Nature’s oeuvre 1/2

Focused on getting to my destination in failing light and blinding rain I failed to see the world around me.  How often do we do this?  I know I did this more than I should have in the past two days.  Had I not reminded myself to live more mindfully, I would have missed a lot more.

It is officially spring in the Southern Hemisphere, in two days.  There’s so much to look forward to especially after I discovered the joys of wildflowers.  How did I live in ‘The Wildflower State’ for decades and not notice the beauty that recurs each year, unfailingly?

The ebb and flow of Nature’s oeuvre, is to be enjoyed moment to moment and not season to season.  I have learnt to put brakes on, slow down and live in the here and now.  Foxes Lair has taught me, flowers bloom, when it is their time.  Fifty kilometers from town, I noticed the sun was setting to my left and a huge moon rose from behind a grove of trees on my right.  Startled by the silent luminosity, I had to stop to take a picture.  The presence of it in the sky calmed my spirit.  There was benevolence in the light.  The only motorist on the road, I slowed down, no longer alone in poor weather.Next morning I walked around the reserve.  I’m usually alone here so I claim this as mine each time I visit!  Winter has left it lush with bright yellow daubes of acacia everywhere.A closer look at the spikes of flowers is worth the moment of quiet.I stood in a ‘forest’ of banksia.  These ones are quite different to anything I’ve seen elsewhere.They are a beautiful tumeric colour with the tip, dipped in white.  A ‘ta da’ moment comes to mind!I’ve learned to look at my footsteps.  No longer afraid of snakes (although I’m still snake aware), I’ve learnt to read the footprints of others.  Parrots!  So I look up.This must have been a young one trying his best to make ‘parrot calls’, and not quite getting there.  Yet!The clumps of hibbertia are everywhere.  They are bright in debris that gathers at the base of the gum trees.I love this hakea that grows like giant kebabs with flowers blooming intermittently between spiky, sharp leaves.

I’m time poor today and will try and complete this before I head out again.

Until then

As always

a dawn bird