Still life

Took this pic years ago and played with it on Photoshop. It has a sad, lonely quality to it, perhaps something to do with the huge, neatly made, empty bed and the sad expression on the woman's face. I'm no artist, but I know what I like, and this picture says something to me about life (when I figure out what that is, I'll let you know).

Beyond the black stump

We took an off-ramp while driving through Arizona and came across the weirdest place. It's called Jackass Acres and consists of a petrol bowser, a collection of rusty old cars and a dusty little store with some even dustier antiques and a grizzled old guy in a rocker, chawing on some baccie. "What kind of ice cream do you have?", we asked innocently. "Melted!", he replied in a deadpan voice. Made our whole trip that did. Also found a little town called Gila Bend which had a diner shaped like a UFO straight out of the 50's. The sign says 'Welcome To Gila Bend, Home Of 1700 Friendly People And 5 Old Crabs'. The desert's not the only thing that's dry out that way, I guess. Getting lost is definitely the best way to see the real America.

It's not easy being green

Another example of Queensland wildlife that bites back ... green ants, also known as weaver ants, because they weave leaves together to make their nests. The Aboriginals call them 'sugar ants' because their rear ends contain a sweet syrupy substance. The Aboriginals bite their rear ends off literally and eat them. I suppose it's a natural source of energy and according to bush tucker experts, it's a great panacea for colds and sore throats too. Some people have even been known to make green ant lemonade (hmmm).You wouldn't want to bite the wrong end of one these guys though, as green ants can deliver a nasty bite, spraying formic acid into the wound. I guess I would too if someone was treating me like an M&M.

Down by the river

Took this pic a few years ago, when we lived in Albury. It is the Murray River, a big ole meandering brown river with Albury on one side in New South Wales and Wodonga on the other side in Victoria. There used to be a time difference between the two due to daylight saving and the buses would run at different times. The Murray is a beautiful river with restored paddle steamers and ducks and willow trees, much like I imagine the Mississippi would be, This pic was taken on a lazy Sunday afternoon and has a real Huck Finn feel to it. Young guys hanging out, with nothing better to do. Nice.