Revival

A message from Brigid ....

I have been a blogger since 2005. At the height of my blogging busy-ness, I had "a small stable" of blogs on different topics: social and political commentary; desert spirituality; food; waste and ....

A few years ago I called time and ceased blogging altogether - although there was an occasional post. I had called it quits. I am an aged woman these days with a couple of serious illnesses. I am not allowed to drive. I am no longer active in organisations. I think it fair to say that I am housebound. I am active on Facebook, although I am not there as often as once I was. I have decided to embark on a re-entry into the blogging world ... beginning with The Trad Pad and, possibly, a return to my food blog, Oz Tucker. I have always used a lot of photographs on my blogs ... and I miss not being out and about with my camera.

The Trad Pad has been my blog for the lovely things of life. The controversial or political has seldom intruded. Occasionally, the spiritual has found its way in, but I kept spirituality for the blog, Desert. I don't yet know if I will revive that. I will stick pretty much to food and the lovely things of life. If I have some regularity with those two categories, I feel that I will be doing well. I hope that, with this blog new friendships can be formed and old friendships renewed; new lovelies discovered; new reflections can enter into the meaning of modern life. I would love to hear from you - particularly if you have suggestions for new topics to enter into the conversation. So, it is a new year. Let's see what it has in store, what it can bring to us. And I hope that those who share the spirit of The Trad Pad can spread the message of a world of beauty, the creativity of humanity, and the joys of simplicity and tradition. ~~~ February, 2017

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Christmas in Melbourne

Miss Eagle has been exploring Christmas in the city. Find a little more on the topic at Food from Oz. These scenes were taken in Swanston Street, Melbourne.



The Angel on this billboard is trumpeting the good news of Christmas.


Behind the billboard angel is metal text - with the biblical story from the Gospel of Luke telling of the Birth of Christ.

A side panel on the billoard (see below) explains all.


And the green tree of hope has been raised up for all to see.


And, if you haven't been in touch -
Santa is waiting to hear from you.


Saturday, November 25, 2006

Dandenong Show - Community

A sense of community through shared activities is something that can be lost in the busy-ness of daily life. It was, therefore, wonderful to see the community involved in the Dandenong Show. The photos below put the community message forward loud and clear.


Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Dandenong Show - and the Smithy


In a long ago schoolgirlhood, Miss Eagle loved the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem, The Village Blacksmith. She can't resist an opportunity to share it here:

by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Under a spreading chestnut-tree
The village smithy stands;
The smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.

His hair is crisp, and black, and long,
His face is like the tan;
His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate'er he can,
And looks the whole world in the face,
For he owes not any man.

Week in, week out, from morn till night,
You can hear his bellows blow;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,
With measured beat and slow,
Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low.
And children coming home from school
Look in at the open door;
They love to see the flaming forge,
And hear the bellows roar,
And catch the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing-floor.

He goes on Sunday to the church,
And sits among his boys;
He hears the parson pray and preach,
He hears his daughter's voice,
Singing in the village choir,
And it makes his heart rejoice.

It sounds to him like her mother's voice.
Singing in Paradise!
He needs must think of her once more,
How in the grave she lies;
And with his haul, rough hand he wipes
A tear out of his eyes.

Toiling,--rejoicing,--sorrowing,
Onward through life he goes;
Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it close.
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night's repose.

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend,
For the lesson thou hast taught!
Thus at the flaming forge of life
Our fortunes must be wrought;
Thus on its sounding anvil shaped
Each burning deed and thought.
Longfellow's smith is a worthy example. But this is Australia and THE iconic figure in Oz is Ned Kelly: he who, with the rest of the Kelly Gang, beat ploughshares into armour. Miss Eagle is a great admirer of the craft of the blacksmith so it was with great joy she came across Salty and his Ned Kelly Armour stand at the Dandenong Show.

