just being thankfull

[Brian W]

Hi all we have been working on getting our yard / temple up to speed and we are just about there.

Birds are nesting in our trees.

Butterflies all over the place.

With lots of tall bamboo and fruit trees the centre is marvellously dark for observing.

Today our gardener harvested coconuts so he will have money for his daughters birthday and we have fresh coconut juice in the fridge.

Made some pineapple sauce and pineapple jam and some seriously sweet pineapple juice today.

Roses are sweet and gorgeous.

Fresh veggies.

Flowers blooming and life is good.

Brian

PS life would be great if the night skies would onl,y clear off

[leon]

Sounds like you are on a winner Brian, ;) sounds very nice indeed, now about those elusive clear nights, errr, sorry can't help you with that one. :shrug:

Leon:thumbsup:

[Brian W]

It is a winner for us. But then again the trip you are on is no looser. Before we returned to the Philippines about 10 years ago we took a trip across Canada in a 21' motor-home. Not fancy but it sure was fun.

Now my travelling is all done via the web or my telescope which if nothing else sure cuts down on maintenance and gas costs.

Brian

[Liz]

Sounds wonderful Brian!!! So many beautiful aspects of life to enjoy, and you are so lucky to be able to make the most of it.

[astroron]

:hi:Brian I am Happy that You are Happy with natures gifts aplenty:D
Enjoy your Easter:thumbsup:
cheers

[bartman]

Nice Brian,
you make me jealous.........you have a gardener?????
Wicked!
your prose(?), sets the scene nicely, I would love to be in your position/circumstance in about 20-30 years time and I do dream about it!!
A few pics would be nice...
Cheers
Bartman

[Brian W]

Actually Bartman anyone can have what we have. All it takes is time, effort, a pension that follows you and a wife that is willing to live outside of the cultural norms.

lets see if the pictures got loaded.
B.

[Brian W]

Ok the pictures worked.
(1) we have a multitude of dragon fly types
(2) beautiful flower
(3) wife's office, now our bedroom where she wrote her dissertation for her doctoral and our dog
(4) back of our main house
(5) I used to be a lighthouse keeper on Canada's west coast (Ivory Island) and this was the view out our living room window

When my wife gets a new battery for her camera and our new house is completed will send a few more pictures showing house and strange observatory.
Brian

[Brian W]

Bartman, trust me I grew up thinking only rich people have gardeners so no one is more surprised than me that we have a gardener.

But believe me if we were living in Australia rather than the Philippines we would not be able to afford a gardener.
Brian

[Ric]

A lighthouse keeper, that would have been a fantastic job Brian especially waking up to that view.

I used to dream of a job like that as a kid and still do now as a big kid.

[Brian W]

The only problem you might have is that bright light that keeps on turning around or blinking on and off. Would kind of ruin your night vision.

But it was marvellous at the time.
Brian

[ballaratdragons]

Beautiful pics Brian.

Lovely garden.
Are you able to post pics of inside your Buddhist Temple?

[Brian W]

Thanks for the kind words Ken and once Myra gets back from Manila with a new battery for her camera we will post some pictures.

However I fear I may have misled (unintentionally) ... the temple is more of a garden than a traditional temple.

Our walls are the trees, our statues are manicured bushes, our meditation hall is in the open, and our altar... well it is not really defined quite yet.

However as much as it is most definitely a work in progress the main reasons for a temple are being addressed. How well is for others to decide)

There is prayer for others, healing and rest for the sick and weary, food for sharing and most go away feeling as if they have come into contact with something that is not of the ordinary.

And I get to be the steward and do astronomy too... life is good.

[Brian W]

Did I mention the butterflies?

[bartman]

Wow Massive Flutterby there Brian!
And also that pic of the dragonfly is a beaut!
Bartman

[Brian W]

My wife does have a certain talent with the camera. my talent seems to be that occasionally the wee things like to stop and chat.

The rarest and also the biggest one to stop and chat was a 'Moon Moth'. Wing span about the same as a large man's hand width.

Brian

[ballaratdragons]

Thanks Brian.

Sounds like a very relaxing garden :thumbsup:

When I visited the Buddhist Temple at Sovereign Hill I didn't know if we were allowed to take pics or not. There were no signs. But it is certainly beautiful in there.
It has a shrine to Kwan Tai the God of War, Patron God of the Hong Kong Police Force, and Patron God of gangsters (talk about a weird contradiction in patrons).

Yours sounds much more 'natural' ;)