Seasons and Circles

I missed last winter.

I should clarify. I didn't yearn, ache, or fill up with sorrow. I skipped it. On purpose. I left Iowa mid October 2009 when the temps were dipping into the 30's and 40's at night, 40's during the day. A tad early for my liking, and actually it was below normal for that time of the year. But that's nature for you....always keeping you on your toes...keeping you guessing...like that teacher (we all know) who taps a ruler in the palm of their hand as they pace through the rows of test taking students.

Anyway, I had weathered two winters in Iowa, 2007 and 2008. Two of the coldest winters in the last 25 years for Fairfield. This was after spending a majority of my life – my entire adult life, come to think of it – in the balmy arms of the state of Florida. I don't rue my decision. On the contrary, I have never made a better one. But those two winters were enough...it was time to move back to warm winters. So, it was a conscious decision to miss - forgo, skip, forfeit, abandon - the northern hemisphere winter in 2009/2010.

Little did I know that I was going to go on the adventure of my life. I was thinking of wintering in California or Florida, but after meeting Yasmin (in Fairfield, Iowa), Australia became the destination of choice. Off I went to summer in the southern hemisphere....it was a mild summer by Melbourne standards...the temperatures didn't spike too high for too long, and the rains came and eased the minds of many who had experienced the bush fires of February 2009....March produced some of the most beautiful days...a balance of warmth and coolness...April and May saw me traveling throughout the USA...the west, mid-west, and south...and then a return to Australia, and my first Oz autumn...and oh what an autumn it was...I say “was” because June 1^st is the start of winter in Oz....but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

It was the last day of autumn as I rode my bike down the Merri Creek Trail. I spied the subtle changes of the seasons in the air, the trees, the sun, and my fellow trail goers. It was the trees that caught my attention...many were losing their leaves, while others hung bravely onto their evergreen coats. Unlike the autumn of Iowa which BURSTS into fall, Melbourne seems to be strolling down a leaf littered path. The color change in Iowa is spectacular, and nearly every tree joins in. Here the cedar, pines, and gum (eucalyptus) trees have stubbornly clung to their leaves...but it is the willow trees that have caught my eye as they are turning from green to yellow gold and ocher.

Ah, the willow tree...according to Yasmin, my mentor on all things Australian, the willow is not native to Oz, and Victoria is working to eradicate these trees that line the waterways...on this day the willows are putting on such show I cannot ignore them....they litter the banks with their leaves, and tower over the reach of the creek itself...some dip down into the water, obliterating the line of demarcation between tree and creek...unlike summer, when the willow bends itself seemingly wanting to paint the creek water with its foliage, autumn leaves use the water as its path to leaf afterlife...a slow moving procession complete with dirges being sung by the magpies...

My thinking segues to other changes that autumn brings....temperatures have mellowed out...Australian Rules Football replaces Cricket...fleece is worn in place of tank tops...the sun sinks lower in the Northern sky and the days' light continues to shorten. It is the natural course of creation, maintenance, and dissolution. This is how we pass through our lives...whether or not we recognize this circular motion, it is how nature moves, how the world moves, how we move. 

I sometimes try to see this cyclical path in different and non-obvious aspects of my life...taking notice of this natural movement has, in a way, helped me relax...I have an easier time accepting the dips and drops my life takes, in fact, understanding that this is a natural movement, something that is real in every aspect of life, is comforting...I don't waste time wondering - “what if,” “if only”, “woe is me”...I try and learn what I can from the experience and move on...learn and grow. So once again I am reminded of my connection to nature...to its cycles, its movements...that my growth, my path in life, follows this pattern.

Pondering all of this in a positive way, my link to nature is reinstated. I pedal home.

The Ceres Path

It was just a thought. “Will you stop at the bike shop if there's a park space out in front?”, I asked Yasmin. We had just finished a wonderful lunch of veggie pie and chips at “The Veggie Bar” located in Fitzroy, a suburb south of Coburg North, a bit closer to the CBD (Central Business District or downtown Melbourne). Not only was there a park space, but EVERY park space was free in front! In we went, and after a few wheeling dealings, I became the new owner of a Cannondale hybrid bicycle.

I had wanted to get a bike since coming to Australia. I know that sharing the road is an unresolved conflict even here in friendly Oz. In fact, there was a recent news report of a cyclist being punched in the face by a driver after an exchange of temperaments. While this was disturbing, but did not squelch my enthusiasm. Many people use their bikes to commute to work, exercise, run errands, or just to enjoy the day here in Melbourne. I was looking forward to the same.

The weather has been supportive of my desire to cycle around the area. Even the temperatures have remained mild these past few mornings despite misty rains and gray, cloudy skies. Some mornings we wait for the sun to appear before venturing out on our bikes, but this morning we have been bound by a time constraint. We are going to Ceres, an environment park, south of Coburg North. At Ceres, one can purchase native plants at their nursery, a latte at their organic café, tune up your bike (Friday, Saturday, and Sunday), buy fresh organic fruit and veggies (Wednesday and Saturday markets), and learn how to build more environmentally friendly buildings.

