THAT GALAH FAMILY

Stopped by the post office again today and both mum and dad galah were in attendance on their gum tree. She flew off when we arrived but papa was working away at the bark of the tree most industriously and you could see a huge area where he had been chipping away at it. Whether it is the bark itself or some insect in there I don't know but he kept right on regardless of vehicles driving past or people walking.

It was funny to watch him as a man walked behind the tree and the galah stretched out one way to see where the fellow was going and then the other way to make sure he continued walking on past the tree.

I whistled to the galah and he turned and gave ma a cheerful look and then continued on with chipping away at the bark.

Whether their young one has hatched or not is hard to tell but at least it was wonderful to see both the adults still very active.

They are both just SOOO beautiful and have adapted so well to suburban living.

TODAY THE TRUTH SUDDENLY HIT ME

I have always known my daughter is important to me but suddenly today I realised just how important she is in my life.

At times I do get very lonely as I don't get out very much apart from medical appointments and the like and I often long for the sound of a friendly voice. Yes MOH is wonderful and I know he loves me very much (he actually toldl me so today), more perhaps than I deserve and we often sit and chat about this and that which is great but.... Today the truth hit me and I knew exactly which voice it was I missed the most. My daughter's voice.

She is a very busy lady and if she reads this blog I don't want her to feel I am burdening her with this realisation of mine. I am not putting pressure on her to do anything different in her life.

Let me explain: my daughter rang me yesterday and we had quite a long chat and I felt so much better afterwards. She rang me again today and it was another long chat and I felt as though a weight had lifted off me. I had come to life again.

Just two simple telephone calls and I found myself smiling unexpectedly..at nothing in particular ... but how long was it since that had happened?

How can I tell her that the sound of her voice, even briefly, lights up my life so much without her feeling I am indeed placing a huge burden on her shoulders which is the last thing I want to do.

I love to talk to my grandchildren as well and enjoy hearing any news they may have or listening to problems if they have them and will always welcome any calls I receive from them but the one most important voice is that of my only daughter...someone I have loved so very much from the very moment of her birth and also before that day too.

We may not always agree on everything but that is the way of human nature and a boring old world it would be if we couldn't have different opinions on various issues. There have been times when we've gone 'a bit cold' on each perhaps but the bond has never been broken and I am positive it never will be. Thank you for being who you are.

UPDATE ON OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS

Last week it seems the galahs were still using the hollow in that gum tree near the post office...only one galah was present and he/she flew up on to the light post when some dogs ran down the street with their owners. No sign of a young one but I would imagine there must be one in the nest.

I looked up information about galahs on Wikipedia and it seems they incubate for 25 days and eventually leave the nest at about 49 days so it is possible I could be lucky enough to see the baby before it leaves home...I certainly hope I do.

NOTHING IN LIFE WILL LAST FOREVER

So go the words of the song which continues:

"Hold on tight to those you love 'cos you don't know how long you're going to have them for.
Hold on tight to those you love 'cos they're the only thing worth living for."

This is so true but one wonders at times if one is trying to hold on too tight. There are of course other things in life that are important but those you love do and surely must come first before anything else.

Unfortunately I am not sure those you love always want to be held on to but prefer their freedom. My son chose that path and it is now nearly 9 years since he spoke to me or bothered with any of us. He must be serious because I have been in hospital 4 times during those nearly 9 years and never had a visit or any contact from him or his family at all. I have been fortunate that other family members have visited as well as some dear friends so I never felt neglected at those times.

There is a lot more going on in my mind right now but perhaps it would be diplomatic to leave it unsaid (unwritten) so maybe I am not having an opportunity to put into words what I feel. Never mind....I am only one person.

Others use blogging to express how they feel about all types of things and I wish I could but perhaps least said soonest mended so best to leave it at that.

MY HEART IS HEAVY

I am feeling very heavy hearted and at the same time so helpless.

My daughter is sad as is at least one granddaughter and possibly one or two more of my granddaughters as well.

Events overtake people, events they have little control over but nevertheless these events bring a lasting sadness with them.

We cannot get into other people's mind to see exactly what is going on in there and no matter how many words we may utter we are never sure that what we say is what they want to hear. Sometimes one just keeps quiet for fear of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.

I know I am a good listener and am always willing to listen, without comment if need be, but perhaps I am now just little to old for people to bother talking to me. Perhaps nobody would think I would understand any more.

All I know is I am here should anyone need me and meanwhile I sit here feeling hopeless and unable to help....as much as I would like to do so.

THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AS IT NOW SPOKE

I have always loved words and the English language and believed one should be competent at spelling and grammar throughout one's life.

What appalls me these days is not only the way people speak but also the way they spell. I really think a lot of it is caused by the habit people have, particularly the younger ones, of constantly sending text messages to one another on their mobile telephones. Apparently it is important to keep these messages short if possible...I am not sure if this because of the cost factor or sheer laziness but it is quite common to see 'words' such as "wanna" "yr" "yep" and so on. It is quite extraordinary and at times quite difficult to decipher exactly what is being said/written.

We oldies were taught how to write, spell and speak and I imagine this has stayed with us throughout our lives but, only the other day, I found myself answering in the affirmative to a question and saying "yep". Shock...horror!!! Did I really say that? Yes, I did and now realise how easy it is to become word lazy.

I imagine if I came back to earth in say 30-40 years time I may have difficulty in understanding what people in the English speaking countries were saying or even writing. As it is unlikely that will happen I will just have to try and gently adjust to modern jargon but try to avoid using it myself if I can.

Talking of mobile telephones...the other day MOH asked a younger woman, aged he thinks between 30 and 40, just what it is that people seem to constantly be ringing each other about. Her answer was quite simple and straight forward, "Oh" she said "they will make calls just to let a friend know they have been to the bank or some such unimportant event" which really doesn't seem to us to warrant making a call about". Is it just that they have to continually use those 'phones because they have them? One also wonders when will they get the message that using mobiles when driving a car is not only dangerous but also illegal unless they are hands free and even then I feel they are a great distraction to the driver.

When I was young we still managed to keep in touch with family and friends quite easily without all these 'mod cons' such as mobiles and computers. Oh well, once again I must admit I do not belong in this modern age...I use a computer for fun although I find these days that even they have taken the place of a good old fashioned telephone conversation. I often long for the sound of a friendly voice but it seldom happens any more. More's the pity.

EVEN MORE ABOUT OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS

Last week I said how sorry I was that the 28s and galahs seemed to have abandoned the nest in the big gum tree near the post office but lo and behold when we parked there today the galahs were back again.

Father galah flew off somewhere and then I saw mother galah come out of the hollow in the tree and pop back in again so I am sure there is a little one in there.

I have no idea what happened to the 28s....did the galahs take over the nest or was the baby 28 old enough to leave with its parents? I hope the latter was the case.

It is so worrying when you hear how so many of our native species are under threat of extinction and wonderful to see at least some of them hanging on in this dog eat dog world they now have to exist in. I am sure living in the wild is never easy and we certainly haven't helped their cause by taking over such vast areas of their natural habitat.

I'm not sure anyone has even read any of the reports about these birds (does anyone really bother to read my ramblings I wonder) but I like to keep the story of the birds up to date and will continue to do so while they are still around.