98

Fig leaf

I watched it float down from a fig tree near the creek.

The last leaf.

The naked tree seemed to shiver.

97

3.15pm

Rain on the way.

Trees are black lace

backed with the grey and silver

of scudding clouds.

96

Thunder and rain tonight.

A power cut leads to candlelight.

Hard edges soften in the room.

My hard edges soften too.

Rain symphony on a tin roof,

with thunder for an encore.

Dog curls up beside me.

His beating heart

under my hand.

95

Approaching 50 years

My jawline reminds me.

94

'Keepbythebackdoortogooutintothewetgarden' shoes.

93

'Tea and oranges...'

92

'Wel nine and twenty in a compaignie....'

This picture by William Blake has been with me a long time. It depicts Chaucer's Pilgrims setting out from the Tabard Inn in Southwark, London. Tonight as I sit here with just one lamp lit, the colours seem to glow. I recognise many of the characters, the Knight, the Miller, The Wife of Bath, The Nun, The pardoner and there is Chaucer himself in his red gown on a black horse at the rear of the group.

I am reminded of a wonderful time spent with family in the UK. HERE in my old blog 'Secret Hill'. Also, HERE to watch Bill Bailley's wonderful take on a 'Chaucerian' tale.

(click on highlighted text to 1. travel to Canterbury, 2. see where herhimnbryn used to hang out and 3. a little humour)

91

The vet was thorough and the dreaded words

'cruciate ligament' were mentioned.

Athough no surgery, just yet.

Bryn is not allowed to have any walks for 6-8 weeks.

NO WALKS.

He is not allowed to play with any of his indoor dog toys.

NO TOYS.

He is not allowed to chase Magpies in the garden.

NO CHASING MAGPIES.

He is not allowed to play with the foot ball.

NO FOOTALL.

No Frisby, no tennis ball.

NO FRISBY, NO TENNIS BALL.

This dog is a very, very

BORED DOG.

We are half way through the first week. He is going stir crazy, I am going bonkers. We have a half acre garden, he usually patrols the fencelines, when I am digging drops a ball at my feet, chases birds, brings me sticks to throw. He does not like being confined to the carport area. He hears the possums come out of the roof space every evening and I will not let him out to bark at them and jump up at the trees. I have no one to motivate me to go for a walk every morning! His routines are shot, so are mine. We are trying to be kind to each other.

90

No bigger than my little finger

89

We went to Margaret River.

Where grapes are grown,

cheese made.

Works of art fashioned from

paint, wood, glass, gold

and silver.

We woke early and bought breakfast

from the bakery, coffee from the cafe.

There was mist curling through the trees,

a chill in the air. We made our way to the beach.

Waves were high.

Surfers in their element (despite the cold).

Walkers, shoulders hunched.

Dogs chasing sticks, barking at gulls.

Shells and sea smooth stones, slipped into my pockets

for mosaic projects, ideas that

skitter through my head.

Later

We drove past green paddocks and golden vinyards.

Found art galleries, full of treasures.

As night drew on
we ate pasta and drank red wine.

All was good.

(click on highlighted text for info.)

88

'Cold mornings again'

87

'I spy rabbit'

Away he went.

I had been attempting to take a picture of him sitting.

Of him being an obedient dog, a well behaved dog.

He saw the rabbit and his instincts took over.

I prefer this image.

Dog, giving chase.

86

'Windmill and party lights'

When I took this picture, I was surrounded by family.

Talking was constant, wine flowed and the BBQ sizzled.

I think these windmills are so evocative of Australia.

I wonder, what objects remind you of 'home'?

85a

'The green and gold'

For those of you who wanted to see what Avus saw.

(see his comment in the previous post)

85

' Monsterosa'

In the Secret Garden

Light and shade

Summer ends

84

I miss you already

and it has only been

an hour.

Safe journey.

83

'It Rains'

I seem to be ever so slightly obsessed with rain and leaves.

But just look at that beautiful 'eucalyptus' green!

82

'...on a wire.'

A coldish morning as Dog and I leave the house. The backs of my legs ache. By the time we reach the gravel track, the ache has gone. Breathing in air that clears my head. A blustery wind tangles tree branches and Dog prances along the track ahead of me. Magpies warble and cockatoos screech. Eucalyptus blossoms bedeck the ground. Cockatoos snip them from the tallest trees and as we walk the frail creamy flowers flutter through the air.

A lone pigeon strutting along a power line seems to be running from the moon.

81

'Lapdoglaptop'

5.45 am is the time we usually visit blogging friends for 30 minutes. However, now the clocks have gone back one hour and the sun is up, Dog has other ideas. So we go walking in the clean cold air. Tapping our way through cyberspace has to wait until we get home.

80

How to describe an ordinary morning?

Waking to SUNLIGHT filtering through CREAM curtains.
The click of DOG CLAWS on TERRACOTTA tiles.

Relishing a CHILL in the air, but welcoming the WARMTH
of a fleece around my shoulders.

