How to see

Strangely, I am reading two books that seem to correspond to/with each other. One is Ways of seeing by John Berger. The other is The living mountain by Nan Shepherd. Whilst they are not on the same subject at face value, the authors say comparable or parallel things.

But initially, the story of looking for lost things. My family came to my house for Christmas lunch. My sister moved some things that were on the table to a bench. Among those things were my house and car keys. After everyone had left I looked for my keys but couldn't find them. I had cleaned up the kitchen and moved things back to the table, including a bowl of fruit. My sister had put my keys in the bowl. I did not notice them when I moved the bowl back to the table. I was doing what we do when we read - scanning - so all I saw was fruit. Later, when looking for my keys, I relooked at the bowl of fruit, in relation with my thinking about the events of the day, and only then did I see my keys. I was truly looking at the bowl, probably for the first time. Artists who paint still lifes must also do this - really 'see' things.

John Berger (p 9) says:

We never look at just one thing; we are always looking at the relation between things and ourselves.  

Nan Shepherd (pp 10-11) tells us how to see in nature:

This changing of focus in the eye, moving the eye itself when looking at things that do not move, deepen one's sense of outer reality. Then static things may be caught in the very act of becoming. By so simple a matter, too, as altering the position of one's head, a different kind of world may be made to appear.... Details are no longer part of a grouping in a picture of which I am the focal point, the focal point is everywhere. Nothing has reference to me, the looker. This is how the earth must see itself.

Her text in The living mountain considers being - her own being and the mountain's/nature's, the relationship between watcher and watched, and the senses being put to full use.

For unnumbered years it [water] has welled from the rock, and flowed away. It does nothing, absolutely nothing, but be itself. (p 23)

...the colour seemed to live its own life, to have body and resilience, as though we were not looking at it, but were inside its substance. (p 30)

It astonished me that my memory was so much in the eye and so little in the feet... (p 46)

Though I did not know it then, I was leaning my way in, through my own fingers, to the secret of growth. (p 58)

Whether you give it conscious thought or not, you are touching life, and something within you knows it. A sense of profound contentment floods me as I stoop to dip the pail. But I am aware all the same that by so living I am slowing down the tempo of life; if I had to do these things every day and all the time I should be shutting the door on other activities and interests... (p 82) 

...I awake with an empty mind. Consciousness of where I am comes back quite soon, but for one startled moment I have looked at a familiar place as though I had never seen it before. (p 91)

 ...I am continually coming to the surface of awareness and sinking back again, just seeing, not bedevilled with thought, but living in the clear simplicity of the senses. (p 93)

 To bend the ear to silence is to discover how seldom it is there... But now and then comes an hour when the silence is all but absolute, and listening to it one slips out of time. (p 96)

Such illusions, depending on how the eye is placed and used, drive home the truth that our habitual vision of things is not necessarily right: it is only one of an infinite number, and to glimpse an unfamiliar one, even for a moment, unmakes us, but steadies us again. (p 101) 

 And in the last chapter, titled 'Being', here it is:

How then may be lived a life of the senses so pure, so untouched by any mode of apprehension but their own, that the body may be said to think. Each sense heightened to its most exquisite awareness is in its total experience. This is the innocence we have lost, living in one sense at a time to live all the way through. (p 105)

...the long rhythm of motion sustained until motion is felt, not merely known by the brain, as the 'still centre' of being. (p 106) 

The thing to be known grows with the knowing. (p 108) 

For an hour I am beyond desire. It is not ecstasy, that leap out of the self that makes man like a god. I am not out of myself, but in myself. I am. (p 108) 

There is nothing more to be said, but a lot to be experienced. Nan Shepherd's text relates to Buddhism as well as deep ecology - the practices of meditation and mindful walking, mindfulness in general, are all expressed in her book. What do we really see?

Magpies at home

We've been feeding magpies for quite a while now. Given there are Norfolk Island pines in the street, which they love, they are always around. But they choose their times to swoop down for a feed. Sometimes I hear them from the kitchen, and sure enough when I look up the passage to the front door, one is standing on the door mat looking in. Very cute. Obediently I get out the mince and go outside to feed them. There may be only one, or two or three or four. I tell them to behave themselves if they are rude to each other. It seems to work. Once they have had a few bits each they are happy and so am I.

