FEAST OR FAMINE

The following computer cases and skins, wall art, home decor, bags and stationery with my photograph of Australian kangaroos can be purchased at: http://www.redbubble.com/people/martina/works/14159579-kangaroo-two-australia?c=382310-animals

The full moon of August 30, 2015, was a super moon. The name ‘super moon’ comes from the appearance of the moon – it appears about 12% larger than usual. And it seems to shine brighter (scientists say 25-30 times brighter) than usual. This is because the moon is actually closer to Earth than usual. The distance from the Earth to the moon during a super moon is 360,000 kilometres. The average distance is 384,400 kilometres (238,900 miles). A super moon is unusual because it occurs only 3 to 4 times a year (not every month). However, this August super moon was the first one for this year. The next super moon is September 29, 2015.

Canberra, the capital of Australia, has had its coldest winter in 15 years and wettest in 10 years. I’m glad I wasn’t there to experience it. Currently preparing for the spring flower festival, Floriade, an annual mid-September event, the past winter is almost behind Canberrans. There were 53 mornings with below zero temperatures (10 more than the average), reports The Canberra Times (August 30, 2015). The coldest winter temperature was minus 7 degrees Celsius, recorded on two days (June 2 and July 3). The warmest day was August 22 with a maximum of 21 degrees Celsius. The average daytime minimum temperature for the 2015 winter was 6.4 degrees Celsius (which was actually the same as the average long-term temperature). The maximum daytime temperature was 13 degrees (warmer than the average of 12.3 degrees Celsius). However, the average night time temperature was 0.8 degrees below average, making this year the coldest winter in 15 years. There was 15...

Scientists want to prove that there are psychological, social, and physical benefits in owning a dog. Researchers at the University of Sydney, Australia, think that dog owners live longer, are less likely to develop heart disease, beat depression, and improve social contacts (Adelaide Now, August 28, 2015). Associate Professor Manos Stamatakis thinks that dogs can expand human emotional horizons. Stamatakis wants to conduct three studies. The first study will have participants who adopt a dog from a local dog shelter and test how often they walk the dog, how fast, and whether they sit less if they have a dog. Each participant will wear a state-of-the-art inclinometer to measure distance, speed and the heart rate of the dog walker. In the second study dog owners will have laboratory-controlled blood tests to see if their levels of oxytocin (a love and bonding hormone) increases when a dog enters the room (the laboratory). Oxytocin is good for health b...

Waterland (1983) is set in the marshlands (the Fen Country) of Stott’s Bridge, East Anglia, England. The novel oscillates between two timeframes: the first is 1937 and the second is 1943. At the time of writing, it is 1980 and the narrator, Tom Crick, is leaving his job as a history teacher at the age of   52 for ‘personal reasons’ after 14 years – a job he undertook after serving in the Second World War. The first critical year in the narrator’s life is when his mother dies in 1937, when he is nine years old. His mother Helen and his father Henry, and his grandfather Ernest, set the backdrop over 240 years of his heritage, for all that Tom becomes – and even more so for his older brother, by four years, Dick Crick. Dick Crick has an unfortunate name. But he also has an unfortunate life that parallels a Greek tragedy. The two brothers, Dick and Tom, live in a lock-keeper’s cottage by River Leem. They come from a long line of water people in a place frequen...