The Melting Billy
“I begin to speak only when I’m certain what I’ll say isn’t better left unsaid.”
- Plutarch, Cato the Younger
Scree Slope. Pentax MX, Cinestill 50D, Aug 2025.
Chockstone. Pentax MX, Cinestill 50D, Aug 2025.
Hovering Branch. Pentax MX, Cinestill 50D, Aug 2025.
Over the midlands. Pentax MX, Cinestill 50D, Aug 2025.
I awoke before dawn
To ask the moon about the night
Hear the winds whisper?
Water ripples, and I write.
I sit here in an empty room,
Clear of all foreboding forces of nature
No wind, no rain, no cold
I am comfortable and totally alone.
My screen stares back at me
Another blank face,
My furniture stands
Unwilling to share seats.
I catch the train
One million headphones
Play one billion songs,
To me one voice whispers, yours.
We create an environment
To protect what we value
We lock it up so tight
If it cannot breathe,
If it cannot see,
If it cannot feel
it will waste away;
Misery.
Mystery we seek
On faraway hidden hills,
Far above the roads and ruins
Civilizations may crumble.
But oh the mountains will stand
Tall with precipitous slopes
Forbidden hopes
Knots tied in ropes
Hope is all but lost.
Remind, remember
Do not forget!
Within you lies
The universe and
Consciousness.
-A.S., 20th of February, 2016.
Early Morning. Pentax MX, Cinestill 50D, August 2025.
Clearing Fog. Pentax MX, Cinestill 50D, August 2025.
Icing on the cake. Pentax MX, Cinestill 50D, August 2025.
Flares. Pentax MX, Cinestill 50D, August 2025.
“Love is the active concern for the life and growth of that which we love.…the essence of love is to ‘labour’ for something and to ‘make something grow’; love and labour are inseparable. One loves that for which one labours, and one labours for that which one loves.”
-Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving
Frozen Pineapple Grass. Pentax MX, Cinestill 50D, July 2025.
‘To be responsible means to be able and ready to ‘respond’… The loving person responds… Respect means the concern that the other person should grow and unfold as he is. Respect, thus, implies the absence of exploitation… To respect a person is not possible without knowing him: care and responsibility would be blind if they were not guided by knowledge… There are many layers of knowledge: the knowledge which is an aspect of love is one which does not stay at the periphery, but penetrates to the core.”
-Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving
Snowy Snowy North. Pentax MX, Cinestill 50D, July 2025.
“The basic need to fuse with another person so as to transcend the prison of one’s separateness is closely related to another specifically human desire, that to know the ‘secret of man’… There is one way, a desperate one, to know the secret: it is that of complete power over another person: the power which makes him do what we want, feel what we want, think what we want; which transforms him into a thing, our thing, our possession. The ultimate degree of this attempt to know lies in the extremes of sadism, the desire and ability to make a human being suffer; to torture him, to force him to betray his secret in his suffering…
The other path to knowing the ‘secret’ is love. In the act of fusion I know you, I know myself, I know everybody - and I ‘know’ nothing… Love is the only way of knowledge, which in the act of union answers my quest. In the act of loving, of giving myself, in the act of penetrating the other person, I find myself, I discover myself, I discover us both. I discover man.”
-Erich Fromm, The Art of Loving
Then there are other secrets… such as the secrets of the South-West… Pentax MX, Cinestill 50D, July 2025.
“We are part and parcel of the big plan of things. We are simply instruments recording in different measure our particular notion of the infinite. And what we absorb of it makes for character and what we give forth, for [our art].”
-Rockwell Kent
Crooked stump, Mt Snowy North. Pentax MX, Cinestill 50D, July 2025.
Lichen detail. Pentax MX, Cinestill 50D, July 2025.
Twisted limbs. Pentax MX, Cinestill 50D, July 2025.
““I am your teacher and you are learning in my school. My aim is to bring you to completion, unhindered, free from compulsive behaviour, unrestrained, without shame, free, flourishing and happy, looking to God in things great and small - your aim is to learn and diligently practice all these things. Why then don’t you complete the work, if you have the right aim and I have both the right aim and right preparation? What is missing?… The work is quite feasible and is the only thing in our power… Let go of the past. We must only begin. Believe me and you will see.”
-Epictetus, Discourses
Rainbow Beach, Pentax MX, Kodak Pro Image 100, July 2025.
“We must give up many things to which we are addicted, considering them to be good. Otherwise, courage will vanish, which should continually test itself. Greatness of soul will be lost, which can’t stand out unless it disdains as petty what the mob regards as most desirable.”
-Seneca, Moral Letters
The big wide ocean. Pentax MX, Kodak Pro Image 100, July 2025.
