It is an untidy, straggly looking shrub/tree that is draped elegantly with tassles of pink and one of my favourite native flora. On a cold morning in Collie, Western Australia, the sun broke through the fog and I made a beeline for these beauties that were in someone’s garden. They are exquisite in detail and burst with colour from a tight pod. What’s not to love about them?
Until next time
As always
a dawn bird
In response to Flower of the Day
Arum lily
In that space of grey
I floated free
no one else there, but me
thoughts of you came and went
there were days, I wept myself spent
until there were days of joy,
you were right there with me
In your presence I was born again
allowing love and laughter to be my friend
Oh! how time has flown
I have grown younger by the day
where did age go, I cannot say
As I navigate through stumbles and falls
eager to experience all
the time has come to smile and say
an open heart can chart new ways
this I understand, today.
a dawn bird
In response to Word of the Day Challenge – Understand
My return home was fraught. While waiting for a storm cell to pass in Perth, the plane sat on the tarmac longer than the flight. I didn’t get home until after 9 pm. I did not eat on the plane as I longed for a hot meal but could not heat my frozen meal when I got home. The electricity had shorted. I had no perishables in the fridge. I went to bed hungry.
At midnight I heard an almighty crash with glass smashing. I was on my feet in a flash. I had left the side gate unlocked for workmen while I was away and immediately felt vulnerable. In the silence that followed I heard water pouring, I stepped into the corridor and straight onto glass in my bare feet. With my phone having only a little charge left, I dared not use it to light up the corridor. When my eyes adjusted I stepped around debris to find my laundry was flooded from ceiling damage and the overheard light fixture gone. So I did what humans do. I sat on the sofa and cried with frustration.
Once the distress subsided, I caught a few hours sleep and first thing in the morning called the insurance folks. To my amazement, they responded immediately and gave me approval to have the damaged fixed and send in the invoices without having to do the usual three quotes. My handyman responded immediately too and lined up roofers and an electrician and came around later in the day to check on everything else. Mid morning I went into my back garden and nearly cried again. One of the two big trees has fallen over, a tree the rainbow lorikeets love to visit and a tree that gives me the first hint of spring with beautiful white flowers. It is also a privacy screen from my neighbour over the fence. I’m glad I won’t be home when A brings out the chain saw and removes it.
I’ve been extra busy this month with a lot of travel and writing. I was looking forward to five days at home before another busy month looms in March. The plan was to get the house ready for the painter and decluttering. Instead I spent yesterday replacing appliances that were water logged in the laundry and kitchen. The day was not done when I circled a shopping centre car park looking for a bay closer to the door for convenience in inclement weather. I finally found one and turned in, nudging the car next to me! I went to Security and the Concierge to report it. They were so kind and the lady stroked my arm as she sensed I was upset. Her touch was the random act of kindness I needed on the day.
I returned home to a decimated garden and as I walked to the front door, a pale pink bud caught my eye. Even though I often have roses in my garden, this time, I stopped to take a picture. There was something special in this rose that spoke to me, all is well.
It was my flower of the day.
Until next time
As always
a dawn bird
In response to Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
Hibiscus, Carnarvon, Western Australia
I’m in beautiful, balmy Carnarvon at the moment, north of the State. I found this hibiscus blooming outside my front door this afternoon. Gorgeous! The colours reminded me of the vivid horizon one sees in the Pilbara mining region. It made my heart skip a beat with nostalgia.
Today was one of those days where everything I touched turned to dust. The day rounded off with a know-it-all who annoyed me no end. The emails I sent bounced and those I didn’t want to hear from, arrived in my mailbox. The quote for maintenance to the roof is as high as my home. I really didn’t need to hear that today. I nearly forgot I had to log in for a webinar training and stumbled my way through the technology. All day I longed to go back to my hotel room, pull the covers over my head and stay there until tomorrow. I got to the hotel in one piece. I parked the mother of a 4WD hire car, got it straightened after a couple of attempts, collected my belongings and sighed, I was ‘home’ for the day, when I saw this beauty. Everything else just fell away. I went up to it with my phone and in a stiff breeze managed to get a somewhat fuzzy picture.
This is what photography has brought into my life. Where ever I am, my front door is where I point my camera. It is the gateway to feeling good again. It is my soft place to land after a challenging day.