Dandenog Show - Horses and Carts

The horse is one of humankind's favourite companions. One of the joys of the Dandenong Show was the wonderful and diverse collection of horses. Miss Eagle shares this joy below.


Sunday, November 19, 2006

Dandenong Show - Animal Nursery


On Saturday 11 November, Miss Eagle spent the afternoon at the Dandenong Show. The suburb of Dandenong is in south-east Melbourne, Australia. Dandenong is an industrial area trying to avoid becoming a rust belt. But at the Dandenong Show you would never have thought you were anywhere else but the Australian countryside. It was a traditional country show. This was nowhere more evident than in the animal nursery: with alpacas, goats, sheep, ducks, geese, roosters, an itinerant turkey, horses, and donkeys.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Lifestyle - environmentally

Miss Eagle discovered an interesting and useful book in the newsagent's the other day. It's the green pages - lifestyle 2007. You can find out more here. It has articles by Peter Garrett, Kylie Kwong, Helen Razer and Tim Flannery. The green pages are a sort of yellow pages with responsibility. There is a wide range of listing in a variety of categories. So, if there is a copy in the house, you can try the green pages before you reach for the yellow ones.

Monday, October 16, 2006

A genius: no sweat?

Miss Eagle couldn't resist doing the IQ test mentioned by Lazy Cow. Lazy Cow, Miss Eagle pipped you by One Point. The testers tell me that Miss Eagle's Intellectual Type is Insightful Linguist. This means she is highly intelligent and has the natural fluency of a writer and the visual and spatial strengths of an artist. Those skills contribute to Miss Eagle's creative and expressive mind. And, they say, that's just some of what the testers know about Miss Eagle from her test results. But, Miss Eagle would have to pay them to get the full report. Well, she won't be paying.

And so what if Miss Eagle is a bona fide genius on a bona fide IQ test. As Miss Eagle's mum used to say: If you're so smart why aren't you rich. Smart, in fact, only takes one so far. As science has found. There is no substitute for hard work.

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

The Gardens of Upper Gully 2


The pink rose of the previous post lives in this garden. Miss Eagle is very fond of this garden and its house. In recent years, Rachel Ashwell's Shabby Chic has achieved prominence. Miss Eagle thinks this garden and its house qualify as Shabby Chic. There is wisteria over the garage and white fluffy curtains at the windows.

Monday, October 09, 2006

The Gardens of Upper Gully 1

The gardens of Upper Gully are responding well to spring.
These are a few beauties showing off as Miss Eagle walked home
from the Railway Station yesterday.



One enthusiastic citizen has a marvellous garden on the King's Park side of his fence.

This year it has really matured and is a standout.

And below are the roses of Mount View Road

My favourite type of rose. Deep Red. Heavily scented. Going to dark velvet at the edges.

This one is gorgeous. It might be perfect if only it had a scent.



Sunday, October 08, 2006

Rodney comes to The Trad Pad

There is a new addition to family life at The Trad Pad.
He is Rodney (remember the Eddie Murphy Dr Doolittle) the Guinea Pig.

Rodney joins FootFoot and Trixie, the miniature Fox Terriers, and Rose the Spartacat. Miss Eagle thinks this is dangerous territory for a Rodney but Herself, full of optimism re the animal kingdom, thinks all will be well. All Miss Eagle can say is just as well Rodney resides in a a wonderful black nylon mesh cage.



Rodney came to The Trad Pad from next door neighbours, D & M. D is a snake fancier and has purchased Rodney to feed to his pet python. However, this didn't happen and Rodney and the python became friends. Now D has gone off the whole idea of fresh meet for the python and will resort to frozen mice. They asked Herself if she wanted the Pinny-gig - well Miss Eagle thinks that D knew whom he was asking.



