No week is complete without a photo of a cat.
I am trying to teach myself to appreciate the simple pleasures of life - like bed-sheets hung on the line and dried in the sun (and then filtered through the Prisma app on my phone), parrots in the trees, and the satisfaction of pruning the grapevine.
As I may have mentioned before, I am also very lucky to live in such a wonderful part of the world, where my local (one hour) lockdown walks can lead me past little street libraries and golden wattle.
Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha) is the national floral emblem of Australia. It was formally adopted as such on the 1st of September, 1988 at a ceremony at the Australian National Botanic Gardens where the Prime Minister's wife, Mrs Hazel Hawke, planted a Golden Wattle. Four years later, in 1992, the 1st of September was officially declared 'Golden Wattle Day'.
The golden blooms against the green background are vivid and bright, heralding the arrival of Spring (also the first day of September in the Southern hemisphere) and the suggestion of a promising future. I think these connections could be used to celebrate the country and it seems to me that moving the National Day to this date could save a lot of controversy about the perception of 'Invasion Day' to make celebrations more inclusive. (And we could all do with more public holidays in the latter half of the year.)
I was therefore inspired to compose a dreadful limerick while out on my walk, which I share with you here. You're welcome.
Although it makes some of you wheezy,
Golden wattle really does please me.
And listen, mate,
To change the date
To September the 1st is easy.
