Out walking



I still find it hard to believe how lucky I am. One of my favourite walks from my new home, takes me alongside a creek and down towards the rivermouth and coastline. A couple of days ago I walked in brilliant early sunlight, through scrub and grasslands, watching the mist rise off the creek and enjoying the morning. The flight of a pelican setting off for the ocean caught my attention. He rose above the creek grasses, like an old fashioned barge, his wings were oars carving the air, neck and head bent back and strong beak horizontal to the river. Slowly lifting his cumbersome weight and trimming his strokes to perform a silent turn towards his feeding grounds, he went forward, regardless of my admiration. The shags and cormorants were still standing with wings outstretched to catch the morning sun, while he rose above them all setting about his daily business, a proficient and efficient, tradesman amongst the townsfolk down below.

There are so many things to catch your eye when out walking. Sunlight on grasses, twigs on trees, dogs running, water levels in the wetlands. I can walk the same route every day, and every day it's different. The local kids have a fishing hole down by the creek and they also fish from the bridge that goes across to the next suburb on the other side. I feel proud when I cycle across the bridge and can say "Hi Lee" to the next door neighbours boy as he pulls his fishing pole aside to let me pass. They show me their catch, mostly Murray cod, flapping around in the plastic lunchbox, they let it go back into the creek at the end of their morning.



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