Greetings of the season, happy hols, stay safe

 As we approach the end of this unbelievably horrid year, my greetings are more muted.

I wish all of you a happy time, whether you're with friends, family or on your lonesome. There are better times to come (and undoubtedly worse times, too). Make the most of what you have and be careful. Stay safe. 

This day last year (Christmas Eve in south eastern Australia) it was hot and smoky:

This year there's no smoke, just clear skies and a gentle summer breeze blowing. Lovely. 

In closing, here's a pic of one of the friends I made this year.

Season's greetings to all

A short, sweet and old-fashioned greeting to everyone.

I'm sorry I've not been blogging much this past couple of years, but fear not (or fear, depending who you are), I shall return in 2020.

Here is a picture of my most Christmas-y plant - Little John Callistemon, which keeps getting better and better each year and thrives on very light pruning and general neglect.

And another, this time a snapshot of the next door neighbours' decorations. They have been entertaining the local children (large and small) and raising money for local charities for decades and continue to do so despite the fact that Santa suffered a stroke some time ago, which has been quite debilitating for him. The photo doesn't do justice to the lights, which look amazing. Santa's daughter made the kangaroos :)

Happy holidays wherever and whoever you are, especially to all the courageous men and women fighting fires around the country and not forgetting all the people supporting them.

Stay safe.

Greetings of the season - enjoy it while you can

Happy holidays, happy Christmas, happy furlough, and I wish you all the best for 2019.

This is the time of year when you might see lots of advice about how to talk to your wacky uncle about climate, suggestions about finding common values etc.

In my view, if you're having a family get-together it's better to just be nice to your denier relatives. Anyone who still rejects climate science is a lost cause on that subject.

Family get-togethers can be trying enough without adding more tension. In any case, if you don't know yet what values you share with your weirder relatives then you probably never will.

Instead of explaining how devious disinformers have played a hoax on them, find out what other conspiracy theories they entertain. Shift the conversation to something more innocuous that will amuse you and won't get you worked up, like how they know that gravity is a hoax :)

If you have the opportunity to take some time off from work (forced or otherwise), make the best of it.

I'll see you all back here in 2019.

Have a wonderful holiday ...