Sky Burial

Reference to 'Sky Burial' comes up in Xinran's books.  At first it doesn't make sense, but when you learn what she is referring to, it makes sense.    I've yet to read this one of Xinran's books, but I have read references to it in a number of places.  You can read about the book 'Sky Burial' which she wrote in 2004 here.

The video below may seem a little macabre at first thought, but I like the line at the end.  When we are dead, we are dead.  If you are buried underground worms take your bits away.  I like the idea of the sky burial, although we don't have such birds to do the deed here.  Maybe the crows will take the bits away.

My new friends...............

I have some new friends - of the feathered variety!  I am house sitting, while the owner is in China. L used to feed several birds and I continue.  There is a family of butcher birds, and one that I recognise easily as he/she has a baldish patch on the skull.  This bird is very intrusive and is usually the first to line up for a morsel of mince meat.  I think it must be a female, as it will load its beak with as much meat as it can handle and flies up high up into the trees on a hill.  I like to think that there is a little family there benefiting from my generosity.

I am trying to work out "who is who" - but it is hard. 

It has been raining today and I was surprised to see how wet the birds get.  One appeared looking like it had been swimming - opening its wings a little perhaps to help dry them off.  I promised it some food if it posed for a photo - which is how I managed the photo above.  

We don't get to see how the rain affects them!  I see a few birds with wet feathers taking refuge under the roof of the deck.  Lorikeets, butcher birds and noisy miners or mickey birds are abundant in this area and I've seen them all taking refuge.