They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted;
They fell with their faces to the foe.
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.
- Laurence Binyon (excerpt from For the Fallen) -
My street is looking colourful, greens and golds, a nice contrast against the vibrant blue skies we have currently and it makes turning my car into the street a visual pleasure; typica; of spring here.
I took some cuttings (sorry for hacking bits off you trees) and brought them inside to shoot in my lightbox. I got side-tracked when I found a tiny green spider in the foliage which I ended up photographing; post found here if you're so inclined. But got back on target and this post shows some of the photos I took.
This plant is a Callistemon 'White Anzac', (white flowering bottlebrush) and whilst not one of my favourite plants is perfect for planting in streetscapes here due to its hardy, drought-tolerant nature. It's tough, like the ANZAC's it was named after (see below), and yet quite attractive. Bees love it as do the butterflies and it's a pleasure to have these trees lining my street and others in the area.
It has a nice mix of colour: vibrant green leaves, red when they're new, and the gold-tipped white flowers that burst forth from the little pods as pictured. The nuts that fall off can be a hazard though, they get very hard and can be like marbles to walk on after they fall...I know right? First-world problems.
The acronym, ANZAC, means Australian New Zealand Army Corps, a collaboration of the two countries' military forces formed to head overseas and fight in World War One over a hundred years ago.
It was a simple logistical convenience initially and quite often the two countries didn't even fight side by side, however a relationships was forged in the white hot heat and chaos of battle, initially in the brutal fight upon the beaches and cliffs of Gallipoli, Türkiye (Turkey) when they fought and died together. It was a military disaster led by inept British command and a great price was paid in lives...but through the courage, bravery, endurance and work-ethic ,it created the ANZAC legend, defined the country of Australia particularly and since the day those troops hit the Gallipoli beaches on 25 April in 1915 the two countries (militarily) have shared a bond that has endured through other conflicts and to this very day the legacy proudly lives on.
So much is given by those who go to war and (unfortunately) it is soon forgotten by those who did not; it's disgusting. I remember though, respect the sacrifices Australians have made for this country and honour the men who made those sacrifices. It suits me to know my street is lined with white ANZAC callistemons, a constant reminder of courage, mateship, sacrifice and endurance those men showed...in a world that seems intent upon eliminating such things from existence.
That's it folks, a fairly simple post I guess. I'm sorry for my passive rant about society as above, I guess I just don't value what people stand for these days, generally, and it irks me that society seems so intent on letting important values die in preference for...whatever the fuck people value these days. (Sorry, here I go again.)
If you've got any comments please leave them below, I value them and will respond.
Design and create your ideal life, tomorrow isn't promised - galenkp
[Original and AI free]
Every image in this post is my own.
Olympus OM-D E-M10 Mark III was used to capture these images.
