Gaia 2022: The Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham

The Triffids:… horrible alien things which some of us had somehow created and which the rest of us in our careless greed had cultured all over the world. …somehow they had been bred….(and they) seemed able to profit and flourish on our disaster… The Day of the Triffids was first published in 1951 and adapted …

Gaia 2022: Black Beauty by Anna Sewell

“If a thing is right it can be done, and if it is wrong it can be done without; and a good man will find a way” Anna Sewell, Black Beauty (1877) In this beloved classic by Anna Sewell, strong, handsome and free-spirited Black Beauty narrates the story of his life. Born to his mother …

The Village Roses

Just living is not enough… one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower. Hans Christian Anderson If the Covid Pandemic has taught us anything, it is that happiness, mental wellbeing and quality of life is not found in wealth, social status or even in the office, but in deep connection with family, friends and …

The Next-Door Neighbour

Living in the wide open spaces One of the things we love about our place is the open space and the semi-rural atmosphere. Across the road are some stables and our house is set back far enough on our one acre block that the dust from the gravel road doesn’t bother us too much. We …

Gaia 2022: The Yield by Tara June Winch

Yield itself is a funny word - yield in English is the reaping, the things that man can take from the land, the thing he’s waited for and gets to claim. A wheat yield. In my language it’s the things you give to, the movement, the space between things. (The Yield - Tara June Winch) Profoundly …

Day of Happiness

It seems somewhat incongruous to be celebrating the International Day of Happiness when so many people around the world are experiencing anything but happiness. The corona virus is still claiming lives and there is great inequity across the world in access to vaccines and treatment. There is also an unsettling disquiet about whose lives have …

Phosphorescence by Julia Baird

"How do we continue to glow when the lights turn out? All we can do really is keep placing one foot on the earth, then the other, to seek out ancient paths and forests, certain in the knowledge that others have endured before us. We must love. And we must look outwards and upwards at …

Gaia Reading Challenge – Diary of a Young Naturalist

“I have the heart of a naturalist, the head of a would-be scientist, and bones of someone who is already wearied by the apathy and destruction wielded against the natural world.” Dara McAnulty,2020 From Goodreads... Diary of a Young Naturalist chronicles the turning of 15-year-old Dara McAnulty’s world. From spring and through a year in …

Now is the Time to Open Your Heart by Alice Walker

Alice Walker is probably best known for her novel The Color Purple which won the Pulitzer Prize for 1983. Now is the Time to Open Your Heart was first published in 2004 and dwells on themes of ageing, spiritual enlightenment and the impact of the modern life on the human spirit. The novel follows the …

Queens Park, Toowoomba

There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature - the assurance that dawn comes after night and spring after winter. Rachel Carson There is an old Chinese proverb that says the three greatest physicians in life are nature, time and patience. I think it is interesting that nature is listed first. It …