August 2025

Hi Readers,

It's been a fairly quiet time for us during the last month but we're concerned about the trees next door as it's rumoured that the land has been broken into eight allotments and is now up for sale. So far machines have removed all the undergrowth but have not touched any of the larger trees.The wallabies, hares and scrub turkeys which come for a feed will have to change their ways.

Visited with brother John P. during the month and what a variety of birds they have visit them each day. Marg and I enjoy watching the antics of the various ones we have visit our birdbath here but John and Annette get a much larger variety.

Steve returned home early in the month but we are expecting another visit in September. The floor coverings are currently being  laid at Kistelek.

Thanks to John and Annette we were able to attend Drew's seventieth birthday celebrations in Brisbane. Great to catch up with so many family members on that occasion.

During the recent school holidays  Sue and grandchildren headed out west to spend some time with fanily friend Dingo Don a well known dingo trapper. From the many pics  i've received from Sue they had a great time. Hopefully more on that next month.

During the last couple of centuries we have seen various cultures develop differing ways of dealing with conflicts. Our culture has gone from  tribal conflicts through World Wars and now is trialling negotiation  of differences as a way to deal with our differences. We have learned that outright war solves nothing in the long term and that we have to learn to live with those conditions acceptable to cultures involved. Well some of us have. Unfortunately there are many in our communities who have not learned to live peacefully with other family members or other community members. A well built family will always remain the basis of a strong society.

Another word causing a lot of confusion at the moment is "Bullying". It means different things to different people from incidents such as looking away as another approaches to beating someone up. Let's try to get a definition for it somehow.

 Until next time, cheers,

Merv