Until next time
As always
a dawn bird
In response to RDP – Thursday – Looking out of my front door
It was the first trip of the year and little time for anything except work. My plans of walking around town with camera, taking pictures of the magnificent heritage architecture in the Goldfields region, were scrapped. The small mining town felt like it was bursting at the seams with people. An atmosphere reminiscent of the wild, wild, West. I just didn’t feel comfortable walking around on my own. I drove to the sister town of Boulder and it was the same, so I returned to the hotel without taking a single picture.
The next day at lunchtime, as is my habit, I went to the park for a quick lunch and hoped for a longer time with camera photographing the gum flowers and birds. It was nearly 40 degrees C and no shade. I had to return to the office, dejected, without a single photograph of my trip!
As I approached the entrance to the building, it caught my eye. I had seen it the previous day in the garden. It looked like it was some kind of plastic toy wedged against another plant. The next day when I returned from lunch, it was still there. I decided to walk closer to inspect it.
Echeveria ‘Domingo’
It took my breath away! In the harshest sun in harsher country, this bloomed with such delicacy. I have a desk plaque on a table in my foyer, a reminder to self, each time I enter my home or leave it – “Bloom where God plants you”. When away from home, I needed this to touch base.
I showed the picture to the office staff. They loved it. “Where did you find this?” they asked, thinking it was from one of my travels. “Outside, in the garden, by the front door”. They looked confused and surprised. One staff member’s window opened to this and she never noticed it before! I had no idea succulents are so beautiful. I learnt something new that day. It will definitely have a presence in my new garden.
On my return home, the flight was full. I was seated at the back. Never a good seat on a Friday night when miners are going home and have had too much down time at the bar. I averted my body, away from the odour of stale beer, and towards a succulent sky.
My trip, fraught as it was with work, taught me to look beyond the desk and when plans don’t work out, respond to curiosity and look beyond.
I brought the vision home, to share with you.
Until next time
As always
a dawn bird
In response to Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge
In response to A Photo a Week Challenge – Work
Indian Hawthorne, in my garden
She wandered around the garden
filled with empty shrubs
when thoughts of him
caressed her face
warmed it
and her smile
bloomed like spring.
a dawn bird
In response to RDP – Saturday – Spring
Yes, my bags are packed. I take my first flight for 2020 today. I’ve been home since just before Christmas except for driving a quick few days in the South West for work.
It’s been an expensive hiatus getting major home maintenance underway while doing minimal paid work. I had planned on a few days holiday, doing nothing but writing and photography, but being a fierce fire season, I thought best not to as I had planned on visiting tall timber country. I’ve rescheduled that for winter now.
Being home has paid off in other ways. Stationary, I’ve caught up on other jobs. The one-off maintenance tasks will be completed by the end of the month. I’ve got a new handyman who I can work with and that’s a huge relief.
This morning I walked around the back garden. I’ve heard the sprinklers working in the last week and was curious to see how plants are doing. There’s a sense of relief that the garden will heal from the negligence of my previous gardener. I plan to keep a closer eye on things from now on.
Like hope, the pink crepe myrtle is bursting with blooms and buds. Previously, the flowers appeared mostly in cooler weather when it rained. While photographing it, I inhaled deeply with delight. 
I inhaled the unmistakable perfume of jasmine! Adjacent to the crepe myrtle, my jasmine ‘tree’ has a few flowers nestled deep in green, yes, green, foliage! The water is getting through to them! If you’ve ever nuzzled your face into your baby’s neck and inhaled the sweetness of being, you’ll know what I mean when I say I did the same. I can’t wipe the smile off my face. Such simple pleasures to start my day!
I’m off today, flying north, for more complicated experiences!
Until next time
As always
a dawn bird
In response to RDP – Tuesday – Stationary
Climatically white is often associated with snow. In the Southern Hemisphere, white is synonymous with the beach and clouds. I’ve added flora and fauna as well. This is a long scroll!
Shell Beach, Shark Bay, Western Australia
Sea wave at the shore, Jurien Bay, Western Australia
White kite, Binningup, Western Australia
Christmas angel, Christmas 2020
Framed in sand, Western Australia
Iceberg rose, my front garden, Western Australia
Snow drops at my front door, Western Australia
Fire whirlwind and summer clouds, East Kimberley outback, Western Australia
Cabbage white butterfly … destructive and beautiful. Pilbara region, Western Australia
Ah! such memories of places and experiences.
Until next time
a dawn bird
In response to Word Photo Challenge: White
I think reflecting on the past month is a wonderful way to take a breath …
I’ve come to realise in the past few months, it is at home and in my garden is where I find best balance.
