.

It looks as if he will be a bush walker too! And probably a Rescue worker, one day.




This little chubby chap is called Possum. Brings much joy with his antics. Good.
Gets into a little mischief... not too Bad.



Appliances broke down. BAD.
Appliances were repaired for very reasonable rates. GOOD

One appliance I have previously blogged about here had a nervous breakdown in the control area. Bad.
I contacted the manufacturers -again- & was told to return the item for a replacement. Good.
Upon return, there was no replacements available. Bad.
A refund was offered. Good.
We purchased another brand of blanket, with better placed controls! All Good!!
The Good Son mowed the lawn for his father. Good.
He did not cut it to the roots. Also Good.
The Violet plants flourish. Good.
They never ever flower... BAD.
Any tips?? Why??
The Lillies look lovely... well, the leaves do. Good.
There seem to be no flowers this year. I think that is ok actually, as I enjoy the leaves, they are interesting, & green & soothing. Good.
We seem to have plenty of pests to eat leaves in the garden. Bad?
Well maybe not so bad. More of the Good I feel, since we dont use ugly chemicals, so the snails have a great time. The snails provide food for our lovely lizards, in turn, so that is all Good.

These are so pretty. Good.
Dying, as they are is not so good, but part of the cycle of life.
I love the gold of the colours. Of course it is deceptive, but the beauty is undeniable, & should be enjoyed as each person that we love, in our lives, should be enjoyed.
These Tibouchina leaves lying on the rock amid the lichen & the weeds, seem symbolic to life's tides, somehow.
My intervention in the placement, also reminds me that I must not always believe what I see. It may not be so.


Appearances can decieve.







Cat Stevens. Miles From Nowhere.


17 comments:

fifi said...

oh meggie, you always make me smile.


I'm not convinced that giving rednecks something useful to do is an entirely bad thing....feral pigs are SUCH an abomination! So damaging. I wish they would also target the wretched wild dogs in the Cooma Monaro region as well.


Love the good luck bad luck game. FAB!

Aunty Evil said...

Hi Meggie,

Mum had problems with her violets as well, she had lovely lush leaves, but no flowers, ever!

Her friend said "blood and bone" and the next thing you know, she had violets, not just leaves!

Good luck!

Linds said...

I remember playing that game as a child too - it brings back hilarious memories, Meggie. Life is like thta isn't it....it all depends on the attitude! I loved th epost. Brilliant! And no idea re the violets, though the bone thing sounds worth a try.

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

This kind of reminds me of an Irish blessing; "May the wind always be at your back (which is good), and may the wind at your back not be yours (which would be bad).

Warty Mammal said...

Good luck/bad luck sounds brilliant. Never played it, but now that I've seen your example I'll have to.

Hunting - I can't say I've cared for the people I've known who did it for entertainment or even food. I suppose there's an honesty about "manning up" and killing one's own food, if one isn't going to be a vegetarian. Otherwise, one is forcing others to do the killing. However, sometimes I think there's a bit of brutishness associated with it.

Me, I would be delighted if things like chicken breasts were grown in Frankensteinian factory vats.

Pam said...

We have lots and lots of snails in our garden to feed the lizards - good.

But we have no lizards in Scotland as far as I know - bad.

So the snails rampage unchecked - bad.

Oh dear, got the game wrong...

Unknown said...

They are extremely tasty! Generaly I think that most of them are eatin. Even if the hunters themselves dont some one always takes them. I have many hunters in the family and friends circle.

Sounds like a fun game.

Marigold Jam said...

No I have never played the good luck/bad luck game but it sound great! As Isabelle says we have snails in our garden bad - no lizzards here but we do have badgers who probably eat them - good but the badgers churn up the garden and leave an awful mess - bad. We are lucky to live so close to a wood with wildlife - good. So yes perhaps it does work here!!

No idea about the violets although it could be too warm for them as I understand they need low temperatures to bloom and it might also be too shady although they often grow wild in shade so maybe that is not correct.

Jane

lovelyprism said...

I've never heard of that game, sounds fun!
August has been the same kind of month for us. The ups are high and good, the downs are low and bad. Each one is a surprise! Weird month.
Nice story :)

Ali Honey said...

No I never played thaT game.

I thought violets like shade but I think judging by mine they need some hours of sunshine every day too.
The B & B will also help.

Thimbleanna said...

How fun -- I've never heard of the good luck bad luck game -- now I want to play! I can relate to your hunting story -- just this morning I went to my dad's and he was pretty upset that he'd just received a letter from a cousin proudly telling him about another cousin who is now producing hunting films. Apparently one of them is hunting in AU and cousin really hoped my Dad could see it. There were lots of other not-so-happy details. My dad is very sad and disgusted about the whole thing.

Anonymous said...

Ferral pigs cause huge problems in my area of the country. They are taking over the habitat of native animals and causing them to become endagered and even extinct. They are so bold that they'll come in close to houses too.

I'm not completely convinced that hunting them is the solution, but I find it hard to muster sympathy for them.

ericat said...

Thank you for visiting my aloes. I rushed over to see your bromeliads but got caught up reading your other entries. The curly feather chicken is just toooooo cute. I doubt if it will survive my dogs, so I will admire and enjoy the picture.
greetings
eurica

Pauline said...

so right meggie - good/bad/good/bad on and on. If we have both, we have everything, yes?

Zlaty said...

Very pretty nature pictures!

Zlaty

Stomper Girl said...

Meggie I think spring must be just lovely at your house, with your freesias and daphne and erlicheer. Yum.

Anonymous said...

Hello Meggi,
thank you for visiting and sharing my fun with fungi:)
The mushroom you foung could be a Lepiota lutea Leucocoprinus birnbaumii as to the current name of the species. It is a gilled fungus from the family Lepiotaceae (Agaricales), being native somewhere in areas with warmer climates but is known to be very common in hothouses and in flowerpots in homes of people even as far north as Finland.
Check with Google for images of this mushroom and compare!!
Thanks again for your visit.
Please come back to view more of my mushrooms pictures.
Gisela