Michael is back on his blog!
and writing some lovely bits that I am happy to pass on. His latest blog is about Samaritans. http://michaelcardensjottings.blogspot.com/2010/05/samaritans.html
It brings back memories of the trip to Palestine and Israel last year.
near the end he writes:
Like languages, religions express something about what it means to be human. The death of a religion, like the death of a language is an irreparable loss. Religious diversity must be fostered, encouraged, sustained and celebrated; respected.
An important point that I hadn't really seen before. That Language and Religion can be the cradles, the containers in which we hold our culture and our humanity.
Languages I see as dying out too fast. And I was watching SBS tonight about the teaching of ethics being available to students who do not take SRE (special religious education). It is a philosophy based programme, not about morality. Seems very good to me. But where does that leave "religion"? Is there any place for it in our society? I certainly think so, and think that the University chaplaincy is one place to ask the question. I am getting closer to making up a uni blog there.
Where has all the passion gone? asks Pat Brennan in an address to Sydney MOW (Movement for the Ordination of Women)
"If you occupy the place of prophesy but do not prophesy, you are stifling passion."
An important word to all of us.
http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2010/s2899483.htm
I heard part of this on Friday as Andrew was doing some more electrical work that had been made necessary by our recent additions to our photovoltaic array.
The study in Mexico that is published in Science this week might have an explanation for the diminished skink population here. I had blamed the snake. I might have been wrong!
The skinks obviously do not like the heat on very hot days. I have had a papier mache cover on the wire over their birthing spot for some years now. But this year they didn't even get over to the mud bricks which had been a normal cool spot for them over the years. (ten or more?)
The study suggests that lizards need more than four hours in a day when they don't have to work at keeping cool, but can spend their energy getting food and doing all the social things that are needed to keep the population going. I doubt if our lizards would have that these days. They don't start to move without the sun being on their rocks (even if the morning is warm enough); then the sun is too hot on many summer days. (even in spring time we had a heat wave in 2009!)
When they come out of hibernation, perhaps I will feed them some more.
and on another note. The front verandah has been draped in gold for a few months. A "golden orb" spider took up residence near the clothes line that Mike put in. I have been surprised that she survived so long. She was there for some months and we have had some frosts. But 'Shelob' lost her life in Thursday's frost. On Wednesday Fred had seen the Wattle Bird having a go at the huge spider as she sat in the middle of her web. What a honey eater was doing looking at her I don't understand! I looked out at 5am on Thursday and she was still there. But by 7am the frost had come down (-1 I think) and she had gone.
