Each night,
in the quiet
I anxiously watch
the minutes tick by
I know the hours will meld
into a new day
like they did yesterday
Outside the wind creeps
along the eaves
Imagination plays
while I try to sleep
I toss and turn
listen and wait
make sense of sounds
shadows and shapes
I say a short prayer
I take a deep breath
No longer afraid
In the stillness of my being
I find a shared space
where I am safe
so I reiterate
I am safe.
I am safe
I am safe, with Thee.
a dawn bird
On a silken sheet I lay
salty and abandoned,
as the undulating waves stilled
there was hardly a ripple that predicted
the perfect storm,
was yet to come.
a dawn bird
It’s morning, yes morning
Dawn hasn’t arrived yet
looking at my day, it won’t be
The coffee is bitter
The work piled up
the sky as grey as I feel
in a hotel room
with alone for company
unlike me,
I made time in my schedule
to count my sorrows
but I’m bad at maths
so I’ll make this prison a perch
free the caged bird within me
and think about the tomorrows instead
next week I’ll travel north
over land and sea
to a place where I’ll dress in anonymity
I’ll be invisible,
A transient
I’ll wander aimlessly
And photo bomb tourists and backpackers,
Unintentionally, of course
I’ll feel the warmth of sun
I’ll have breakfast in bed
I’ll feel vibrant as the frangipani perfume
that wafts in from outside the door
I’ll watch the river mullet dance on water
I’ll watch the white heron catch fish
I’ll watch the sun seep into the sky
Twice, yes, twice each day
And know,
I was wrong today
Dawn always arrives.
a dawn bird
Love is bold
Love is vulnerable
Love is indomitable
Love is yearning
Love is satiety
Love is one plus
Love is … us
a dawn bird
I am a mother
Always will be, unconditionally
Barefooted, I am not tall
And I am no longer as slim as I used to be
I am ordinary
with a generous, forgiving heart
I am softly spoken
You will have to lean in
To hear me in a crowd
I am shy but adventurous
You’ll find my footprints, often a single set,
along the ruffled coast from north to south
You’ll never hear me cry
because there are parts to me, off limits
I believe pain cuts deep
And the scar is visible in what we say and do
So I have a good listening ear and soothing hand
when you need someone to comfort you
My skin is nut brown
and it may surprise you, I tan easily in summer,
and where untouched by sun
I glow in the dark
Where touched, too
I can be abrupt, impatient, untidy
I suffer from road rage in the city
on country roads, I dream
I am organised, thoughtful, kind
I am independent, fiercely independent
You’ll have to put up with that
I love books
If you’re rich, I’ll pass on the diamonds
just buy me a library
or a publishing firm, too, will do
I love conversations
When together, I expect the mobile to be out of reach
I believe equality is not ‘sameness’
Equality acknowledges differences
And we work towards a level playing field for all
My chosen lifestyle is not conventional
and faith guides my path each day
I choose not to live with people’s pain
it’s not that I don’t care
but through the lens of their reality
I seek the preciousness of life given to me
I live to experience life, not live it day by day
I am busy, way too busy
it has made me lazy
I no longer look for love
But if you do
find me.
a dawn bird
I’m home after completing a 500 km round trip in summer hot weather. I left early this morning hoping to avoid the heat but got lost along the way and spent 40 minutes trying to establish phone contact with the person I was going to see. I wish I was advised in advance the road was unsealed for part of the way! The journey took an hour longer than I expected. This is not country you want to get lost in.
Around 20 years ago a young girl went hitch hiking from her farm to a friend’s farm in these parts. She is everyone’s child. She was never found again. The accused is in prison. He was taken on a walk of his alleged alibi by police some years ago. He walked the streets of Moora where I work sometimes. It always gives me chills when I walk through the town.
I took this from inside the car and just noticed the dirty windscreen! I drove under the shadow of wedge tailed eagles. I was hoping I would see some roadside so I could take a picture. They are magnificent birds in flight and on ground. I was out of luck, this time.
This is some 40 kms north of Badgingarra. The countryside was so beautiful. Some green and a lot of it, the beige of Wheatbelt land.
