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  • Looking for explanations…Susan60@aus.social
    Aug 9, 2026, 1:16 AM

    I’m struggling to engage here a bit. On the one hand, bad news from around the world on the climate change & bird flu fronts is so awfully daunting. On the other, chatting about nice little things I do & experience in my relatively privileged life seems awfully self-indulgent…

    However, I know that glimpses into other people’s lives are a great source of joy for me, so maybe I should contribute?

    It’s a grey, cold & rainy day here today, & Partner has cancelled golf. I have some chores to do, not much, & will paint. I’ve taken the cats out the back between showers, and they are now chasing each other around the house. There’s been no squeals, so it’s all good fun.

    The possums have been hungry, as you can see from the very sad state of my vertical garden, so I’ve started leaving fruit & vege scraps out for them. ( The lemon is “caged” at night.)

    Something must be busy in the soil, as the cats have taken an intense interest in a particular spot. My citrus butterfly chrysalis is still green & healthy, so 🤞🏼it will get right through winter.

    A rather sad vertical garden of herbs and other plants, much nibbled by possums, except for the thyme. A small healthy lemon tree is next to it, in front of a grey timber fence. A few flowers are in bloom in the lemon, & many buds can be seen.
    A white & ginger cat (George) is crouched on the ground under a ti-tree hedge. He’s looking at the camera with an “I ain’t done nuffin wrong (yet)!” Look on his face.
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Replies

  • iris ✿ sandwalkerIrisherself@mastodon.social
    Aug 9, 2026, 1:33 AM

    @Susan60 I come here to pause and reflect and to enjoy lovely posts like yours 🤗 thank you for sharing, it's heartwarming to get those 'other glimpses' as you say and see the world is not all lost

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  • SJsjpurrs@mastodon.social
    Aug 9, 2026, 1:34 AM

    @Susan60 I often feel that way and disengage for a while but I always feel better when I find a way to share, however clumsily that may be in my case.

    People are reading our posts all the time and it helps to be able to read what people are just normally doing. It gives us a break from the bleak.

    I should stop but I should finish by saying your cat is gorgeous and I'm impressed that your possums eat lemons. Ours take one bite at the beginning of the season and then steer clear of them.

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  • Looking for explanations…Susan60@aus.social
    Aug 9, 2026, 4:04 AM

    @sjpurrs

    Yes.. I am usually all too happy to share my thoughts on just about anything!

    The possums (or rats?) will eat flowers, half of nearly ripe fruit, even bark. (They stripped the bark of the lime part of a grafted lemon & lime tree I used to have.) Australian possums… I don’t think it’s rats, because my cage wouldn’t be sufficient to keep them out.

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  • SJsjpurrs@mastodon.social
    Aug 9, 2026, 6:10 AM

    @Susan60 Thanks but I think they know it, which can make them hard to deal with at times.

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  • SJsjpurrs@mastodon.social
    Aug 9, 2026, 6:09 AM

    @Susan60 Wow! Your possums sound as voracious as ours. Stripping bark off trees is quite impressive.They can be real pests but I also find them a tad adorable. We had one that used to waltz into the house, jump up on to the dining table and take fruit from the fruit bowl, while we were eating. This went on for quite a few years (not all the time of course). We really do live with the fauna in Australia.

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  • SJsjpurrs@mastodon.social
    Aug 9, 2026, 6:20 AM

    @Susan60 Yeah, their night time activity here took us years to get used to. They have a racing circuit which includes the next door's roof as well, so their chases require jumping from one rooftop to the next.

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  • Curious MagpieCuriousMagpie@beige.party
    Aug 9, 2026, 1:56 AM

    @Susan60 the beauty of this place is that we can step in and out as we need to in the larger community will be here. :BlahajHuggingHeart:

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  • Kevin Davypathfinder@beige.party
    Aug 9, 2026, 2:40 AM

    @Susan60
    The day to day stuff of others is what keeps many of us going. It is, in so many ways, the rebellion against despair and giving in, that we need.

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  • Looking for explanations…Susan60@aus.social
    Aug 9, 2026, 3:32 AM

    @pathfinder

    Yes, & I’m very conscious of my role… as a role model. My MIL went through a rather despondent stage a while back, & I found it very discouraging.

    I don’t like the idea of false positivity, and feeling pretty despondent can be a perfectly rational response to one’s personal circumstances, or the bigger picture. However we need to be aware of the extent to which our personal circumstances, health issues etc can cloud our judgement & make us less hopeful.

    One of the things I loved about teaching was the energy that young people can bring to an issue if they’re feeling energised & engaged. Ignorance & lack of experience can mean that some/many of their ideas simply aren’t viable, but sometimes they’ll come up with great ideas & bring a different perspective to the situation. (As can neurodivergent people.)

    Looking after our mental health is, obviously, important for ourselves, but it’s also so important for others around us, especially our loved ones, & anyone else for whom we have a duty of care.

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  • hmm needs a breakhmmwrites@chattrbx.com
    Aug 9, 2026, 3:10 AM

    @Susan60
    For my part, I'm glad you do share here, when you feel up to engaging. Sharing one's cats is, after all, the whole reason the internet exists! Like you, I find a little happy in seeing little glimpses of others' everydays. I don't think it's self-indulgent to post your tidbits.

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  • DragonFlameRHW@mastodon.au
    Aug 9, 2026, 5:54 AM

    @Susan60 I take great joy in the genuine happiness of people sharing about their pets, craft, gardens, plants and all of the gentle things.
    We cannot ignore the harshness in the world but sometimes it helps your mind to just take time out and enjoy all those good things.
    Love to hear about your cats. You have destructive possums, I have destructive cockatoos.😉
    They are blatant and cheeky and let me get within about a couple of metres before squawking and swooping off.

    Three sulphur crested cockatoos perched on wall of balcony. I know they are furtively eyeing my precious geraniums, the only flowers out in our winter here.
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  • Looking for explanations…Susan60@aus.social
    Aug 9, 2026, 6:20 AM

    @RHW

    Cockatoos, corellas… can do a lot of damage. We have lots around here, but they stick to parks, golf courses etc. Lorikeets is another matter! If my ti-tree flowers this year, after being brutally cut back last year, they’ll be entertaining the cats & me in a few months.

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