Croix Parler

[Croix]

I'd like to use this pace for miscellaneous matters that don't fit elsewhere

Thanks

Croix

[mmMekitty]

I can see you, ER, in your hide, peering out, being as still & quiet as possible, waiting, & waiting, maybe for hours, for the birds or whatever animal might feel relaxed enough to come close to where you are, because they have accepted you are part of the environment, just like Bellamy & Attenborough.

What they might have done is cover themselves with fur & stretch out on a branch & have a snooze & see what has happened by while they slept.... at the very least, they could have had some very nice close-up pictures of insects, in the fur.

On the iceberg, make like a walrus & bask....? Mind the Pesky Penguins might try to pull on the whiskers - they never promised anything.

& inebriated kiwis will use your tusks for botle openers.... 

*

& ER, I have someone or two here who will take the wheelie bins to the curb & back. I appreciate them so much. Of[course we still hav to get some people to use the bins instead of dropping rubbish everywhere....  They manage to get most rubbish in, so I guess they just need more practice.

Hugzies

mmMekitty

[Eagle Ray]

Hello Dear MK and Croix,

I did visit the location I planned today. I photographed a small bird I am yet to identify. It's possibly a kind of thornbill. There were plenty of small birds about and lovely wildflowers appearing, especially yellow and purple ones. I could hear people paddling their kayak on the brook below and later met them and had a nice chat. What I would like to do is take my telephoto lens out on a kayak from which to photograph waterbirds, but it requires being confidently stable in the kayak as tipping over with camera gear would be disastrous. Apparently fishing kayaks can be quite good for stability. I wonder if a walrus would be any good for that purpose? Maybe not if he is distracted by a fish and decides to dive under.

I watched Attenborough documentaries from when I was a kid. I always remember the one where he gets a cuddle with a wild gorilla. What an amazing man who is well into his 90s now and still passionate about nature. Yes, I imagine they did a lot of waiting and waiting for things to hopefully show up. I think incredible patience and effort goes into wildlife documentaries.

Falling asleep in nature is a most interesting thing. On my most recent trip I was at this awesome rocky hill by a lake. I'd explored in the morning, had lunch and then dozed in my car by reclining the seat but with the window open before my afternoon exploration. If I woke up I saw this beautiful lake in front of me and the surrounding trees, then I would doze off again. I preferred sleeping in my car at this location where ants were about and having had plenty of kangaroo ticks attach to me before. But I do sometimes nap in nature too. I did that once in the middle of vegetation looking straight up at the trees and plants as if I was a small animal and everything above me was so big. I heard someone say once that resting in nature is a much deeper rest than in a bed, and I think there is something in that. Like we are supposed to be sleeping in nature.

Tusks as bottle openers. What an ingenious idea! I can imagine the kiwis sneaking up to Croix while he is snoozing and using a tusk to leverage off a bottle top.

I'm glad you have a kind person who collects the wheelie bins too.

Hugzies,

ER

[mmMekitty]

Hello Croix, ER & everyone

I had enjoyed the Attenborough documentaries. If I had to choose one series as my favourite, it's either the Blue Planet series or the Life of Plants. or the Antarctica series, or is the those with footage of birds .. oh, really, it'stoo difficult a choice. I recommend them all!

I tried to interest the kiwis into using each other's beaks, but that became fractious, with them claiming each opened bottle as their own...  too many beaks in one bottle ... it doesn't end well.

I am trying to imagine a walrus as kayak, & im my mind it keeps moving too fast or beaches itself for a little sunbathing....  maybe an anchor would help?

I think it's wonderful, ER, to enjoy the details, such as various species of bird, like you do. I've tended to enjoy more generally. Like, there's small birds, big birds, red &/or green &/or blue &/or yellow &/or brown & (separately) black & white magpies, & penguins, or black grows or swans, & white or black cockatoos ...  oh, & those big ibis which aren't really very white with the long black neck & head. & then there are the ducks.

I have some recordings of birdsong, in forests, some with a little rain some with music, some give details about which birds they have recorded, but I can't remember  them. Same goes for the recording I have of 71 (amazingly varied) frog calls. 

I guess the closest I've been to sleeping out in nature would have been in a tent while camping. That's more like sleeping in a car, at the side of the road near bushland, I suppose.

Hugzies to everyone

mmMekitty

[Croix]

Dear All~

I can remember the Zoo Quest series, which had a rarer different attitude to today. The animals were captured to be taken back to zoos. It was absolutely fascinating. The only similar TV show at the time was made by Armand and Michaela Denis however they did not have Sir David's charisma. He developed his distinctive style of using his hands emphasizing speech and appearing in a safari suit then, and kept it up basically all his life.

I also enjoyed his take-off as David Rabbitborough in the Comedy Company.

I think it is a real gift to get so close to nature, wake up and be surrounded as if invisible. Like mmMekitty I've been camping when younger, and opening the tent flap of a morning and seeing creatures and birds react is one tihng. To gently wake amongst them another.

