Three Days of Blog Clean-up

I will use these three days to clean-up my blog and improve its appearance, add links and make it more interactive. See you all soon!

The Galah

I am defaulting onto describing Aussie wildlife, so I really believe this is the thing I love the most about this country. And who wouldn’t love wildlife here, when its variety, uniqueness of some members, and abundance are the essential features? Galah is the best example to support my three claims. This parrot is a pink and grey cultured cockatoo that has three sub-species (variety!), Eastern, Western and Northern. The name galah has the origin in Yuwaalaraay, the Aboriginal language spoken in Southeast Australia. Uniqueness? Well, if not the striking appearance that combines elegantly pink and grey, then the fact that is an intelligent bird that took advantage of the deforestation done by the European settlers in Oz and spread to new territories, thus not only surviving better but expanding its habitat. Their diet is also varied, including seeds, grasses, insects, larvae and green shoots and leaf buds. Galahs are highly intelligent, social and make good pets. And about abundance, this is a fact I am grateful for: galahs can be found in every location and state of Australia. We saw them in the middle of the dessert, but close to some source of water, and we see them come eat the birdseed we hang in our garden for the lorikeets (Melbourne suburb). They enchanted us in Tasmania and in Darwin, basically, everywhere!

Budgies

The budgerigar is quite a common pet parakeet in the US and Australia. People call it informally budgie. What I was surprised to learn during our visit to the Red Center of Oz was that this small parrot is my conational now! And how I found out was through an amazing experience. We visited Central Australia during the late spring after a very wet winter, which is most unusual and it was also a winter that broke an almost 15-year long drought. To our surprise and delight, the red desert was filled with patches of green grass and lots of white, yellow and purple flowers. In areas where the vegetation included occasional trees, we saw clouds of yellow-green birds, hundreds of them, taking off when our car approached. Turning in the sun light, the wings of these birds changed color from yellow to green and back to yellow like a well orchestrated show. Zooming in the many pictures we took, we found out that the birds were budgies. We learnt then that budgerigars are the only species in the Australian genus Melopsittacus, and are found wild throughout the drier parts of Australia where the species has survived harsh inland conditions for the last millions of years. They are also related to my other favourite Aussie birds, the lorikeets.

Ouch! Gas Bill!

In the mild winter of Melbourne, where the coldest temperature was +3 degrees Celsius, and we turn on the heat for half a day only, our gas bill came at an exorbitant $390 per month. Yes, the house is big, and we use gas for heating, hot water and cooking, but we don't abuse any of these. There are two problems, one is the fact that houses in Oz have the poorest insulation and the other is that the newly introduced carbon tax trickles down from who has to cut emissions to us, who just try to stay warm, fed and clean, i.e., live decently. I am scared to look at the electric bill when it comes... But today I feel sad for the environment because I know my fat gas bill will not help it in any way. And about one more tax in Oz, the carbon tax, I feel frustrated and disgusted, because it's a useless way of stealing money from people and not contributing to any good cause. Today's picture is of a few flowers in my garden, much happier to be here than me.

Third Aussie Anniversary

I am celebrating today the third anniversary of our move to Oz. Someone asked me bluntly if it was a good move. The question took me by surprise. I am still trying to adapt, so there is no weighing of past decisions. Well, but how were these 3 years anyway? First of all, I never thought a land and its nature would surprise and overwhelm me at this extent. And I’ve seen plenty in my life, plenty of places in Europe and especially in the US. The red dirt (Outback), ancient mountains (Flinders Ranges), coral reef (Great Barrier Reef), rain forests (tropical in Queensland and non-tropical in Victoria) and pristine islands (Tasmania and Kangaroo Island) of Australia are just a few examples of shocking beauty and unique nature. Animals (and I’m not even thinking koalas and kangaroos, but more quolls and flying foxes) and plants (just look at today’s picture) are so entirely different from anything else I’ve seen before, that I could spend another 3 years admiring only what I’ve seen so far. But buying groceries, filling up the tank, crossing the street, connecting a computer to the Internet, education and paying taxes in Australia are not what I imagined. They hurt, if you move here from the US like me. But I have different reasons to think Melbourne is the “most liveable” city I’ve lived in, and they are entirely different from those published by The Economist. I can afford to have a huge garden often visited by wild life in a peaceful neighbourhood just 15 km from the city center. My kid can walk to school. I had 4 weeks of vacation when I started my first job. When I go to the beach, which is 10-15 km away, I can easily put my towel where I cannot hear anyone else’s conversations. I can go hand-feed a wild parrot when I want to. So, was it a good move? I still don’t know, but it has been an awesome adventure!

Port Philip Bay Boatsheds

Melbourne sits royally above the Port Philip Bay, or The Bay, as locals call it. It is a huge pool of water, quite shallow, with beautiful beaches, reefs with dragon sea horses, and visiting dolphins. On several beaches, there are iconic boatsheds and bathing boxes. I will write tomorrow about the Brighton bathing boxes, which you’ve probably already seen in classic pictures. Today I will tell you about the less famous, still beautiful, boatsheds. I took a picture of this one between Safety Beach and Dromana. I liked it because it is lively, how a boatshed on a beautiful beach should be, and it reminds me of the sunnyrain theme of my blog. It’s the yin-yang of Sun-Moon, as both make that clear bay water shine and mesmerize. The shed also seems a bit hippie, although I don’t know if it’s ever been used that way. Without electricity or water, the sheds just store boats, jetskis, chairs and beds, and all other beach stuff. Their cultural and historical value is obvious.

Coffee Deal

You all know this is one of my favorite delicious subjects. If you didn’t know, you’ll find out now. I grew up with Turkish coffee, which I started to sip when I was about 11 or 12. A tiny bit, with little sugar, but a thick “caimac” (foam) and a chat to accompany it, this was our tradition at home in Romania. I loved it! It all changed when I moved to the US and for a year I could not go anywhere close to the “regular” coffee. It seemed to be a scalding caffeine soup stripped of any pleasure. Luckily, my friend and I made our own Turkish coffee at home and enjoyed it with relaxing conversations. In time, I got used to the actual “espresso” value of the American coffee, I adapted to life in the US, and regular coffee became “the norm.” I never bought though into the gallon-sized Starbucks coffee, which gave me the same dizzying anxiety that skyscrapers did. But how wonderful to move to Oz and find a strong European culture for coffee! Coffee cups are on a human scale. Coffee itself has a natural flavor and comes with blanketing foams of milk or cocoa. The only thing that’s scalding hot is the price (two or three times more than that of an American coffee), but I guess quality comes at a price I cannot negotiate. Especially when taste and pleasure are paying off. Today’s picture is that of a twin wasp nest I found in the Red Centre of Australia, but made me think of twin espresso cups.