Where birds comes to visit me for a change.
I’ve enjoyed a long drive between Carnarvon and Geraldton. This is my favourite roadhouse along the way. I found out this area is prone to flooding when it rains, and quite beautiful with numerous billabongs that attract birdlife. The change between spring to summer has been swift. It was a hot drive.
The highway between Carnarvon and Geraldton is long and lonely. My colleague and I always feel carefree in these parts. We usually stop here and stretch our legs at a lookout that overlooks Gladstone Beach in the far distance.
Geraldton has become my second home. I’ve grown to love this place and the easy lifestyle.
Returning home from trips I found the gooseberries were turning into jam on the bush from the heat. What happened to spring, this year?
The mulberries are plentiful and most out of my reach, except for my zoom.
In Esperance the wildflowers have disappeared and birdlife is plenty. This wattlebird was as curious about me, as I was of it.
The wildflowers have disappeared in Foxes Lair too except for a hardy few. I saw a blur in the bush and found it was the tiny pink trigger plants.
The pied stilt was gorgeous at Chinaman Pool, in Carnarvon, at sunset.
I’ve just returned from being away for nearly ten days and found Perth is sweet home, after all. Now that came as a surprise to me!
It’s the first day of summer tomorrow. I’ll be starting it in the heat of the Goldfields.
Until next time
As always
a dawn bird
In response to The Changing Seasons – November
Christmas Lily, Esperance, Western Australia
Around this time of year, the Christmas lily blooms in the garden of the hotel where I stay in Esperance. I love the colours and perfection of the flower. It reminds me to hang in there, the year is coming to an end.
As we prepare for Christmas, Thanksgiving is on the horizon for my family, friends and blogger friends in the Northern Hemisphere.
May you enjoy your celebrations on a day of togetherness and gratitude.
As always
a dawn bird
In response to Cee’s FOTD Photo Challenge –
In bud …
or bloom …
always beautiful, the humble bottlebrush.
Enjoy!
a dawn bird
In response to FOTD
Entangled in sheets, white as lies
the frangipani blooms outside
scented, warm and moist
a soul kiss, at first light.
a dawn bird
Scented blue sun orchid, Manea Park, Bunbury, Western Australia
a dawn bird
In response to Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge – FOTD
More often than not, I wake just before dawn. I make a cup of coffee, open the curtains and wait for shapes to emerge from familiar shadows. I do this wherever I am. No two mornings are alike. That’s the gift of the day. Start anew.
We were travelling in the outback Midwest and spent the night at Mt Magnet, Western Australia. We were tired when we got there after a long hard drive and taking in the acres of wildflowers. It really was overwhelmingly beautiful.
My companion had been to a place called The Granites and wanted to take me there. We rested briefly and went at sunset. It was another world.
The Granites is ancient country of great cultural significance to the Badimia people and among the massive granites, one can find ancient rock art. We didn’t have time to explore as it is mostly unsealed roads without any signage and after a while every turn looks familiar. So with one navigating and one driving we left as it got dark.
I held that moment of arrival in the palm of my hand when we got back to the accommodation. It was still there when I woke early morning. It was dark and raining. Such relief! It was getting warm during the day, even with air con. I stepped outside as quietly as I could on creaking floors and wriggled with delight at the cool air and rain. I knew I needed to be at The Granites. I knew what would emerge from the shadows. I knew I needed to touch base with ‘self’.
As sun broke free of the clouds just past the ridge, what struck me was the absolute silence of this grand place.
I was an audience of one
As Mother Nature unveiled her art
The still life
The paintings
It was a gallery wherever one looked.
In the early light, the granite ridges softened
And tree limbs twisted into intricate lace.
Like I said there was absolute silence. Not a bird call or tweet, not a rustle of goanna, or bounce of kangaroo.
I’m there as I write.
It is possible I brought that moment of arrival back home with me.
Until next time
As always
a dawn bird
In response to RDP – Saturday – Shadows
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.
The reserve had more freesia than I’ve seen before and the light breeze wafted perfume in the warm afternoon.
There were huge shrubs, white as snow with flowers.
This is a close up of the flowers.
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.
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.
And, this is my all time favourite. I really believe they belong on a wedding cake!
And of course the Creamy Candles that waved in the bush and caught my eye.
The tiny pink paper everlastings were just a pink fuzz early morning, carpets of them everywhere.
The Tangled Grevilla was prolific.
As were the Purple Tassels.
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
A Shared Space 
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