this moment
a friday ritual
one photograph from my week
Right now
enjoying a creek bed picnic. Spring creek outside of port douglas. We’ve been staying nearby and cycled down. Fun to be on a bike and feel the wind whipping my hair. ( nice cliche?)
I make Fire. Lily crushes ochre of varied colors.
Cedar carries sticks and stones. Jesse swims then basks lizard like in the sun
Toasted haloumi cheese marshmallows coming up. Mmm
forgive me. i have been so negligent here at RosaLindenTree. {gotta change the name one day, too long, any suggestions?}
so here i am banished out of the bus today for being too grumpy and crotchety {yes it’s not all love and coconuts.}
and i find happy refuge with a friends internet connection! yay. hours and hours of electricity. not a bad punishment.
so here comes a massive catch up with lots of photos and words! awesome.
get yourself a cuppa it’s really loooong…. but good!
a day after flying into Cairns, we are guided to Stoney Creek just north of the city, a beautiful cool place to land and have my first QLD freshwater dunk for the year and then take quiet grounding time to balance stones and add to the growing collection in the creek bed. i am so happy, jesse is so happy, the children are so happy scrambling about and crushing ochre stones. it feels good it feels right and i remember exactly why i am committed to this crazy lifestyle! and i am quickly recovering from my ten day solo pack up and leave Bellingen stint while sick and overwhelmed. thankyou dear friends who helped us and fed and housed us… right back to happy…
another favorite camp north of Port Douglas, we often come to the creek here for swimming and picnics, today a good ole spaghetti ragu with local produce for lush salad… maybe a week into the trip and we are still all getting on!! yay
and then another day beaching at Four mile Beach in Port Douglas, if you head to the central or southern end you can completely avoid the holiday crowd…
ah my girl,
i think the above two shots could qualify for the 52 week portraits (a year of portraits of my children
from Che & Fidel)
Our gorgeous friends from Sacred Oz have their incredible Message Stick Vehicle at home this week. I love closely looking at all the diverse Indigenous artworks from all around Australia and often find myself with heart swelling tears. Look here to find out more about this remarkable icon of Australian Reconciliation
a very rare photograph of Jesse and I {thankyou Michael} and it’s even a genuine joy moment! hooray
the trees, the creek, the stones, the hairyman in the forest with a hollow stick…
serious rain business to dress up for, making channels for the smaller streams, floating things dowstream, splashing and getting the hangof the balance bike… and getting nearly all your clothes wet numerous times a day! aaarh
above you see a variety of phases of coconut, in the silver bowl fresh water from a yellow nut as on the left. on the far right an opened young yellow nut with jelly flesh, above an older brown nut whose thick white meat we grate as you can see in the centre and the empty shell can be used as a handy vessel.. mmmm below you see a young nut with a drinking hole deftly cut open…{not my work, i am more savage…}
monkeying around with slippery coconut jelly meat
campfire buckwheat pancakes… mmm
here i used buckwheat flour, but my favorite recipe using whole groats is from my friend Carly over at
noticing i didn’t photograph the rain moments so it looks so dry and fun…
we cope by making delicious food, playing games, reading, letting the kids play in the mud and water, eating something else yummy, going walking and splashing and adventuring, being patient, keeping the interior of the bus as tidy as possible while it’s a laundry site, allowing space and solo moments despite being so confined, making a bush treasure hint, crafting, knitting, writing, sleeping, listening to the water, singing…
had a little coconut frond weaving and made up this little flag fan… ahh it’s soooo hot… not, but it will be soon.
and this beautiful fruit bowl. more on weaving soon… maybe even a tutorial
inside crafting… the discovery of the one dot holepunch brings hours of amusement. poor deprived kids.
then this bear gets completely re outfitted by Lily lovingly..
Just before departure we finalised this upstairs canvas cot for Lily, we had been dreaming it up for years and now it’s manifest and is awesome! keeps the floor space clear and Cedar has Lily’s up front bed even though his little old cot was so cute…. Thankyou Marty for the help. It is two bamboo poles with a canvas cot slung between them. clever. good. smart. simple
i’ve had a jaffle maker for a few years and finally christened it! yum. childhood goodness. {basically took so long because i am so uptight i refused to buy square sliced bread! i let go a little when i found some organic spelt loaf.. so neurotic. but admitting it freely xxx {i trully don’t care if you eat square sliced bread by the way, i will eat it with you happily i just love love love sturdy loaves of bread with hard crusts and chewy centres! i also have a few ridiculously stupid high expectations on myself} ahhh liberation it was soooo yummy!
more good camp food. Babaganusch {spelling?} guacamole, vegies and roast spuds!
can you tell we kept our spirits up by focusing on the meals all week….