Today we wanted to peruse the Ceres market while getting in our daily bike ride. On Saturdays, the market closes at 1pm, so we ventured out before blue skies. We traveled via the Merri Creek Trail. I think of it like a commuter path for bikes. But if one takes a moment to look, really look, at what is going on around the path, one may be surprised.

Here's what I saw:

Winding paths running tandem with the Merri Creek...suspension bridges and high tension wires....backyards and high rise apartments....football ovals and velodromes...dog walkers and pram pushers...plastic bottles floating down the creek next to a perfect white lily...community gardens and mosques....sculptures and graffiti.

After a successful shopping trip, and a lovely and nourishing lunch at the Ceres café, we pedaled home, stopping momentarily to take photos of all the beauty. Thanks to my brother, Tom, I am now the proud owner of a new Panasonic Digital camera, with lots of mega pixels, and a fabulous lens. I trust my photos do Oz justice. I will let you be the judge. I hope you enjoy my musings on this gray, misty Saturday in Oz. It's good to be back.

The Creative Intelligence of Oatmeal and Granola

     I stood over my bowl of oatmeal and granola, cutting a banana to add to the mix, when images of my Dad popped into my head. I smiled as I thought, “I've become my Dad!”, then went back to my breakfast creation.

     But it did start me thinking. I like to read my email in the morning, first thing. That's from my Mom. A muffin and tea to start my day. Mom again. Futzing around; my Dad. Taking anything and everything apart and putting it together again...Mom and Dad.

     Many of my nuances, habits and traits have slowly marinated over the years to create my current persona, but it wasn't until today when I easily morphed into a comparison mindset. I began to unravel and then ravel back again those components of me that I have borrowed from my parents. Maybe borrowed is the wrong word. These aspects that have come from them have actually been betrothed to me. I wear them proudly now, but this hasn't always been true. This expands my thinking from the kitchen, to my parents, to myself, to life.

     I wonder about the river that is our life. How some changes are difficult; hard as a boulder strategically placed in a riverbed diverting water against its will. Other changes evolve; wandering into our lives gently, quietly, effortlessly. While still other changes make us feel we have stumbled into a whirlpool; unable to see a way out.

     We create dams to try and curb the flow of life, allowing only small waterfalls to be created, until a deluge of events causes the dam to be breached, cracked, overwhelmed. We attempt to navigate the river. We draw plans, create contingencies and safeguards, construct pathways, streets, and highways. We have savings and checking, trusts and wills, torts and laws, all to direct us, guide us down this river.

     Our parents teach us, give us guidance, help us navigate this river of life. They are strict, short, impatient, not to deter or blanket our enthusiasm, but because they see what litters the pathway, and they don't want our unbridled momentum to collide fatally with unseen boulders.

     We fight our parents, confuse our ego with our knowledge, determined to steer ourselves in our own way. We smirk with disbelief that our parents would dare to compare their experiences with our own. We know that our lives, our river, is more dangerous, more technical, and is strewn with whitewater rapids that they cannot even begin to fathom. Their War, their depression, their economy, their opinions fall at our feet where we squash their importance.

     And then one day, we stand in the kitchen, making breakfast. In the quiet, all the words, all the actions of our parents, stand with us. They only meant to give us the best of themselves. Only meant to point things out, to guide, not steer. Some may have accomplished this with greater dexterity. Some may have weathered the storms better. But, on this day, in this quiet, they are here. In me. As me.

     I am determined to remove my dams. One at a time. To allow life to flow. To follow my river. It may not be my parents river. In fact, it will not be my parents river. Nor anyone else's. Life is like that you know. Its unique. And the thought that in this world of 6 billion people no two lives are the same, is both wonderful and insane. I will take those traits that my parents have betrothed to me, and use them to float down the river of my life.

All that and a bowl of oatmeal and granola. Life is Good.

The Hot Summer

We are still in Melbourne, and this week has brought the heat of summer. Temperatures in the 30's (high 80's and 90's) and low humidity at the beginning of the week seemed to suck every available drop of moisture from the ground. Now, as we walk down the Merri Creek trail, the grasses are the color of golden wheat, cumin, cinnamon, and cardamom...the creek itself is smaller and gentler, the banks are exposed, and it is easy to see that the creek bed is littered with stone and rock.

The ducks, geese, coots, swans, pigeons, and gulls still rejoice upon our arrival, but even they seem slower to take the swim over the lake from their shady retreat. We too, love the shaded areas on the trail...we tend to walk slower through those spots, heads up, looking around and at each other...once we hit the sun, our heads lower, our conversation pauses, and I think that unconsciously we are both looking for that next reprieve.

This morning we woke to warm temperatures...not too warm, somewhere in the mid 20's (seventies)...took time for our “breakkie”, swept the house some, readied the spinach for lunch, and sat for our morning meditation...silence was broken by wind...then rain began to tap out a staccato beat on the laser light porch roof...the wind continued, the rain stopped. Cooler temperatures are arriving...tomorrow's high is forecast to be 21 (69.8F). We have Maharishis Ghandarva Rain Melody playing...the rain started up again at the conclusion of the first hour...

