Health, Food and Life

May 21st – Martin in Oz

This is a bit back-to-front. This post is my first one about Martin’s stay here in Oz, and I just dropped Martin at the airport to go back home to Portland – actually, he shouted me breakfast at the airport, thanks for that, mate! – and now I’m sitting here at Nanny’s tracking his flight on my tablet on FlightAware. If he was sitting on the starboard side of the aircraft he would have been looking at Morton Island. Pretty sure that was the side I saw on the ticket.
“Hope you enjoyed your eggs-Bennie, Martin… we’ll need to go out to Moreton Island the next time you come down-undah!”

Reflections: gives me pause to consider just how much what one does and the decisions one makes can affect others. Key to all this is a core principle: either God is Lord Of All or God isn’t Lord AT all.

It matters … more than anyone would have ever guessed.


I miss Martin. Just checked on his flight: he’s halfway to Vancouver, now.

In keeping with a fine exercise tradition Martin encouraged and engaged in — every chance he got, here in Oz — decided I needed to get in my ten-thousand steps (per the VivoFit2 thingie on my wrist) so I went to Vickie Point this evening:

…it really wasn’t that busy for a Sunday evening, a few folks fishing and bringing in their ‘tinnies’ and walking:

Whilst I was on the second loop I almost tripped over a Bush Stone-curlew, so since he wasn’t moving, I thought I’d get a photo:

I hear that their strategy, similar to the flightless kakapo parrot of New Zealand, is to try to remain perfectly still, blending in with their surrounding. This doesn’t work out all that well for either the kakapo or the curlew, with predators such as cats and such not fooled by “let’s hold perfectly still and they won’t see us” strategy. Curlew are considered endangered in NSW and Victoria, although they are reasonably secure here in QLD.

Martin is now not far from Kauai:

Oh, and I did get in my 10K steps.