More Improvisations

Now THAT'S a campervan!

Snogging

Reflections in water (and pelicans)

Byways

TOF has a philosophy - when faced with a choice, always take the one you haven't experienced before.

So we did.

Taking Seale Road from Kempsey to Gladstone we pass from tall timber to low swamp country then through lush dairy farms beside the river.

In the tall timber country, the buzz of trail bikes.

In the low area we travel on a dirt road with expanses of wetland on either side.  Black swans and their cygnets keep an eye out for the hawks that were circling on either side of the road and the herons stalk in the shallows and reeds higher than the car provide shade. 

Magic.

Pelicans

Pelican spots fisherman

Pelican circles float

Pelican brings mates for participation in fish-gutting ceremony.

Pelicans always win in the end.

Kiss of Death

Book him, Dano

Some of my friends adore travel writing - they read it, they write it, they live it.  Me, not so much. I just don't enjoy a lot of the genre and I've decided its because, being mostly autobiographical, I don't think I'd enjoy spending time with the authors in real life either
Bill Bryson is snarky, Peter Moore is foolhardy and boorish, but David Dale: him I like.

Dale's The Obsessive Traveller : Or why I don't steal towels from great hotels anymore came with me to Europe in 1992.

This week I've read his 1996 publication,  A Traveller's Alphabet of Essential Places : A book about ideas and where they started. It does what is says on the box - the reader travels to 26 places on the globe that gave rise to some of the most crucial ideas (or things) in history.

Not everything is earth shattering, but David is an intelligent and humourous guide to the places and the history of ideas spawned there.

How much did I enjoy it?   I had to read bits (lots of bits) out to TOF.  Wanting to share it is always the sign of something good.

Reasons to be Cheerful - Great Drying Days

There isn't much that can beat piles of fresh fluffy towels and crisp cotton sheets warm from the sun.

Drying days with the sun shining and a good breeze should be celebrated!

Reasons to be Cheerful - Serendipity

One of the major appeals of second-hand shopping is its serendipitous nature.

Yesterday we found this.  Too, too apt to stay in Macksville. :)

Reasons to be Cheerful - Avocadoes

Spread on wholegrain toast with a cracking of black pepper at breakfast (or lunch), avocadoes are lush and decadent with a banana-like mouth feel and just a hint of bitterness.  Obviously ovoid and pale-green are enough to make me very happy right now.

The local avocadoes are plentiful and cheap where we are right now.  We're making the most of them.

Reasons to be Cheerful - Customer Service

Clever baristas who assist the serving staff and put a smile on my face at the same time.

Reasons to be Cheerful - Improvisation

It will be no surprise that improvisation makes my heart glad.

A recent client graciously, if a little bemusedly, allowed me to photograph his improvisation.

Take one metal coat hanger, one crepe bandage and some origami skills and hey-presto, a custom-made iPad stand.
 

 

Reasons to be cheerful - eggs

Driving up to the farmhouse on a late winter's afternoon, the cows were plodding back to the paddock after milking and the dogs, after initial alerting barks, boisterously friendly and cuddly.

The chooks were glossily pecking around the yard, so many colours and types.  I shouldn't be surprised, then, that the eggs were charming, too.

Palest brown shells and palest green shells. Like sugared almonds in a box. Delicious poached on toast, too.