Obaitori

{this moment}

Inspired by Soule Mama.

 In my words - 2 photos - a few words - a moment in time.

A simple photo of an ant and a tiny purple orchid, half the size of a pinky fingernail living in the grass, divine beauty. So glad I did'nt step on all of them ; )

A moment I want to pause, smile, savor and remember.

 

fabulous women

I'm joining Ginny today and lots of other lovely knitters and readers over at the Yarn Along. Pop over, become inspired, join us!

I'm so gratefully inspired by women around me. For this week's venture I thank two of you directly, Angela at Peach Coglo for the bookmark I'm knitting for my fabulous sister Sally and vivacious Julie for introducing me to the Honorable Miss Phryne Fisher.

The bookmark is so delicate, bloody practical and a pleasure to knit.

The book. I hardly ever lay my eyes on fiction and when I do it is rare for me to branch out to a detective story not written by Miss Agatha Christie, Crime writer of the century - this one and the last. Did you know that Agatha Christie was often called in by Scotland Yard to solve their unsolvable mysteries or that she faked her own disappearance for 3 weeks and no-one had any leads? She worked in a dispensary whilst working for the war effort so found out all about poisons - a subject often used in her stories, she has sold over 2 billion books... I love Poirot and Marple and Christie's study of human behaviour. She had a fascinating private life, married twice, houses all over the world including one in Baghdad.  Agatha, for me, is up there, right up there. Why bother reading anything second to her? Well, I never, ever did until the sexy, sassy, clever, vivacious private detective Phryne Fisher was invented by Kerry Greenwood.These novels are such a breath of fresh air for the detective scene and I'm sure Miss Christie would agree. Phyrne even reads Christie! She is dangerous, fearless, generous and fair. She flys a tiger moth airplane and drives a racing car. She is my kind of girl.

I think I have gone on enough.

For an extract of Greenwood's latest book, my favourite to date, Dead Man's Chest click here.

 

'Greenwood's prose has a dagger in its garter; her hero is raunchy and promiscuous in the best sense.'

The Weekend Australia.

 

Recently announced;

Phryne is headed for the small screen!

 Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries is due to go into production in July 2011, with screening scheduled for ABC1 in 2012. Produced by Fiona Eagger & Deb Cox, the 13 one-hour episodes are based on the novels of Australian author Kerry Greenwood. Our lady sleuth sashays through the back lanes and jazz clubs of late 1920’s Melbourne, fighting injustice with her pearl handled pistol and her dagger sharp wit. Leaving a trail of admirers in her wake, our thoroughly modern heroine makes sure she enjoys every moment of her lucky life!

 

shower yourself with love

Rose is known as one of the most important flowers for women. It soothes, it worships her soft velvety skin, it calms.

The saying, 'stop and smell the roses' didn't just happen by chance.

I add it to my day where I can, and when I remember, before my mood gets feisty.

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In a drink bottle; a teaspoon of rose water or warm rose tea.

In a bath; a generous shake of rose bath salts.

Handy in a spritzer of spring water.

A tiny glass perfume bottle with a dash of essential oil inhaled, recipe here.

 

Mary is said to be the rose itself.

 

dattatreya the disciple of mother nature

Wishing you a very happy Abor Day. I was reminded of the sweet Dattatreya; the eternal spiritual guide, whilst absorbed in the warm climate of north Queensland, more on him here and here. With my camera I tried to record a little of Mother nature's divine reminders. They are everywhere. I was humbled and staggered by the beauty. I hope you enjoy the following images of the patterns and colours of nature.

For some celebratory activities for Abor Day visit here or your local tree organisations.

If we can become the disciple of Mother Nature and realize that she is here to nurture us, to be our dearest and closest friend, if we take time to listen and to feel her spirit, all our needs, spiritual, emotional, physical and mental, will be satisfied. If we open ourselves to the beauty and support that is within every aspect of creation, we will discover that it is the elements of nature that can teach and guide us in every aspect of life. To do this we must first reconnect and make the bond with nature.

For this full inspiring article by Swami Prembhava, click here.

For Dattatreya, the spirit of discipleship was one of learning from all existence. From the earth, Dattatreya learned the qualities of forgiveness, unselfishness and the strength to bear burdens.

He learnt from the moon, the sun, and the birds.

Water showed Dattatreya the qualities of a yogi, able to cleanse, purify and refresh all that comes in their presence, promoting new growth to higher awareness.