CRADLING a mug of tea in MY HANDS while
watching birds through the kitchen window.

Almost HEARING dust as it settles on BOOKCASES.
Our bed CREAKING as he turns in his sleep.

WALKING with Dog, just as the SUN RISES.
Coming home to more TEA and thinking about PORRIDGE.

79

Next morning.

After the celebrations

(Mum and Dad's 50th wedding anniversary)

78

Fremantle skyline

Elegant scroll work on the roof.

Built in 1898.
Old bricks, brightened with white paint.

A red flowering plant on the railed balcony.

An old 'bullnose' corrugated iron verandah

and the bright Fremantle sunshine.

It just caught my eye.

77

For Grrl

These are the bones of a Bobtail lizard.

Found on my daily walk with the hound.

He thought them interesting too.

76

5.45am

Waiting for a walk

75

Yellow and green

74

'Coming home'

If you like quirky films and are a 'Dog' person (you know who you are), then may I recommend a film? We have just seen 'Dean Spanley'. The main roles are performed by Jeremy Northam, Sam Neill, Bryan Brown and Peter O'Toole. With such a stellar cast, I knew I could expect good things. I found it enchanting, witty, beautifully shot and it made me weep (Dog people will understand).

I will not spoil the plot (you can go to Wikipedia for the storyline if you wish). I think it is about coming to terms with the loss of a loved one (in many forms and guises), so being fond of dogs is not a prerequisite* of seeing the film. You can click HERE for the trailer.

Edit. * Should that be 'prerequisite', I wonder? Barrett Bonden will know! BB, if you read this can you tell me which is correct? 9/3/09- see BB's reply in comment box. I had used 'requisite'.

73

After rain

72

2.57 am

Moonlight wakes me
from much needed sleep.

Shadows paint the ceiling
and white light spills
across the sheets.

Eventually sleep returns
and morning comes.

I wake to gentle rain
and the scent of eucalypts.

71

Sunrise

'Entwife', living in a 'brown land' and raising her arms to greet the morning.

( click on highlighted text for info)

Bush fire appeal

Suse at Pea Soup blog has written the following and agreed I could reproduce it here, to spread the word.

ok listen up, there's more
The clean up is continuing. Below you will see a list of things the Diamond Creek Relief Centre urgently requires (as at 15th February). The contact number for the centre is (03) 9438 5299 and the location is 28 Main Hurstbridge Rd, Diamond Creek. Drop off times for donations is between 11am and 2pm. Interstate and international readers, you can choose lightweight items and post them. Go to it.
I don't know about relief centres in other areas - this is my local one and this list was sent to local community groups here. However as mentioned previously, the relief centres are asking that general donations please stop, and only requested items be given now, thanks.

Needed!
15 litre water bottles (filled)
600 ml water bottled (filled)
Aeroguard
Ant Rid
Anti-bacterial wash for baby bottles
Axes
Bleach (to clean water tanks)
Bolt cutters
Bread x dozen
Brooms
Camping chairs/plastic chairs
Chainsaws (petrol)
Cleaning items (detergents, mops, scourers, buckets)
Clothes hangers
Clothes horses/airers
Coffee and tea
Cooking oil
Doonas and doona covers
Eucalyptus oil (individual bottles)
Exercise books
Extension leads **
Fly spray
Folding chairs
Gas lighters
Hack saws
Jerry cans
Lime
Matches
Mattress protectors (all sizes)
Mens and women's wallets
Men's thick work socks
New baby car seats (0-18kg)
New children's shoes and runners
New pillows
Pegs
Picks
Power boards **
Queen size mattresses
Rakes and shovels
Room deodorizers
Rope
Safety glasses (heavy duty)
Storage sheds/garden sheds
String
Sugarsoap
Sunglasses
Sunscreen
Tents
Thermos
Tools in good working order (hammers, nails, screws etc)
Unleaded petrol
Washing powder **
Watches
Wheelbarrows
Wire cutters
Witches hats (I presume the orange road kind, not the Harry Potter kind)
Work boots (esp. smaller women's sizes)
Writing pads

** items most urgently needed

I heard on the radio yesterday that Fitzroy Oxfam has set up a wiki for bushfire offers and needs. You can go here and register whatever you can offer ... a caravan, seventeen packets of socks, accommodation for a displaced pet, your services as a qualified tradesperson/lawyer/architect/bulldozer operator, whatever ... and survivors of the bushfire can also visit and register for what they need. It's been running for about 7 days now and apparently is working brilliantly.

Also on a very personal one-to-one level, if you go and look here you will see that Frogdancer is collecting books for a teenage boy she knows whose family lost their house and all their possessions. This young lad was distraught to lose his extensive library, and the frog asked him what books he would like replaced. He's been a bit shy about putting together a list but was apparently blown away that total strangers would send him stuff. Anyway, a suggested list has been put together. If you can't imagine being without your books (and I know I would be heartbroken to lose all mine), go and have a peek at the list and see if you can offer to send him one. Or several.