What does it all mean?

Waking later than usual, I hurried to the kitchen for a strong cup of coffee. I threw open the curtains to check on today's weather and was met by  'a shower of white fire' which made me jump back in astonishment!  What was a single cattle egret doing sitting on my garden wall?

I dared not open the sliding door onto the verandah but instead took this photo through the glass. This one is the best of the three I managed to click off in quick succession before this stunning creature flew off to a tree quite some distance away, and then was nowhere to be seen.

'A shower of white fire' is a phrase from this lovely poem Egrets by Mary Oliver.

There is much symbolism attached to herons and egrets

 from ancient cultures such as Greece, Egypt, China, Native America. 

Grace, patience, balance, tranquility, good luck, 

or determination, intelligence, independence, resourcefulness....the list goes on.  

To be honest, I could do with more than a sprinkling of each one of those attributes!

I searched in vain for the solitary egret.

I looked in the places egrets go, those transitional places between water, earth and air.

No sign of it on a cow's back either, which is where they are often seen plucking ticks etc.

Looking up into the sky as afternoon was closing in.....could it be....is it my egret?

That cloud really was in the sky that day, and I haven't seen the egret any more since then.  

I do like to think that we notice things for a reason.

What do you think?

I'm planning on grounding myself firmly on my own two feet,

 occasionally treading fearlessly into deeper waters, and delighting in gracefully taking flight.

But I draw the line at picking ticks from a cow's back!

Bye for now

PS.  If you'd like to know more about egrets in Australia this post " Egrets-I've had a few" 

from Paula Peeters at Paperbark Writer is informative and fun!

PPS. Here's another poem about Egrets, this one by Australian poet Judith Wright

You can't stop the waves......

Life is a series of waves, up and down, up and down.  

One of those 'downs' found my elderly Aunty unexpectedly taken into hospital.

Off I went some 3 hours south to the beach side town of Port Macquarie to visit her.

I arrived in the evening and as visiting hours were not until 10am

 I thought I would catch a beach sunrise the next day.  

Ha! Well, 6 am found me sitting in the car park staring through the rain spattered windscreen,

surrounded by VW campers and panel vans

 with their occupants still hidden from sight in sleeping bags.

 The sun crept tentatively into view, 

and unbeknownst to me so did the surfies .

But it wasn't long before there was a pitter patter and out came the umbrella.  

Those surfers had sneaked past me while I was engrossed in taking photos

 and there they were catching a wave in the rain!

Out popped the sun and for a while things looked up.

Clouds still hung threateningly on the horizon.

You never know what's around the corner.  

There was just time for me to grab a quick coffee and a bite of breakfast 

before heading into the hospital where Aunty was so happy to see me.

She told me how wonderful the ambulance officers had been

and we laughed when I recounted my beach adventures.

"You can't stop the waves  ~   but you can learn to surf."

Quote by John Kabat-Zinn 

Autumn ~ From Balmy to Biting

Stirring the porridge on the wood stove I think back to the beginning of May

 when the full moon was out. 

There was a warmth in the air, moisture too.  

That's what caused the fabulous rainbow ring around the moon.  

I scurried up the hill to the west in the early morning

The light shining on this web was just like the ring around the moon the night before.

 I was just in time to catch that same full moon going down behind the farmland.

The mist lifted to reveal bright autumn foliage on the liquid amber trees.

By afternoon the sun's heat tricked us all into thinking that summer had never left. 

The bugs came out in their masses, great feasts for the birds!

The evening sun slid slowly out of sight leaving us bathed in it's warm glow.

Fast forward a week or so and things are changing fast. 

The wind whooshes through the trees and leaves are defenseless, 

falling falling falling....

A chill fills the air, summer's really gone.  Winter's not here yet,

but from the feel of that bite in the wind, it won't be long.

It's comforting to think that whatever the season, 

wherever we are,

 that same moon shine's down on all of us. 

Peaceful end to a lovely day out.

OK everyone, it really is time to get home. The sun's going down, the chooks need locking up and the dog will be getting hungry.  Hop in and let's go!
(In case you missed parts one and two of our day out in the New England Tablelands of New South Wales, please have a look here )

The last rays of sun stream through the trees to our west, as we drive east

No more roo's to be seen, even around aptly named Kangaroo Hills Creek.  

Early evening is a time you need to be very careful to look out for them on the road.

Too dark for any more photos, and here we are at home now.

 Well, thank you so much for the company.  It's been lovely to have you come along.

Bye Bye, I have to go and feed the dog now, he's not a happy chappy!

PS

Do you have a favourite place to go for a day out that's within reach but still feels like a bit of an adventure?  I'd love to hear about it.