This photo was taken from a front bedroom window. They are peering in on a winter's day, looking to see what's happening. It seems like role reversal - we often think we are looking at animals/other living beings (eg in zoos) but in fact they also observe us. I always say hello to birds when I see them in the street, even if they are a breed I am not fond of, such as miners. Magpies though seem to know that you are talking to them. They factor it into their own speech. They are a special breed.

In Europe I believe they are called 'pie', but are apparently different to the Australian magpie. An American woman singer in our town for the Festival said how much she loves their sound. It is hard to mimic and has a lot of variation. Sometimes I think a magpie is putting together a song just for me - singing for its supper.

David Suzuki at WOMADelaide

David Suzuki spoke at WOMADelaide 2016. It was a wonderful moment! Here is some of his wisdom. Not his words exactly, as my own passion is added in some parts.

The future is not ours to erase. Whilst we may seem to be ticking along fine, living a lifestyle that implies limitless resources, this is an illusion that denies future generations a sustainable life on this planet called Earth, that is not 'ours' to destroy. We are stealing from the future to feed our present greed and addiction. This is taking the 'selfish gene' to its extreme, but it's true, sadly. More about this later. It's also adding 'stupidity' to our genetic traits.

We are a species (love that word) out of control. It's too late to turn things around.

The older generation can view ourselves as 'elders' if we wish (and if we deserve such a title, as 'elder' also implies wisdom, and some of us have nothing to model/teach). But I still love that word.

As voters, we should demand a commitment to doing something about climate change from every political candidate. Every one. That is our duty, and worth the effort.

Nature can shock us with surprise. If we give her room she will be far more generous than we deserve. We are talking about regeneration, or healing, here. He gave an example of salmon (I think). Examples are always good. I am intrigued by the phrase 'give her room'. What does this mean exactly? Is it about 'space' (another word that intrigues me) or just about being kind? This idea needs more exploration. I am sure that the answer lies in a David Suzuki book. I must read one.

Silent spring by Rachel Carson was mentioned as a pivotal book. Another book I must read. Bless that woman.

We need to educate people to see our relationship with the world in a different way – the way we see the world and our place in it determines how we behave. The planet is our mother. We have to take this literally. There is a wonderful film about this: Mother: caring for 7 billion.

• Our world ('mother') is shaped by laws of nature we can do nothing about – shock, horror, we can't control them.
• Our home is the biosphere. We've exceeded the capacity of our biosphere for our species. We're using up our children's and grandchildren's inheritance. This makes me really sad.

We are animals. As animals our biology predicts our needs. All of the energy in our bodies is provided through photosynthesis. It's a basic fact that we are not separate from the four sacred elements of our mother (Earth, Air, Fire, Water).

Yes, that's right, we are animals. Your reaction to that fact tells a lot about how you view yourself and your place on this planet. If you don't think you're an animal, you don't deserve a place on this planet. (That is my opinion, not the words of David Suzuki.)

As a crescendo to this talk, there is the Declaration of Interdependence (David Suzuki). You can sign this declaration, which is the most important one of our time, if we still want to have a time. That is, if you think you have the time and are not caught up in the busyness-of-life addiction as well as selfishness and stupidity. This may sound harsh (it is my own words) but I will qualify it by saying that I am not superior to other human beings/animals. I too am caught up in the busyness-of-life addiction that refutes present moment awareness. It is our tendency to view ourselves as superior not just to other living things but also to others of our own species that is a wrong view and causes suffering to ourselves and others.

Atlas of Living Australia

Heard about this website (called ALA for short) on the radio. You can search by 'Species in your area' - as specific as your home address - to find out what species (of any kind) live nearby, or anywhere in Australia. You can also contribute to the website if you think you've discovered a species that is not on it ('Contributed by Australia’s academic, scientific, environmental communities and you').

