Store Your Happy Memories Here:

[Croix]

Dear All~

What this place is for:
This thread is a tool, a resource, and also I guess a dash of entertainment.

I’ve found that when life is grim that sometimes thoughts of past happiness can create a chink of light in the grey overwhelming press of down. They can help occupy the mind with lighter reflections.

With that in view I invite people to set down a brief passage describing some happy event they look back to with fondness and peace.

They - and others too - can then return to it when they feel the need to glean a little warmth.

It is not a place for gloomy or dire tales, those can go elsewhere.

What to do:
Just set out, as simply as you like, your recollection of some past experience that means something good to you, something you enjoyed, something from safe times.

It can be, like my story below, anything – from an account of visiting grandparents to simply cooking and eating a melted-cheese sandwich in a favorite kitchen – you get to choose.

How to do it:
Write. Write enough so someone else can feel the mood, know what happened, find the goodness. (stop at 2,500 characters please!)

Grammar, syntax, spelling, punctuation are not compulsory, just write as you can – the only important thing is the content - not literary merit. Short or long - it does not matter.


I hope you enjoy, contribute and find a little distraction here when you need it.

Croix

[Eagle Ray]

Dear Croix,

 I love the way your mind took you from a song about stars to the galaxy of the red eyes of prawns under the sea from your childhood memory. It’s so amazing how images, thoughts, senses etc link up with our memories. It is a lovely memory to have, that togetherness with your uncle.

Your memory sparked my memory of snorkelling as a kid which I first did when I was 9. It was the discovery of a whole other world under there - wrasse, morwongs, stingrays, blowfish, bream, herring, urchins, starfish etc. I remember the first time I saw a stingray and got such a fright I speedily swam back to shore. Then I realised how harmless they were as long as you didn’t harm them.

 I continued to snorkel frequently well into my 20s. It so engaged my curiosity that any worries in my life completely disappeared as I became absorbed in the underwater world. I remember one day becoming so relaxed I almost fell asleep while snorkelling, but that could also have been me inhaling a bit too much carbon dioxide through my snorkel!

To be in a weightless world of different, fascinating life forms is a true wonder. One day in my late 20s I was snorkelling alone in winter. I was that crazy person in the water when no one else was there. I was swimming over a pile of seaweed in about a depth of 2 metres. Something was thrashing something about in the weed. I then realised it was a wobbegong shark. It absolutely gave me the evil eye, letting me know that what it was thrashing (I’m guessing prey of some sort) was for it alone and I was being told to get lost. I subsequently obeyed and swam on to leave the wobbegong to its catch. I loved those encounters and would feel so alive from those moments.

 I live in a place now that’s full of sea life. I’ve only been swimming but not snorkelling here. I’ve lost weight and think I could now fit into my old wetsuit that I still have. I would like to explore the world through mask and snorkel again, obviously taking care to be safe, perhaps with others. Someone told me that her friend regularly sees seahorses while snorkelling here. I’ve never seen one but I did once find a stunningly beautiful common sea dragon washed up on the beach.

[Croix]

Dear All~

Yes, I miss swimming in the sea when I was a kid. We only lived a couple of streets away from the beach and I used ot walk down with my grandmother Nain. I'd wade out over a shingle inlet surrounded by rocks in all directions. Those rocks were sharp with barnacles and limpets so I'd always wear canvas shoes.

I'd swim out alongside the stone jetty, and there was seaweed everywhere, with small clear patches where you could see the bottom (which is where the crabs were)

You had to be careful with the jetty as a conger eel lived in a gap in the stone blocks. They were really the only  dangerous thing, one of my uncles was bitten by one once and it took a very long time to heal and left a nasty scar. Other fish included dogfish, which were a sort of small shark, but were shy and kept their distance.

I'd swim right out to the end of the jetty (which used to be the life-boat mooring many years before) and then climb up the rusty ladder at the end and walk back

All the time under Nain's watchful eye, though if I'd ever have got into trouble I don't know what she'd do, she was not built for swimming.

