Paperdoll Cabaret

In Your Face Gene Simmons, Mine’s Blue!

Hello!

Since this area seems to be a haven for Blue Tongue Lizards, I thought I’d write a little bit about them for the readers in other countries who may not be too familiar with these very cool reptiles.

I come across them everywhere here – not just the backyard. When I walk Cindy (the dog) I see them poking out of drains basking in the sun, crossing the road and just generally hanging around. They appear to be so used to humans and other animals I can always get a really good look at them when I pass.

These lizards are slow moving and quite friendly. They are likely to let you get really close. I wouldn’t advise picking them up though unless they are really familiar with you, because if they are scared they do have a nasty bite, latching on and not letting go.

There are six types of blue-tongued lizards in Australia (hereafter referred to as Oz) :-

Eastern Blue Tongue Lizard – These dwell in South East of Oz and are the kind that live around here. They grow to about 30cm in length (not counting the tail). They are grey with brown stripes across their back.

Northern Blue-tongued Skink – These guys live on the savannahs of the tropical regions of Oz.

Western Blue-tongued Skink – This one is listed as a vulnerable species.

Central Blue-tongued Skink– Another vulnerable species.

Blotched Blue Tongue – From the Southwest of Oz, lives in highland areas. They are dark brown with light coloured splotches across the back.

Shingleback – Found west of the Great Dividing Range. It has a short, stumpy tail and large rough scales.

Pygmy Blue-tongue Skink– Only grows to about 90mm. They live within a very small area north of Adelaide and are listed as an endangered species.

Whatever species, the most noticeable feature is, of course, their blue tongue. Like all reptiles they are ectothermic which is why you see them sunning themselves during the mornings. When it’s cold they stay inside because they need a body temperature of 30 to 35 degrees C to be active.

They love to eat snails and slugs but will eat whatever they can get hold of, including dog food.

For most of the year they like to live alone, but during the mating season (September to November) the males pursue the females, which is why we see three-legged Louis (he is so cute, his little stump does the walking action too) making his trips up to the old barbecue to visit Lisa.

Mating seems like a rough old process. Many females carry scars from the male’s teeth during mating.

Their babies are born 3 to 5 months after mating. They are born live (not eggs) and have to look after themselves right from the start, beginning with eating the placenta, and go off to discover the great big world within a few days of being born. The Eastern Blue Tongue can have up to 25 babies at once and they breed annually where other species only breed on alternate years.

Blue Tongues can live for many years, up to 30 and like other lizards can drop their tails to avoid, daze and confuse predators.

The biggest dangers to Blue Tongues include :-

Cars – they love to lie on the road’s warm surface and tend not to move out of the way of cars.

Snail baits – cos they love to eat snails.

Lawnmowers – they hide in long grass and again tend not to get out of the way when the mower comes near them.

Cats and dogs – need I say more?

Other predators are eagles, poisonous snakes and large goannas.

So, there’s just a little bit about these excellent creatures. There’s lots of info around if you want to find out more. I love them.

V ❤

A Blotched Blue-Tongued Skink, Tiliqua nigrolutea , basking on open sandy ground. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Blue-tongued skink (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Sounds of Silence

 

Love (Photo credit: praram)

Greetings!

When I came up here a couple of weeks ago what struck me most of all was the silence. After living right on King Street in Newtown (and anyone who knows the area – I’m talking Newtown in Sydney – will understand just how busy and noisy it is), I was not used to the quiet. For the first few nights here the quiet actually felt like a physical presence, thick and heavy. Now, a couple of weeks on I’m starting to recognise the sounds within the silence. I’ve taken to laying in bed after I wake just listening – something I could not have done just a short time ago. I used to have to get up as soon as I woke, before the thoughts kicked in, otherwise it would feel like the air would get sucked out of the room and I’d start sweating and shaking. How far I’ve come in two weeks!

Now within the silence I can hear the different bird calls both near and far away, and other sounds – some recognisable, others less so, and I lay there just breathing and listening.

I feel alive again.

Love V ❤

Holiday!

Hola!

I caught a train yesterday (approximately 6 1/2 hours) up to visit my Mum on the mid north coast. It is a multipurpose visit. I wanted to spend a bit of time with my Mum, plus I want to be around when she gets some biopsy results next week. But I also realised that I am very unhealthy right now. I am not in good shape at all. Here there is clear air (I think this is why always for the first day or two I’m here I get dizzy spells – the air is a lot cleaner here and my lungs are used to sucking in dirty city air). Plus I needed to put some physical space between myself and some complicated situations in Sydney. I need clear space to think. I was digging myself a dirty little city grave. I can’t believe I have been treating myself so poorly.

So, I’m taking it easy for a couple of days. Already I have spent the morning watching pelicans wait for the fishing boats to come back, done some Op shopping (I bought a dress, a top, and an antique-looking necklace, all for $7.50! Yay me!), done a bit of harmless, friendly flirting with the man in the cafe bookshop, and caught up with my uncle (the husband of my very favourite aunty-she is no longer with us, unfortunately).

I spoke with my brother on the phone (he lives in Nth Carolina)- I don’t get to speak with him much as I only have a cell phone, so it is always nice to actually here his voice.

There are some Blue Tongue Lizards that live in the yard here. There is Louis, the three-legged big daddy one who lives under the house. Lisa who lives under the old barbecue, and various babies when it’s the season – there’s some little ‘uns there now. Plus, there seems to be a new man on the scene – a rival for Louis. Poor Louis, apparently Lisa and her new fella were canoodling up there the other day and poor old Louis was off a little ways, all on his lonesome. Louis, maybe you need to woo her. Bring her up some tasty snails or something!

