Day 12

Nice picnic at Blackheath park,-although very nearly cancelled due to mother and brother both having individual volcano moments consecutively. Enter dad and Cath,-much appeasement and finally enough success to ensure a peaceful picnic. Did I mention there is a HUGE huntsman above me on the wall? This means I am more distracted than usual.

Picnic-menu-a-la-lockley:

Wholemeal sourdough rolls, seitan, vegetarian lunch-meat, mixed tuscan olives, artichoke hearts, brown rice mushroom and soy pasties, sourdough loaf (sliced), massive Cath-Salad, apples, grapes, balsamic dressing. Very satisfactory. No prizes for guessing what I ate:-)

Extra huge happies provided by 5 tiny muscovy ducklings in the duckpond. I probably should have joined in more with conversation but I was distracted by the little fluffy gorgeous things. I did try to take a photo, but my camera is not exactly 'flash' and the little ones were just so tiny...the shots I did take require a microscope to identify the ducklings amongst the foliage.You'll just have to trust me,-they were cute.

Bloody spider is just sitting there like a malevolant furry thing. It has beady eyes and too many legs (not for a spider, just too many in general).

Now, I'm not generally someone to comment on the news, but two stories in the Herald really caught my attention today.

(1) Eight fish who guard the health of million

At Broughton's pass, near Appin, 8 rainbow fish are subjected to Sydney's water supply. If they don't like what they're swimming in, they have the power to shut down much of Sydney's supply system. They are working under the supervision of the Animal Care and Ethics Committee, and are exchanged regularly and given holiday' periods. There have been a couple of unhappy fishy moments, but apparently only because of electrical faults and pump failures. I just find it amusing that with all our high-tech oh-so-impressive machines that ping, and our mega-giga-kilo-gatrillion byte computers, our water supply is a bunch of guys watching a bunch of fish to see if they're wiggling a little abnormally.

(2) Carnivorous Canvas

A lovely lass thinks that innards are beautiful and wants people to see 'the seductive beauty of life'. Her fridge is stocked with tofu and she doesn't eat meat (feeds her 'subjects' to stray cats, but just loves to paint dead things. She really reeled me in with the line 'Sometimes slaughter can be very beautiful' (this in reaction to having steaming cuts of dead-stuff laid out for her on the snow to peruse). To quote;

"The translucent layers of skin, the labyrinthine maze of arteries, the fluid organic forms. It's a metaphor for indulgence and temptation'. Statements like this are why artists are often called wankers. Coming to a living-room wall near you...

So, another day, another salad. I'm fine thanks. Green smoothie for brekky, waaay too much salad for lunch, considering not having dinner at all (still full). Mum, Dad and little bro all noticed the weight loss and peppered me with 'how-did-you-do-it?' kind of questions. This is very satisfying:-)