jmgoyder

wings and things

Mar 29

Tapper’s eggs

by jmgoyder

After several days of Tapper’s elusive behaviour, I thought she must have gone off with one of the wild ducks and was, perhaps, sitting on eggs somewhere in one of the paddocks. I searched everywhere to no avail and then, all of a sudden, she would turn up and have a swim in the pond, then disappear again. It was all becoming too mysterious and I was beginning to feel sad that we’d lost yet another bird….

Then, late this afternoon, after putting the gang away into their yard, I decided to go in with them, defy Godfrey (that took a bit of doing!) and sit in there on a tree stump while I waited for the hose to fill their yard pond. All of the gang, except Godfrey, came and nuzzled me for bread, which I always have in my pocket, and I had my camera ready just in case any of them did anything extraordinary.

Once the bread was gone, they quickly lost interest in me and went to the pond, so I was about to get up off the tree stump to go inside and cook dinner when I had a quick look inside the little chookhouse in that yard … and that’s what the picture is of – Tapper on her eggs!

Wings

29 Comments »
Mar 24

0.1%

by jmgoyder

Last night, I couldn’t sleep which is unusual for me. Husband was back at the nursing lodge and Son had gone (first time since surgery), to a friend’s place for the night. He took Husband’s 18th birthday present with him – a bottle of Bacardi – but we won’t go there!

I wasn’t lonely, because I love being alone; and I wasn’t scared of the dark or the wind, but I just couldn’t stop my mind galloping. So I turned the light on and finished reading a book called Waterlemon (no, that’s not a typo) by Ruth Ritchie in which she describes her journey through the ordeal of her husband’s bicycle accident, subsequent brain injury and recovery.

What struck me most about this story was not her courage in dealing with the events (with two small children and two ‘step-children’), or her courage in supporting her lovely husband throughout the long days, weeks and months of his convalescence and homecoming, but her courage in actually naming the family members who were unsupportive. I mean she actually named these people, all of whom were from her husband’s family.

As I was reading, I started to get a bit worried about how open she was in her slicingly angry, but accurate, descriptions of these people. I wondered if they might be hurt to read about themselves portrayed in such a manner. After all, all stories have two or more sides, don’t they?

But, because Ruth used transcripts from real telephone conversation and emails, I realized her story was legitimate; not only that, once her husband recovered enought to come home again, he obviously didn’t object to the book being submitted for publication, despite his ‘family’ being so exposed.

So, yeah, this has really got me thinking about how, despite my honesty in this blog, I have been, unlike Ruth, pretty lax in mentioning the amazing 99.9% of Husband’s family, and his fantastic old and new friends, and my own family, who have given him/us support, love, assistance and so on. But I have also been pretty wimpy in not mentioning the 0.1% of his family who have, over many years now, broken his heart over and over again in ways that I cannot even bear to express.

The beautiful thing is this: I finally unwimped myself and banished that 0.1% from our lives and wondered why on earth I hadn’t done this earlier, years ago. It’s actually not that hard to say “go away!” Godfrey does it all the time!

Animal Family Wings

38 Comments »
Mar 19

Oh to be a metaphor!

by jmgoyder

I have always loved the elusive notion of metaphor, and the way it dances and flits from one meaning to another, evading capture.

Okay, back down to ground level….

Unlike Woodroffe (always very grubby), our other Sebastopol goose, Diamond, keeps her multitude of feathers very clean. This is her, wondering if she should venture into a bath already used by Woody, Zaruma and the other members of ‘the gang’. I can definitely understand her reticence!

She’s pretty good at the navel-gazing thing too!

Angelina: How come she never uses us as metaphors? It’s always those filthy geese and ducks!

Brad: Angie, she does use us as metaphors – all the time!

Angelina: Yes but she gives them all the good cabbage and gives us the leftovers. I don’t get that!

Brad: Calm down, Angie – you are my own personal metaphor and always will be.

Angelina: Oh, really? Of what?

Brad: Of beauty, Angie, of beauty. Okay, now which branch do you want tonight – let’s have a snuggle.

…………

I have always loved the elusive notion of metaphor, and the way it dances and flits from one meaning to another, evading capture.

Family Friendship Wings

11 Comments »
Mar 18

Lassitude

by jmgoyder

Today, Son and I had an argument interesting conversation:

Son: What is wrong with me? I don’t have energy – I HATE this! I’m sick of sleeping and wasting all this time!

Me: You had major surgery four weeks ago – it’s all normal. Every day you are getting better and your spine is healing. If you want to sleep, sleep and stop worrying about it.

