I could turn vegan for this …

Eggplant!  One of my favourite vegetables!  Believe it or not, there was a time I looked forward to my trips to Kalgoorlie in the Goldfields region because dinner on the first night was an eggplant stack.  True!  Three pieces of eggplant stacked, fresh tomato sauce topped with cashew nut cream and a sprinkle of pine nuts.  I didn’t regard it as such then, but a truly delicious vegan meal.  But it took only a couple of trips to undo my enjoyment.  The first time, my order was obviously sitting around waiting to be delivered to my room.  It came cold.  I sent it back.  The young waiter who picked it up was insolent when I complained, did not apologise but said, “everyone has off days”.  Maybe.  But when I arrived tired and hungry, and paid $34 for the meal, I expected someone to be on pointe.  The second time, after a change in management, my ‘stack’ arrived horizontal in a fancy spread on a smear of processed sauce and cashew nut cream nowhere to be seen.  It didn’t look or taste the same.  Sigh!

Things happen for a reason.  This I know to be true.

Instead of staying in the hotel with room service I started to go into town for my meals and ventured further.  Kalgoorlie, a gold mining town, has gorgeous buildings.  The streets are wide from the days of wagons.  At dusk the light catches the old buildings.  I’m looking forward to experiencing that again as my plan in 2020 is to focus on architecture in the regions I visit.  But there was a time when I woke really early and before I got to work, went out with camera.
Mt Charlotte, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Western Australia
The sunrise over the gold mine viewed from Mt Charlotte is stunning.  I would often be in the car park of the lookout by myself.  I’ve not done this in a while and need to experience this again.
Freight train from the gold mine, Kalgoorlie
I grew up in a town of trains.  The sound of clickety-clack  is synonymous with childhood.  It is a sound I often hear in the Wheatbelt or mining towns.  It is soothing and reassuring as a heartbeat.

Perhaps this is why I was an indulgent mother to a young son and bought him over 100 Thomas the Tank trains!  When he was very little I remember taking him to toy train exhibitions and was enthralled by the exquisite train sets grown men obviously enjoyed putting together.  I’ve moved on from there.  I now enjoy watching grown men.  🙂
Mt Charlotte
This is obviously lush for the Goldfields regions.  It is a memory from one winter.  In winter the temperature drops suddenly around 4 pm and being open country, the extremes are harsh.  I’m headed to the Goldfields today.  The temperature is expected to be in the high 30sC.  It will be uncomfortable.  But I have other things to look forward to … perhaps eggplant will be one of them!  What I do know is that I am drawn to the parks with my camera …
Book-leaf mallee (eucalyptus kruseana)
I love photographing the untidy shrub that is the book-leaf mallee.  The honey eaters love this shrub.  Their birdsong is sharp and sweet and only overshadowed by the perfection I see when the shrub is looked at closely.
The leaves are perfectly placed and symmetrical. 
And from such an untidy shrub, the most delicate and beautiful gum blossoms.  What’s not to love about this!

So I’m back to where I started this post … I’ve been mostly vegan since November.  I thought I would miss eating cheese, red meat and bacon.  Oddly enough my body has adjusted really quickly.  I no longer crave it.  When I do eat those foods, my body screams in protest.

In this frenetic lifestyle that is of my own making, I love order and predictability.  I try and seek it in different ways.  So as this is my first trip for the year to the region, it’s quite possible I’ll go full circle and order eggplant again!

Until next time

As always

a dawn bird

In response to RDP – Tuesday – Eggplant