Midge Bites and Breakdancing

Hey, how ya goin'?

I have officially experienced my first insect bite influx.
While sketching outside on the deck a few days ago, there were these little knat-like bugs flying around--sometimes checking out my drawing, but mostly biting my arms and legs.  I felt them here and there but because I figured it wasn't a big deal, I focused on the charcoal in my hand and the paper in front of me.  MISTAKE.  The bites are similar to the work of fire ants or chiggers.  As the title of this blog suggests, these little insects are called Midges (an Aussie I spoke to called them "midgies", but I suppose that is the due to the abundantly playful language).  It could be worse, for sure.  Stay tuned for inevitable, future insect extravaganzas.

I didn't take statistics in college so I'm not claiming that the following stat has too much significance.  BUT...both houses that Hugo and I have lived in have had a lizard living in the mailbox.  So--according to my numbers--this means that 100% of mailboxes in Brisbane are homes to small lizards.  Amazing!

I went to a B Girl and B Boy Battle on Friday.  It was the final activity for Youth Week 2010.  The vast majority of the audience had never been to a battle before and were quite quiet  (which contrasted my shouts of support and arm gestures.)  It was great to see so many people attending the outdoor affair and supporting the talented youth in the community.  After it was over, I met a man selling his 3-person tent for $30, caught my bus (barely) and found a 20-cent piece on the floor.  A wonderful night, indeed.

Tomorrow is a special day, for we will pick up our first Brisbane CSA share!  (Community Shared Agriculture is a way for community members to commit to supporting local farmers/agriculture by paying per week for whatever fruits, veggies are in season.  In addition, most offer local breads, honey, juices, etc.  While benefiting the farmer by making sure they get the most money possible for their produce--rather than most of it going to food distributors, transportation, grocery stores, etc--the consumer benefits from eating fresher foods that can be gathered as late as the *day before* or the *morning of* the pickup day.)  This week, we can expect: beets, broccoli, corn, potatoes, tomatoes, apples, bananas, oranges and yogurt.

This tree variety begins growing aerial roots down from the main branches.  It's difficult to see in this photo, but take a look at the piece on the right.  It will grow and plant itself into the ground to increase its stability and exposure to sun.  When this happens enough times, the tree could look more like this:

Isn't that incredible?

I still climb trees sometimes, but if I had seen this during the peak of my climbing days, I would have freaked out. 

more Australian speak:

**people here adore using the word "heaps" when wanting to describe 'a lot' of something.  

**when buying a loaf of bread and the baker asks "how would you like it sliced?"...these are NOT the answers they are looking for  1) with a knife  2) slowly 3) like an enraged Tony Soprano

the simple answer they are searching for is either 1) thin  or  2) thick