the aboriginal people have a strong connection with the land, they are the custodians and the land knows this, the relationship is harsh, the conditions are challenging, only a strong power can forge this land, for it is wild and requires some taming. the aboriginals have been working with the land for eons, since the beginning, in dream time, beyond time and space, they inhabit no fixed point like us civilised folk for the land is beyond a single point in space time continuity, it is the dream time, where serpents sleep and narratives are formed, woven in song-lines is the landscape without borders.
here in my small patch i am custodian of the lizards and water dragons, the birds and the plants, the trees and the frogs, the dogs and the fish. i have to maintain their habitat, work and shape their gardens, pull out the dead wood, plants and foliage.
i'm working in the pond, cleaning it out with russell from 'anything wet' a fish man who's showing me the intricate science of pond science and life. even the pebbles in my pond play a role for in the upper pond(yes my pond has several levels)they act as a digestive system absorbing the bad bacteria as the filter deposits it. 
we clean out the whole area, cut away the plant life that is absorbing nutrients from the pond, we hack away weeds and some horrible weird plant that leaves a trail off underground bubbles. then we vacuum to water up and clean out the scum at the bottom. fish are transported into a smaller tank, and the big one trashes around protesting. the clearing out of the pond in 40 degrees is backbreaking work, it's filled with stones and mud and debris. we fill up a huge bin, the rest has to go onto the front garden, its nutrient rich so it would do no harm.
then we fill up the clean pond, transferring the fish, these fish can't work it out, their home has changed beyond recognition, the big one, waldo, has some sort of break down and floats on his side gasping, i watch him, the lizards come out to investigate, even my dog gazes from the bridge, i throw some food down hoping it will help.
i fill the pond up to the brim, there's a lot of evaporation in this heat. 
after some sort of decompression the waldo is happy and starts chomping down on his food, the lizards all relax in the intensity of the sun, i go looking for shade and relief from this blazing day, the dog crashes out in the shade of a willow tree and my plants all start drinking up the water thats slashed over onto the soil. all in all this is very hard work, but it feels good working the land, it feels real, pulling out weeds, raking dead leaves and keeping the animals happy, man, that beats working in a bank any day.