Australia

Pine Mountain News

Another week has passed on Pine Mountain. Fall is in full swing, and preparations are being made for the coming winter. the windows and doors have been caulked and weather stripped.The barn is full of hay for the animals. The furnace and chimneys have been cleaned and new filters inserted.

The greenhouse furnace has been prepared as well so the vegetables and the fish will stay warm this winter while snow swirls on the outside and the winds howl around the corners of the house.




Poem of the Week

















On Disobedience, A Note to Mr. Thoreau

by emily d stine

No thank you, I prefer obedience.
The world is just more placid with my ipod on.
Who would protest high speed Internet,
semi-annual sales, a case of Key Light?

I’m sorry Mr. Thoreau, I just like my things.
2Y2M2D at WPMA is an awfully long time*
away from the World Wide Web.
I know you find beauty in nature, ducks and such
therapeutic effects of sauntering through the woods,
(I'd rather just get a massage)

But I must confess Mr. Thoreau, I just don’t buy it.

*2Y2M2D refers to the 2 years, 2 months, 2 days
Henry David Thoreau spent at WPMA,
(Walden Pond, Massachusetts)

---

Feature Story of the Week

Australia

We arrived at Canberra the capital of Australia. This city began in the 1900's and was laid out like the spokes of a wheel. It is 170 miles ( 280 km) southwest of Sidney and is Australias largest inland city with a population of 345,000. The city spreads out over 314 sq miles ( 814 sq km)



















The city is built on a floodplain between high hills. and was subject to annual flooding before Lake Burley Griffin was built. In 2003 bush fires burned 487 homes as well as the telescopes at the national observatory.

The city has a marine west coastal climate with four distinct seasons.The highest temperatures are in January 82 F ( 27 C) and the lowest are in July 52 F ( 11 C) The seasons are the reverse of the northern hemisphere.
















We left Canberra, which means meeting place, behind and drove to Sidney. We saw bush lands and plains and kangaroo. Australia still has a lot of wide open spaces.
















We visited the world famous Sidney opera house and watched a performance by the Sydney symphony orchestra. Sidney is the largest city in Australia with about 4 1/3 million people. The city stretches out over 12,000 sq kilometers.
Sidney is a world banking center as well as a world commerce and cultural arts center. It is considered a world Alpha city. It is a city of parks and multicultural communities.










Sidney was first settled by Europeans in the 1770's but the Aborigines have called the area home for more 30,000 years. We took many sightseeing tours and ran out of time before we even saw half of the things we wanted to see. Australia is a large and varied country but you need at least 6 months of time to see the country properly.


Pine Mountain Evening

It is evening once a gain at the Pine Mountain ranch. Dinner is over and we are gathered by a warm fire in the fireplace in the family room. I am in my easy chair reading a magazine while Grace and Laurel are watching a special on Crystal Skulls and how they may predict the a world wide change in 2012.

I am enjoying my sample coffee of the day from http://www.coffeefool.com. Tonight I am enjoying a brew called Australian. It is an American roast coffee that starts out bold goes away then boomerangs back for a fine finish. It goes great with some chocolate chip cookies.

The show is over and it left just mysteries behind. My coffee and cookies are gone as well and it is time to head off for bed. Good night all see you next week.


Resources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canberra

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney

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