Readjustment

It's nice to be back in the city, the kind folks of Adelaide made me feel special today...

First off there's the huge sign which reminds me I'm in the city, you never know, I might forget and think I'm still in the Outback.

I became so accustomed to walking everywhere I went in Pukatja that I felt like I was trapped in my apartment, so out I went for a walk. I was surprised at my welcome home...

... there was a band playing just for me. (We won't mention this to my therapist or I might have to go back on my medication! ;-))

I felt claustrophobic, there were so many people everywhere I turned. I paused for a bit, sat on the ground and almost got run over by the blue shoes coming at me!

I figured that was enough of readjusting to city life for one day so after the groceries were bought, I turned and came home. I'd like to say I walked in to the sunset but unfortunately it was straight in to the crowded streets.

Now I'm wondering which is the life for me? It's definitely not the central business district, or downtown city life, it's not isolated in the desert, maybe a nice house in the suburbs... oh wait a second... I am blessed to have that waiting back home for me!

Fences and Signs

In response to the question I posed yesterday, here is the worlds longest fence... or a portion of it.

A nearby sign stated:

"The South Australian section of The Dog Fence is 2250 kms long. It forms part of an unbroken barrier that stretches over 5300 km through South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales. It is the only barrier that prevents dingoes entering the sheep grazing country in the South."  This fence is still being maintained.

We stopped off at a place called Glendambo, the following is their sign which leads in to the community:

There really are about that man flies there! We helped as best we could with the fly issue...

... as you can see from the dirty windshield we managed to snag a few of those pesky flies. Good job I'd say!

And onward we pushed, it was hammer down and homeward bound.

I've had such a good time this past two days, there is only one regret, the time passed way to quickly, as it generally does when I'm having such a good time!



A Full Wonderful Day

First off... what's up with blogger? This is different and weird, but if this is the 'new and improved' blogger I suppose it's going to take some getting used to.... enough about that, I've got a lot to share with you all, it's been an amazing day!

I've left the APY Lands, the people I'm traveling with are wonderful people and it's been a lot of fun spending the day traveling with them. We made a few stops at some amazing places. The following place is a spot called the Breakaways, it's just outside of Cooper Pedy AND this is where the movie Mad Max was filmed.

The land generally isn't this green (I'd hardly call this green but apparently for this area it's green), I'm guessing that it has something to do with all the rain which caused some places to flood.

Isn't this absolutely amazing? I sure think so.

We also stopped off at the worlds longest fence, I'll post about this tomorrow. Does anybody know waht the fence is called... and anybody who is from Australia don't give it away k? For everyone else, it's NOT the Rabbit Proof Fence...and no googling it. :-) 

Now off to bed, it's after 11 and it's up even before dawn to do the rest of the trip back 'home' to Adelaide. What a fantastic day it's been, I can't help but thank God for days just like today.

A Bed for Donkey

Yesterday some amazing people showed up in Pukatja, they are working with, or volunteering with, the Salvation Army. They brought with them beds, bedding, clothing, dishes and a whole array of things which are badly needed by the people in the Lands. We helped off load and set up today as well as with the sale. I couldn't help but take one last photo of the donkeys, they were right in there claiming their new beds!

I'm on the road again in the morning, these kind people are giving me a ride back to Adelaide, we should arrive there sometime around sixish on Saturday. It's going to be wonderful to be back in the city; in the meantime I'm going to enjoy the journey... after all it's the journey that makes all the difference in the world. 

Have a wonderful weekend and see you all in a few days. Cheers.

bird bird b-bird is the word

A-well-a everybody's heard about the bird
B-b-b-bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word

A-well-a everybody's heard about the bird
B-b-b-bird, bird, b-birds' the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, well the bird is the word
A-well-a bird bird well the bird is the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, well the bird is the word

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A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word A-well-a bird, bird, bird, well the bird is the word A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word A-well-a don't you know about the bird? Well, everybody knows that the bird is the word! A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word A-well-a... A-well-a everybody's heard about the bird Bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word A-well-a don't you know about the bird? Well, everybody's talking about the bird! A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word A-well-a bird... Surfin' bird Bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb... [retching noises]... aaah! Surfin' Bird The Trashmen (Garrett 1963) Brilliant lyrics eh? lol To think this song most likely made millions... if you have never heard this song click here, If you have heard it before I hope it doesn't stick to your brain like I know it's going to mine!

