When my beloved Stetson Open Road is all worn-out and consigned to the hat-rack it is time to return to the source for a new model, so it is off to Arizona Hatters in Tucson, Arizona for a visit.

It is a long way from being a naked, dusty three year old thrown from a car wreck on a lonely Northern Territory outback road to starring on the silver screen at the Cannes Film Festival in 2013. But Australian actress Lillie Claire needs a hand – and a few bucks – to help her get there.

Sometimes birds are hard to find. Sometimes not. Bob Gosford takes two steps from his bed and finds an ornithorium of wonder and beauty.

A look at the work of Madhaviah Krishnan, an Indian journalist and photographer who for 46 years wrote the “Country Notebook” column for The Statesman of Calcutta that ranks among the finest nature writing out of the sub-continent.

And no … I’m not going to tell you how I took these pics. That is for me to know and you to find out. Or ask nicely.

One man, six Miura “bulls of death” – a day of triumph for Javier Castaño, cutting five ears from six bulls and two ovations. An historic corrida during the 2012 Feria de Pentecote at Nimes.

“The next challenge will be to reach the White River. A route will have to be scouted through the briars, snake-infested woods and alligator swamps. The explorers will then manually portage all of their gear and canoes from the Arkansas River to the White River, a process that might require one long dirty day.”

The real beauty of La Tanrrilla is only revealed when under threat or as part of their elaborate courtship rituals when they spread their glorious wings to reveal a truly magnificent display of colour and light.

Vultures have been called masters of two disciplines: soaring and sanitation (Dunne et al. 1988:136). In towns, villages, and rural communities where there is no modern plumbing or garbage disposal, they provide the only sanitation services. “They eat anything, but especially they like the shit,” observed a worker in a slaughterhouse in Guatemala.

There are certain moments on the River that shine more brightly than others. When they happen, they’re sharp like dreams. It’s like the energy of the earth surges, rises from its core, and lights up something very small. Ditches, low fogs, rocks, and other unremarkable things become geysers of this glow.