“Keep this thought at the ready at daybreak, and through the day and night- there is only one path to happiness, and that is in giving up all outside of your sphere of choice, regarding nothing else as your possession, surrendering all else to God and Fortune.”
-Epictetus, Discourses
Sunrise toward Rainbow Beach. Pentax MX, Cinstill 50D. July 2025.
All you need are these: certainty of judgement in the present moment; action for the common good in the present moment; and an attitude of gratitude in the present moment for anything that comes your way.”
-Marcus Aurelius, Meditations
Sunrise over ocean. Pentax MX, Cinstill 50D, July 2025.
Every time I drive out to lutruwita’s/Tasmania’s South-West, I am reminded of the great folly that was the result of the compulsive industrialization driven by Tasmania’s Hydro-Electric Commission in the 1960s and 70s. The drowning of Lake Pedder and the Gordon River were tragedies that were seen as a reasonable sacrifice for the benefit they would bring: electricity. And to this day, the people of Tasmania, including myself, use this electricity, to boil the kettle, to have a hot shower, and to live the life of safety, security and comfort that civilization allows us.
Mist toward the South-West, Pentax MX, Cinstill 50D, June 2025.
The road that was bull dozed to build four dams in the South-West; The Scots Peak Dam, the Edgar Dam, the Serpentine Dam and the Gordon Dam; this is a road that I wish had never been built. The Gordon River Road. And yet I drive this road every time I go for a bush walk into the South-West. And so do the trucks that are currently hard at work reinforcing the Edgar Dam at the head of the Huon River. This is the dam that was built on a geological fault line; one of three dams that drowned Lake Pedder. It is currently getting major upgrades. There are also plans to reinforce the Scotts Peak Dam.
Lone Road, Pentax MX, Cinstill 50D, June 2025.
The federal inquiry into the flooding of Lake Pedder in 1995 concluded that it “is unlikely that such a project as the flooding Lake Pedder would now be approved.” As far as I know, this is as close as the government has ever come to making an apology about flooding Lake Pedder; the quiet admittance that the value of a wild lake of extraordinary beauty existing forever may outweigh the benefit of electricity generation. In the same paragraph, the enquiry also stated: “This does not mean that the Australian community would now support draining the new lake”. And so the tragedy of Lake Pedder continues, year after year.
The Thumbs, Pentax MX, Cinstill 50D, June 2025.
I often think of the meandering Serpentine River, trying to flow, but currently trapped by the Serpentine Dam, held back. Lake Pedder’s outlet, like Lake Pedder’s beach, drowned in fifteen meters of dark, buttongrass water. I wonder whether our society will ever be mature enough to value the health of a wild river above the convenience of electricity.
Will there ever come a time when we allow the Serpentine River to run free?
The road into the South-West, Pentax MX, Cinestill 50D, June 2025.
-A.S. Brushy Creek, 6/9/2025
”The true test of our character is the moment when someone commits an act toward us which we consider deplorable. It is this moment when we must choose between retaliation and forgiveness; between the mentality of ‘an eye for an eye’ or the transcendental where we break the cycle of wrongdoing through rising up to our higher self and choosing to respond to the atrocities directed to us with patience, kindness and ultimately, forgiveness. In other words, kindness is really about not being nasty to someone just because they have done us wrong.”
-A.S. Brushy Crek, 12th of August 2025
Peaking Peak, Pentax MX, Kodak
Derwent Valley, Pentax MX, Cinstill 50D, June 2025.
Rainbow over Mountain River, Pentax MX, Cinstill 50D, June 2025.
A blind spot is most dangerous when we are not aware of its presence.
Quartzite Outcrop, Pentax MX, Cinestill 50D, June 2025.
One of the greatest virtues one can attain is humility. This is the ability to admit that we were mistaken about something; and to wear our mistake with grace rather than denial. And one of the great blessings of maintaining a healthy and honest relationship with our fellow humans is that they will let us know when they believe we are mistaken; especially around matters of great importance. And it’s not just other people that can tell us when we are mistaken. The Earth can do this too.
Slopey Quartzite, Pentax MX, Cinestill 50D, June 2025.
A blind spot is most dangerous when we deny its existence. If we do not consider the possibility of being wrong about something, that is exactly when we are at greatest risk of making a mistake that could have dire consequences resulting in the metaphorical ‘fall’.
The devastating fall of the protagonist, the hero, is the subject of many great literary tragedies. The hero, absorbed in their ego fails to listen to the advice given by the oracles, and as a result, sets themselves on the path for self-destruction.
Rising Mist, Banksia, Pentax MX, Cinestill 50D, June 2025.
Our proud, hubris driven protagonist may say:
‘That other people should make mistakes is natural; that I should make a mistake, that is highly unlikely!’
