NO HUMANS

POST # 163


It has now been 10 days since I dropped the owners off at the airport in Armidale, after which, I went to town to pick up a few supplies and then return here to Tumbalala.  And I've not seen even one human being since that time. Being the only human around, helps to take the focus off of all the crazy things humans do and say.  It's rather refreshing, and I am enjoying it as much as I possibly can.

Out here at Tumbalala, the closest town is 22km away, and even though there are neighbours here in the countryside, they are a fair distance away, so it's really just me, Ruff and Tumble the cats, Ali the dog, Henry the rooster and his 8 hen friends. Certainly there is more than enough company here to keep me both happy and amused.  In addition to all of these critters, there is an amazing amount of bird life, that are a real treat to observe.

I was hoping to put some photos into this blog, which I usually do via my email account, however for some reason in the last few days, Yahoo hasn't allowed me to open my mail.  It's just another one of those things that we all take for granted nowadays, and when it's not working, it becomes a small annoyance.  However, I try to take it in stride with all of this electronic paraphernalia that has taken over our lives in recent years.  I expect at some future date, it will all be rather useless and/or not that important to us all, which seems like a  bold statement to make however in the greater scheme of things, I think there are much more important issues on the horizon than whether or not one's email account is being uncooperative.  Be that as it may, for this blog entry at least, it means NO photos.

Last night, just prior to bed, I went outside and gazed up at the stars which is something that I like to do just before retiring, and when I was looking at the Southern Cross, I noticed, or should I say re-noticed an area right next to it which is like a black spot in amongst all the stars.  For what ever reason, the name of this spot came back into my head.  It's called the Coal Sack which I happened to remember a friend telling me about way back when I first arrived here in Australia in the late '70's. It is an area of opaque gas that obscures the stars that are behind it (behind from our earthly point of view that is), and it is about 600 light years away.  It would take ten times my current life span, travelling at 186,000 miles per second to reach the Coal Sack.  Wow!!!  These are the kinds of things that occupy a human's mind when there are no other humans around.

And finally, this blog post wouldn't be complete without a mention of Mike Ruppert who died a year and a day ago.  He was on my mind because of the date.  I wonder what he would have thought of the state of the world now?

Perhaps by this time next week, Yahoo will be co-operating, and if so, I will fill that entry with some photos from around the property.  Until then,

Happy trails,
Paul
The Thoughtful Wanderer

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Late update.  Yahoo is finally back on line so I thought I would post two photos.




Mike Ruppert and Rags from a post last year.

The Thoughtful Wanderer and Ali taken a couple of days ago.