CM Simpson: Writer & Gamer

Well, life got interesting this week has seen me have to deal with a family member developing a spontaneous pneumo-thorax as well as resigning from my day job, so there will be a fortnight's delay to 365 Days of Poetry, while I catch up with things, and make sure I have the time to care for my family. The poetry in this volume comes in a variety of styles and genres, and is arranged in no particular order. I have played with traditional forms such as the cinquain, and worked with free-form and rhyme. I have written about the world around me, and about worlds that probably don’t exist. I have tried to write poetry from the perspective of someone in the distant future writing about a new world, and I have written poetry with fantasy themes. Welcome to the worlds in my head. Scheduled Release Date: November 15, 2014.

These native pigeons visit my backyard. They're pretty shy, even when bribed with seed, and will only tolerate the camera for short periods of time. At first it was only one,  weighing up the camera angle vs. the food.  When the camera didn't give chase,  he gave the all-clear and a few of his friends came down to join him. More information on top-knot pigeons can be found at the following sites: http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Ocyphaps-lophotes ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crested_pigeon ; birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/crested-pigeon ; http://www.climatewatch.org.au/species/birds/crested-pigeon ; http://www.arkive.org/crested-pigeon/ocyphaps-lophotes/ ; http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/09/02/2674184.htm .

I can never tell what I'll find when I head out of the house. This fine afternoon, I found a pair of eastern rosellas, but only one of them would oblige me by sitting long enough to sit still for a photograph or three. He looked very handsome in the afternoon light, even when preparing to fly. I encountered them on another walk - this one in the morning but, as soon as I turned the camera towards them, they took wing. Here's all I got. To find out more about the crimson rosella, try visiting the following sites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_rosella ; http://www.birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/eastern-rosella ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAhduTGV4y4 ; http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/?base=13581 ; http://www.mdahlem.net/birds/12/eastros.php ; http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Platycercus-eximius .

I have wanted to get close enough to photograph these shy wading birds for some time, but they've always managed to elude me, skulking off into the shrubbery, just as fast as their little red legs can take them. To find out more about dusky moorhens, you can visit the following sites: http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Gallinula-tenebrosa ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dusky_moorhen ; http://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/Dusky-Moorhen ; http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/?base=16225 ; http://goulburnwetlands.org.au/?page_id=908 ; http://calamvalecreek.awardspace.com/dabbs.html ; http://www.climatewatch.org.au/species/birds/dusky-moorhen-1 .

On a grey morning, I went out to look for birds. I didn't have a lot of luck, but I did spot these beauties coming in to land on this tree. I'd noticed them on other walks, on the ground, but this particular morning, they did not oblige by coming out of the tree. The first shot shows where they landed.  The next few shots catch show a glimpse of yellow and red. But it wasn't until this one turned side on, that I had enough to be able to identify them. I'm thinking the males have yellow faces.  And the females or juveniles are all green... maybe. Apparently, the superb parrot is a threatened species, so I feel particularly lucky to have been able to photograph these. More information on superb parrots can be found at the following sites: http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Polytelis-swainsonii ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superb_parrot ; http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedspeciesapp/profile.aspx?id=10645 ; http:/...

Reading got done. After Laurell K. Hamilton, I opted for a change of pace and dipped into Anne McCaffrey’s Crystal Singer series, and Tanya Huff’s Blood series.

So, I went for a bit of a walk, trying to get some different shots of the crimson rosellas. At first they proved to be very elusive, and they stayed that way for the morning. This was the only shot I had of a pair in a tree. For bright red and blue (and green) birds, they can be quite difficult to see, when they are feeding in long grass.  Harder still when they bend down to feed. There are two birds in each of the shots below.  And there they are again. If even red and blue birds can hide in the long grass, what chance do we have against velociraptors? You can find more about crimson lorikeets from the following sites: http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Platycercus-elegans ; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimson_rosella ; http://birds.about.com/od/mediumbirds/p/Crimson-Rosellas-As-Pets.htm ; http://parkweb.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0012/322203/rosella4.pdf ; http://australianmuseum.net.au/Crimson-Rosella ...