....and took my camera along. Not that going for a walk is a novelty for me in recent times, its just that I actually took the camera rather than the binoculars! Maybe I need to back track a little and fill you in on the missing month of visibility in this little space.
Life has been busy with family. And thats not unusual of course with so many offspring and all the trials and tribulations - and many joys - that go along with that. With one son coming home to spend 2 weeks in isolation with us and a son-in-law that needed me to spend time with him after major jaw surgery, I've found my time eaten up with 'needs'!! I was also working on my course and ebook which hasn't been going along all that smoothly - mainly due to my own fears and feelings of 'what do I know about this subject' - which resulted in too much stress and elevated blood pressure.
So that brings me back to the topic of walking. In order to relax and destress, I've taken to walking and birdwatching - two or three times a day. I don jumpers and a wind proof jacket and head out either with binoculars and phone for identification or just as I am. I wander up the hill, through the paddock, past the stands of tall gums and beside the next door timber plantation. If it's dryish I make myself a bed of bracken fern and lay down in between tall grass tussocks to watch cloud formations and the gentle sway of the tall eucalypts. When the weather is changeable and there's intermittent showers, I pull up the hood of my jacket and simply walk.... inhaling lungfuls of cold, crisp air and revelling in the elements.
Yesterday I swapped the usual binoculars for my camera thinking that I might document all the loveliness that I'm so fortunate to have access to for the time being. It's late winter which means theres been lots of rain so everywhere is mossy and moist and lush and simply beautiful!
When I leave the cottage and head to the left, theres a big grassy area and on the edges are a few wattles that have been profusely flowering for a week or two. The smell is heavenly and I always stop by to inhale deeply - and to spend a few minutes observing the small birds that flitter about amongst the blossoms.
Following along the edges of the forest means I can peek into the parts that really don't see any winter sun and are therefore very moist and mossy. There are a variety of fallen trees and branches all artfully arranged in lichen (that symbiotic relationship between a fungus and an algae), which causes such beautiful patterning on rotting wood and damp rocks.
And mosses, oh so many mossy rocks and crevices! I try really hard to only walk between the mosses because I still, even in my adulthood, feel that maybe there are fairies making use of the soft tufts. That maybe the large spaces are used for fairy dances and the small, raised lumps for soft and cushioned seats. I know, I know....but moist and mossy places just seem like they're enchanted, don't you think?
Onward and upward I go. Back out into the open to continue up the track to the lone tree at the top. I like this part because my very favourite place to be is right on top of hills or mountains. I feel most alive when I'm right up high and looking down on the world and this beautiful property has views in abundance!
This aspect is looking to the north east which is back towards the town of Sheffield. We have had enough rain and some lengthening sunny days so the grass is greening up again after the winter die-off. I also get a good lungful of pungent cow manure from the farmers cows!
Along the rickety old fence I go and past the eucalyptus nitens plantation on the block next door. There are always bird calls of various kinds coming from in there and I intend to explore there soon. It's dark and gloomy but has a good feeling none the less and since the forest floor is quite bare, except for layers of fallen leaves, it will be quite easy to wander about in.
At the other end of the hilltop, there is another view this time to the south. That distant brown patch is another plantation that was cut down a few months ago and is now being allowed to return to pasture. I love the checkerboard look of fields and trees in all their myriad greens.
Swinging again to the right of the paddock, I come to a large patch of last years thistles, now dry and brown. Amongst the thistles and tussocks of tall grasses is where I've seen a small flock of Brown Quail. I've tried several times to creep up on them but each time they surprise me first and burst from the ground cover in a mad flurry of wings, only to land in the dense grass further along....and certainly well out of my sight!
Back into the bush I go and here too it's abundantly green. There's tall trees, small mossy hillocks and lichen crusted fallen giants. The patterns on the long dead wood is often so beautiful especially when its combined with the various lichen that slowly but surely covers them.
Amongst the eucalypts are the slightly smaller Blackwood trees (acacia melanoxylon). They are related to the wattle tree I saw earlier in my walk, however they are far more useful to the timber industry. Same little puffball flowers only less of them and certainly not as golden yellow but amongst the other tree's they are still rather pretty.
Since this side of the hill faces south as well, with no winter sunshine, there's a lot of moss here but also a type of plant called a liverwort. Ive always been fascinated by them...so much so that my youngest daughter and I did a project on them for our homeschool one year. They are simply amazing to look at - all fleshy and moist - and so interesting in their behaviour. I spent a while sitting and pondering the liverwort colony before heading out into the more open bush and sunlight.
Almost back to the cottage again but first I had to snap a few pics of the fat green gum nuts. I've only subjected you to one photo but believe me I took some from all angles!!! These gums flowered in autumn and I suppose thats why the nuts are still green, although as the weather warms I'm sure they will dry out and brown and eventually drop off to be replaced with the beginnings of next years blossoms. Isn't nature amazing?
And that dear friends, was my walk with camera! As I said, usually its the binoculars that head out with me (and sometimes even Stuy!) but I wanted to share what Ive been up to while I've been absent. I am slowly de-stressing using a combination of walking, diet and mindfulness practices. I'm hoping to stop by and see what you have all been up to in recent times and to be inspired to get back into posting regularly.