Along the way I stopped for a moment to get a drink of water from the boot when I noticed a white eruption in the distance. I zoomed in. It was so far away I still could not discern what it was.
Until there was almost a paddock full of these moving white objects. They came towards me like an avalanche.
It’s only when they got closer that I realised they were sheep. Poor animals probably thought I had feed and came running towards the car. I would have loved to have stayed with them longer but it didn’t feel right to tantalize them, so I left.
I’m thrilled I made this journey today. I’ve never driven on the Brand Highway on my own. I hope to get more work in this area in spring. The wildflowers must be amazing here. There were kilometres of groves of banksia trees with peachy white cones.
Time for me to catch a few minutes before I start packing for Kalgoorlie tomorrow.
Until next time
As always
a dawn bird
Today I stepped into a rabbit hole
falling head first with a silent scream
I landed in a world of chaos
and waded through a pool of hate
as I searched for meaning
in the mire of arrogant righteousness
in the darkest recess of a garden
where nothing else grew
I found a pink rosebud
so I offer this symbol of hope
in solidarity, from me to you.
Dedicated to our neighbours in New Zealand who have lost loved ones and their innocence. May you live in peace and safety again.
a dawn bird
Why live in winter
in that desolate space
where alone in a landscape
is a crowd
where the wind bites
and leaves no scars
where water no longer gurgles
with delight at your touch
but lies frozen and stagnant
while you wait for spring
for the thaw
that may never come.
a dawn bird
On a cool autumn morn
I opened the window
to let the sunrise in
stretched, and caressed
summer on my skin
still brown and fragrant
as a cinnamon quill
a dawn bird
In response to Pic and a Word Challenge #178 – sunrise
There was a time in my life when working full time, completing studies and raising little children on my own, was crushing my spirit. Each day I’d wake and knew the work commitments were going to be the same as the day before and without any respite. Had I known then it would be 13 years before I had a holiday, I would never have gotten out of bed.
On Sunday night I went to bed early. The week ended with me driving many kms. I take care of myself when I have to drive. On Monday morning I ran through my schedule for the days ahead. I snuggled deeper in bed or perhaps it was the weight of commitments that kept me there longer. In the dark I sneaked a peek at the clock. 
It was pre-dawn. 
I opened the blinds wider and was greeted by dawn over a sleeping town.
I felt blessed because I no longer wake to mornings. I wake to dawn and therein lies a difference. Mornings were part of schedule. They came in rotation every 24 hours. They were predictable. They were busy.
Dawn is my muse. I am creative and productive at dawn. I look forward to dawn each day because I know it will be different. Endless hours of therapy could not have awakened this in me. It is something to be experienced in spirit, so I set off to experience this in Foxes Lair.
I love the sound of my boots crunching on dirt tracks. The sudden bounce of the shy kangaroo. The sense of being alone but not lonely. Birdsong in the tree canopy.
To me there is nothing more Wheatbelt that the sight of a pink galah in a gum tree. This was a young one.
It was a fairy floss pink.
Foxes Lair seemed like a bird nursery. There were young ring neck parrots on the ground.
The little redcap parrot joined in.
The junior Western rosella was busy feasting on gumnuts before me.
Then took it up on a tree to enjoy the rest of it.
Once it flew away I waited patiently in anticipation. It returned in full view of me. Pretty as a picture, don’t you think?
And this is how I started my day on Monday.
So who needs a holiday? Not me!
Until next time
As always
a dawn bird
I’m leaving home again today. Last night was a rare night where I could cook myself a meal. With autumn here, the nights and early mornings are cooler. It was time to get the slow cooker out while I caught up with my chores at home. I tried something new, a slow cooked Vietnamese beef stew. It was delicious. This morning the air in the kitchen was fragrant with ginger, star anise, and lemon grass.
In the South West earlier this month I spent a night in Dunsborough. It’s a small coastal town. One of my favourite places to visit here is Meelup Beach, a favourite of others too.
There was just one other car in the car park when I got there early morning. As I walked along the coastal walk, I found it belonged to a young fisherman wetting a line in the distance.
The waters here are generally calm but on this day there was a swell coming through. Hopefully he got what he came for. I know I did.