It sounded great, and I've done a search for my area. But do you think I can understand the results and how I might use them, even as simply as in a conversation at a party (should I happen to go to one)? No. But I am sure it is an interesting site, so may revisit sometime with a botanist, entymologist etc in tow. Within a 1 km range of home at the time of writing there were 114 animal species (one my dog?), 93 bird species, 5 reptile species (one presumably a snake - scary thought when I am walking through the dunes), 212 plant species, 0 bacteria (phew!), and so on. To revisit in 1 year to see how it's changed? An increase will mean more input/recordings/sightings. A decrease will mean...? (More development? Less natural habitat?) To find out.

Bricks and mortar

This house has very high walls. It was built in 1907 so is Federation-style. This means that if you want to change a light globe it is a life-risking (and muscle developing, given that my ladder is made of heavy metal) experience. The 'up' side is that if you throw your hands spontaneously up in the air they don't hit the ceiling (and if you had a ceiling fan...).

When I first bought this house 25+ years ago, the chimneys were in need of re-mortaring. Two years ago, they were still in need of re-mortaring. I am not a procrastinator, it's just that it was a 'too-hard basket' job. No tradesperson was putting up their hand willingly, which means that quotes for the job were exhorbitant ('$2,500 for the chimneys, lady, not including scaffolding' ...and the rest).

Finally the opportunity came through my mad mate Andrew (that's him lovingly tending one of my two chimneys on my high roof, in close proximity to a very tall street pine) who is clearly not afraid of heights and was in need of a buck. It suited both of us - a win win. Up he went, and my years of lying in bed waiting for bricks to come through the ceiling and land on my head - killing me instantly - every time the wind blew (which can be often at the beach) were over. At last I sleep in peace (well I don't really but at least there is one less reason not to).

Black house spider

I have a 'pet' - a black house spider - 'a common species of cribellate Australian spider, found throughout much of Australia and New Zealand' (Wikipedia). She (I presume) is 2 years old (I presume) and has been living in the corner of the bathroom window for that span of time. They are not supposed to live for much longer than that but she has had a relatively stress-free life - no kids, no partner - so maybe that explains it. I allow her to live there because I always know where she is - she never leaves the window. A huntsman that wandered all over the place I would struggle with. She can be relied on to stay where she is. She has remained unfound by a male black house spider. Why I don't know. Now if she had chosen the shed....

However, she must sometimes be very hungry. Not much edible food wanders into that part of the bathroom, or into the bathroom at all. What was she thinking when she chose that spot? It isn't location, location, location. Although they like habitating around light sources (eg a window) that may attract insects.

Over summer there were blowflies in the house for a while and that must have been feast time for her. Every time I caught one I would fling it into her expansive web. She would wait a polite (cautious) amount of time before heading out of the corner to get her catch. The fly, once in the web, would stop struggling - a survival strategy probably. But there was no hope. She is big, about the size of my thumb and about the same shape (body and legs included) and she knows what she is about once the food is in the larder. Lately though there hasn't been much happening. I caught a moth the other day and flung it into her web. She didn't wait a seemly amount of time but raced out to get it. She seems to be able to survive on not much food.

Sometimes when I am in the bathroom cleaning my teeth at the basin, she will come out. I think she has realised that I am not going to hurt her, and might in fact be her main source of food! In the middle of the night if I go to the bathroom, I sometimes see her well out of the web, looking as though she is smacking herself on the bum. In fact she is producing the stuff her web is made of (so I'm told). It's a very cute-looking activity for a creature who would not normally be described as 'cute'. Studying her through living with her has made her a 'person'. She is a spider like no other, because I 'know' her. She is not really my pet of course - I don't own her - but we have a relationship.

There will come a day when she dies. Not sure what the signs will be but it might be a 'curl up' affair. I will be sad; she has become part of my life in this old house.

Meanwhile, my black house spider is not only in the web, she's on the web!

A Buddhist take on the environment

These two Buddhist-flavoured poems say it all for a deep ecology view of the world:

His Holiness the Dalai Lama writes in his poem on the environment:

In the remoteness of the Himalayas
In the days of yore, the land of Tibet
Observed a ban on hunting, on fishing
And, during designated periods, even construction.
These traditions are noble
For they preserve and cherish
The lives of humble, helpless and defenceless creatures.

