Porcine Peregrinations 2

..Walking late at night has its own particular rewards.

For a little while- I am no-one's beck&call-I am not indoors,nor am I 'working' . I am just strolling, and looking, listening, absorbing scents,and enjoying.

For sure, there may be sore feet, or a tired body;that doesn't really matter .There is way too much of the 'good stuff' to catch up on !

Nights in Summer can be an experience ...some nights, indeed it is like attending a Symphony .The 'theatre' has a cavernous roof, sprinkled with glittering lights - the lighting continues down on the 'stage' , where diamond eyes twinkle and show the path . :) An orchestra of tiny players produce an amazing assortment of whistles, clicks, croaks and whirrs - while, 'off stage' come different notes from the large winged players  overhead ...

In Winter, the scents are of damp, and ice- sounds are limited to birds of the night , and the cold wind makes trees shiver in the moonlight.

Falling Stars are a treat , as are Summer storms, when it feels as if I am cloud walking .. with the storm rolling and rumbling overhead ,as lightning flashes and those large warm raindrops splatter on the ground-kicking up mini dust clouds :)

Sometimes, there is a special happening in the night sky- one which seems to be just for me , and one which will be always treasured.

"Moonbow"

Last night I saw a rainbow-an  arch across the sky .

A rainbow  all of silver- and it almost made me cry.

A  rainbow in the moonlight-a magic ,transient thing

Which ,though my heart was heavy, made my spirit sing.

For death had called for someone ,a friend of many years,

Now  I was seeing magic, through eyes so full of tears.

The tears were those of loss, and all that grief can be,

But a heaven-sent rainbow gave a smile back to me.

Porcine Peregrinations 1

Late at night, along the grey floodplain there can be seen a bobbing light .No, it is not a Min-Min light, nor a fireball .It's merely  my headlamp and its progress marks the end of my day.. the time when I can 'wind down'... as I trundle about with my walking companion, April pig, and usually a dog or four -oh, and maybe a cat or a goat !
I have my walking stick, camera, and of course my trusty headlamp, and we spend a pleasant half hour or so just 'being'.

Seeing/experiencing our night walks thru the snout/eyes/ears of a pig is an interesting experience. We both really enjoy the cool and misty nights, when scents hang low and thick, when the very earth smells sweet and there are pockets of cold dampness in little hollows...with the warmer air just up the rise a tad.When there are new fungi pushing their way out of the soil, when dew drips off eucalypt leaves, and carries the scent with each droplet , and when the sky is dark and cold and  stars twinkle with a sharpness as of ice :)

There are , depending on the weather, different shrubs/grasses to smell/taste..and when we have had rain, the brown and sticky puddles are fascinating. In the hot weather, often walks are done in the early early morning -temperatures above 30 C are not unusual even close to midnight.Walking then is not ideal- pigs do not sweat, and so , get overheated easily.

In warm weather, there are all sorts of creatures scuttling around in the red sand, or hiding in cracks on the clay flats.Scorpions, snakes, geckoes,spiders..oh, and the flying brigade is well represented, with moths, and on good nights, bats! :)

The ground and small shrubs all glitter in the beam of the light, as hundreds of wolf spider eyes reflect the torch ...It's like walking amongst  diamonds ;)

I love my night walks .

They may not be long ones-

distance is not measured in kilometres.

sights and scents and sounds

Are my rewards.

It's the quirks :)

..Like :

     'bluebells' colonising rolls of wire netting














and pumpkins flourishing in the rubbish tip...














It's froggies playing in the outdoor loo



































                         and moths sleeping on a lump of blutak...

        that put a sparkle in my day :)

The Return

Some weeks ago, there was a wonderful sight on  our little stretch of the Murray :) After years of almost no flow and no rain, the increased flows coming from the Darling, and the presence of more growth due to good rainfalls there is more life on and around the watercourses.

These pelicans are the first I have seen here for years!

It was a lovely and hopeful thing to watch...a small flock of these birds back where they belonged .