It was a rainy afternoon
but a walk was required...
but a walk was required...
so in between the showers
the walkers took to those steps
then continued around into the park...
the sky was dramatic
and begged to be photographed,
so let me tell you a story
as you wander through the sky walk
with me...
when Beloved and I lived
in a small parochial,
provincial farming town
in the Wairarapa at the bottom
of the North Island of New Zealand
and at the suggestion of our Uni friends
we came to Noosa for a holiday
to where the friends then lived
we left Wellington
on a cold 6*C mid winters day
and arrived in Brisbane
to a balmy 21*C winter's evening
We settled the baby,
and threw open the hotel window
amazed at the difference
three hours across the Tasman Sea
and a very degrees latitude north could make
We travelled North to Noosa
on a Skennar's Bus
and when we passed through
the coastal town of Maroochydore
I recognised the scene:
there was a pelican on a jetty
a park beside the river
and a neighbourhood store -
I had dreamed it all
a few weeks before...
One day we attended a picnic
to celebrate the birthday
of a lama from the Tibetan monastery
high in the hinterland at Eudlo
Out of the blue
we received a phone call
from across the Tasman
from a friend advising us
that he could sell our house
and we returned
within one month
to Noosa
to this beautiful coastal town
of diverse and unspoiled beauty
and arrived here on my birthday
nearly thirty one years ago...
and there has not been
one day since
that we have not
counted our blessings
Oh Happy Days...
*
And we lucky and greedy readers get to enjoy the spoils. Your foot might be damaged but your writing is still as sharp as ever. And as elegant as those dark clouds. One of the reasons why I liked this post so much was not just the tale of how and why you came to live where you do, but the photos you took. Nothing shakes my inner Scorpio more than an overcast sky. Well, possibly a sunny autumn day or a bright spring one, but I do love my clouds, I do.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks.
Greetings from London.
You certainly sound very happy living where you are.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely lovely sky.
hey delwyn - stunning cloud pictures across ocean swells - they look as if they are reaching for each other, which i suppose they actually do! in the same way as a dream reached out to you and you followed it and there it was! for real! i love being inside that moment of recognition "oh! i dreamed this before and here we are!" a gorgeous post - you are so fortunate!!! steven
ReplyDeleteHello there Mr C
ReplyDeleteThank you for those generous comments and I loved the clouds as much as you.
Brooding swirling clouds have a visible energy that is hard to ignore, and with those blue backdrops I found them irresistible.
I call those rays of light that pierce then wedge their way through the cloud 'the fingers of God.'
Happy days
Hello Violet
ReplyDeleteI certainly am. We are really blessed living here. I have travelled a little and seen many wonderful places but this unspoiled corner of the world is God's Own...
Happy days
Gidday Steven
ReplyDelete( I never actually say that 'cept in jest- but felt like it - just for you...)
The amazing thing about that dream was that I didn't know about the pelicans before I came and the recognition of the little riverside scene was like a deja vu moment, which I can understand as a scientific brain process of perception, but the dream was really prescient.
Fascinating things do happen...
I am most fortunate...
Happy days
WOW and in a month you were there!
ReplyDeleteNo flies on you. *smile*
Loved the story.
♡Lovely!
ReplyDeleteIt has just started to rain today in my part of Japan. It is actually a good thing since the dams have been drying up a bit!
Oh happy days. And one big difference that you did and most people don't. Is you did it.
ReplyDeleteYou didn't let a thousand naysayers in your head stop you.
Love Renee xoxo
I love the way you dreamed it and believed it, then all the pieces fell into place like a perfect puzzle. Thank you for sharing these amazing cloud pictures. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post! I love how you followed your heart (and your dream!) to move to where you were meant to be. Your walk, on a cloudy day between rain showers, was a little gift to us all. Sometimes those walks are the best of all.
ReplyDeleteHappy days, indeed!
xoxoxo
Angela
I loved your sky walk photos Delwyn...especially your Tea Tree Bay ones...and the flip flop...out of the blue...made me smile!...Nice potrait too!
ReplyDeleteMaking dreams come true, faster than you can awaken. This story is amazing. Sometimes the pieces fall into place so quickly, you must stand in awe of it all.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely story, falling in love with a place, everything else following. I'm glad you found your Eden.
ReplyDeleteI've yet to visit Noosa and New Zealand; both so close.
ReplyDeleteA lovely story Delwyn - so glad you found happiness on our fabulous tropical coast.
Hi Alaine
ReplyDeletethese are two places you absolutely must visit...if you like natural beauty and getting away from the hustle and bustle of life,
thanks for visiting
Happy Days
Hello Rosaria
ReplyDeleteIt was a blessing
Happy Days
Hi Meri
ReplyDeleteI am in awe of the elements of serendipity in this life transition and also many daily occurrences...
