Some days are diamonds...
A ride in the country is always a good thing, especially when someone else is driving. It comes with the opportunity to relax, take in the scenery and enjoy the conversation. But a whole new dimension is superimposed on a drive in the country when it becomes the four hour cruise from Melbourne to Warrnambool, stopping at Logan's Beach to behold Southern Right Whales at play. That was my great fortune this week. A defining moment indeed, to see these awesome creatures frolicking so close to the shore. We feasted on the antics of two mothers and their calves gliding through the surf, spouting, rolling and emerging periodically. It was four hours of privileged wonder.
It was my first time seeing whales in their wild environment...truly a day of diamonds.
The Persimmon Tree
The days have been frenetic of late, filled with myriad tasks, all urging me to their attention. I greet the end of the day with relief as I fall into my pillow and pick up my book for the brief reprieve of literary escape. The last book was hard work and I was gratified to turn its final page. These last evenings have found me drifting away in Bryce Courtenay's The Persimmon Tree - smooth and gentle and eloquent, inviting and enticing. The minutes fall away as I disappear into this beautifully recounted chronicle of love and despair set against the backdrop of WWII in the Pacific and the imminent Japanese invasion of the Dutch East Indies. I can't put it down, so I fall asleep in mid-read.
That's a special book!