Time Saver

I did a bit of laundry today, sure there's a dryer in the house, but the funny part of staying someplace that's so hot is this is faster than the dryer.

I know, it's hard to believe, but jeans that dry outside in under an hour, well that seldom happens back home... a definite time saver.  

Friends

It was rather funny tonight, Andrew went out for a walk, shortly after he left I too decided to get out for a bit of a walk myself. I met up with Andrew not far from the house, he'd found two friends who followed him home.

We all find friends in some of the oddest places and when least expected.

Wild Horses

Very early this morning I went out with a few of the ladies who work on the Lands. We went a ways out of Pukatja, their aim was exercise, mine was to try to capture the wild horses. I got a bonus, excercise and capturing the wild horses.

It's been a full day, thankfully one with no dramas.

Too Bad They Have To Grow Up

These puppies are so adorable, it's just too bad they have to grow up.

I'd take them home if I could, I can just imagine how crazy Abbie would get if I even seriously thought of it though. I sure miss so much from back home, Abbie being on that list, but she's in good hands and probably getting spoiled rotten.

Scared Silly

Yesterday evening I was resting and watching "The Wire" on my computer, all of a sudden the house started to shake... I froze, I couldn't move and my heart stopped for a bit. What I had imagined to be happening did, there was an earthquake which registered 6.1 and talk about freak me right out. After a few minutes the other student I'm here with knocked on my door, I finally came to my senses and got up to see what the heck was going on. We talked for a while, went outside and ensured our surroundings were still standing. I went back to my show after my heart calmed down a bit, more to distract myself than anything and the aftershocks were minor in comparision to the first big bang. I stayed in bed, not wanting to get up at all so I'm a day late with my post... better late than never they say.

I spotted some amazing flowers yesterday, they seemed to pop up overnight. This community has planted them along the side of the road and I think it's a fantastic beautification project.

Naturally with flowers this pretty I had to take a few close ups.

One last one, and it's off to decide what to post for today.

May your days be filled with beauty and the ground you're sitting on not quake!

Dreams

Today's photo reminds me of dreams, dreams which can come true. I never imagined I'd be where I'm at in life today; spotting these bright yellow flowers brings my heart joy, my soul peace, and my imagination to continue to dream of things to come.

One of my life philosophies... if you can dream it, you can do it!

It's a Bug's Life

The wasps (or bees of some type) here are HUGE, I sure wouldn't want to be bitten by one of these, they'd leave a gaping hole, not just a wee welt!

Then there's the dragonflies, they're so colorful, but hard to photograph; they don't sit still for too long. This one just landed and was getting ready for take off it appeared.

... a meeting of the minds.

Yup, depending on one's perspective... it can be a bug's life.

The Ruins

There's this one old building which I've been meaning to photograph, I was going to wait until dusk to do it, and who knows, maybe I'll be walking by one day with the ideal light and reshoot the reminants of this building... I just think that it looks awesome.

Terminology

"Anangu [pronounced Ananu]...are referred to as Pitjantjatjara Aboriginal people/group.The Anangu people are the traditional owners of Uluru - Kata Tjuta (formerly known as Ayers Rock and The Olgas)."

The Anangu peoples are the people who live in the community where I'm situated, they are not referred to as Aborigines. When I would write about comparisons between our First Nations peoples in Canada and the people from this country, I always referred to them as Aborigines. This is the terminology which I was used to, this is how I've heard professors refer to the first peoples of Australia, now I know different.

The Anangu peoples are infamous for their art work; today while I was at the school this caught my eye...

The sign on the school is Ernabella Anangu School, here's a closer look at a bit of the art work. 

I love watching the children create; it's like the Anangu peoples are born with the gift of creativity, their art work is phenomenal.

In doing more research I found this information:
"In other regions different words have been adopted: Murri over most of south and central Queensland, Bama in north Queensland, Nunga in southern South Australia, Noongar (Nyoongah) around Perth, Wongi in the Kalgoorlie region, Yolngu in Arnhem Land, Anangu in central Australia, Yuin on the south coast of New South Wales and Palawa in Tasmania."

I stand corrected, Anangu is central Australia.