The birds were not awake yet so I spent some time looking at the path I walked, metaphorically speaking too. I found one can find colour in the most unexpected bland places.
A gumnut caught my eye. It rolled down an embankment and came to rest against a small edge of a big rock. A cm here or there would have made a difference to where it landed and perhaps, never seen by me. Much like chance encounters.
I love dragonflies. I mean, what’s not to love about them. They have wings of sheer shimmering lace and yet they are long distance fliers. I find strength in that.
Soon my walk was filled with sound. The little Silvereye were everywhere.
And if you ever want to see kookaburra, Meelup Beach is the place. They were at least a dozen birds sitting on low branches or foraging in the leafy carpet.
Then there was this one who decided to do a full dive into the water and came out looking like a rag! 
High in a nearby tree I heard the plaintive cry of a young eagle as it rose up to stand in the nest.
Magnificent bird.
I was glad I got here early. I had the opportunity to enjoy silence before the laughter of families. Although I confess, I enjoyed both equally.
Time to get packing again.
Until next time
As always
a dawn bird
While studying at uni, the pressures on me were crushing and having to raise children within a tight budget, the only affordable release I had was to go for a walk. I did this three times a day, totalling 12 kms (approximately 7.5 miles) every day. I walked fast as if it would distance me from all that overwhelmed me on the day. I was slender as a reed.
Now my steps are more measured. And, despite the frenetic pace of professional life, my personal life, is measured too. I touch base with me when I walk. It is meditative. I am whole. It renews me. My pace is slow. Of course the down side is, I am no longer slender as a reed!
I’ve been in Esperance for the last few days and returned home this afternoon. It was cloudy but warm and balmy and quite unusual for that town. As is my routine, I woke early this morning and headed out to the Bay and my other favourite spots. I love to walk here in the mornings.
The Whale Tail is iconic. I’d love to rip up every other structure within sight so the beauty of this sculpture can be fully appreciated.
Before dawn, the colours across the Bay were beautiful in pale blues and greys. This is a town where I feel so safe and secure. It is my soft place to land each month.
I walked around Windabout Lake where the pelicans cruised like ocean liners.
Across the board walk, the bankia cones were everywhere.
And just when I thought I was alone!
A joey. Look at those eyes!
I’ve come to realise when I go for a walk each day, there is so much about me I leave behind intentionally. I know a walk in nature, is where I find the authentic me.
Until next time
As always
a dawn bird
I slept in my own bed last night, the first time in many after spending just about every night in a new town for the last few days.
I know for sure I could not do this without my little intakes of breath every time I go for a walk with camera. I’ve brought home hundreds of photographs. As the wind blows up a storm outdoors, my thoughts are with the mornings I spent elsewhere.
I started and ended my trip in Bunbury, this time I stayed closer to the estuary. The silhouette of Bunbury Tower is always stunning at sunset.
As usual, when in Bunbury, I head off to Big Swamp wetlands. The Welcome Swallows are gorgeous here and love facing the sun. They are quite fearless and only fly away when one is almost within touching distance. I love how plump they look!
I’m always on the lookout for fairy blue wrens at Big Swamp. There’s always a pair somewhere. This one looked like a young one. It was hesitant for a moment as it gauged the distance across the pathway before it launched itself to the other side. A moment I was waiting for.
The Willy Wagtails were plenty, some fluffier than others and quieter too, which made me think they were young ones.
Gorgeous, I thought!
The tiny brown honeyeater is the size of a small leaf. It has the sweetest call and so difficult to see in foliage. This one was visible for just a nanosecond before it disappeared again.
Further south in Dunsborough during a bush walk I found small flocks of Silvereye feeding among the Bottlebrush bushes.
Look at the beautiful detail in the feathers!
There is no way I could do what I do for a living, either on a physical or emotional level, without having these moments in my day. I know this for sure.
I now know Nature doesn’t heal. Being in Nature, is healing. I feel renewed just revisiting these moments.
Hope these photographs bring joy to you, too.
Until next time
As always
a dawn bird
The Robyn Gordon blooms all year
just outside the door
as beauty often does
and with each breath I take
I fill that lingular space
where you once were.
a dawn bird
A Shared Space 
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