The heat.............

The heat is incredible. It's all around and it is penetrating and thick and sluggish and heavy.
42 degrees celcius, 7 o'clock at night and the sun burns my toes, blinds my eyes and presses itself opressively all over me.
Inside we do not own any fans (you know, the electrical kind) nor is our ramshackle house equipped with it's own airconditioning. Waving my little paper fan is useless, it just wafts hot air back into my face.
The cicada's screech their alien song, our parrots pant with their beaks held open. We use spray bottles to wet their feathers, even Beast, the cranky Sulphur Crested Cockatoo is willing to put up with this indignity. The finches were not so lucky today, no matter how we tried to keep them cool, the boys did not make it through the day.

This to me is an Australian Summer. Even when the bus overheated on the way home, and the bus after it did the same, trudging home in the scorching heat I couldn't help but smile.... This is when I feel most "at home" in Australia.

As a nice little respite, I share a photo taken of me by dear friend and artist Angela Rose of Butterfly Bones last week.... I'm trying to think cold thoughts,  imaginging I'm a mermaid....