After a prolonged spell of unusually hot weather, Phillip Island has turned on a savage cold front with gale force winds and a huge sea.
Consequently, the flotsam along the seashore is rich and varied. Sponges of all shapes, colors and sizes; sea urchins; cuttlefish; crab shells; sea squirts; abalone shells; driftwood, silver with age; and mountains of sea grass.
One of my greatest pleasures is to explore the seashore after heavy seas, and share this pleasure with you. It truly is a gold mine of interest.
Along with botanical art, I've plunged myself back into book research. This time it's Lonesome George, the 100-year-old Galapagos Island tortoise that was the last of his kind. It seems that I just needed something truly challenging and inspirational to get me writing again!
Over the past week we've bought 12 hippeastrum bulbs -- mostly via eBay. Unpacking these precious parcels – delivered by Australia Post – has given me a thrill of expectation. Each bulb contains a unique germ of life; a genetic blueprint that has the potential to create flowers of great beauty; living things that inspire feelings of intense pleasure and awe.
A long day trip to Melbourne and then Geelong, on Thursday, combined a medical appointment with a pleasant sharing of time with my brother and his wife, as well as my 94-year-old mother. On our return journey, the car ferry that crosses Port Phillip Bay between Queenscliff and Sorrento, enabled us to avoid driving (for a second time) through Melbourne -- in peak hour traffic.
It always gives me a thrill to go on an overseas boat trip. With blue skies and yachts at anchor on a sparkling bay, it's easy to feel that all's right with the world -- even when it isn't.
PS
I couldn't resist including photos of Major: retrieving sticks, gazing into the sunset and playing with Doug and Del.
Every now and then I receive a gift that touches my heart. So it was with the dream catcher, a gift from my close friend, Val.
The traditional dream catcher is made of wood, hide, animal gut, bird feathers and other natural items. Hung above a sleeping human, it's believed to have the power to catch all dreams, trapping the bad and releasing them into the universe with the first light of day; allowing good dreams to flow down the feathers to the sleeper below.
To activate my dream catcher, I placed a feather on the web -- one that I found yesterday, on the beach. Then I left my dream catcher out in the moonlight. Tonight it will be ready to work its magic!
Yesterday, a sea tulip caught my attention, washed up in flotsam. A sea tulip is not a plant; it's an animal closely related to a sea squirt and quite complex in spite of its fairly simple appearance. A sea tulip lives at the end of a stalk, attached to rocks just below low tide level.
To the left of the photo of the dream catcher is a photo of my Great Dane, Gem. She was one of the most wonderful dogs I've ever had the privilege of sharing my life with. Tragically she died of canine bloat, aged only five years.
As Australians, we tend to associate sunshine with fun in the sun, and good health (especially in relation to vitamin D and growing strong bones).
On the other hand, we have the dubious privilege of being the sun cancer capital of the world.
This week I attended a skin cancer clinic in Frankston -- a bay-side suburb of Melbourne -- for an all over body check, liquid nitrogen zapping of sun-damaged skin (currently my face is not a pretty sight!) and a biopsy. Next week I need to have a mole surgically removed. In other words, I'm paying the price of childhood summers spent at the beach without sunscreen. In those days it was considered healthy to obtain a tan. Now I'm more careful, but much of the damage is already done.
This week's blog will include photos of Del plunging her face into mounds of seaweed, just for fun; and Major playing with his stick on the beach. There's no doubt about it, dogs enjoy playing in the sun, just as we do.
This blog will also include sunsets over the water because, as from next week, the sun will set over land, from this viewpoint. Sundown is our favourite time to walk.
I'm the first to appreciate the fact that sunshine is important to my state of mind. I love to see sunshine, feel its warmth and be in its presence. Sunshine uplifts my soul. But, whenever possible, I've learned to avoid it falling on uncovered skin.