Thanks to the Tibetan Environmental Watch

And from the Buddha himself, on social action:

He who has understanding and great wisdom does not think of harming himself or another, nor of harming both alike. He rather thinks of his own welfare, of that of others, of that of both, and of the welfare of the whole world. In that way one shows understanding and great wisdom.

— Anguttara Nikaya (Gradual Sayings) Fours, No. 186

Thanks to Buddhism and social action: an exploration by Ken Jones

Corellas are in town

For 3 days in a row corellas (native Australian white cockatoos) have visited our area, specifically my pine trees (and trees in the backyard) as well as the street pines (Norfolk Islanders).

They first came on Sunday morning at 6am (thanks very much), waking me up with their cries which could only be described as squawks and that is probably too kind a term. They stayed for about half an hour, then flew off wheeling and circling in a group of about 30.

On Monday morning they revisited with a larger crowd, again at 6am. They hung around in the trees for a bit longer, till about 7am. You could hear them chewing away, occasionally squawking, before they again rose into the air simultaneously and flew off.

About 100 (!) came again on Tuesday morning at 6am but this time they stayed until 8am, to make sure they really finished the job. This time they left a HUGE mess - in the street, in my garden, on cars, everywhere within range, before flying off to leave someone else to deal with it. That night, even though it was really hot, I swept up the street mess, as I wanted people to like them rather than hate them, and let's face it, we don't like our lives being inconvenienced by nature any more.

They haven't as yet returned. It was an invasion, yes, but one I enjoyed. I got a really good close up shot of this bird in the backyard, and if they had come back for long enough and I had talked to him for long enough, I reckon he might have got tamer. They do listen to you when you speak to them. At least, they look like they do.

I couldn't think of a better way to herald Australia Day! (Which I never celebrate.)

Hear within yourself the sound of the Earth crying

The most important thing you can do is hear within yourself
the sound of the Earth crying.

These words may be attributed to Thich Nhat Hanh, but the whole sense of this is conveyed in John Seed's Introduction to the Mourning.

'Life is a web, we are like a leaf on a tree...We have disconnected ourselves from this intelligence of the Earth, we only need to look at the kind of world we are creating to see that maybe we need to go back to an older way.'

We suffer from the illusion of separation from other living things – anthropocentrism (the tendency for human beings to regard themselves as the central and most significant entities in the universe, or the assessment of reality through an exclusively human perspective).

To wander off the track (but not really), here are 3 simple lines of poetry from Gary Snyder:

stay together
learn the flowers
go light

To stick with 3s, here are 3 key processes from the Council of Beings

1. The great turning (gratitude)
2. Seeing with new eyes
3. Going forth

Once we stop repressing the pain we feel for the world, our empowerment remains and strengthens. Doing inner work removes our fear of being fully open to the feelings of what is happening to the earth.

'May all sorrows ripen in me' (Shantideva)

World leaders need to think like a planet
Without emotions, truly realizing the interconnectedness of all life stays stuck at the intellectual level. Mental concepts alone do not affect our attitudes and behaviors. According to Macy, humans' connections to other life forms are based on more than the emotional attachments to places and beings we have loved.

"They are also organic, woven by shared ancestries, embedded in our bodies. Each atom in each molecule of our being goes back to the beginning of life and has belonged to far more ancient and varied forms of life than our own. The human form we wear now is just the latest and briefest chapter of a long evolutionary journey."

In The Dream of the Earth, Fr. Thomas Berry refers to the "shamanic personality," which can understand and speak for other life forms, Macy said.

"It is essential to our survival," she said. "It helps us to … dispel the trance of industrial civilization."

INTERESTING: TO BE EXPERIENCED!

When does something become a fact?

A friend recently said that her daughter had to write an essay on climate change - there was no option for her to dispute it.

This raises the question 'When does something become an accepted fact?' The debate around climate change has been raging for years (since the 1980s at the very least). Has it slowed down? Have the skeptics been silenced, overwhelmed by science? Does this mean that children or people should no longer bother looking at the arguments for and against? The answer to the last question is yes. As with philosophy which is famous for arguments (or should I say, intellectual debate), some things become accepted and are no longer disputed. This saves time and allows people to argue about something more disputable and important to progress.