I haven’t got any pix yet from up here yet. I tried to take some from the train yesterday, but the window reflection is on all of them, but I will take pix in the days to come and put them up.

Well, now I am going to put my feet up, and read a book.

Take care.

V ❤

On “Do You Believe In Soulmates?” (yet another Plinky)

Wandering Souls

• This is my personal view only. So…Warning. May contain nuts.Soul Mates 

  I used to. I used to believe it so much that when things were not going so great in my life the idea of there being someone out there, my soulmate,the perfect fit spurred me on. It’ll be ok. Love conquers all. Blah, blah,blah. I’m not happy that I don’t believe in soul mates anymore. It feels that everything one clings to or holds up as a shining beacon gets snatched away. We live in a stark and brutal world. I wasn’t sure whether or not I should answer this question because I don’t want to hurt anyone out there who is still clinging on to “the soul mate” idea plus I don’t want to offend. This stuff might work for some. Help them get through an illness or other difficult time. And that’s awesome! But as for me, my “soul mate bubble” burst quite a way back.

Clusters of Little Naked Men – very manly flowers

Orchis italica (Photo credit: xiostales)

Inhale…Exhale

English: A man performing a French inhale. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Sometimes I can’t breathe. It is like all the air is suddenly sucked out of the room. It feels as if there is a great stone sitting on my chest.  There are things I want to say to certain people-like please open your eyes Miss C! Ask me questions, rage at me, wonder why. I wrote her a letter, I thought that may lighten some of the weight, but I realised it was not a good idea to send it as it could backfire and affect someone else dear and important to me. So although I have lightened my load in that I have a letter I can carry around, ready to deliver at a more appropriate time, till then I still have to carry it around. It is a burden that was placed upon me unfairly by some people who thought it was a good idea to mess with me and eventually try to destroy me. After almost 10 years I still don’t know why. I still don’t know why I couldn’t fight back. I still don’t know why I internalised it-punished myself. Tried to be what they wanted, and failed then broke out and tried to shock. What did you people want from me?… Oh, I see. Well, I am really dented, but they weren’t the first and I’m sure they won’t be the last and I am still here.

I will continue to inhale, and exhale. When the air leaves I will keep breathing. I will bring it back. I will keep going-for myself. I will talk to God (my idea of God, not the religious, dogmatic idea of God)-sometimes He/She/It listens and there is an exchange, other times I have to accept the silence. That’s when I know I have to work a bit to discover the answers, find the help for myself. God is still there, just not talking to me at the time. Because I know this, I have been able to keep going.

I don’t know what it’s all about, but it’s about Something. There is so much more than our tiny human brains can perceive or understand.

Just-Keep-Breathing.

Related articles

• Exhale (tappingthewellwithin.com)

Miz V Reporting For Duty Ma’am!

I can do this. Dragged my creaky, spluttering body out of bed and put myself through my paces.

I did some exercises- it’s been quite awhile so I had to resort to a very abridged set. The exercises I do I have been doing for years. They’re a patchwork collection of exercises I’ve tried out and found useful over the years. From time to time things get chopped and changed but it’s basically the same. I’m so familiar with this I can easily do a short, medium or long exercise section. (I did a short one).

Wrote some lyrics – this came from way out of left field. You may remember me talking about my current musical disconnect so I was very surprised to find this little posy of a few lines tickling the edges of my brain this morning. That makes me happy.

Got some washing in to soak. I handwash most of my stuff and since I’ve been ill not much has been happening on the homefront and the washing has been piling up in the corner. I swear it spoke to me this morning!

Made some beaded dragonscale to use in a belly chain. I don’t know the proper name for this. It’s just french knitted thin wire which you can pull and press to flatten. Dragonscale is what it looks like to me so that’s what I call it.

Have spent a little too much time trawling the interwebby, but it’s for inpiration and ideas purposes. Getting really interested in setting up my boards on Pinterest. I’m finding it extraordinarily useful! I have cut outs and quotes all over the place in the physical world and I can never find what I’m looking for, so this is like putting together a scrapbook online. I need to do this sort of thing to stop myself from just floating away.

I’m going to spend the rest of the day making jewellery, catching up on some reading. I read A LOT, but since I’ve been ill this time I haven’t read for weeks.

I would like to say I’m gonna get in some vocal practice, but I still can’t even talk without sending myself into coughing spasms, so singing is still out for now 😦

Might even watch a movie.

Or something.

Enjoy your day

V

Angels In Busby!!!

Soft Eyes (Photo credit: Thomas Hawk)

When I was a little girl, maybe 8 or 9 years old, I was woken one night by the sound of some amazing music, the likes of which I have never heard before or since. It was multitonal, pure and strong and filled the whole room. There were shimmers of gold and silver in the air. It was as if the music had a physical presence of its own.

And then “she” just seemed to melt through the corner of the wall and glided across to the end of my bed. She looked perhaps only a couple of years older than me, with a chestnut bob and soft eyes-and a magnificent set of wings. I realised it had been her making the music herself. She stayed with me for quite awhile but only actually said a few words to me, the meaning of which I’ve pondered often, but has only very, very recently become clear to me.

I suppose I can’t really say what she was. As a little girl, my brain shaped her as an angel but who knows? What I do know is she was definitely there to help me and did, both back then and now when I finally realise what she meant.

And after all these years I want to say “Thank you my Angel. I have never forgotten you and I never will”.

Has anyone else had any similar experiences? What did you make of them?