It suddenly came back to me. There I was sitting at the Command and Control Station in my Bunker on the Old Eastside of town, looking out at my sparkling blue swimming pool, when a Tree Martin came in from the south, banked and dived steeply to the east to do a "touch and go" on the surface of the water before repeating the trick by completing another circuit and then disappearing.
I've never understood what they are doing. I've wondered about their being so thirsty that they will drink chlorinated swimming pool water, or whether they are picking up insects which are floating on the surface.
I first saw the phenomenon in January 1979, through the south facing window of my ground floor single room at the Professional Officers Quarters at the Alice Springs Hospital. The large ceiling to floor window, seen in the faded photo above, looked out on the hospital swimming pool, from what I always regarded as the best room in the house. Then [notice there is no need to say, 'back then' as 1979 gives that game away], the birds repeated their "touch and goes" numerous times. January in 1979 was very hot. It's been 42°C here [now] the last couple of days, but I remember a run of 14 days all of which were over 40°C in January '79.
There must be something special about being in an air conditioned room, with a south facing window looking over a swimming pool watching Tree Martins do their tricks in the heat of January. I'll have to think more on it.
I think another work of art is called for: 'Tree Martin in flight'.
Posted by: Jude | Tuesday, 24 January 2012 at 23:19
Thanks Jude. All the other girls in the lino cut class did Flowers, Owls, and girlie things like that. I'm sticking to straight line join-the-dots Crystal Set Circuit diagrams with a few curly bits. As my lino cuts have already been acclaimed internationally [by Kim] I've gone ahead and ordered a personal plate for the Getz. "XTALMAN" - read as Crystalman. That'll have the hippies guessing!
Posted by: Tjilpi | Tuesday, 24 January 2012 at 23:37
I'll have to think aboutt "the heat of January".
Posted by: kim | Wednesday, 25 January 2012 at 04:26
Kim, Mate. It's been a scorcher. A man could perish while lookin' for scrubbers in the gidgee. I haven't felt a January like this since that one in '79. Mate, it's so hot and dry even the water is dehydrated! You just make sure you've always got a bottle of that stuff handy.
Posted by: Tjilpi | Wednesday, 25 January 2012 at 06:13