Changing Seasons: End of summer 2020

It’s the last day of February, being a leap year, summer has lasted a day longer.  Today the sun is already out and it is warm.  My washing is done and on the line.  I needed this.  Yesterday at this hour the sky was filled with resounding thunder and lightening flashed vertical in blinding stripes.  The Australian summer used to be days at the beach, Sunday afternoons at the pub, watching 60 Minutes at night.  But now we seem to be keeping an eye on the weather reports more often these days.  The days have been wildly different and with some feeling like the wrath of winter.

February also meant I returned to work in all the regions I visit frequently.  This may be my last year I travel to some sites and I feel a sense of sadness about it.  But new openings are on offer, so I’m excited for 2021 and open to all that brings into my life.

Frequent travel comes at a cost, mostly relationships suffer and inevitably come to an end.  It is a lingering sadness.  It has been difficult for me to give up this lifestyle for anybody.  I love what I do and I love doing it.  I was born to do outreach work and it is a good fit for me.  The joy of knowing one has made a difference is addictive and not easy to explain to others.  This is my pathway in life and I embrace it, alone or perhaps one day, with someone with a similar understanding of it.
Between Williams and Narrogin, Wheatbelt region, Western Australia
I’ve been to Narrogin twice this year but bypassed my favourite reserve Foxes Lair either due to heat or high winds.  With tall gum trees and one way road, I didn’t want to be trapped there, so I spent my time looking at the paddocks that will filled with sheep and wide horizons.
Geographe Bay, Busselton, Western Australia
I started my year in the South West.  This is one of my favourite places for an early walk or sunset spot.  I’m visiting again next month and looking forward to my time there.
River gums, Carnarvon, Western Australia
This year I discovered an enchanted forest of river gums along the Gascoyne River in Carnarvon and standing alongside it, felt like an embrace.
Gascoyne River at Rocky Pool, Western Australia
Then there was my trip to a cattle station outside Carnarvon.  Such a fabulous trip on previously untravelled roads.  These colours of the Midwest outback quicken my pulse.  If one painted it, the art would look garish, but Nature does it so well.
Sand dunes, Pelican Point, Carnarvon, Western Australia
I always love photographing the sand dunes at Pelican Point where the wind writes lines like every author aspires to.
A wake up call!  Sand dunes, Carnarvon, Western Australia
I usually stay in the car at Pelican Point.  It is usually very windy and the sand is blinding.  This time I walked around and thought I saw driftwood.  I was wrong!
Australian avocet, Woody Lake, Esperance, Western Australia
In Esperance I saw my first Australian avocet, it was the only avocet among dozens of other birds and different species.  I was fascinated by the curved, delicate beak that it swept from side to side in shallow water to feed.
The end!

My diary for March is full.  No doubt, there will be a lot of opportunities for more time outdoors as well.  That’s how I’ve come to accept the gruelling schedule, work equates photography.  And, I’m happy with that!

Until next time

As always

a dawn bird

In response to The Changing Seasons