Think Positive for the New Year

Walking through freshly cut lawn deep up to my ankle, delighting in the tingling sensation of the soft prickly grass wondering what the new year will bring, I came across this bottle tree located in the heart of Towoomba Park in Queensland. I thought, what an awesome tree - with a supple, generous waistline strong enough to withstand the forces of nature! My cousin Maureen and I had just been to see a new display at the Cobb & Co Museum where a collection of butterflies including from PNG were on show. Maureen is a PhD student at the university in Towoomba completing her studies on the 'effects of climate change on endangered species'. One such species is the  birdwing butterfly; the largest in the world is found in my province, Oro.Only a couple of days after I left Towoomba, the rains and the floods began with nearby town Chinchilla going under. What I did experience though while I was in Towoomba, was a storm with hails as big as golf balls. I hope and pray that the devastating floods in Queensland will subside soon and normalcy will return.