Month: September 2019

Under an outback sky

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Sunrise, Midwest outback, Western Australia

I took this picture with my phone while my travelling companion was driving 110km/hour when we were in the outback.  We were both subdued by the grandeur.

I’m home now and feeling subdued in a different way.  In less than 5 hours I will be having surgery.  I went to bed after 1 am in an attempt to prolong yesterday and avoid today.  I focused all day on clearing my desk with some success and tried hard not to worry about the ‘what ifs’.

When troubled I often isolate myself, with camera of course.  I seek what I know is in Nature.  I see resilience and flexibility.  Against all odds fragile plants survive and adapt.  I see what I know to be true, all is well.  It is a message that always comes through loud and strong.  It is a message I’ll keep with me today.

May all be well in your world too.

Until next time

As always

a dawn bird

 

Spring flowers in Foxes Lair

Having to take two weeks’ medical leave in October, I’ve had to cram six weeks into the month of September to ensure I met the requirements of my work.  Somehow it did not feel exhausting.  I have travelled through Western Australia at the best time of the year and managed to have a few days R&R as well. How did I do this?  I’d rather not stop to think!

One of the things I have tried during the year is to get to Foxes Lair, a nature reserve in Narrogin, some 215km south east of home, early enough late afternoon so I could spend time here at dusk.  I usually go early morning when I’m working in the town, but I wanted to spend an afternoon here.  I managed to do this in September.

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The reserve had more freesia than I’ve seen before and the light breeze wafted perfume in the warm afternoon.DSCN7452.jpg
There were huge shrubs, white as snow with flowers.DSCN7558.jpg
This is a close up of the flowers.DSCN7486.jpg
To say it felt like I was walking through a florist shop is an understatement.  I was a couple of weeks too late for the orchids, but there were a lot of other wild flowers around.DSCN7572.jpg
I love this succulent which is tiny, a Kickbush, I believe is the name and I’ve only seen it in one particular corner of the reserve, so of course, my eye searches for the exquisite, tiny flowers.DSCN7603.jpg
And, this is my all time favourite.  I really believe they belong on a wedding cake!DSCN7480.jpg
And of course the Creamy Candles that waved in the bush and caught my eye.DSCN7467.jpg
The tiny pink paper everlastings were just a pink fuzz early morning, carpets of them everywhere.DSCN7451.jpg
The Tangled Grevilla was prolific.DSCN7516.jpg
As were the Purple Tassels.DSCN7502.jpg
And the most beautiful pimelea.

I should feel satiated, but time in nature has the opposite impact on me.  I feel greedy and want more of the same.

Until next time

As always

a dawn bird

In response to Word of the Day Challenge – Hunger

Wreath Flowers

It was on my bucket list of things to do but I never got around to taking time off to see these wonderful flowers until this year partly because the timing has got to be right.  This year we got there at just the right time, a week too early, a week too late, and we would not have seen them.

They are known as wreath flowers, a type of Leschenaultia that grows wild in the midwest region, north of Perth.  DSCN7696.jpg
The flowers grow roadside where gravel has been disturbed and we met people from around the world who came to see this iconic, rare flower that grows in Western Australia.DSCN7691.jpg
The colours were from soft butter.DSCN7694.jpg
To infant pink …thumb_IMG_0120_1024.jpg
Deeper pink …thumb_IMG_0122_1024.jpg
To fuschia … the coverted red was elusive.DSCN7695.jpg
Close up they are delicate.

It was a memorable day but I was saddened when I talked to the local lady at the petrol station who told me they are desperately waiting for rain.  Their annual rainfall is 390 mm and they have only had 100 mm this year.  The farmers have been optimistic and planted, looking upwards and sideways for rain.

May Lady Luck and Mother Nature join forces soon.  The farmers deserve a break.

Until next time

As always

a dawn bird

In response to One Word Sunday – Luck – hosted by Debbie Smyth

Milkmaids

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Milkmaids (Burchardia umbellata), Manea Park, Bunbury, Western Australia

As the Northern Hemisphere moves into autumn, we in the Southern Hemisphere embrace the warmth of spring.

Nothing speaks more of spring to me than these beautiful milkmaids that grow wild in the bush.  They float on tall stalks among grass and scrub, delicate and inviting.

Enjoy!

Until next time

As always

a dawn bird

In response to Cee’s FOTD photography challenge – 29th September 2019

Home, from where eagles fly …

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As much as I love photographing small birds, I cannot describe what it feels like to be in the presence of a wedge-tailed eagle in the wild.  It is a magnificent bird!  It is Australia’s largest bird of prey and looks like a harrier jet in the sky.  I’m always on the lookout for them when I’m in their country.  This one was large and breathtakingly powerful.

I’m home for a few hours after my Midwest outback trip with hundreds of photographs and having experienced amazing moments.  It’s time to get back to work with a big week ahead but I’ll catch up on blogging when I have more time over the weekend.

For now … fly high.

Until next time

As always

a dawn bird

 

Against all odds …

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Wildflower, Shark Bay, Western Australia

Those who visit my blog regularly will be familiar with my interest in photographing nature.  I’m always on the lookout to photograph something beautiful and/or unexpected.  Finding a flower growing beachside among shell rubble in harsh conditions in Shark Bay was a special moment for me.  It brought home what I know to be true … there’s strength in fragility and against all odds the beautiful will push through.

UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_1563.jpgPainted blue tree Morawa, Western Australia

The Blue Tree Project originated in Western Australia.  Dead trees are painted blue in rural communities to raise awareness of the incidence of depression in these areas.  It is a mental health awareness project.  When I see a solitary one in the middle of a paddock or roadside it is a reflection of a community in action.  Just like a solitary flower in rubble, I’m reminded, against all odds, the human spirit does push through.

Against all odds has been a motif in my life.  I know the beautiful does push through.  I experience this every day and hope I’ve now shared it with you.

Until next time

As always

a dawn bird

In response to V.J.s Weekly Challenge #64 : Resilience

Among grass trees …

DSCN7127.jpgI’m reading The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben at the moment and I cannot believe how moved I am by the book.  It should be mandatory reading for every leader and politician.  Excerpts of the book are also worth reading to children as a bedtime story so they can make dreams come true some day.

I am always comforted in the presence of trees.  I never feel alone when I am in a grove and seek this companionship when ever I can.  For example, my work in Esperance is always pretty full on and so on my way to the airport I invariably stop off at the Arboretum and I instantly feel a sense of being nurtured.  From the book, I now I know why.

The picture I share today is a landscape of grass trees along the Ocean Beach Road between Lancelin and Jurien Bay in Western Australia, north of home.  I love stopping here.  Early one morning there were hundreds if not thousands of kangaroo lounging about blended in the grass.  It is a serene place.  It is usually filled with silence.  It never fails to generate a sense of wonder and respect for ancient land.  I love that this space humbles me in the best way.

Until next time

As always

a dawn bird

In response to Word of the Day Challenge – Emotional

Joe, this one is for you …

As a teen my knees buckled at the sight of a young man playing guitar. I still think there is something magical watching someone play the guitar, more so than any other musical instrument. Add blue jeans, a horse and campfire and the picture speaks of freedom. I experienced this on a holiday a couple of years ago.

One of the most memorable holidays I have ever had was in the far north of Western Australia, in the East Kimberley Region. I stayed at a cattle station for nearly a week. It was pretty basic accommodation, open air shower, cattle, horses, emu and wallaby country. The beautiful brolas (cranes) called at night. I would lie in my cabin in the dark and record the sounds of big winged birds fly overhead in their hundreds, and all the other nature calls of the night.

I’m leaving again in a few hours for a few weeks of hard travel, some work, some play. I’ll take the memory of Joe’s lifestyle with me.

Until then

a dawn bird

In response to RDP Tuesday – Guitar

A Shared Space

via Daily Prompt: UncompromisingDSCN8337.jpgI was in the outback, far north, staying at a cattle station just before the mustering began.DSCN8297.jpgStanding by the corral at dawn, I didn’t notice him while he worked, so entranced was I, by it all.  IMG_1066.jpgBut when he stood patiently waiting for toast to turn brown, sipping billy tea from a tin mug, “g’day” escaping from the corner of his mouth, he caught my eye. DSCN8304He had an aura.  It was how he worked the horses, that made him unique.

Later that day, my hearing acute, I heard his spurs clink as he walked the length of the verandah and out of sight.  He returned showered, unrecognizable, without the red dust that powdered him. IMG_0957.jpgHe sat down slowly, as if in pain, guitar cradled in his lap, a beer clenched in a calloused fist.  His feet were bare, untouched by the sun they glowed…

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August, be gone!

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I have to remind myself often, my shadow is bigger, wider and taller than me.  It is also a caricature of me, so I try to keep things in perspective.  But, there are some things that just drive me up the wall.  With apologies to those who work in the industry but dealing with car dealerships and telcos are high on my list.

August was a double whammy month and I admit I am slightly on edge these days but there are some things that would infuriate me anyway.

I bought a new iPhone the other day.  I could have waited a few more weeks and got the new version but I needed a phone as the older one was failing.  I use my phone as a phone mostly and it is my business lifeline.  Any glitch to the service drives me into an incoherent rant.  What I am still furious about is the young lady telling me the new phone “doesn’t have a SIM” and alluded there was no capacity for it and went on to talk about iCloud.  I later learned I needed to insert my old SIM into the new phone and side by side could upload everything to my new phone.  (Possibly something everyone else knows, except me!).  I left Perth with a new phone I could not use, a potential safety issue for me when I’m on the road.  So on my return to Perth I am quite sure the telco has a red Alert flag against my name!

I bought a new car a year ago.  The salesman told me it was a 3 year factory warranty and I could buy a further 2 years extended warranty.  He failed to tell me I was expected to service my car at their dealership for the entire five years.  Had he told me that, I would not have purchased the extended warranty as, given my work schedule, I get my car serviced where ever is convenient for me.  Yes, I lost it when they tried to strong arm me.  I called their corporate office in Sydney and raised the roof.  The corporate office agreed with me that the warranty should be honoured as long as I had it serviced at a recognised dealership and referred me back to their Perth office.  The dealership has backed down and not without me telling them I will never give them my business again.

I do react from a dark place.  I hate the fact that technology moves so fast and I can’t get my head around it.  I have other things that crowd my mind.  And as a single parent, female and my birth ethnicity does make me feel defensive when people try to take financial advantage of me and it is never more evident when I am buying a new car.

As a small business owner I know from my own experience ethical practice is its own reward.  But the erosion of ethics on so many levels and the normalisation and visibility of it becoming the norm is more than disheartening.

I’ll end on a happier note.  As I write my new front door is being installed.  And yes I said no to the electronic lock and security camera.  I opted for a lock and key and peephole!  I like some things the old fashioned way.  That’s how I roll and I’m okay with that.

Until next time

As always

a dawn bird

In response to RDP – Sunday – Infuriate