Sand crusted sea weed, Jurien Bay, Western Australia
Alive, under water
swaying like in breeze
caressed they emerge
salty with sea forest
when
tethered to her ankle
an embellished shackle
held him captive, too,
by the sea.
a dawn bird
In response to RDP – Wednesday – Embellish
I woke this morning in Exmouth and felt a sense of elation. I felt like my own self again. Focused. Enthusiastic. Productive. And, seeking joy. It has taken exactly one month for me to feel 100% again.
Sunrise, Exmouth Gulf, Exmouth, Western Australia
I found joy watching the sunrise and being early Saturday, Town Beach was deserted.
I had the whole beach to myself at 5 am.
I watched the tide recede and as it did, I rummaged through the debris. I love these gifts of the sea. 
I had time to drink champagne and laugh and not take life too seriously.
Enjoy the fabulous surrounds of Ningaloo Reef Resort with a note to self, to return in 2020. Not only is it a beautiful hotel, the staff are wonderful too.
Delight in the perfection found in nature.
It was too hot to drive to Turquoise Bay, so indoors with air con or leaving windows open for sea breeze, was the best idea.
Good food, good drinks, good company, an empty beach and a feeling that all is well. That’s my idea of khushi (Hindi for happiness).
It’s a simple recipe, worth repeating.
Until next time
As always
a dawn bird
In response to RDP – Saturday – Cushy
It starts insidiously
the insomnia
the uncertainty, the denial
surely, it can’t be
Soon you cringe in a cafe,
this can’t be true
You’re at a wet tee-shirt contest
and the only contestant … is you
Like an infomercial … but wait there’s more …
It comes with a bonus, for some, not all
Increased libido, younger men
Oh! that power surge again!
Yes, life goes on
As does the urge to strip
when he least expects it.
a dawn bird
In response to RDP – Thursday – The Secret Door
For years,
I walked along the shore each day
at one with the sea
the tides came and went
there was no one else there but me
with my heart in a million pieces
shattered beyond reach
the load somehow seemed lighter
no heaviness within
I thought I was floating free
accountable to none
built walls
knocked them down
then built them up higher
I’m not sure why
to protect the void
safety seemed key
in the push and pull of will,
the tug-o-war within
the inevitable happened,
one night he pointed to the sky,
see those stars,
the million stars, he said softly,
they were once shattered pieces,
mended by me.
a dawn bird
In response to RDP – Monday – Mend
I know they are not the farmer’s friend and they can cause chaos on country roads at dusk but to me, an unexpected encounter with a wild kangaroo is a delight.
I’m always careful early morning in Foxes Lair, Narrogin, in the south eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia. At dusk too, when I drive through. I usually see a kangaroo or even a small mob. This morning I was later than usual and got there around 7 am. The early morning walkers had already gone through the reserve except for one. I often see him with his dog and he’ll say a few polite words.
I inched my car through the narrow pathway heading to the car park when I heard a gentle rustle. A joey!
It hopped in front of the car and then went behind a small shrub, yet so close and within reach. Oh! that look! I melted just like that. 
The joey hopped away, stopped and looked around as if searching 
… this is a quintessential Australian bush scene.
Then I saw mother. I’ve only noticed the third kangaroo (to the left of centre) when I uploaded the pic. They blend in so well with the bush and being shy creatures they can slink away into the scrub very quickly.
All three crossed to the other side of the reserve. As the mother and joey hopped away, the male stood upright, his stance unmistakably, don’t mess with my family. I respected his guard and waited until they were out of sight.
When I could no longer see them, my gaze scanned the ground. Since being in the Murchison, I’m now interested in animal tracks, too. I don’t believe I have ever seen tracks made by a kangaroo tail, before. A first for me!
I’m home overnight and leave again tomorrow. As the year is winding down, I feel a bit fatigued. I know I’m not comfortable in my skin when I feel this way. Besides, today has not been a good day. What a difference 12 hours make. I drove home with roadworks and big farming machinery on the highway slowing my trip only to find a hotel has messed up my booking. I accept people make genuine mistakes. But when one tries to cover up with a lame excuse, that’s something I find hard to accept. I feel I let myself down by losing my cool. I wish I had taken a deep breath. What’s done can’t be undone. I’m expecting to get the worst room in the hotel when I get there!
But for now, I think I’ll just go and indulge in some comfort food … Vegemite on barely warm toast, a slather of butter and a cup of tea. I feel better already!
Until next time
As always
a dawn bird
In response to RDP – Tuesday – Butter
I offer you my marble heart
run your fingers along the jagged edge
chiselled by life, yet soft, like silk
linger longer, and you’ll see
I am strong where not broken
and where once broken,
I am even stronger
This is my gift.
In response to RDP – Friday – Broken
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
On one of my previous trips to Geraldton I drove past the foreshore when I saw the new sculpture, Horizon, being put into place. I caught a glimpse of it through the pulleys, cranes and high vis clothing of workers and knew it promised to be something special. Of all the dozens of trips I’ve made to Geraldton, how fortuitous the timing.
