It's Morning

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This morning
after an early market shop
I was returning home
before 8 am
and decided
it was too beautiful,
too fresh a morning
to go inside
just yet




So I drove to the National Park
and had a little waddle about
listening to the rainbow lorikeets
warming up
in the trees overhead
and this came into my head...

...this morning my prayer
by the side of the sea








took odds to turn back
to the moon in the trees

where a green cloud of birds
in a flock of a thou'

Yelled from one to another
It's morning out loud

It's morning, it's morning
it's morning they cried

from the edge of the treetops
to the edge of the skies

It's morning, it's morning
it's morning they cried

so open your heart
when you open your eyes

And the sound of their voices
together did blend

forming chords of awakening
if I'm not here again

for they shouted
never again would they fly

in such numbers across
such a primitive sky










and they noticed my heart
as it sank to the sand









do not hurry they called
it's all part of a plan...












The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band




*

River Moods

*

The Moods of my River...

I have lived here
on this river
for over
twenty five years

And in that time it has aged
like me...

The tree
directly behind the pelican
is the cormorant tree
which is shown
on the very left
of the top image

Each day I watch the river:
the flowing water
the birds coming and going
the sun playing on the trees
and the painted sky beyond


and notice her moods
and vagaries


She slumbers
and wakes

she reflects
in her own time

she offers a home
to the cormorants,
their roosting tree
has not changed
in all those years

she is receptive
and willing
to take us along

she slows
and idles
for the old fishermen

she can appear
saddened
at times

and joyful
at others

dazzlingly bright
in her fine golden gown

sombre
and subdued

quiet and thoughtful
peacefully still

enchanting
at sunset








romantic
in the moonlight

and hazy
with the moon





I have watched the sunlight catch
the white breasts
of the roosting cormorants
as they bow in prayer
seen the Brahminy kites
and their descendants
build their nests
in the tallest gums
for a quarter of a century
and watched them scoop fish
from the river with their talons
seen a hammer head shark
nose up onto the beach
pelicans glide
ducks pair and bob
sting rays flounce
herons and ibis dive
and glide over the water's surface
and mullet leap for joy



I have heard
the crows
repeatedly
shatter the morning still
the kookaburras laugh gleefully
and whip birds call,
amongst the many birds
whose singing creates
the river birdsong




but most of all
I have loved
to watch the
ripples glide in and out
upon the tides
at their own pace
in their own unhurried way
as they have for eons before
and will for years to come...





Oh Blessed River
Oh Happy days




*

Quick Spinach Pie

*

Let's make a quick
and easy spinach pie

with the spinach
from the Farmers' Market

which I washed
and chopped roughly
before cooking quickly
in a tablespoon of water
then draining
and putting aside


while I whisked 4 eggs
with salt and ground pepper
a squeeze of lemon
(or some grated rind)


and added
100gms of crumbled
or finely chopped fetta cheese,
and the spinach
with 1/3 cup of toasted pine nuts



then I poured the mix
into a greased pie dish
without a bottom pastry layer



covered it with a pastry blanket
and cooked at 200*C
for 20-25 mins.



After 15 minutes
(or when sufficiently golden brown)
I covered the dish with foil



You could add a chopped green onion
or two,
or small clove of garlic



But it was perfectly tasty
just as is...



Throw some tomatoes in the oven
for the last 10 minutes



and presto...

delicious Spinach Pie

Quick Spinach Pie

A small bunch of spinach
lemon juice or rind
4 eggs
Salt and ground pepper
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
one sheet of puff pastry
100gms chopped fetta cheese
(chopped Spring green onions or garlic if desired)



Quickly cook or steam spinach, drain and put aside

Toast pine nuts in a fry pan

Lightly whisk eggs

Add all the rest

Pour into greased dish

Bake 200* C for 20 - 25 minutes, covering the top with foil when browned enough.


Delicious...

*

Machines and Machinations - a fine balance

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Machines and Machinations

a fine balance...

My Beloved has a love
of machines
with gaudy exteriors
and powerful thrums








I have absolutely no interest
in these machines
Instead I have a love
for the machinations
of the human mind and spirit










Over the years
we have developed a fine balance
Beloved indulges his passion
for vehicle nostalgia
by tenderly dismantling machines
bolt by bolt
panel by panel









and then
restoring each component
and lovingly reassembling the pieces
like a giant Meccano set -
He calls it 'his therapy'









My garage space
has been usurped
by two big metal beasts









I,
on the other hand,
indulge my passions









for books,
psychology,
teaching
and making
in other ways










but with equally the same
commitment and joy









We have come to learn
over thirty seven years
of marriage
that we can each follow
and satisfy our interests









support each other in their's
and come back to meet
in many other areas










This week
Beloved and son #1
have been as busy as bees
attending to final preparations
for their annual day
of fumes and noise
at the drag strip venue









in what is a now
a national event
that they created
called Mopar Sunday

It takes a lot of time
effort and focus
but provides much more
in terms of building a community
and sharing a passion

Although they have held this event
for six consecutive years
I have never attended









and Beloved knows
that I never will

We have an understanding -
we are free to follow
our own interests
where they may lead










and the enjoyment and the rewards
that we reap as a result
we bring back within ourselves
to our special togetherness









enriching our partnership
We have engineered
a fine balance

A Fine Balance

is also the title
of a book by Indian writer,
Rohinton Mistry,
which I heartily recommend

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