Fantastic Flora

Slowly but surely the flowers in Kangaeroo Corner are putting on an increasingly delightful show.

It was a sodden start to what is likely to be a demanding week or so as the company’s sole native English speaker in the office and the busy season well underway.

But the flowers made a beautiful start as our bottlebrush continued to thrive and the grevillea starting to move into full bloom.

Kangaroo paw buds are also evident, but the full flower is still some time away.

And the other plants are enjoying the growing season by reaching skyward and looking great.

I really want one of our banksia to flower this summer and have my fingers crossed that it will happen as we have yet to get a flower yet from what I consider to be the iconic Aussie native flower.

Moreover, the entire estate is looking sharp thanks to a cleanup day yesterday.

I love these biannual group gardening sessions as it enables me to meet and greet neighbors and to give back something to our delightful environment.

On top of that, I got a great treat yesterday when one of the neighbors showed me how our communal garden is home to a Chinese hwamei‘s nest.

Cop A Gander At These Rippers Too...

  • He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Ego…(But He Really Is Weighty)

    Actually, that title’s a lie and my enormous ego is tremendously cumbrous, probably to the extent that it’s been the bane of my life. My over-sized ego’s up to its old tricks now–especially when cycling–at a time when I need to be humble. Maybe it’s because of being the baby of a big family or what, but all my life I’ve constantly craved attention and it’s driven me to do some pretty stupid things right through to old age, when conventional wisdom suggests I should be smart enough not to fall for that. Stuffing myself into body hugging Lycra is among the less painful acts of folly I engage in…

  • A Monster Mashup In Western Tokyo

    Given the gift of an afternoon off, I got on my bike and rode somewhat familiar paths to get reacquainted with old monster “mates” I’d encountered in days gone by. First, I met green Godzilla, a topiary treat from Toho, before heading toward Chofu to see a collection of the yokai spirits created by Shigeru Mizuki. A little bit of a roundabout journey followed, dropping by the Ghibli Museum in Mitaka and then onto the Kokubunji Totoro before racing back to pick up a new phone bought because the battery in my old one conks out within a couple of hours of using it. Unfortunately, performance on the new phone…

  • 元オーストラリアン・オブ・ザ・イヤーが人種差別禁止条項を「豪憲法に」

    　豪先住民であり2009年度オーストラリアン・オブ・ザ・イヤーミック・ドッドソン教授は、豪憲法に関する有識者会議の提言を支持し「人種差別禁止条項を豪憲法に取り入れるべきだ」、と12日付のシドニー・モーニング・ヘラルド紙が報道した。 　ドッドソン教授は条項が「白豪主義の法的・政策的の死体を永遠に埋められるだろう」という。 　今年１月有識者会議は豪政府に「憲法が人種・皮膚の色または種族的出身に基づく差別を禁止すべきだ」と提言した。 　豪先住民の最も重要なリーダーの一人であるオーストラリア国立大学法学部教授であるドッドソン教授は初めてその提言を公の場で指示を明らかにした。 　ちなみにオーストラリアン・オブ・ザ・イヤーというのは世界中に他の例が見ない賞である。毎年贈られる賞であり、その年オーストラリアに最も貢献した人物一人にに贈られる。独立した委員会が受賞者を決める。受賞者がオーストラリアの建国記念日となる「オーストラリアの日」1月26日に行い、大人気なイベントである。

  • | | |

    豪州ど真ん中にあるBig Galah

    　Big Galahはオーストラリア独特なキッチュ「Big Things」の中ちょっとだけ特別な存在がある。 　Big Galahは南オーストラリア州キンバ町というところに位置している。キンバ町はオーストラリアの東海岸と西海岸の大体間中辺りにあるので、ある意味この「Big Things」が国の本格的な中心部にある。 　Big Galahはオウム科のモモイロインコの象徴だ。この鳥がよくキンバ町に集まり、同町が１９９３年にオブジェを建てた。「Halfway Across Australia」というお土産屋のまん前にあるBig Galahは高さ８メートル、広さ2.5メートルと重さ約2.3トンであり、巨大だ。 　ちなみに、この鳥が（理由不明でありながら）重要なオージー言葉であり、galahを人に対して言うと「アホ」や「ドジ」だという意味。 Panorama of The Big Galah supplied by Panoramic Earth View Larger Map 関連記事 An Aussie Chrissie The Strine Why Atorkin: Natchrule Strine Galah/アホ 豪キャブラリー：Galah Strine Dictionary

  • |

    Australia At Osaka Expos: From The Tower Of The Sun To Chasing The Sun

    Australia is exhibiting at the recently opened Expo Osaka 2025, and it got me thinking about the difference between now and the last time Japan’s second city held the world’s fair in 1970. Back 55 years ago, Japan was keen on showing to the world its miraculous recovery from the devastation wrought on it in World War II and Australia was keen on pushing itself as an advanced economy basking in glorious sunshine while surrounded by sunny beaches. Taro Okamoto‘s sculpture, The Tower of the Sun, was a symbol of the Expo and the Australian pavilion was widely praised for its architecture influenced by Katsushika Hokusai’s The Great Wave Off…

  • The First Class First Nations Film Festival

    For a measly 1,000 yen I got to get a totally unexpected and delightfully amazing full day’s entertainment, a couple of souvenirs and an all-round wonderful time at the 2024 First Nations Film Festival held by the Australian Embassy in Tokyo at EUROSPACE. I’ve always been sympathetic to the cause of Indigenous Australians as I’ve understood it, but in recent years I’ve developed a bit of empathy fatigue, or even borderline antipathy, as the blame for society’s shortcomings are increasingly laid at the feet of all white men. So when Mrs. Kangaeroo expressed an interest in going to the festival after seeing an ad on Facebook, I wasn’t overly keen,…