I for one believe in climate change (accept it as a fact) and have done for a long time. Perhaps I have never debated it but always had 'blind faith'. If we can stop arguing about its existence, then maybe we can get on with doing what we can to keep our world liveable for all living beings. However, being who we are, this seems unlikely. I pray that I will never have to say 'I told you so'. Bring on whatever change in consciousness 2012 is purported to create (providing it is sustainable)!

In the body, out of the mind

For an in the body and out of the mind experience, do a walk in Deep Creek, South Australia, like we did the other day. 14 kms of up hill (to a cliff overlooking the sea) and down dale (to a waterfall in a gully) in 33 degrees heat (that's the crazy bit). Actually it wasn't totally an in the body out of mind experience but was definitely physical.

Last bit of the recipe is to do it with other people, a lot of water, and carryable food (but not food that will go off). If you want to extend the experience you can camp, but we didn't. Instead we went swimming up the road (and some of us swam at the waterfall in rather swampy looking water) in the sea at Normanville. You can also have hot chips at the Victory Hotel, top of Sellicks Hill, and wash it down with a beer (my first for many years). Then home to see the effects of this huge effort (slightly sore legs the next day from the climbing up and down hills, including using your hands to pull yourself up on a very rocky path).

No photos to prove it, and no enlightenment (lots of heavy breathing), but it's a great end to the old year (2011) and a great new year's resolution for 2012 (more of the same). Let's all get outdoors and into it, doing natural things in a natural environment! Reads like an ad for living in South Australia, and it is!

View Deep Creek Cove the easy way (on Flickr)

Saving everything

It seems that everything needs saving now - whales, blue fin tuna, sharks, orang utangs, sun bears, the list is endless and that is before you start on rainforests, rivers, wetlands and other natural habitats. It is overwhelming and much as I dip in my pocket, it never seems to be enough. I am almost at the point of saying I don't care, simply because the statistics are so daunting and the task so great.

I went to a Transition Town workshop recently where we did an exercise initiated by Joanna Macy. One person (the future) listened whilst the other (the present) talked about what it was like to participate in saving the world (well not quite, but being part of a movement to bring change to a long-suffering world). Another exercise was to look at someone intently (not easy) and imagine their ancestors standing behind them. Afterwards I wondered whether the American Indians might have done this exercise when looking at the white invaders but in reverse - wondering what the future generations of this people would be like, and what world they would get from their ancestors.

I feel sorrowful that the creatures that least deserve it are suffering first, and the creatures that have brought on this world of turmoil and change are suffering least and will definitely suffer last. Why should it be this way? My neighbour apologised the other day for the inconvenience building next door had caused me. Nice as it was, I keep thinking of the people in Africa who have to walk miles each day... and for what? Brackish water. To survive.

My sole consolation in this world of shifting events is the Buddhist saying: Maybe good. Maybe bad. This great turning (Joanna Macy) may go either way, for better or for worse, and that is what we take on when we are born into this world. But now the world is Eaarth rather than Earth, less friendly than friendly, and we know not what we do or where we are headed.

Climate change skeptics

What do you tell a climate change skeptic? Especially if they are intelligent people?! The CSIRO and Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) both support with statistics that climate change is indeed happening. The BOM has statistics that date back at least 100 years. What more proof do these people want? My real concern is that they might acknowledge that the earth's temperature is changing, but may also think that we have no part to play in this change, that it is a naturally occurring phenomenon. This is a trickier one to argue but there is plenty of evidence to show that our CO2 emissions have contributed to this process speeding it up considerably. People who don't acknowledge this don't want to take responsibility. I understand that we have children and would rather they did not have to undergo this experience, but at the same time we don't know what that experience will be. As the Buddhists say 'Maybe good, maybe bad.' (You never can tell).

