Dull and cloudy but warm today
I left from Sunshine Beach village
and walked the high tide mark
until I reached the headland
then climbed up the dunes
and entered the windswept wallum
gnarly and bedraggled
but as I slipped over the high dunes
I entered a sanctum
the path was wet and soft
from last night's rain
the roar of the ocean subsided
and the forest stood still
waiting
I too stood still and watched
looking above me
in the eucalypts and melaleucas
I see a native orchid flowering
and another
I observe the tangles
of interwoven branches
The hanging nest of leaves
which is a spider's web
It is silent
no birdsong
I wait
and wait
like the web
stillness hangs in the air
so I move along
deeper into the bush
where the wallum is more protected
from the coastal winds
a tree of blossoming tiny white bellflowers
drops a carpet over the sandy track
and I take a path
winding further into the forest
still listening for birdsong
I hear wrens and sweet singing
and above the canopy
I hear the wail of the black cockatoo
crossing the little bridge
I climb higher into banksia country
and stop to note the colours
on the forest floor
the rust of old banksia flowers
and the greens of mossy growths
the texture of the knobbly banksia trunks
and begin to make my way into low wallum
where the banksias are more stunted varieties
mindful of anything buzzing
I know the march flies are out today
and they nip
I catch the silhouette
of a tiny splendid blue wren
with a bug in his mouth
and listen to his family calling him
in such a gentle sweet song
near my exit I stop to look
at the bent flower stem of the grass tree
as it begins to flower
attracting little native bees
to do their work
in this beautiful and tranquil environment
Oh Peaceful Day...
