Jindabyne

Last Thursday afternoon I made it to another bargain matinée movie. This time it was Jindabyne, the complex and engrossing Australian film that I had a chance to watch on the Qantas flight from LAX to Melbourne last month.

I’m glad I didn’t try to watch it on the teensy-squeensy video screen on the seatback in front of me on the 747. That wouldn’t have done justice to the many outdoor wide shots. Oh yes, that Australian landscape.

Loved it. The landscape and the film, in wide-screen splendor.

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Weed control in the park

I have been taking a long walk nearly every day in the City parks across the street from our condo complex: Hutchinson Park and Bible Park. In each park, the wetlands (Hutchinson) and natural areas (Bible) are full of growth, tall grasses and leafed-out plants and trees.

The “developed” areas, especially in Bible – the big park – look almost lush, and “lush” doesn’t come easy to this high and arid climate. It was a copiously snowy winter here in town, and not a very dry spring, good for plant growth. Maybe too good; the cottonwood trees are already shedding cotton fluff which usually happens in July or August – not May.

These vistas are unlikely to remain this green for the entire summer, unless it turns out to be unusually blessed with rainfall.

The 130 or so noxious weed control agents hired by the City are back in Bible Park this year, as of Friday. See the pictures.

The goats will be working on the park areas that have been left as natural habitat, and the work will take some time.

They are brought in each day and watched over by a man whose working title I didn’t ask. Goat-herder, I guess. Or, Noxious Weed Control Supervisor? Whatever the title, he’s a courteous man with a Texas or Oklahoma accent.

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