Reading up on Ian Plimer in Wikipedia (the lazy person's way I know) he is not as far as I can tell denying that the climate is changing, but is disputing the causes - he says it is due to earthquakes, volcanoes and other reasons. As I said, this gives humans the chance to do nothing about it, and as Ian Plimer is a director of three Australian mining companies, that must suit him just fine. But the fact remains, to dispute with people effectively, you have to read all the literature, both the for and against. I have only read a few 'fors'. Australians may well be renowned for having lazy intellects - no-one pictures Australian dinner parties, cafes or bars as full of animated discussion about politics, science, religion and spirituality (to name just a few topics). It is time to smarten up and speak up. This is a message to myself. Get up! and other like organisations are helping this happen, helping us to care more. It's slow though. Global warming may well be faster.

John Seed interview

Heard John Seed on Radio National tonight talking about deep ecology and our place on the earth. His words were inspiring because he is so clear about unclear things, and makes the point that we can't answer the big questions - it is all hanging in the balance. It is certainly going to be the end of the world as we know it, and possibly the end of we humans. But he makes the point that miracles occur all the time (and gave examples), so anything is possible. The idea is not to be inactive once we find our 'eco spirituality' but to develop our own way of responding to the needs of the planet, which has the disease called humans (as per a cartoon by Lewis pictured). These are my words and probably an incorrect interpretation of what he was saying. I would have to go to a deep ecology workshop to find out more about this style of thinking or rather feeling. He talked about Joanna Macy who is another interesting figure in the deep ecology movement.

Earth Hour

Getting involved. This weekend is Earth Hour, or rather Saturday 27 March at 8.30pm is. Some of us are organising a local event which means I will have to get my newly bought camera (2 months ago) out of its box and try to work out how to take a photo with it! A band will be playing - they are not yet famous so cannot be found on the web but they are called The Dudleys and they are local. All the better. Residents in Grange are invited to bring a rug, candles, food and whatever else to a local park and enjoy the dark that once would have driven them to bed at an early hour, and now makes them turn on lights and watch TV. What do we do outside in the dark any more? How well can we see in the dark? This and other questions will be asked on Saturday night as people prepare to do something out of the ordinary. It is not very challenging as it is only for an hour, but imagine if we all tried to do without something we depend on for a whole day. The car, mobile phone, TV or radio, food, tea or coffee.... How quickly we would feel the effects of not having or using one of these items for a day, on both subtle and obvious levels. Make it longer and so much the better for noticing the effects. Perhaps next year. Meanwhile, we will register a small shiver (right word?) on the Richter scale of acknowledging that the planet has a problem.

No thanks, non merci, nej tak, no gracias, etc

All of these 'nos' are to nuclear energy wherever it is being produced. I remember 'nej tak' being a slogan from the 80s (?). What has happened to our position on nuclear energy? It seems to have eroded, and sadly some influential Australians have participated in this process by proponing nuclear energy as the answer to the energy issues of our future (what future?).

Well with limited knowledge on my side to argue soundly, I still say 'no thanks'. The mistake we are all making in my eyes is to think our lives can be lived as they are now (why would you want to anyway but won't go there). We are putting our heads in the sand if we assume that. There are too many of us on the planet and a certain percentage of us are using far too much energy, and our 'needs' and lifestyles are destroying the planet, which, we should remind ourselves, is a living thing with innocent life that we are dragging down with us - no, pushing in front of us. As usual we are prioritising ourselves over everything else. Most humans would have to agree on at least this point. And most humans who are contributing to this waste of life are not admitting that they have a problem with species being threatened - they are able to avoid relating to the pain of an arctic bear that has to swim for miles simply to find somewhere to lob his beautiful white body, not to sunbake but to survive. It is harder to feel sorry for sharks perhaps as Australians have a fear of them and see them as the enemy, but the reality is that sharks play a crucial role in our ecosystem. It is big picture stuff and requires a very big step away from ego-driven needs and wants. And who wants to feel that world pain? I would rather not but it is always with me.

