The events of the week caught up with me last night, alternating panic and exhilaration has been keeping me awake to all hours, then waking me up at ridiculous times through the night. Last night I could barely keep my eyes open on the drive down to Lorne, only stayed awake because I hate sleeping in the car, especially when I think Jo’s probably as tired as I am.
I think I finally got a good night’s sleep, and being away from home, away from thoughts of house-buying helped to keep it off my mind for a while. Then Ann pointed out that Mill road is still being advertised in the paper, its still open for inspection today, even though Ray White has told us that they’ve accepted our offer and banked our cheque! They wouldn’t sell it out from under us… would they? Could they?
Only another week of this and the bank will be organised, everything will be sorted out for a while and we can relax for a time.
Wattle flower
I had to get out of the house, burn off some energy, try and distract my thoughts. Down the hill to the beach, all the wattles are flowering, different types at different stages in the spring. I took a few photos, then walked along the beach and up to the bookstore — a well-known source of distraction. Duende1, by Jason Webster caught my eye, on sale in a tray outside, escape into southern Spain? What a good idea. Then to find somewhere to sit and read and forget!
I’ve got a soft spot for the Blue Room café, up on the roof on a side street. It just seems out of the way and more secluded than the sea-front places. The only problem is that it seems to find a reason to be shut every time I try and visit! Today they were closing for the afternoon for a private function, so I could only sit for a short time while the grey clouds formed overhead and rain fell as soon as I got comfortable. Long enough to sip my coffee, long enough to know that I’d made the right decision with the book.
Heading back to the house through the drizzle, ducking from awning to awning, my head all fuzzy and out of focus. I stopped for another coffee in Kafe Kaos, listening to the buzz around me, trying to read and trying to concentrate.
Erskine river flowing over rocks
Later in the afternoon I headed out again, this time Jo chose to come too and we decided to walk up along the Erskine river through the forest — despite the amount of water in the river, the clouds in the sky, and the lack of footwear! Wonderfully green and wet, ferns and trees everywhere, there are plenty of branches down blocking the paths and waiting for the spring cleanup prior to peak tourist season.
Fern frond unfolding, Angahook state forest
As we were leaving the house a strange bird call from the trees made us look up, a peregrine falcon was being harassed by some currawongs. The falcon waiting to swoop on the neighbour’s pigeons. Silhouetted against the sky, not a chance of photographing a distant bird with my camera!
At the first river crossing we heard an owl again, possibly the same one Jo heard last night. Amazingly, I glanced around and there it was, sitting in a tree about four metres above us. Two birds of prey that I’ve hardly ever seen, the falcons aren’t common, the owls just aren’t visible!
We continued on up the river, slipping and sliding in the mud, tip-toeing over the more treacherous sections until we reached the first river crossing. Not keen on falling in, and knowing that there were plenty more of the crossings further up, we turned around and headed back. A trio of walkers from higher up the river had scrambled and splashed across behind us, then trooped on past, two of them talking incessantly. Its amazing how noisy some people are when walking in the bush, and how quiet some others are — probably reflected in the amount of wildlife that they both see!
Footnotes
 | Duende, Jason Webster |