Its good to have you back little queen,
Happy Days
Hi Wanda
ReplyDeleteyou would know that many photos become magic when you return home and see them on the screen and never to be discouraged by a 'bad' day...
The thong - flip flop or jandal in NZ
just sat there on the path waiting for me to come and capture its last days...
Its good to have you drop by - I am treasuring these visits on my long sedentary days...
Happy Days
HI Angela
ReplyDeleteI often think how out lives may have been had we stayed. Living here was such a great childhood for the kids...as well as the oldies.
I was just saying to Wanda that I never get put off by 'Bad' days when armed with camera!
Thanks for your company and the sentiments too
Happy Days
Hello Marion
ReplyDeleteyep the Master puzzlemaker had all the bits for us those days...
a perfect fit...
Thanks for dropping in - it cheers my long days
Happy Days
So true Rene
ReplyDeleteour friends and family thought we were crazy...it was such an exciting change for us.
NZ only had 3m people at that time (not many more now) and so Au seemed so much more cosmopolitan and greater choices were available in so many areas.
Besides it was the hippy era so we fell into the lifestyle with abandon ...but at the same time my entrepreneurial Beloved put his skills to the test and forged a lifelong property dev business.
I enjoy your visits
Happy Days
Hi Tulsa
ReplyDeleteoh I thought you were rainy
must have been Poppy and Sapphire in Tokyo talking of rain...
Its good to chat with you
Happy Days
Hi Sarah
ReplyDeletethe funny thing was that at that time we had to officially emigrate and sign a declaration that any money we took from the country would be returned if we came back - how bizarre is that...
good luck with the packing and sorting - Oh how I love doing that job... it makes me feel like I have really cleared out at many levels...and going to the op shop I love too, to pass over all the no longer needed, for another life...
Happy Days
Delwyn,
ReplyDeleteYour prose and pix are beautiful and paint a vivid picture as always.
Thank you!
That is the most romantic story! The synchronicity of everything falling into place. and you are part of Noosa now. You look the same as you did 31 years ago, young slim face, petite, nice legs. I feel so happy for you. I love these photos of sky, wild sky, clouds, water, and then trees, culminating in the Tea Tree photo. But the best part of this story is your happiness: you take care of yourself and surround yourself with people you love and who care about you. Life is too short not to.
ReplyDeleteHi Norman
ReplyDeletethanks for dropping by, I need all the visitors I can to fill my long days of recuperation...
Thank you too for your kind comments, I just love painting these pictures of my area...
Happy Days
The Noosa Travel bureau could pay you a salary for this blog. You make me (and probably lots of others) want to visit your part of the world. Like others said, how wonderful that you followed your dream--in your case quite literally--and moved to Noosa.
ReplyDeleteHi Margaret
ReplyDeleteyou are a trick...
thank you for your lovely comments of reassurance and empathy...
Dan taught me that with:
cultivating caring and kindness the way is clearer,
with
cultivating caring and kindness the way is smoother...
Happy Days
Hello Dan
ReplyDeletethat's a funny thing...I wanted to say the dream came true, which it did in the physical world, but like everyone else there have been ups and downs and challenges along the way...
however the overall tenor now from this perspective is one of gratitude and feeling blessed and of looking now at the world and all in it as some kind of amazing gift and opportunity to grow.
I think my awe quotient must have almost reached its extreme limits... I was reading Mary Oliver this am. and love her simple reminders of being in the moment. I think you introduced me to her. I am waiting on a Amazon order of her books to come...
Happy Days
You hippy you!:) Looks like you ended up in a beautiful place...love the photo of the flip-flop!
ReplyDeleteI have to admit this post made me reflect on some choices in life that I perhaps should have taken but was too frightened to...good for you for doing it!
I have said before, sometimes a grey day, makes you feel alive! The force behind those clouds has an amazing energy to them. You could probably feel it in the air!
ReplyDeleteInteresting story, your tale of how you came to be where you are. I liked it. Some people have great courage to just up and go! Glad it worked out for you!
Hi Oliag
ReplyDeleteI am lucky that the Beloved is a great risk taker too, so that helped...and having that entrepreneurial spirit he just created himself a job and business...
Happy days
Hi Lorac
ReplyDeleteI suppose had we lived in Europe we would have gone off travelling but being so far away in the Sth Pacific Aus was a fairly safe option.
These days many young kids from AU and NZ go off on an OE ( overseas experience) after school or uni.
Happy days
Hi Delwyn,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed this post because I know what it is like to just take off without a backwards glance. Leaving family is sad but I can't live my life for others...Does that sound selfish??
I wonder what your beloved does for business...my husband is doing his MBA with the intention of starting his own....
Thanks for this post Delwyn.
Hope the moon boot isn't giving you too much trouble xx
Cool dramatic blue, very blissful feeling!
ReplyDeleteBye.
That you were open in spirit to make this change says so much about you. Thank you for this story.
ReplyDelete