So what am I saying now that I have rambled down the path of love and emotion? That we must consider a different life path, one that is inclusive of all living things. At the moment we don't even include our own species let alone others. And saying yes to nuclear energy is not doing this, it is thinking we can solve a problem that is getting bigger and bigger. It is thinking we are smarter than we are. In fact a species that would 'progress' towards its demise is not smart at all. As the American Indians have said, No tree has branches foolish enough to fight amongst each other. (This is a quote from A Dare a Day)

Bees and other insects (etc)

This could well be an Ode to bees. Bees are once again visiting my increasingly humble domain (1907 Edwardian-style house). They have a fascination for the mini-orb back wall because it is penetrable due to their size and its fissures, and because of its penetrability there have been bees nests/hives within the walls in the past. Bees have an appreciation for history. They began coming a few weeks ago and my human antenna said 'uh-oh, here's a problem I will have to react to'. Well they buzzed around for a week or so, and then one day around midday there was suddenly a whole lot more of them, like about a thousand! That night, they cuddled up together in a hive-like swarm, one on top of the other in a way that said they would not be lonesome that night. Time to act. We put a creosote laden rag in the hole that they were going through to the inner wall. They don't like creosote - who does? That stuff is so strong you can smell it up the street. That got rid of most of them. But a few hangers on are still persistently building a beautiful cone-shaped nest in which to lay their eggs (apparently, as I haven't done biology since my teens). It is white with cells that look like honeycomb, and a pure form. They will not leave this creation and I don't blame them. However this requires a further act from me, preferably one that is as guilt-free of harming them as possible. More to come...
My other thought extending from this is that there will be environmental refugees of the non-human kind as time progresses global warming and insects, rodents etc seek a friendly place to cool their feelers, legs and other body parts. I suspect that my house will fill their requirements because it is not of the concrete jungle variety that is more frequently being called a 'home' in my area.

Arborophobia

What a great word! It was apparently coined by Robin Boyd, an urban critic, and means 'hatred of trees'. You could certainly believe it in the urban Adelaide of today, where people use leave busters and other human-made objects to get rid of the mess made by trees which insist on dropping their leaves and generally doing what trees do. Palms are acceptable because they do not drop leaves and do not send roots into plumbing or lift up house foundations. 'Yuppies' are notorious for loving palms and they abide in many Adelaide gardens, along with the must-have urban pool.

Pine now a palm

I saved the tree. It has had a severe pruning and now looks more like a palm (long trunk) than a pine, but it is still standing guard on one side of my house. I am very happy about this and now want to save the whole neighbourhood from becoming a desert. From little things big things grow! I will include a photo sometime soon of my beautiful trimmed tree.

A balanced view

Interesting isn't it, that there is still debate about global warming? Isn't it great that we live in democracies where this can happen? That we can talk about something while the cows keep farting until we are blue in the face - from not being able to breathe.
Barry Brook on the radio the other day was asked about the importance of having a 'balanced' view about global warming - making sure that all opinions were represented. Interestingly he works at Adelaide University with a colleague who is getting lots of publicity on the other side of the debate - Professor Ian Plimer - who does not deny global warming but sees environmental changes as 'inevitable and unavoidable' (sorry, this is a Wikipedia quote rather than the real thing - time issue). They are both working for the same institution. Presumably there have been no punchouts in the corridors or staff bar. That is the nature of academia - civilised.
It's hard to argue calmly and rationally about something as potentially divisive and life threatening as global warming. It is probably upstaging terrorism at the moment and the media/business moguls are recognising this by calling it the new terrorism (this from an American site called Green is the new red.
Anyway Barry pretty much said (from memory) that you can only present a balanced view up to a point. At that point, the view tips in favour of one or the other side, usually through evidence. Which is saying that time will tell. This is unfortunate, as we don't have time and the debate has been raging for at least 40 years. Perhaps that will be seen as humankind's biggest downfall in the annals of whatever civilisation follows us (unlikely that one will but still) - 'Them humans talked too much.'
It's likely that the Western world is divided into three main camps: those who deny global warming altogether (throw in those who think it will take generations/hundreds of years); those who think it's nothing to do with us (which to me is a cop out as it means we Westerners can keep on keeping on); and those who believe (as I do) that we are responsible for speeding up what is probably a natural process (and aren't there the graphs to prove it?), and we could therefore do lots about it. As someone has said: 'We don't want to have to say sorry to our grandchildren.' So let's stop being reasonable and democratic and recognise that harsh methods are required. We need a Churchill!