My first trip post surgery was to Geraldton and I found myself drawn to the art. Being school holidays, there were holiday makers in town and people taking selfies, most drawn closer to the sphere. I stood away from it to experience it differently.
‘Horizon’ is a 1.5 metre globe by artist Lucy Humphrey. The water within turns the world upside down because of the way the light reflects off it.
There is, of course, the technicality of the idea inherent in this. But for me, I thought of the water within the sphere as the life within one. The idea that despite all, if one accesses it as intended, despite distortion, we can find a horizon. It is there, we just need to pause to let it define itself as a steadying point of reference.
In the weeks before and after the surgery it did feel like my world had been turned upside down. Living with palpable fear of the unknown is an unsettling experience. As I’ve mentioned before I am not church going but I did believe, my faith was my horizon. It kept me steady. It gave me perspective. It gave me pause. It gave me time to reflect how grateful I am of each moment that make up my day.
May you experience the joy of gratitude today. The joy in the ordinary that makes life, extraordinary.
Until next time
As always
a dawn bird
In response to RDP – Friday – Thankful
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
via Daily Prompt: Uncompromising
I was in the outback, far north, staying at a cattle station just before the mustering began.
Standing by the corral at dawn, I didn’t notice him while he worked, so entranced was I, by it all. 
But 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. 
He 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. 
He 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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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
One cannot help but watch in alarm the politics of the day around the world as the perceived security of ‘democracy’, is split wide open. The world, it would seem, is becoming more divisive by the hour.
Splitting exposes the core. One can either perceive it as being rotten or within it we can find the seeds for change.
I find it interesting the politics of some nations is focused on a few bombastic individuals whereas the politics of change in another is ‘people power’ driven by youth. The latter gives me hope.
May peace and hope reign in your part of the world today. Be the seeds for, and, of change.
Until next time
As always
a dawn bird
In response to RDP – Wednesday: Schism
It’s the first day of spring tomorrow and I feel a sense of urgency for today to end. I have filled my month of September with wonderful things to do before I am housebound to recover from the scheduled surgery. I feel I want to do it all … just in case.
One of the things I plan to do in September is visit the Murchison Region. I had gone there on a work trip last year and promised myself I would return in spring. The Midwest Outback is awesome country. Wide open spaces, ranges, old gold mining country. I’m hoping to see lots of wildflowers at this time of year. The trip will be basic. We have to take our own food, and accommodation will be even more basic. But there will be a canopy of stars at night that I have never seen before, so I’m up for it! 
I know for sure there will not be any beautiful beaches.
No cosy four poster bed in a rammed earth cottage to keep warm on chilly nights.
No avocado on toast and fresh orange juice for brekky.
No chocolates and wine at the end of the day unless we take some of our own (reminder to self).
As we will be in the Nowhere, there will be a dress code though, so I’m taking my best sunhat with me, veiled of course, to keep the flies off my face.
And there may be a road train or two for company.
I’m ready for September! I feel like it’s the home run I need before October rolls in like a storm cloud. Right now all I can think of is the open spaces, red dust and blue sky and there will be a generous serve of that waiting for us.
Until next time
As always
a dawn bird
In response to RDP – Saturday – Enthusiasm
Between the ages of infancy and pre-teen years my son had severe asthma attacks. He was a toddler when he had one particular bad attack and was blue when we found him. I could hear his breathing on the baby monitor but did not pick up the distress. Fortunately Dr T did and went to investigate. We had to rush him to the hospital. I thought we would lose him in my arms. I soon watched out for warning signs and he was on preventer medication but still managed to have bad attacks.
Once on my own, it was difficult. The attacks always seem to come about 2-3 am. Having to wake an older child and in panic mode to get to the hospital was the stuff of nightmares.
Just before dawn one morning, it was the usual run. My daughter was around nine, my son about four years younger and both too heavy with sleep for me to carry on my own. Somehow I got to the hospital but within the short ride, my daughter was in that disrupted space of sleep and wake and combative when we tried to get out of the car. I struggled with both of them and across the car park I heard a man’s voice approach me. He asked if he could help. I told him my son was having an asthma attack and I could not get my daughter indoors. He offered to help. Suddenly I felt the sense of urgency disappear. An intense feeling that all was well, enveloped me. He scooped her up in his arms and we walked into the brightly lit corridor of the Emergency Department. When we got to Triage, he put her down, and I turned around to thank the good samaritan. He was nowhere. For him to disappear down the corridor he would have had to sprint faster than Bolt.
To this day I remember that act of kindness and wonder who he was and when I do, that feeling, all is well, returns.
May an angel cross your path today.
As always
a dawn bird
Somewhere over mining country, Western Australia
Fill my heart
with impossible dreams
spin your web, with words
Mesmerise me.
a dawn bird
In response to RDP – Tuesday – Web
A Shared Space 
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