Son: But I can’t stand it, Mum, and what about you – what’s wrong with you? Why are you so lazy and blah?

Me: It’s called lassitude.

Son: What the hell is that?

Me: It’s what we both have – this inability to get off our bums and move on; it’s my broken heart about Dad and….

Son: I’m sick of your broken heart.

Me: I’m sick of it too.

Son: And my spine isn’t straight anyway – it’s still crooked and I wanted to be perfect.

Me: Nobody’s spine is perfect and it’s a miracle of medical science that you have been straightened this much. Please stop this miserable whining.

Son: Then you stop crying!

Me: I’m just tired.

Son: So do we both have this lassitude thing?

Me: Yes, but it’ll pass.

Son: Mum, I love Dad too but I just can’t….

Me: I know.

Son: That’s a good word – lassitude – I’m going to remember that one.

Me: Yeah, and I’m going to lassoo it and take it to the dump.

Son: When?

Me: After I have a little nap….

Son: Okay, call me when you need a hand.

How come Woodroffe gets to do lassitude in peace?

This evening, Husband and I had an interesting conversation on the phone:

Me: He’s got lassitude-with-an-attitude now – argh!

Husband: Tell him to go easy on himself.

Me: What about going easy on me?

Husband: That too … are you okay?

Me: No, I miss you and I miss the way it was when….

Husband: Bring the brat in here tomorrow and I’ll straighten him out.

Me: Okay – good idea – brilliant idea!

Husband: ‘Night then – I’m watching a show on the ABC.

Me: Oh, okay – love you….

The lassitude is gone!

Family Wings

52 Comments »
Mar 17

Tapper

by jmgoyder

Tapper gravitates between the turkeys she was brought up with, the drakes and ganders who find her attractive, and lots and lots of alone time. She went missing over the last two days and I was worried but then, as I was putting the gang away tonight, she reappeared and flew willingly into a yard full of amorously- confused geese and one lone drake (Zaruma). Mmmm.

In case you haven’t noticed, I am a bit of a novice when it comes to the sexual antics of poultry and other birds and what I witnessed yesterday afternoon was a little disturbing to say the least. Zaruma started it, then Godfrey tried to fight Zaruma off then the shy Seli tried too. I was gobsmacked watching this and was on-the-ready to rescue Tapper, but she didn’t seem to mind, whereas I felt like I was watching one of those disturbing rite-of-passage movies.

Until 18 months ago I was a university lecturer living on a farm; now I am, as Husband puts it, with a twinkle in his eye, a farm girl – ha! As for Son, it’s probably best not to share his current definition of me (another ‘ha’).

I guess I just want things to go back in time – just a little bit.

Wings

16 Comments »
Mar 16

Hold your head up high

by jmgoyder

Geese have a natural ability to hold their heads up high. You’ve all seen pictures of Godfrey doing this, but the younger ones are getting good at it too. Diamond, on the left, is getting particularly good at it, whereas Seli still doesn’t have it down to a fine art.

The following photo is of my wonderful, unusual, brilliant friend, Nathalie Collins who, amongst other things, has enhanced my neck-stretching abilities by showing me how to hold my head up high. She herself (not that I am comparing her to a goose!) has a very natural ability to do so which, before I met her, I lacked. You can find Nathalie here and it’s definitely worth a gander (sorry that is a really bad play on words but I couldn’t help myself!)

http://theinfinitegame.org/cv/

Nathalie got me into blogging in the first place and set me up with WordPress when I didn’t even really know what blogging was. In fact, I am such a technophobe that I only just discovered that, after all these months, I wasn’t even properly signed up to her own blog (this is quite embarrassing and I hope she will forgive me!)

This is what Nathalie had to say about the picture:

“These “angel wing” crystal earrings were purchased in the USA, but the fashion has since migrated south to Australia. Silver and gold feathers are “in” at the moment and were part of my outfit in the “wear a hat to work day” I recently experienced.

 By the way, the hat was an original, Summer White House Press Hat from the Clinton Administration, given to me by a friend who covered the that president during his summer in Martha’s Vinyard. Now matter how the vote went no one else at work had a hat that cool

The hat that won the vote? A straw hat with peacock feathers! I was devastated.

The thing about the earrings is that they remind me of Julie…the bird bit mainly, but also the sparkly bit. In her own way, Julie is as bright and shiny (and cheerful) as the crystals in my earrings.”

Nathalie is my Diamond and I am her Seli. Some friendships are definitely worth feathering….

