Another Life?

Somewhere out there, possibly within a couple of hundred metres is a 77 year old woman who went for a walk early last week and has now been missing for several days. Despite the fact that the lady concerned has lived in the mountains for many years and despite the many times she has hiked the local bush tracks, she appears to have neglected many of the basic rules: Don't go alone. Always tell someone exactly where you are going and when you expect to return. Leave time to complete the excursion before dark. Make sure that your mobile phone battery is fully charged. Carry water and protective clothing. Never leave the established tracks etc. Unfortunately after all this time it is unlikely that she will be found alive. I never met her myself but she was a neighbour to one of my friends. In any event this is all a very sad business. Our seductive and beautiful country can kill you in very short order unless you show it respect.

Almost immediately behind me as I take this picture, a television crew is preparing to shoot a location report for the evening news. The reporter is doing her hair and freshening her make up in the van. The cinematographer has the camera and the fill light all set up and ready to go. I fancy that the search is about to be scaled back but I shan't wait to hear the words being said. 

I have come to feel that I owe people a short explanation. When I posted what I thought might be my last blip - back in December, I expected to be gone for good. I also expected that there'd soon be no Blipfoto to return to. I dramatically cut back the list of journals I was following to a handful of mainly local friends so that I could follow them more easily and quickly ... until the end. Largely because I missed my more distant friends and now that Blipfoto seems to have been saved, I am attempting to "re-follow" all of the journals I once did for so long. That is why some of you are receiving fresh notifications to that effect. The VERY last thing I would want is for anyone to take offence at this. Thanks so much for your patience.