Category: photography

In response to RDP Sunday – Temptation

I’m back! Maybe intermittently, but back and hoping it will be a better year for everyone, than last year.

The end of year was busier than usual but I was thrilled to be offered work in the South West of the state, my last trip being to tall timber country. It is not an area one would want to visit during summer, being heavily wooded areas and the risk of bushfires. The upside it was easier to find accommodation even though it was peak school holiday season. Maybe the drive out, some four hours (from my home) and perhaps similar to other city folks, deterred families with children travelling that far in heat. Unlike other small towns in the South West, this area was quiet. Not just quiet. It was perfect.

Pemberton, Western Australia
Each morning I woke early and headed to the nearby forest, home of the majestic karri trees. Once I knew what I could find there, it became a trip I made three times a day.

It is unfortunate my faith promotes a negative connotation for the word temptation, but I’ve walked away from that (no pun intended!). For me, it is a feeling I’ve come to respond to in a very positive way. It gets me out of my comfort zone. I’ll explain.

Three months ago I could barely walk two doors down to my neighbour’s home without extreme fatigue. So I avoided most walks, I ordered groceries online, and the unavoidable walk had to be the one I take for work a few times a month. It was the longest walk – being from taxi to terminal and terminal to tarmac. I would find my seat on the aircraft and watched others give me concerned looks as my mask billowed on my face.

Each day I sunk to lower thinking, this is life now, as I know it. At the airport I started to read my old posts with a mixture of sadness and joy recalling some of my experiences. So when I got to Pemberton at the end of the year, despite the heat, I headed to the trees for some ‘forest bathing’ to lift my spirit.

I sat in the car park for the longest time the first day I got to the national park. I yearned to be walking. I zoomed in and saw the magnificence of the trees at ground level.

Soon I was out of the car and taking a few steps towards it.

The symbiotic relationship may be parasitic between the strong tree and delicate creeper, but for me, it represented something else. There is a certain tenacity in the most delicate of organisms, the will to survive.

I took a few steps further. Once a tall tree, having served the forest, remains home and a vibrant living environment for all kinds of insects and birds. More on the delightful birds in another post!

Despite the heat, there were remnants of spring if I looked for this.

Beautiful native ferns.

Flowering creepers.

Infused by nature, my spirit drew me deeper into the forest. An enchanted forest, all for me. Above me the tall gum trees rustled in the light breeze. If you close your eyes, you hear the sound of the sea in the movement of the leaves.

The return to the car took several attempts.

This is red winged fairy wren country. Those who are familiar with my blog, would know me by now. This was a temptation I was not going to resist!

The trip to the forest country was just what I needed.

On my return to the city, I set up my pedometer and found I barely walked 500 steps a day when I’m home based. That had to change! Within a week I was walking 3 km (nearly two miles) a day. My goal is to double that distance each day.

I accept pain is a constant companion but one that does not intrude, deter or distract, if I manage it with healthy living – eight hours sleep, keeping well hydrated and reducing stress. Such simple strategies have made a world of difference. But, fatigue was my nemesis. A vicious cycle I had inflicted on myself – “I’m fatigued, I can’t walk” which lead me to become more fatigued.

Maybe it took a forest, or maybe just one tree, but I have returned to where I want to be. May you, too, find the space you want to be in.

As always

a dawn bird

Silver eye, Bunbury Wetlands, Western Australia

I’ve returned home after a few days in the South West. No trip, of course, is complete until I visit the Bunbury wetlands if I’m in the town and I never tire of my experiences there.

One evening work finished a bit earlier than planned and I rushed to the wetlands with my camera just before dusk. I was alone there. Well, not quite. The air it would seem was alive with birds but I couldn’t see them. The tiny silver eye were there in flocks. My prayer each time I’m out with my camera is a simple one. “Show me something beautiful so I can share it with others”. I was not prepared for what was to follow …

I heard them before I saw them. The clickety clack of a bike on the wooden bridge alerted me someone was approaching. I stood behind a shrub and observed, friend or foe, the area being lonely before dusk. She was a young mother, slender as a reed, she parked her bike and lifted her blond haired boy from the seat to the ground. They came around the corner and saw me. They were as surprised to see someone there as I was. We made polite conversation, she being from further south and I, from the city, north of Bunbury. Knee high to me, he was silent as mother and I pointed to the invisible birds to share our delight with him. In a random moment, I got one photograph. “Ohh! look!” I exclaimed and shared with his mother. As we laughed at my fluke shot I remembered him at my knee. Silent and barefooted, his tiny pink toes, gripping the grey footpath, he waited patiently as adults talked and laughed above his head. His patience more impressive as he is not yet two. I bent down and showed him the photograph. His face lit up. He smiled. His chocolate brown eyes shone like stars. As I drew myself to stand up, he made eye contact with me and said, “More”.

I went back to my hotel knowing, prayers do get answered, so I share this story with you.

In response to RDP – Saturday – Eyes