Christmas Bells

Christmas Bells
Christmas Bells - Blandfordia nobilis

Sunday, November 27, 2005

Walking backward for Christmas

I am writing this from Canberra, being my other home, when I am not in Robertson. Canberra is where I grew up, and spent most of my adult life, prior to my move to Robertson. It is, the Capital City of Australia.

I was thinking about the great comic genius Spike Milligan and the Goon Show, and the song: "I'm walking backwards for Christmas". It sounds prosaic, if not slightly crude, but what reminded me was a pair of Soldier Beetles, (Chauliognathus lugubris) walking along the brick walls at my partner Judy's house. And, yes, if you have ever seen a "pair of beetles walking" together, well, yes, one of them was walking backwards. I do so hope that whichever Beetle was doing the backwards steps was singing this lyric:
I'm walking backwards for Christmas,
To prove that I love you.

I am not enough of an entymologist to know which of the beetles, the male or the female, gets to be the "driver" in this situation. However, that is an anthropomorhic concern, on my part. Clearly the beetles were not worried about anything much at all. Just being happy little beetles, one of them walking backwards, making a Christmas present for the other one - "to prove that I love you".

I promised that this blog would be about "Nature" - well it doesn't get much more natural than that!

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