Sunday Selections #461

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.

Huge thanks to Cie who gave me this wonderful Sunday Selections image.
  
The meme was then continued by River at Drifting through life.  Sadly she has now stepped aside (though she will join us some weeks), and I have accepted the mantle.
 
The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to me. Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen. 
 
I usually run with a theme.

It is still hot.  It is still dry.  We are still shrouded in smoke, and our air quality is still firmly in the hazardous range.
A lot of the fires (but by no means all) have finally been brought under control.  Sadly next week is predicted to be extremely hot and windy so our army of mostly volunteer firefighters cannot stand down for their totally deserved rest.
The New South Wales Emergency Services minister is on holiday in Europe but will receive twice daily briefings, so we are told that is alright.  And sadly it probably is, because it isn't as if he contributes anything positive to the fight against the fires.

A lot of the garden is crispified (which if it isn't a word should be) but splashes of colour remain.

And because I am bird obsessed I am showing you the bouquet of  (mostly) Sulphur Crested Vandal's crest feathers we have collected over the years.

In this hot, horrid and smoky week you will be unsurprised to learn that we headed down to the lake for a bit of respite.

As well as the welcome kangaroobies we received the much rarer treat of a swan family and their cygnets.  Most of these photos were taken by the smaller portion because mine were shockers.

On a hot and particularly smoky day it really was a treat.

Sunday Selections #460

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.

Huge thanks to Cie who gave me this wonderful Sunday Selections image.
  
The meme was then continued by River at Drifting through life.  Sadly she has now stepped aside (though she will join us some weeks), and I have accepted the mantle.
 
The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to me. Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen. 
 
I usually run with a theme.

The weather here is still obscenely hot and dry.  The fires continue.   The fires have spread.  More states have been added to the long (and growing) list.  A pall of smoke hangs over my city and many others.  People and animals have lost their lives and their homes.  There is no rain in sight.

However I cannot (regretfully) change any of that.  Denial is not just a river in Egypt.

In the middle of the tragedies I have found splashes of beauty, colour, of quirky fun and hope -  which is where my focus is this week.

Again, this is not (despite its appearance), a photograph of sunset.  I took it some three hours before.  However, the skies were briefly clearer than they have been and it was beautiful despite the smoke.

The suburb closest to my kangaroo fix has big signs up telling us that 'Yarralumla does Christmas'.  It has done so in a simple and charming way by decorating most of the street trees.

 When we continued down to the lake, we smiled at the pelicans.  It was a stinking hot day and while we saw kangaroos they were relaxing under the trees and we didn't disturb them.

Driving into town I was tickled by this tradie's clever way of stashing his work boots.

A few days later his van was parked at the local shops and (with his permission) I took some more photos.

While we are a largely secular nation, there are Christmas decorations in all the shopping centres.

In this holiday period whatever, where-ever and however you celebrate (or don't) I hope your days and the year(s) to come are filled with love and laughter.

Sunday Selections #459

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.

Huge thanks to Cie who gave me this wonderful Sunday Selections image.
  
The meme was then continued by River at Drifting through life.  Sadly she has now stepped aside (though she will join us some weeks), and I have accepted the mantle.
 
The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to me. Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen. 
 
I usually run with a theme.  This week, as I so often do, I am featuring skyscapes.

These first images were taken just after dawn.

A brooding and heavy sky, with dust coloured highlights.

These next images were taken later in the day (over the course of several days).

 Sunset?

Rich, glowing sunsets?

Well not exactly.  These were taken in the late afternoon.  The smoke, dust and ash from fires has enveloped our city for the last ten days or so.  When the wind gets up it blows the debris from the fires and the drought across the sky and obscures the sun.

It is expected to continue to do so for the next week (assuming that no new fires break out).  The media has reported that our air quality has been worse than that experienced in China, and vulnerable people have been warned to stay indoors.

Since the fires started on the Eastern Coast of Australia 2.7 million hectares of bush have burned!!!!  The damage is incalculable.  And this is the start of our bushfire season, and my city is experiencing a tiny part of it.  Other places have it much worse.

And, at the moment some of New South Wales and Western Australia is being hit.  Hard.  In the week to come record breaking high temperatures are predicted across the country.

Scary, scary times.

A question?

Growing up were you praised by your family?

We weren't.  We were criticised for our own good (and it probably was), but very, very rarely praised.  The rationale seemed to be that if we heard nothing we were doing well.  Pride/vanity were considered to be the same thing (which I now dispute) and were not encouraged. 

Thank you was rare too, and required something exceptional.  We accepted it, and didn't question it.  I have no idea whether it was common at the time or not.

An email exchange with a friend has had me thinking and I do wonder whether my lifelong battles with feelings of inadequacy had its birth in this family habit.

Some of my family traditions I keep.  Some I do not.  This is one I discarded.  I am happy to praise people and to thank them.

Mind you, I am not happy with the trend I have observed where children are praised/given awards for participation rather than achievement, which I suspect sets them up for feelings of failure when they branch out into a wider world.

Were you praised/thanked as a child?  And for those of you with children, do you praise them? 

Sunday Selections #458

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.

Huge thanks to Cie who gave me this wonderful Sunday Selections image.
  
The meme was then continued by River at Drifting through life.  Sadly she has now stepped aside (though she will join us some weeks), and I have accepted the mantle.
 
The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to me. Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen. 
 
I usually run with a theme. This week I am (mostly) focussing on the skies.

I am invariably up before dawn.  Mostly our dawns are muted affairs decorated in soft pinks and greys.  One day this week was very different.

Note the birds on the lamp post, waiting for feed to go out.

Red in the morning, shepherd's warning was an allusion to heat and wind rather than rain.

That vivid sky was bookended at the other end of the day too.

I amused myself taking pictures of the reflections too.  

The first reflection is in a neighbour's window and the second ours.

The fires continue.  Wreaking havoc across too many states.  Yes, we always do get fires in summer, but summer has only just begun.  Yesterday there were over 100 fires burning in the state nearest to me.  Many of them are out of control, and the three largest have joined together.  The Eastern States are all suffering, as is much of the rest of the country.

A Sydney blogger put up this post.
How scary is that, that the flames are leaping so high that they are reflected on the ground - miles away?
Dust from our dust storms has been smeared across New Zealand's glaciers and the smoke from the fires in New South Wales (and possibly) Queensland can be seen in that country. 

The ongoing forecast is very, very frightening.  (The Bureau of Meteorology has said that my area at least can expect significant rain in February - or perhaps March).  My heart goes out to everyone (regardless of species) who is in danger.

I am going to finish on a kinder note, with a kangaroo fix. 

As you can see, they were totally unperturbed by picnickers.
Have a wonderful (and safe) week.