Lily’s early birthday present appeared one morning… a slack line which has brought alot of fun and challenge to us all!!
on departure the morning mist cloaks the hillsides
departing the fertile valleys of the mid north coast and headin south… it’s a beautiful perspective of the folds and crests of the land hearabouts from up sky..
the big smoke… a fleeting stopover…
on the plane i listen with empathy to the crying babes
and turn back to my book with glee… it’s not me with puking kids, this time…
at the airport Sydney I am famished as the few mouthfuls of breakfast I distractedly inhaled have worn off, i seek the noodle bar my mama described to me and am so enjoying my broth and reading and then the $2 massage chairs…
i forget to check in for my next flight…
oops, lucky i got a self proclaimed ‘nice’ man at the counter who lets me on anyway…
{feeling abit country mouse at this point but enjoying myself…}
arriving into a babble of easy banter with my oldest young friend, we join her friends inner city for lounging, ethiopian eating and dancing! wow feeling so bold and dashing in my red wool coat and that new wool skirt i made… {details one day. maybe}
in between i had a stroll in the road and delighted in my find of this Pincushion Hakea a favorite from Western Australia. What a quirky flower and great name. Some aspects of the medicine of this flower is
to have an open mind and be open to new ideas and interested in the world. {can you see how the flower reaches out in every direction confidently?}
Think that might come in handy this week for me?
dinner, Ethiopian flavours astound me, smoky paprika or warm cumin or slightly vinegar pickle or sweet beet or queer fermented pancake bread… mmmm new things to experience
and 5 other lovely ladies to enjoy with…
and then and then there was more at The Substation
Dead Quarry Mountain Rats play high speed twanging tunes, handsome talented lads with flying fingers
{but i snobbishly think they could do with some articulation assistance…}
I cannot keep up and go out for a breather and a cuddle with the radiator
enjoying people watching and trying to digest the days stimulation!
until the highly quirky and amusing Perch Creek Family jug band step up and have me soon in stitches
four siblings and a partner, all beautifully talented musicians and a couple sporting magnificent vocal range! harmonies to soar in this great hall and hilarious almost embaressing banter betwixt.
when did dorky become cool? i think i could really fit into this scene in Melbourne…
In another life I played double bass and when i see the instrument hopping and jiving in this folk/bluegrass/soul context i long to be there thumping out the bass line. it really wasn’t so much fun at the back of the orchestra…
this sign greets me in my dear friends kitchen. I say YES yes yes!
being idle in the sunroom for hours… luxury… my thoughts can come to a natural completion with no interruption! hoorah! i can think any think i can think…
and then such a long long invigorating seaside stroll with a myriad of greys and mauves and silver sheening water for company
and pressing my face into WA wildflowers growing happily in the garden
Geraldton wax my favorite since ever has taken me on a great healing journey {still on it actually}
in another life i spent a year working on an artwork of this flower and a dear friend put it onto my skin. daily reminders of the medicine of this flower…
have you ever crushed some of the leaf and smelt the divine aroma?
and then check out these enormous pillars of Banksia. Im not sure which variety but so striking.
and then later…
ahhhh so full of gratitude to all who have made this a possibility and to myself, yippee you’ve given yourself a mini sabbatical… xx
what would you do if you could run away from life for a few days?
Yellow the bracken
Golden the sheaths
Rosy the apples
Crimson the leaves
Mist on the hillside
Clouds grey and white
Autumn good morning
Summer goodnight
Author unknown to me
I revel in this crisp changing
Colors of the season enthrall me and I have to pull over and pause to savour
This tree is on my friends property
Almost a year ago I arrived to be present with their big children while mama was birthing
In the morning this tree shone vermillion crimson russet gold against a soft ash sky just like today
I will remember this baby’s arrival when I see the trees like this and the warm stillness of her family home
and on the way home, i see the trees like this adorned with a rainbow. I am aware for the first time of Cedar’s conscious recognition of a rainbow! a special moment… mama, burple wed gween in sky…
this classic Australian Grug book has been preparing him for the Autumn/Winter rainbow season…
ps is it really Autumn goodnight Winter hello??