And so the hero plods toward their destiny, towards the dragon’s den.
‘Others may be prone to make those mistakes, but I am dragon-proof; my judgement is without fault, and despite others believing otherwise, I am actually infallible.’
And so the hero will either defeat the dragon, or burn in the flames.
Burnt Banksias and Snowgums, Pentax MX, Cinestill 50D, June 2025.
-A.S. Brushy Creek, 23rd of August, 2025.
“I’ve come to realize that the only true walk is the re-walk. You cannot know a place without returning. And even then, once isn’t enough… It’s only through time and distance and effort-concerted, present effort, controlled attention, a gentle and steady gaze upon it all- that you begin to understand old connections, old wounds. That the shape of once dark paths becomes clear.”
-Craig Mod, Things Become Other Things’
Old Signpost. Pentax MX, Cinestill 50D, June 2025.
Crocodile Rock? Pentax MX, Cinestill 50D, June 2025.
View towards Lost World, Pentax MX, Cinestill 50D, June 2025.
“No one can open the door for you in this life, only you can do that.”
-Paddy Pallin, in my dream, 2nd of May, 2025, on the way to the mountain that shall not be named.
The mountain that shall not be named, panorama. Hasselblad 500CM, Kodak Gold 200, May 2025.
“To the skeptic who may ask: ‘What was the point in that?’ the philosopher may respond with ‘Looking for the point is missing the point.’ The cynic may add ‘Nothing, like all worthwhile pursuits in life, it was totally pointless’. Given I’m not really a philosopher or a cynic, my personal response is somewhat different.
Whenever I have an encounter, I ask myself, ‘why did this meeting take place?’ And when I reflect on an experience, I ask ‘What will I take with me from this? What have I learnt?’
Going on a quest where our life may be at stake, we are bound to return somewhat changed, which hopefully means we are better equipped and prepared to deal with the kind of challenges and difficulties that we experienced.
So what in specific did I learn on this journey?
I was reminded again, not to give up in the face of difficulty, which for me often manifests as apathy, as lack of caring. At the point where we feel like giving up, that’s the real tipping point in the process of our personal growth. If we surrender to comfort and safety, we will fail to attain the reward that we seek: greater abilities to cope with difficulties blocking our way towards our goals. Perseverance and determination is the adventurer’s greatest asset. Refusing to give up is how we inch toward our destination.”
-From my travel journal, Fagaras Traverse, June 2023.
The mountain that shall not be named, Hasselblad 500CM, Kodak Gold 200, May 2025.
I wish I had kept a detailed journal from my trip to the mountain that shall not be named earlier this year in May. Instead, all I got are three miniature pages of brief notes, which begin with : ‘bring next time: book, large notebook, proper walking boots, overpants, rope’. The bare essentials.
It is interesting comparing my recent trip to one I undertook over two years ago to traverse the Fagaras range in Romania. On that trip, I nearly threw the towel in on day seven, but managed to hang in there and complete the full traverse. On my recent trip, I threw everything I had at the mountain and failed to climb it. Have I let myself down by turning around at that difficult obstacle in the gully? Did I let fear get the better of me? Was the risk I perceived real or imagined? Was the move that made me turn around well within my ability? Or would that move have cost my life if I had attempted it?
Like with all hypotheticals, there are no clear answers. We are bound to the choices we make in life. In this case I am bound to the fact I failed to climb this mountain via its south ridge. And I am okay with that. Because I upheld the first and most important rule of adventure: to return home safely.
Close up. South ridge on far right. Hasselblad 500CM, Kodak Gold 200, May 2025.
Some places are perhaps best left unvisited and unnamed. Sometimes, a place tells us in no uncertain terms that we are not welcome. The south ridge of this mountain was one such place. I feel no need to go back there. I am content to have failed. My curiosity has been satisfied. One day I would like to go back and claim the summit. I don’t feel a need to do that with all mountains. There are some mountains I know I will choose not to climb. But this mountain has called me to it and I will have to go again.
But I feel no need to attempt the south ridge again. I am quite happy to class that way to approach this particular mountain as a dead end. There must be a better way. And I don’t necessarily mean the obvious way, the way I know this mountain has been climbed. Surely there is another way that is somewhat devious, but less horrendous? Surely?
And so I will wonder and ponder and plot and scheme until the time comes to go back. Perhaps next time I will go with someone else silly enough and we will take a rope and some gear? The future holds many possibilities. There are also a lot of other mountains out there, some of them somewhat more appealing. So I am not in a hurry. The time will come.
-A.S. 9/8/25, Brushy Creek
The big dead lake, pink clouds. Hasselblad 500CM, Kodak Gold 200, May 2025.
