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 .

Turn off the Engine...

Travelling home late in the afternoon from a rare trip alone to town , I came across one of my favourite spots, this being a large tract of sandunes/mallee/porcupine (spinifex) and all the assosciated understory, wildlife, and colour.
What it is about these mallee dunescapes which so strongly holds my heart I am not sure- but they are something which always brings me pleasure .The mallee trees are domed- the view of them is a gentle one. There are acacias and grevilleas underneath, which are also as neat and domed in appearance as a topiary of a suburban garden - albeit much more hardy! Porcupine clumps are also rounded-- in all dimensions- being mounds of spikes..and they also grow outwards, making groups of plants into a circular'fairy ring'.

Maybe it is the perennial green and soft contours which are pleasing? Even in the midst of the red and dusty years we have had- the mallee landscape is still green.Whatever it is , this one afternoon, with the sun setting, and in no real hurry, I just turned off the car engine, and wound down the windows-coasting downhill a hundred metres, with a cacophony of crickets/cicadas cheering me on.

I then stopped,and went for a short walk off the road.A grey butcherbird flew onto a tree near me, and she sat there for some time, wondering why I was there ... watching me , and following my every move. There were many small bird noises off in the trees, and then there were two grey kangaroos , startled by my appearance, and bounding off into the sunset, fine red sprays of dust hanging in the cool air.

Why wouldn't anyone love 'the mallee' ? :)

Scratchings- the first. Because these images deserve a spot of their own

This morning, it was Spring. In Autumn. For a short space of time I was in a little patch of bush which smelt, sounded ,and looked like Spring :)Since recent rains and warmish weather ,so many of the plants have just 'exploded' with new growth, and they and the insects seem to be making the most of ideal conditions.
My favourite shrub, the Spiny fan Flower, with its tiny intricate flowers and amazing sweet scent is playing host to an assortment of moths, flies and small feeders.

The red eremophila looks beautiful against the grey/green foliage,
Two cassia species are in bloom, their yellow flowers throwing scent to the winds , the few native Pines left have on new rich green foliage :)



I hope you enjoy a little "Spring" moment or two :)