Turtle - Great Barrier Reef

The lessons are all around us, the lessons of Mother Nature, the lessons of God. God is not some hidden being watching and judging us, God is everywhere teaching, guiding and supporting us. If we can trust this we will never be alone. It takes courage to trust and surrender, but this is all that is needed to reconnect and be sensitive to the spirit all around. Swami Prembhava Saraswati - Munger, India.

 

{this moment}

Inspired by Soule Mama. In her words...

 

A Friday ritual;   - a single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.

 

fun and frivolity at the lion's den hotel

Dazla wanted to camp riverside. I chose the Lion's Den Hotel, 20kms south of Cooktown. There was no way we could have predicted this hilarious evening, one of our favourites from the trip, but the Lion's Den's reputation precedes itself. This unique, genuine, down to earth place is full of characters and locals that would make you laugh until you fell off your bar stool, delicious food and wine, great music, random events, excellent camping and cold beer. Did I mention alcohol? A lot of drinking goes on.

This is the story of the night we met the Lion's Den, locals; Dave, Johno ... and the life loving, Luke...

 

This story is really told through the photos. I hope you enjoy it.

It started with a friendly arm wrestle with a very massive man, by the name of Dave.

Luke suggested - with tongue in cheek - that the children might like to help Dave.

Dave - and the children - won, of course.

Luke is not a local. He lives and works on an oil rigg for 3 months at a time. He comes back into town cashed up.

He is very generous - especially when fired up with a few drinks, they all were.

This money, he declared, was for the Royal Flying Doctor's Service. That is $200 on the table.

Luke asked this boy who recently lost a tooth, "How much money did you get for that one?"

The boy replied, "A dollar."

Luke yelled out, "That tooth fairy sure is a tight arse! Here's five bucks."

He managed to give each child some money. What followed was a dharmic lesson and he challenged the children to consider if they were worthy of the money or if the Royal Flying Doctor's Service was more worthy of receivership.

The children decided it was the great service of the Flying Doctor's that should receive Luke's money.

Luke's brother Jeff - a very happy drunk, thought he might add his brother's credit card to the collection box.

Applause for all the children. Luke shouted a round of drinks for the bar. More applause.

We all left very late. The children were still smiling, the adults laughing and I felt a genuine feeling of contentment envelop the Lion's Den. I'm sure too that it was felt in everyone's heart that Luke touched that night.

You too can give to the Royal Flying Doctor Service.

next week ... more about the fabulous Lion's Den Hotel ... night night

crocodiles, bush food, damper and a little knitting

Whilst away I took some bamboo/silk wool, a skein of moss green and a pretty glowing pink. I had planned to do several things with it. One of those things was to mainly knit. This proved a little difficult as keeping it clean was tricky and looking up all the time to supervise the children was also tricky - with you know, crocodiles and all... The wool proved particularly handy and we created nature mobiles to decorate our campervan, made necklaces and played string games. On our last evening whilst staying at a friend's home I managed to knit a spring cat collar for Yogi using the moss green wool that would match his eyes. I knit this one with ten stitches across for a cooler effect. Turns out, as usual, he loves it!

I'm re-reading, soaking up and want to actually eat this book, Bush Food; Aboriginal Food and Herbal Medicine by Jennifer Isaacs. This book is a rare gem and is approved by lay people, professionals and Aboriginal people Australia wide. There is not another book like this one. It is filled with gorgeous photographs and extensive knowledge of bush food and medicine, the religious rules on where to find it, how to harvest it and techniques on cooking too.

Throughout our trip I read and used this book on a daily basis. My bush lore is very bad and if it was up to me our family would have either starved to death or I would have poisoned them. Thank God for Dazla's skills of gathering coconuts, 'catching' fish and making friends who gave us food and of course the local fruit and vege shops, delicatessans and wineries, we survived.

I did create a beautiful damper one night along the Annan River. We had a strong, hot fire and when the fire quietened down and the ashes went white, I placed the damper or bread onto the ash. The flour was an organic wheat that I bought from a store in Cairns. The damper was cooked on both sides for about 10 minutes. When it was ready I took it out and patted the ash off. We opened it up, divided it into pieces and spread it with butter and drizzled on golden syrup. It was a magical experience eating from the prana of fire, listening to the flow of the river and gazing deeply into that life giving, magical fire.

I'm joining Ginny today and lots of other lovely knitters and readers over at the Yarn Along. Pop over, become inspired, join us!

 

A Bush Birthday

We celebrated Indira's fifth birthday on the road. The preparations began the day before.

We were staying near Mossman Gorge; on the south side the Annan River. This river marks the boundary of two Aboriginal nations. The Guugu Yimithirr tribal lands to the north and the Kuku Yalanji to the south. Each has its distinct language and culture.

