On a Bed of Cloud

*

Over the ocean

over the land

on a bed of cloud

I lay my wondering down

Over the ocean

over the land

my home shall follow my heart

and my heart

shall be my centre

*

Slow Walk

*

Slow walking...

is a little like
slow food

you move at a leisurely pace
you can hear yourself breathe
and you savour
each of the images
that your retinas capture
like still shots
on a roll of film

come with me
slowly...

and I'll show you
when I'm not in my nest
This is where I'll be...

come this way
down towards
the front entry

to the Buddha
standing patiently
waiting

near the tropical flowers

and the sitting buddha

through the vestry






and into my sanctuary
the inner bastion
the sanctum
the holy hub
of my creative endeavours







where surrounded
by my best of friends
my books







and treasured reminders

mementos of the past

memories

of passages past

of family and
and love

my desk
in its orderly disorder
and disarray

to where I sit

to talk to you
and share my stories

and can you see
that from my swivel chair

I can look clear through the house
to my river beyond
where the hazy sun
has coloured the day
with a golden glaze

and the tide slips slowly out...



Oh Happy Days


*

Come walk with me...

*

Come and walk with me
Well,
in my case
it will be hobble
so lets go slowly...

we'll pass the kitchen...

and head into this sunroom

passing the comfy chaise lounge
where my walk friend sits
when she visits...

pass the Zygocactus
which dropped its buds
and flowered no more
once home from the nursery

and head over
into this corner

which has become
my nest
while I recuperate...
and the best thing is

that when I settle in my nest
this is what I see...

Red bromeliad, basil in a pot
tomato plants flourishing
in the gentle morning sun

and the river beyond...

the calm peaceful river,
and a duck...

and I can just make out
a little girl next door
on the jetty

feeding the ducks...

the fisherman has been
trying his luck
for an hour or so

before another fisherman
enters his patch





I check the nest
of the Brahminy kites
in the gum opposite,
but there is no-one at home

and the white trunked
cormorant tree
is bare,
the cormorants left
before I was up
for their day of fishing...

the next noisy tinnie
appears

then without a sound
a kayak
slips quietly by...



*

Early Autumn

*


You can tell at night in bed, when you wake up wanting another cover that autumn is sneaking in. You can also tell when you can no longer paddle at sunset between 6 and 7 pm.
The day closes in very quickly here with no daylight savings. Fortunately our early autumn days are still in the 20-28*C range (72-88*F).

Walking this morning I noticed the abundant and varied bird life.

The multicoloured rainbow lorikeets were feasting
on the flowering gum trees.

My rainbow lorikeet is out of focus so
I have borrowed one from Colin Buckmaster at

http://www.freewebs.com/nagleroadaviaries/index.htm

All night long
listening to autumn winds
wandering in the mountains

Kawai Sora

And in particular I saw that one little woody patch
of casurinas, gums, ti trees and the odd cottonwood tree
adjacent to the river bank appeared to be a
favourite haunt of blackbirds and miners.

Without the dog I could get quite close and watch their antics.

The pair of very fat crows at the caravan park, where my walk detoured this morning, would not oblige and pose for me. They jumped about and argued over a remnant of garbage from the rubbish bin. Instead I have a group of crows courtesy of Korin Ogata, 1658-1716

Autumn has come
to the lonely cottage
buried in dense hop vines,
which no one visits

The Monk Eikei

*