Friendship Wings

6 Comments »
Mar 12

‘blogetiquette’

by jmgoyder

Blogging about blogging is, yes, a little strange perhaps, however, as a relative newcomer to this form of communication and writing, I have decided to coin the term ‘blogetiquette’ because I think it needs to be one word – a neologism if you like! (I’m hoping that the annual dictionary re-writers will pick this up and make me famous!)

So, the blogetiquette rules I’ve decided on for myself include:

  • have respect for the parents of the blog (in my case, wordpress.com)
  • only subscribe to other blogs if you are genuinely interested (not because you want them to subscribe to yours)
  • read all of the posts written by your fellow bloggers before publishing your own
  • reply, or at least, acknowledge all comments made to you on your blog – again, before you publish your own
  • get permission before you reblog someone else’s post (this is only because reblogging has recently become fraught)
  • limit yourself to less than 5 posts per day or you might annoy people with the email build-up (the most I do is 4 and that’s not often because I’ve had some negative feedback about overposting!)
  • be grateful for any awards or nominations you receive (whether you accept them or not)
  • respect your readers and subscribers
  • never hit the ‘like’ button unless you really do like the post
  • always be honest in your own posts
  • never criticise other people’s posts

I’m sure I could think of more but those are the ones I usually adhere to now that I have made the transition from novice to fledgling.

Speaking of fledglings, these two peacocks have nearly grown their ‘King’ feathers …

… whereas poor old King is still mourning the loss of his own (don’t worry, he’ll grow them back soon!)

Of all the birds who live here, it is the peacocks and peahens who have the best etiquette skills in terms of their respect for each other and for us too. When they take bread from my hand, instead of nearly swallowing my arm (as the geese do), they make a soft clicky noise as if they are saying ‘thank you’.

They have birdetiquette down to a much finer art than we will ever get blogetiquette!

If you have any blogetiquette tips, please share them….

Politely yours

Julie

Animal Family Wings

46 Comments »
Mar 10

Bedtime

by jmgoyder

The geese and ducks like to have a bath before bedtime. Godfrey usually supervises.That’s him at the back.

The two turkeys we call ‘the Bubbles’ never participate. That’s one on the left, walking away.

Even if the turkeys were interested, Godfrey hisses them away. He has a very powerful hiss which he accompanies with an angry trumpet noise.

The peacocks aren’t interested in bathing either. They think the ducks and geese are weird! Angelina, in particular, is rather disdainful of their antics.

I can see Angelina’s point of view – Ola, Pearl and Tapper like to play leapfrog in the bath.

Everyone waits their turn.

Well, except for Tapper who is always the last to get out of the bath and go to bed. That’s her at the forefront.

Pearl and Diamond aren’t that keen on leaving the bath either.

Woodroffe, however, willingly goes to bed because he loves his bedtime snack of lettuce scraps.

Zaruma’s favourite bedtime snack is bread, so he also willingly goes to bed.

Eventually, Godfrey and I get them into their yard for the night. Once they are in, Godfrey usually turns around a gives me a goodnight kiss (a sharp nip to the ankle) if I don’t leave the yard quickly enough!

Ahhh – the bedtime ritual!

Wings

17 Comments »
Mar 8

Geese, glorious geese (and a few humans!)

by jmgoyder

Family Wings

2 Comments »
Mar 6

Up close!

by jmgoyder

Since beginning this blog, and discovering the wonderful world of photography via other blogs, I have become really keen on developing my obvious natural skills. Take, for instance, this close-up of Woodroffe which I’ve decided to enter it into a ‘worst photo’ competition if there is such a thing. (If there isn’t, perhaps I should patent this idea?) Alternatively, it could be a poster for an up-and-coming horror movie? It’s hard to believe, isn’t it, that this is simply Woody being affectionate with me.

This following photo of Seli is not much better. He seems to be saying, “focus, Julie, focus” Well, I was trying!

I have improved a little I think. This photo of an Emery isn’t bad. Yes, I know I’ve posted it before, but I can’t take anymore pictures, now that the emus have gone, can I.

And Angelina will do handstands, pirouettes, imitate the ‘swan-stance’ – anything at all, including standing very still – to get her photo onto the blog.

So I am thinking of adding the category of ‘photography’ to my blog but that is just as scary as the picture of Woody!

No, wait a minute, I just remembered a scarier thing; last night I took a close-up photo of my own face as an experiment.

Why, why, oh why did I do that?

Wings

18 Comments »
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