Dazla went out night spear fishing with some local Kuku Yalanji men who are highly experienced in their skill including the whereabouts of the local crocodiles. I asked Dazla - a veg-aquarian since the age of seven, a sometime fisherman uninterested in the killing side of the sport - if he thought he could spear something. He was quite unsure but he certainly wanted some man time. That night Dazla said that he could see crocodile eyes flashing back at him from torchlight. All was well. The fish get scared of the crocodiles so they jump. Soon there was a fish that jumped into the boat - he claimed it as his. The next morning his wild, generous fishing friend returned with the cleaned fish, 2 others, a mud crab and 12 mussels.

We stopped in town to visit the baker for some cup cakes and with the last of the preparations for Indira's party we headed out to the traditional country of the Djabugay Aboriginal people to Dinden National Park through Davies Creek National Park.

Davies Creek cascades over huge granite boulders as it flows through eucalypt woodland from its source in the Lamb Range. The rare wet sclerophyll forest is home to the endangered northern bettong: a small marsupial found only in a few parts of north Queensland.

Coincidently - in the back of no-where - our friends were camping here. They contacted us a few days before hand and we were looking forward to being with them. We were excited to see the birthday signs they had left for us along the way.

At last we found the camp site. We hugged our friends Jesse and Rosie, their daughter Lily, kissed the baby Cedar, went swimming, found an enchanting fairyland, a strong play gym and before sunset began preparations for the birthday dinner feast.

Indira walked around the circle of five candles in an adapted campsite Montessori birthday ceremony. Lily Lotus sang Indira a traditional Steiner birthday song and we sang the other happy birthday song with a variation on the end.

We laughed, feasted, sang more songs, drank mango champagne and felt so united around that fire in the middle of no-where with dear friends. I cried too and said thanks for our sweet child who we have been allowed to care take for five whole years.

Treasure like gold
The love that you hold
Be strong and be bold.

~~~

Receive the light, it comes from high;
So let it shine on all you try.

 

Ritual remains ~ after thousands of years ~ one of the most vital and precious tools for tending the human heart.

~ Lights of Passage ~

Flowers of Tropical North Queensland

 

Having just spent almost three weeks away from home I feel like I have been living a different life.

Our journey was a full one; Cairns to Cooktown, adventure, uncertainty, meeting new and old friends, seeing new landscapes, flowers, animals and foods. Sharing love, space, games. Bathing in fresh rivers, cooking and eating food from the fire, blowing on hot billy tea, laughing, driving on the Bloomfield Track, diving in the Great Barrier Reef, getting smelly, dirty and getting in touch with that special place inside - in Koori language - Guurrbi.

Over the next few weeks I plan to share some of those stories with you, dear friends.

A few changes to the website; the new banner photo is a billabong called Ngurrayin. It is just inside the Aboriginal Community of Hopevale - near Gungardie or Cooktown. This time of year the water lilies or lotus are flowering and it is a magestic site to behold. The essence of these flowers; awakening to sacredness within the self and in all life forms. I've also added a list of films that I hope you enjoy. A word on the photos, they are slightly different and for that, a very special thank you to my niece, Olivia for generously allowing me to borrow her Canon dslr for the trip.

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Proudly known to locals as, "God's Country" here today are a collection of flowers from north Queensland. I apologise for not knowing all of the names of the flowers. If you know what they are, please let me know so we can satisfy the botanists.

 

"All creation is the family of God. Love all God's creation. Love even the leaf; love the animals; love the birds; love the plants; love everything. This is the way to a knowledge of the mystery underlying them all."  ~ Sivananda ~

Achiote or Annatto Bush, Mossman Gorge.

These special seeds are used all over the world for their brilliant colour.

Fan Orchid with Black Flower, Cairns.

Purple  Orchid, Palm Cove.  

 

 Calliandra genus, commonly known as the Fairy Duster, Daintree Rainforest.

With so many butterflies in north Queensland this Blue Buddleia is a popular feasting tree.

Psittacorum taken late afternoon in the Daintree.

Coconut flower, a rare treat. Our hunter, gatherer for this adventure found us some delicious coconuts on the beach at Cape Tribulation. On account of their untouched white flesh and milk, coconuts are said to be one of the purest objects that humans can offer back to God for thanks and gratitude. This one had a flower inside, an auspicious blessing.

It is so great to be back. I hope that you have been well, safe and happy. I hope you enjoy our photos and stories of the Australian outback.