Ponta Da Piedade, Algarve, Portugal

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A Postcrossing post card from Carlos in Portugal.

Thanks Carlos!

Respect

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A Postcrossing post card from Svenja in Germany.

The two words on the card are "Respect" in Swahili and German. It's part of gernan campaign to encourage mutual respect. See respekt-kampagne.de for more details.

Thanks Svenja

Camping on the Earth's axis, geographical South Pole

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A Postcrossing post card from Jannett in Germany.

Janett lives in the south-east of Germany in a small village near Austria.

This is the Aurora Australis as seen in Antarctica, photographed by Robert Schwarz.

Thanks for the great postcard, Janett!

Ostseeheilbad Travemunde

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A Postcrossing post card from Katrina in Gernany.

Katrina lives in a small town near the Baltic Sea which has the honor of having the oldest lighthouse in Germany, built in 1539.

She works in a kindergarten.

Thanks, Katrina!

Luzerne

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A Postcrossing post card from Jacqueline in Lucerne in Switzerland.

Thanks, Jacqueline!

Rocking Horse Poo

Rocking Horse Poo. A Geocache in Petrie. So that's what it looks like :)

We had fun finding a Geocache today entitled Rocking Horse Poo. Lilly and Sophie had fun and even picked some of the stuff up.

The imagination of Geocachers never ceases to amaze me!

If you've never tried Geocaching, our family would recommend it. It's a great way to get outside on a Sunday afternoon and have fun.

Suomen Joutsen

Suomen Joutsen

A Postcrossing postcard from Anne in Finland.

The three masted, full rigged "Suomen Joutsen" was built in 1902. She has a steel hull and plied the trade routes between ports in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Since this was before the days of the Panama Canal, this means she frequently passed through the treacherous waters of Cape Horn on the southern tip of South America.

In 1930, the Finnish Navy purchased this beautiful ship for use as a Training Vessel.

From the mid 1950's she was a stationery seamen's training vessel, but in 1991 she was purchased by the city of Turku and operates as a museum.

What a beautiful grand lady of the sea. And what a gorgeous painting by Håkan Sjöström.

Thanks Anne. You made my day!

Music to Cruise To

Wine With Sunset by Adam Dawson

Sunset Behemoth by Evan Leeson

Here's a Reggae style piece I did recently that was inspired by my love of being on the ocean, aboard a ship.

One of my favourite places / times is at sunset at the back of the ship, where there's usually a bar overlooking the stern. You can't beat watching the sun go down over the ocean while you sail away from all your cares.

Front Porch Blues

"trio" by chacabuco

Here's a really simple 12 bar blues piece I did in about 30 minutes on the WX5 with MixPad.

I can imagine three different versions of me sitting on a front porch somewhere in the Autumn sun drinking a few cold beers, and playing this.

The voices are Trumpet (#5), Clarinet (#99) and Air Sax (#10).

The Secret Pony

The Secret Pony

Lilly came to me today and read me her partially completed story.

"What else should I write, Daddy?" she asked.

And I replied, "Kids understand magic when they're your age, but as they grow up most adults forget about it. So I'm not the best person to ask about what to write. You know much more about magic than what I do".

"But what about Doctor Seuss and Mem Fox", Lilly retorted. (She's very astute for her age).

"Ahhh. Doctor Seuss and Mem Fox never forgot what it was like to be a kid", I answered. "That's why they're both so good at what they do".

Seems like I've got a lot of "remembering" to do. Adults are so boring, and such a large part of our lifespan is devoted to being "grown up". Childhood is so brief....

So brief it makes me want to cry at the tragedy of it all.

"The Secret Pony by Lilly Ennis

Onec upon a time there lived a butyful
girl named cloe. One day when cloe was in the
garden picing strorbries she
found a secret passag throe the garden. it was so butyful. So she wen throe it.
When she got to the end of the secret passag sge sore a pony. It was so butyful.
It had long heir and sparkerling blue eyes. The pony gace her lots of spechal
yummy treats. They played together to but the most imporint thing is that there
friends. The End."

Don't forget how to be a kid, Lilly. Once you forget, it's a long time being a grown-up.

How to Outrun an Antelope

The bushman hunters of the Kalahari Desert hunt the Kudu antelope by pursuing it through the heat of the day until it collapses from exhaustion.

The Kudu is faster than the bushman hunter, but the hunter is relentless. He perseveres, and in the end, the antelope is no match for the bushman.

This might seem extreme. In the 21st century it seems unheard of that a person can outrun an antelope. But a human running on two legs over long distances is more efficient than an animal running on four. In addition to this, humans perspire all over their body, which is a more effective way of reducing body temperature, especially in the midday heat. Having two hands free means the hunter can carry water to replace the perspiration.

Humans are the only primates that hunt in this way. "Persistence hunting" was part of humanity's evolution. So it's really part of our age-old genetic make up. The average person on the street might not look capable of outrunning an antelope over five hours in 40 degree heat, but that's how we caught our food before we invented bows and arrows.

Persistence is in our genes. It's our heritage. We can persevere because we've done it before. Imagine what we can achieve if we don't give up.

As the Roman poet Persius said: "He conquers who endures".

Don't give up!