today Some solo moments by a silver shiny sea
reveal an expression of self inquiry
i want to hear the truth within me
Beyond the babblings of this mind and fear
There lies the knowing and clarity
in a stillness i cannot force
if only i can move aside
To allow this space for it to arise
To put my ponderings down to rest
To connect with the heart of it
I am fearful, I see this
remind me, my soul is steady despite the outer bombardment
The path ahead is divided and I must choose a way once more
Please instinct please knowingness please wise owl
turn up the volume, allow me to hear
in this moment I have forgotten how
Bruny Island adventures
a long story with lots of photographs
It begins with
crankiness along the coast
tired and tetchy
itchy and scratchy
we are at a frictious all time low {i think that every time we hit the downside of our cycle}
finally a camp at the neck campground and some play
i remember to bring out the watercolour paints and pencils
Jesse remembers to play music
(note the kids cubby next door)
which i tried to help with by request and ended up being screamed at
tempers are frayed these days
but Lily finds meditation in making a bush home for Cedar’s leopard
we look for penguins late into the night
and are just cold and disappointed
{take a red light torch and lots of warm clothes, a flask of hot tea and make everyone be silent or the penguins will wait until the noisy crowd gives up and not come to everyone else leaves! making their young wait hours while they wait in the water until it’s safe}
adventure bay offers us a little respite simply by being beautiful and we split up and take a child each and some space
but things are stilted and we are not flowing together
even filling our water tank becomes an issue
i am reminded that despite external surroundings it is one’s inner state which dictates one’s happiness
and that when one is happy one doesn’t mind so much where one is!
i start to pray
help us find a safe place to unfold
find a friend for Lily
find a supportive friend for Jesse
find me a hot shower and some nurturing
and then
like a mirage is Michael running down the road
ask and ye shall receive
oh thankyou!
Michaels blue bush palace has evidence of his seabound joy everywhere
boats, diving gear, surfboards, fishing tackle, shells, paddles, wetsuits, seaweed…..
He and Jesse met nearly 15 years ago and he generously invites us to stay a night
{which becomes two}
he has an abundant garden including a hothouse for the cold season
and thrives on this and seafood of all varieties
he collects and dries his own wild seaweed for added nutrition!
Michael shares his warm heart and uplifting life values so openly
we can’t help but ease open too.
Lily and his son Brody become instant mates and Cedar is happy playing with his tonka truck
or shovelling sand
I luxuriate in a long hot riverwater shower…
We are blown away to have abalone prepared for us {me first time! ahhhh yum}
though at first i can’t believe these yucky slimy mess are so coveted
the bounty of Michael and Flo’s {current French WWOOFer} recent dive
prepared with Michaels incredible {unusual} experienced process
{not what they do in restaurents}
we are soon feasting
Cedar decides to eat nothing else!
luxury tender surprising salty deliciousness!
i cant quite fathom we are eating about $300 worth of abalone!
Jesse and I look at each other and wonder how we got here?
while the men are cooking I wander about photographing the property
it is all blue, light, timber trims, glass and mirrors
a lush oasis on Bruny island
and then morning and Michael shares his passion for surfing with us
his clear enthusiasm is infectious and transparent
we meet the only other family on the beach on holiday from Sydney and wishing they lived here
i am fascinated by his {holiday fellow} hollow wooden surfboard, a beautiful play thing
Lily gets her first wave! she is helped up to standing and then pushed off to ride to shore again and again
she is totally high
and freezing
while the others are in the icy seaweedy water {swim anyone?}
i play ashore with Cedar
and engage myself with unknotting a 15m tangle of kelp I love this giant sea tree
i slice some of the new growth to take home and dry
to add to soups
next is our beach drive tour of Cloudy bay
ending with a paradisical swim in the pristine turquoise calm side of the bay
the land is a stunning contrast of sea sky and forest
it feels untouched and still enchanted here and i am deeply touched by the peace and bounty of this area
the children slide down a massive sand dune endlessly
Jesse and I swim and chase
while Michael catches up on some internet work
{and if y’all get over there quick you too can meet Michael at the awesome festival which he organizes!}
what a beautiful friend living an incredible lifestyle
I am so inspired by this man who is living his bliss
sharing his bliss
caring for and inspiring others
Thankyou for welcoming us in and encouraging the joy back into our hearts
so a long story that started painfully, had a happy ending
and the finale was sailing the bus and eating a pile of fresh baguettes and cheese…
sometimes i feel like the luckiest woman