I used to be sworn at by the old guy that was always fishing there (which increased my command of the Welsh language wonderfully) - he reckoned I scared all the fish away, though I must say he (and the seagulls) always seemed to do ok

Croix

[Croix]

Dear All~

I do admit that old fisherman had a point. Fishing was not that straightforward. Normally rods and reels were too expensive so one was only able to purchase green plaited fishing line, some leaders and hooks and a lead weight.

I'd go to the end of the pier and lay out all the line on the pier in such a way it would run free, then twirl the end with the weight and let go. If I released it at just the right moment it would go quite far out. Fortunately I only forgot to tie off the loose end once, and had to watch the entire line disappear:(

Then the tricky part was to pull the line back in before the weight hit the bottom as that was rocky and the  line would snag. At the same time I could not go too fast or the bait would just whisk past a fish's nose before it realized what was happening.

Still I sometimes lost lines and sometimes caught some fish. Of course I had to clean them then and there (my grandmother Nain was very strict about that). The seagulls were certainly in favor of this policy, particularly a rather plump one that only had one leg but was very nimble and always seemed to get the lion's share..

Back then fishing, like gathering dandelion leaves for salads, was a necessary part of life. Incidentally dandelion leaves are horrible:( I'd not gather them in this country, I don't even know if they are the same plant).

Walking home with my catch on display always made me feel good, contributing my share to the household. No refrigerator in those days so they'd be eaten the same day.

Croix

[Eagle Ray]

Thank you for sharing your memories of being in and by the ocean Croix. People fishing where I live clean their fish by the estuary, often at cleaning stands that are in the water at high tide. They end up with a gang of enthusiastic pelicans around them, as well as stingrays who come up and nudge their legs, asking for scraps. They feed the rays by hand and toss scraps to the pelicans.

I looked up to see what a conger eel looks like and they look both large and scary! I feel there’s something about encountering wild animals that’s good for us, even the potentially dangerous ones. It kind of reminds us we are part of nature too as we can be very insulated from it these days in a lot of ways.

 I enjoyed reading about you feeling proud bringing your catch home. I used to like collecting figs from old fig trees that had been historically planted in bushland near where I grew up. I enjoyed being able to bring a stash of figs home to share.

[Doolhof]

Hi Croix, Eagle Ray and all reading,

These fishing stories reminded me of a wonderful cat I had as a child. He was a huge Tom Cat of mixed breed and would walk along the beach with me like a dog. He would also join me down at the jetty. He would sit there very patiently waiting for me to catch him a fish, once I gave him a fish he would saunter off down the jetty with it and would make his way home when he was ready.

My fishing line was wound around a plastic holder, you had to make sure you help on to it or a bit like Croix, the whole lot would go over the side of the jetty. I had a few spare hooks, if I lost a sinker, I would just grab some large nails from the shed and try to tie those onto the line with lots of knots. I scaled them, Mum would fillet them. 

[Croix]

Dear All~

"A plastic holder"! Talk about sheer luxury, I had to do with a bit of wood my uncle cut for me:)

My grandparents did not have a cat or dog, though I think it would have been a "brave putty tat"© (as Silvester Jr would say) to try to take the leavings from the gulls, some of them were large!

🦘©1950 Warner Brothers Looney Tunes 🦘

The end of the pier was "T" shaped and I'd often have to walk right across from one side to the other to try to free a snagged line, sometimes with success. I never thought of using nails, a stone wrapped in line was my standby.

ER~ I get the feeling your climate was warmer than north Wales in the UK. We never had figs, the closest we got was oval ended wooden containers of pit-less dates from the middle east (a Christmas treat). The containers made good model boats for a kid 🙂

I'm not sure there is anything good about encountering a conger eel, vicious and fast wiht a huge bite that always got infected. On the whole I think I'd prefer a sponge, not as nimble and no nips.