FootFoot, Trixie and Rose are adjusting - we think, we hope. The Guinea Pig entry from Wikipedia has been downloaded as a guide to Rodney's care. And here are some pictures of Rodney and FootFoot. What is on FootFoot's canine mind? Is he just trying to make a new friend? Possible. FootFoot is a social animal. He loves cats and Rose came to The Trad Pad as a pet for FootFoot. A pet for a pet. But is the memory of his breed uppermost? Is the Fox Terrier thinking that this is the sort of beastie he has been bred over generations to chase and deal with?



Herself thinks love, goodness and kindness will bring about a good relationship on all sides. Miss Eagle? She will wait and she will see.



Sunday, September 24, 2006

Sunrise : Sunset

The photograph above is of a Sunset
Below are Sunrises



One of the most wonderful things on Miss Eagle's recent visit to The Nine Mile near Broken Hill was the sunrises and sunsets. In Melbourne, there is cloud and great variability in the weather. In the Western Division, there are clear unpolluted skies. Greeting the morning sunrise once again became a morning ritual for Miss Eagle. Here are her remembrances of the sun.
For some really glorious photographs pop across and see Denis's.

Saturday, September 16, 2006

Meeting an old friend. Part II


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Denis is a naturalist. His knowledge of plants and birds is encyclopedic. Each morning we would watch the sunrise together from an embankment on the eastern side of the homestead. Then we would check on what was happening. A walk around three sides of the homestead perimeter (the fourth side was inaccessible) would takes us an hour. We would notice each bird, take time to find good light and photograph each bird, identify the plants and, in case a plant was questionable, collect a specimen for verification in a large compendium on plants of the Western Division.

And so the friendship developed.

A week after arrival we set off to drive back to Robertson (pop. 1000 approx) where Denis lives to spend a couple of days in a rural rainforest environment and meet some of Denis's many friends.


Denis (right) with Anni Heino of Mayday and Andrew Ford

Eventually, the time came for Miss Eagle to return to Melbourne. She got up on the Saturday morning and it seemed a good thing to her that Denis should come back to Melbourne. After Denis recovered from this shock, he agreed to come but said he felt like he had been hi-jacked! He went back to Robertson this week. So for just over three weeks we have been together and felt comfortable and tender with one another.

Now, Miss Eagle usually doesn't get this personal on her blog - but, after some of the comments over at The Nature of Robertson, it seemed appropriate that Miss Eagle made comment. Denis has a strong network in Robertson and there appears to be significant gossiping and comment.

So my life has changed dramatically in 2006. Two years ago (two years this week on 22 September) Miss Eagle arrived in Melbourne with her wings severely clipped by a long illness. Now Miss Eagle has lost 40kgs (nearly 90 lbs) since November 2005 due to a gastric lap band. She has gone back to work in local government after she was forced by illness to leave it early in 2002. And now there is an intelligent and loving man in her life who shares many of her interests and values. For Miss Eagle, Providence is stunning.

Meeting an old friend. Part I

Four weeks ago to-day, Miss Eagle departed Upper Ferntree Gully and headed north and west taking a leisurely trip to Broken Hill, an historic mining and pastoral town in western New South Wales. As has been explained in previous posts, she was off to participate in God Outback, a desert retreat organised by her friend Ian Robinson from Perth.

Now, Miss Eagle had been corresponding - with increasing frequency - with Denis from The Nature of Robertson for many, many months. If you have been a regular reader, you will know that Denis has had quite a battle with lymphoma. It seemed to Miss Eagle, dear Reader, that, after his trials and tribulations, with stem cell transplants etc. a good holiday with a spiritual basis might be a good idea. Denis baulked at what might be involved in the spiritual side of things but your Miss Eagle assured him that there was plenty of room in the desert to go for long walks if it was all a bit much. Anyway, Denis decided to come and as the day of departure - for him this meant by train from Sydney - he was quite excited about the whole idea.

So it was that Miss Eagle turned up at the railway station at Broken Hill sometime just before 7pm on Monday 21 August to meet someone who had become an old friend sight unseen.

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The train was late so Miss Eagle had to cool her heels here.

