We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.
T. S. Eliot
For the past several months I have been back and forth between S.A. and S.W. Victoria – the cats now regard their travelling boxes as their second home 🙂 Fred of course, like most dogs, simply loves being in the car and on the road.
It has been a time of great adjustments as I have spent most of the past seven years living more as a hermit than a social person, and I faced challenges to keeping my balance – and more than once overbalanced and fell down. However, I kept plugging away, knowing it was time for me to change my way of living and once on that path, I couldn’t turn back. It was a lot of fun helping my friend settle into his new house and in meeting very many friendly musicans and artists and others. Eventually though, I needed my own place, and after much searching, I have found something that satisfies many of my requirements. So I’m swapping paddocks for the ocean and instead seeing cows I’m hoping to see whales! My next place is a small cottage with the coast just across the road, and I can see the ocean from my front room. It’s not quite suburbia, and not quite country – I do have a little space around me thankfully. It’s not perfect, but it’s a start and feels the right step to take at the right time. There’s a great community of artists in the area, and Irish music also – high on my list is getting back to playing my own selection of instruments on a more regular basis.
All this week I’ve been back at the farm cottage, packing up and readying for the BIG MOVE! It’s about 250 kms away and generally a nice drive, although as usual, it has areas heavily populated by kangaroos, so I avoid travelling from dusk to dawn. So it’s a busy time, but once I’ve settled into the new abode, I’ll put up some images of my new local environment.
Here’s a little taste though….
Just before Easter, while back at the farm after an absence, Fred decided to take on an old man kangaroo that was living quietly in the small back paddock near the house. Damn terriers never know when to give up! I felt very sorry for the kangaroo, and it was a very tricky situation to get Fred away from it while still staying safe myself…… Finally though, I managed to grab Fred literally from the arms of the roo as it choked the life out of him. Tough little bloke that he is, after a trip to the vet and treatment, he bounced back very quickly. It took me a little longer…. but it has given us a good story to tell 🙂
I’ve been told that a koala perodically visits the gum tree near the back door of the beach house – Fred had better leave that one alone! So stay tuned for hopefully some images of the local wildlife. Koalas are actually often visitors to the main street in Portland, and the locals take great care to avoid them on the roads. I’m just waiting to see one waltzing across the zebra crossing 🙂
Unfortunately Mr. Merriweather can’t be making the trip with us, and several weeks ago he went off to live with the creatures he feels most at home with – the cattle. He taught me a great deal in the time we were together, and won’t be forgotten.
So yet again change is upon us. Please forgive me for not posting much in recent months, but I promise I’ll get back to my regular updates sometime next month 🙂
Eremophila's Musings 