Croix

[Eagle Ray]

Hi Dools and Croix,

Dools, I loved your description of the Tom Cat who was like a dog, including him walking with you and waiting for you to catch a fish. It would be lovely to have such a companion. Years ago I knew a cat who lived on a particular street. He too was like a dog and would go up to complete strangers for pats. He was super friendly with everyone and had none of the reserve or aloofness that cats often have. You could pick him up easily and he seemed to love it. He was just this giant, friendly fluff ball.

And, yes, Croix I’m sure it’s better not to encounter a conger eel. They do look scary and after your uncle’s experience I get why you would avoid them. I think for me it’s something about being in nature and a primal connection with surroundings. I’ve had many encounters with snakes now and have lost my fear as I’ve come to understand their behaviour. I had a tiger snake slither right past my foot not long ago and I’ve found my heart rate doesn’t even go up now. It’s like my calmness keeps the snake calm (and vice versa), and we just regard each other with some awareness and curiosity before proceeding on our way. A few years before that I was photographing wildflowers. I had a feeling something was behind me. I turned and it was a tiger snake. Me and the snake both freaked and hurried in opposite directions. It’s like I’ve lost my fear as I’ve come to understand the animal. I’ve learned quite a bit about the traits of different species of snake and I take care with them but I’m no longer scared. But a conger eel I’m sure would scare me, especially if they have a thing for biting people.

I’ve held both a carpet python and Stimson’s python before at wildlife education events. They are beautiful and curious. The Stimson’s python is quite delicate. A couple of years ago I encountered a thorny devil on a bush walk who are the most curious and intriguing reptiles. If I had my time over again I think I’d like to have become a wildlife officer or conservation biologist.

[Croix]

Dear ER~

I was brought up in the Uk at a time when antivenom was not readily available, and the only true snake was poisonous. As a result I've been unable to develop the benign relationships you have with snakes:(

Then again I've been lucky and only seen them rarely and never on my own property, not even in the woodpile or under the chook shed. I did see a rabbit in the back yard today and often see bandicoots, plus the occasional wallaby. As far as I know none are plotting to sink their fangs into me.

Croix

[Eagle Ray]

Dear Croix,

I think with snake’s it’s been very much a familiarity thing because I’ve seen them so many times. That’s only because I’ve been out in bushland a lot doing photography, and at wetlands in particular which are very much tiger snake habitat. They’re very good swimmers and I’ve seen them swim across a lake, right past water birds who seem totally unperturbed. I learned from a talk on snakes that they are only going to strike if they flatten their head. That only happens when they really feel threatened or cornered or you accidentally stand on one (or they are actually catching prey).

It’s lovely you have bandicoots and wallabies. You reminded me of my first close bandicoot encounter. I was by a lake photographing water birds. I was sitting in front of my backpack which had muesli bars in it. Not sure if the bandicoot smelt the muesli bars. I heard snuffling noises in the bushes. Then a little chappy came out and sniffed around my backpack, seemingly unperturbed by me. He was so cute. I presumed he was a male because he had a chunk out of his ear and the males do fight, which I’d seen in a YouTube video. I got a photo of this one with a sandy nose, as they use their nose to forage in the sand.

They forage around the units where I live now. My neighbour was lamenting them leaving holes in his lawn. The kangaroos occasionally even come into the courtyard here and there are possums about most nights. Currently the possums are getting stuck into my fruit trees along with the parrots. But I love that they’re there so I really don’t mind.

[Croix]

Dear ER~

Talk of possums reminds me. I have P.A.Possum. P.A. stands for passive aggressive. I  cut down his tree (which I unfortunately had to do), so in a spirit of fairness I let him nest in the roof of my workshop.

Unfortunately he kept on knocking everything off the shelves. I explained to him it was not on, however he just stared at me, and continued emptying my shelves on the floor. Now he practices his tap-dancing on my tin roof wearing his army boots.

Sometimes he invites his friends and they do hi speed laps of the roof -sigh

Croix