Sunset Sunday

Where did the weekend slip away? Here we are back at Sunday once again... at this rate I'll be heading back to Adelaide in no time at all! My practicum hours are half done, this is a good thing. I'm nearly caught up on my homework... another good thing and I've climbed a rather large hill this weekend. Exercice... check.

So with it being Sunday night I'm posting a sunset which is inspired by Scott. Now Scott is phenomeal, he has posted his 104th Sunset Sunday photo, why not wonder on over and check out his post for this week, a photo which will not disappoint!  Wait a second, maybe don't go there, my photos are pale in comparision! lol  Just kidding.

Without further ado, here is my contribution to Sunset Sunday.

May all your days be rich, your lives be blessed and your Sunday's filled with beautiful sunsets.

Up Up and Away

Today was quite the day, we climbed a hill. Now this may not seem like a big deal to you so I'll take you on the walk...

I looked at this hill and thought... no worries, it's not that far up,

and off we went. Andrew, the other student with me, has climbed before. I never have climbed anything made of rock and me being me, well I just had to do this if for no other reason than to say I did it.

Through the thorny buffalo bush we went, gradually the incline began.

About 3/4 of the way up there was this really steep drop, the rock was smooth and I made the mistake of looking down. What was I thinking? I rememberd at that exact moment that I'm petrified of heights, or as was pointed out to me, I'm scared of falling from heights... ya okay whatever, I was scared! I stopped, took a few deep breaths, regrouped and continued to climb. Andrew had to pull me up here and there but we kept on going.

A critter we spotted, this little thing didn't scare me at all, not after seeing the Thorny Devil.  

After about an hour of climbing we arrived at the top, it was totally worth facing the fear, the thorns and the breath it took to huff and puff my way up the hill.

Looking down on the Pukatja commuinity, a totally different perspective.

We sat and took in the beauty, then decided we'd best get down, the sunset would have been amazing from the top of the hill but we'd have a bugger of a time finding our way in the dark. Did we ever time that good, half way down the sun began to set...

 Would I do this trip up the hill again? Probably if I felt there were some more amazing photo opportunities and I had a flashlight to help see the way down.

Work or Play?

I was back helping at the Daycare once again and it was so much fun playing with the children. For the next few weeks when time permits (like I really have anything pressing) I'm going to go back and have fun... errrr, I meant work, with the lady who runs the daycare here.

Today the children, with the help of their parent(s), experimented with colors and shaving cream.

The only downside to working with young children is that it makes me really miss playing with my precious granddaughter, even without working at the daycare I miss my granddaughter, but soon enough we'll be reunited and I'm looking forward to that day.

Desert Flowers and Berries

I've been collecting photos of different flowers I come upon, berries as well. I have no idea what any of these are called and due to my limited internet I'm not spending the time looking for the names. I'll number the shots and if anyone recognized any of these please let me know what they're called. Thank you.

# 1

# 2

# 3

# 4

 # 5

I'm surprised to see so much color in the desert, apparently it gets much more colorful... I hope to see this before I leave.

Parents and Tots

Today I went to check out a parents (caregivers) and tots program which is in this community; I LOVE the concept of this program. The parent stays and works or interacts with the child(ren); they do arts and crafts, learn together and the children interact with one another, some of the parents visit while their children play. The lady who founded this program takes photos and the parents and children make memory books, this is one of the children's artwork which will be incorporated into the memory book. This is a fantastic way to prepare the children for school, the children want to come, they enjoy themselves and it's a postive way to transition into the classrooms once they're a little older.

.. yup, it's been a great day!

All Things Bright and Beautiful

 a hymn by Cecil Alexander

All things bright and beautiful,

 All creatures great and small,

Thorny Devil Lizard

 All things wise and wonderful:

 The Lord God made them all.

Uluru Ayers Rock

We went on a bit of a tour and what a tour it's been. We went to Uluru, also known as Ayers Rock. The following photo is my first sighting of this amazing rock, it's beautiful!

The nearer we got, the more amazing this sight became...

And we arrived I was in awe; this is a 'must see' if you're ever in Australia, it's amazing!

We walked down a path and found this pond where water collects when it rains... too bad it wasn't raining, I would have loved to see the waterfall.

...and one last photo. There are some ancient drawings in the cave, these are so awesome to see. When the families would sit around a fire in the evening in the cave they would tell stories which they would explain through their drawings.

Uluru is a sacred place, they ask people to please not climb the rock, some people still do, I choose not to out of respect.