So the best thing that has happened in scarland lately is the brief visit of a dozen or more indigenous/ interested women. My friend & Kamilaroi guide Allan Tighe brought them out here and seemed to be related to at least half. We only got to walk around the house paddock scartrees & view some artefacts when the ladies had to leave due to the passing of a friend from the Gathering in town. The rapport established and future links should result in a giant leap forward in accumulated understanding. A special thankyou to Penny Evans www.pennyevansart.com for getting back re another visit & Dossie Tighe from Moree who is studying arts & archaeology and was willing to share her extensive knowledge on scars and artefacts. I’m not sure why women share information so easily while it has to prised out of men with a chisel? Accordingly I have rethought my approach to soliciting future help by deleting all male archaeologists, indigenous experts or Elders from my contacts. Also Aboriginal women with trust or reverse racism issues or who simply lack basic manners. Not being a social media person or political player I suppose I was naive to think many of these people actually cared about these scarred trees or wanted to contribute what they knew to any database. So be it, but it is still the greatest privilege to live among them and as the Lebanese pig hunters told me over Easter … everything happens for a reason. Now that’s off my chest with a 2 fingered salute the other thing that has been keeping me awake at night is these mad “Ring” trees & other manipulated types. If the loop da loop tree doesn’t do your head in then you are reading the wrong blog. All these grafted/fused trees are associated with underground or semi reliable water sources such this extensive billabong system. With water there is community life & campsites & culture. As well as turtle, freshwater molluscs & snail shells & once even a desiccated crab Allan & I found. You wouldn’t know it now bone dry and barren but these shells along with the CMTs (culturally modified trees) indicate much wetter weather… in the climate spectrum of Australia. I’m writing listening to rain on the tin roof – send her down Hughie!