Croix

[Eagle Ray]

Dear MK and Croix,

You have reminded me of camping with several others when I was 17 and my friend exclaiming when she found there were slugs in our cooking pot in the morning. So sometimes the nature you wake up to is into your belongings. I have camped in a swag and loved being under the open sky. The main slight concern was the kangaroos thumping through in the night and that they might not realise I was there and thump straight on top of me. I have to say the thought of camping in parts of the world where there are bears is scary to me. Some Canadian friends told me of all the tricks they have to employ to keep bears away from their tent, including making sure there is absolutely no food smell, let alone food, in the tent. But apart from the few hazards, there is something special about sleeping outdoors amongst nature.

 I remember David Rabbitborough carrying out investigations into those strange human beings and their curious habits. I imagine there are clips on the internet. Shaun Micallef had a character on Full Frontal called David McGahan who was quite absurdist. His show was David McGahan’s World of… whatever the week’s topic was. Ants and mice were two of them. But the one that had me in stitches was David McGahan’s World of Bach (the composer). They are always ludicrous and nonsensical.

 I also have recordings of birds and frogs MK. I have a CD of rainforest sounds that includes birds and insects and some gentle rain and a bit of thunder (kind of distant gentle thunder, not scary thunder). It’s quite restful.

Perhaps we could make a CD of the sounds of the iceberg and the curious creatures that inhabit it? I wonder what David Attenborough would make of Croix’s iceberg? It is probably unlike anything he has ever seen in nature before.

Sleep well tonight all. Hugzies,

ER

[mmMekitty]

Ah, memories of the little teep-pee my sis & I had in the side yard, when, in the morning he made oatmaeal (porridge) & a cup of milky tea for me - best ever tea I've tasted, & none better since. Must have been a summer night, because it wasn't cold at all overnight.

What I little I recall makes the memories seem so thin.

I had a bit of a rough day today. But it's okay; I can cope much better now when things aren't going well, things happening - I just paid the bill, & if I never am re-embersed for the portion NDIS didn't cover, I can live with it. However, I would be heaps out of pocket if I had to do that for every week. I had time to do it because my new support worker was ill. Her hubby sent me a message saying he'd called an ambulance for her & she, therefore couldn't come & take me out to the hydrotherapy today. Very short notice, so no time to find a substitute worker. She's going to be working again tomorrow.

We have plans for going to the beach Wednesday, because my PDr is having a little break, this week & next. It might not be very warm or sunny, though ... 

& tomorrow night, I suppose we're all 'gone fishin' while BB is having some maintenence, eh?

Wonder if there are any auroras over the iceberg this time of year?

SBS has 2001: A Space Odyssey on tonight, but no audio description. [LRC, mmMekitty & mmMekitten all pouting, while singing 'Daisy, Daisy, give me your answer do. I'm half crazy all for the love of you.... ]

Maybe I'll find the audiobook again... 

Hugzies

mmMekitty

[Croix]

Dear MK and all~

They are not realy thin, all the time you can taste the tea and oatmeal and feel the kindness behind them they are big part of your life.

Pity about the bill, hopefully you can save in tme to restore your finances. Good wishes for excellent beach weather

Actually thinking of 2001 I do regret you do not have audio-description. It used to be my favorite movie, and that was largely becuse of the visuals, with really prophetic visions of weightlessness and the future - even printed instructions for a weightless toilet!

It's sad it was made 52 years ago, when audio-visual tracks were not even thought of. I do hope you can at least get the audio book

Croix

[mmMekitty]

Hello Croix & everyone

I do treasure how much care she put into the porridge & tea. That is truly what made it so especially good. It is the lack of so much detail that makes the whole seem thin. 

2001 truly is an astonishing movie for the time in which it was made. I undersand some parts were changed for the movie, but still, the ideas & imagination of Arthur C Clarke& Kubrick make this one of the all-time best.

If someone has a very good think about how to describe some of those visuals, I'm sure this film, converted to digital format, can have had audio tracks added. But like David Attenborough's series, an audio description really doesn't do justice to what the viewer is seeing on the screen.

I don't like feeling I'm getting a second-hand experience.

The money I paid today wasn't so much. What bothered me was the invoice was for June, & it was only recently I have been informed there was a problem with getting it paid. I really don't like bills outstanding.

Have a 'you beaut' lovely day, tomorrow.

Hugzies

mmMekitty

[Croix]

Dear MK~

Just be glad it was not June last year! You might have to cash in a few penguins:)

Netflix does have "2001: the making of" which may inadvertently give some idea of some of the sets but other than that  Vision Australia gives a complete listing of audio-described movies on Netflix, Stan and Amazon Prime here:

https://www.visionaustralia.org/news/2020-05-07/audio-described-movies-streaming-services

Sadly 2001 is not included.

Already in China there are voluntary groups that audio-describe movies, perhaps one day the movement will come here.

In a way audio-description is like subtitles. when they first started years ago they were pretty bald and only gave a rough literal idea of what was said, losing character in the process.

Nowadays some are most skillful and actually add to the atmosphere and characterisation.

One lives in hopes

Croix

[mmMekitty]

No indeed, Croix. I wasn't having hydrotherapy June last year, so if they got any of my penguins, it would not for keeps, only for a loan, after I would have instructed them to be especially pesky, then they escape & return to me.

Thanks for the info, Croix. I don't subscribe to any of those services.

Hugzies

mmMekitty