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At the front of the station are these wonderful murals.

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Here is the train bringing Denis arriving at 7.50pm
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And so out to The Nine Mile for God Outback

Thursday, September 14, 2006

The Desert blooms - 2


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The Desert blooms

This enamel bowl of fruit was on the table when we arrived.
When it came to Miss Eagle's first turn on the roster, we decided to eat in.
To make things nice and festive Miss Eagle picked wild flowers for table decoration.
She placed gum leaves around the fruit bowl.
Below, she selected a large piece of white quartz,
put it on a large glass plate,
surrounded it with gum leaves, and placed some
tea lights around it.
(She had thrown these in the car, in case....)

Below are a wild species of portulacae which grows

around the homestead at The Nine Mile and it sits

comfortably with what may be a bracken fern in a saucepan

The first day of God Outback - Part 3 - Acacia Vale

Skylights, Shearing Shed, Acacia Vale

View from the Shearing Shed, Acacia Vale

View from the Shearing Shed, Acacia Vale



Wool Press, Shearing Shed, Acacia Vale


Tank (this is what dams are called in The Western Division)

The first day of God Outback - Part 2 - Acacia Vale

Tank Stand, Shearing Shed, Acacia Vale
The Nine Mile

Pens, Shearing Shed, Acacia Vale

Remains of rock garden, Acacia Vale

Sorting/Classing Table, Shearing Shed, Acacia Vale

Interior, Shearing Shed, Acacia Vale

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

The first day of God Outback - Part 1 - Acacia Vale

Where does one start?
Miss Eagle drove to Broken Hill via Bendigo, Swan Hill, Mildura and Wentworth.
Photographs all the way. The photos en route will come later.
The photos taken at Acacia Vale, a part of The Nine Mile will begin.
Pages, photographs out of history.
Diny at the water trough at Acacia Vale,
The Nine Mile

Shearing stands, Acacia Vale, The Nine Mile


Interior, Shearing Shed, Acacia Vale, The Nine Mile

Shearing Stands, Acacia Vale, The Nine Mile

Wool pack stencils, Acacia Vale, The Nine Mile

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Miss Eagle is back

Homestead at The Nine Mile, Broken Hill

Miss Eagle is back - but busy. But to get back into blogging, this is a quick post. The destination was The Nine Mile. The Nine Mile is a sheep station - sheep ranch to those in the USA - just out of Broken Hill and right next door to The Living Desert. It is the property of Greg and Mia. The trip was organized by Spirit Journeys Australia and our leaders were Ian Robinson and Ross Neville.

Below is The Shearers' Quarters where we stayed - a group of nine of us - and looked after ourselves. More later.................

The Shearers' Quarters at The Nine Mile, Broken Hill

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Trippin' on out


Miss Eagle is signing off for a few weeks. She departs at the weekend for The Nine Mile where Mad Max and Priscilla, Queen of the Desert were filmed. For more details of Miss Eagle's destination see here. The focus at this time is not on blogging but on preparations. Miss Eagle is getting the desk cleared at work; getting the Mitsubishi in order (it has new tyres, it has been detailed, and to-day the mechanic comes); and organising the gear.

And, dear Reader, your correspondent does not travel light. She has tried it and it doesn't work. She wishes she could say differently. So the spare bed has two small suitcases on it (one for undies - it already has the thermal underwear in it, one for the rest); an old Persil box full of writing materials - journals, coloured pencils and markers and calligraphy stuff; and camping and camera gear and a stack of CDs. To this will be added a box of books but a lot of those are still in her bedroom on the bedside table. Miss Eagle will be camping in her Mitsubishi wagon.

After The Nine Mile, it is over to Robertson to check out all that stuff that Denis and Anni blog about. Then down the south coast of New South Wales and across Gippsland to Upper Gully. So a few ks will get notched up as well as lots of good times.

So, blogging friends, see you in a while.

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