We welcome the change for our own selfish reasons...while we want the rain for the grass and plants, the lower temperatures will aid us in our newest project. We are rebuilding a raised bed...old landscape timbers, new landscape timbers (sleepers, I am told, is the correct verbiage), digging, lots of digging, pavers, mulch, plants...the whole nine yards! More to come on that news....

I hope all my Fairfield friends are surviving the Iowa winter...I hope all my dome buddies are able to travel to and from meditation easily and safely...I hope everyone is feeling well and strong and vital....from Australia...this is me signing off!

OzzieOzzieOzzie – OiyOiyOiy

well, time for a little update...first off..a big HAPPY BDAY from OZ goes out to two of my favorite girls...my sister, Jeanne (28 January) who is trying very hard to catch up to me ;-) and to my girl, Sophia (27 January) who is officially a tween! Lots of love and hugs to both of you!!! I hope you did everything you desired!

Now for that Oz update...hopefully this part of the story will explain (fully) the title of this Post...Yas and I left the wonderful, beautiful beaches of Torquay last Thursday and returned to the vibrancy that is the city of Melbourne...we came home to do chores and projects...well...we came home because the veggie garden was screaming for water so loud we could hear them in Torquay! So, home to fix, feed, and nurture nature for a while.

On Sunday we went to the movies...saw AVATAR in 3D....one word...AWESOME...the script was just OK...the storyline was good...but the visuals...phenomenal. And the 3D....essential! All right, all right....enough accolades for James Cameron.

Come Monday, we took the train from the Preston station to the City, getting off at the Jolimont station in front of the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground). Why, you may ask? To see the Australia Open Tennis Tournament! We saw both Williams sisters, Venus and Serena, play matches, Leconte, Wilander, Bahrami, and Masur play a VERY funny, and elegant Masters Double match, women's doubles, and Verdasco and Davydenko play men's singles...it was a very full day! Serena's match was later in the afternoon, and it pitted her against Samatha Stosur, Australia's best women's player...well, you can just imagine...No, I take that back, you can't...during the other matches, there was quiet during play, but there was always a rustling, a movement in the air...during this match, it was dead quiet during the points...you could hear the players breathe, sweat, grunt...at the conclusion of the point the crowd would erupt as one...with cheers, gasps, claps...did I say cheers???? yep, I did...and here's my favorite:

Group 1 (several young Australians on the far side of the court): OZZIEOZZIEOZZIE

Group 2 (many Australians on our side of the court): OIYOIYOIY

Group 1 : OZZIE

Group 2 : OIY

Group 1 : OZZIE

Group 2 : OIY

Group 1 : OZZIEOZZIEOZZIE

Group 2 : OIYOIYOIY

Don't expect an explanation...I don't have one...but I can say it brings a smile to my face even as I write this...say it loud, say it proud...if you dare!

Back to the match...Serena was Serena...the #1 player in the world right now...she won the match in straight sets...all of Australia would now put their collective hopes on Lleyton Hewitt, who would be playing the #1 men's player in the world, Roger Federer, in the evening match...

Alas, we would not be staying for the evening session...we walked out of Rod Laver Arena, its retractable roof, $4 cokes, face painted nationals, and Heineken beer...headed out into a perfect evening...after a small detour (we ended up circumnavigating the arena once before finding our pathway out!!!)...headed past the MCG back to the Jolimont train station...dashed and made the train.

Once home, we crashed on the couch, and made plans for the next day - 26^th January – Australia Day – another taste of life here on the big island that's Australia.

Dyslexic Driving (or How I Came to Drive on the Wrong Side of the Road)

This new year brought some new changes. One of them is the inclusion of driving into my everyday. Mind you, I don't mind walking, biking or taking public transport, but there are times when a car is just a must.

That being said....

There are a few differences here on the continent of Australia. We have, of course, the obvious. People drive on the left side of the road...not too bad...but add to that the fact that the driver sits on the right side of the car, the passenger side in America, and my left eye starts to twitch...my head begins to ache, and I can't drive and speak at the same time.

That's not true...I can speak, but having a conversation is dangerous...concentration is at a premium. I now realize how driving (in America) had become second nature; how multi-tasking isn't just a concept, but a reality. Talking, texting, conversing, changing the music, singing, thinking about anything but driving...all this while careening down the freeway at speeds that could flatten the best of vehicles. Ahhhh, but I digress...

OK, back to the car...here I am sitting in what I have known to be the passenger seat with the steering wheel in my lap...not just that...in Australian vehicles the turn signal stem is on the right, and the window wiper stem is on the left. I can't count the number of times I have signaled a right hand turn by turning on the wipers...seems most drivers don't realize that wipers going crazy on a sunny day is another way of saying...”I'm an American in Australia trying to turn right, and at the moment, I can't find the turn signal stem.”....to sum up, I have issued a wild windshield cleaning (no rain, no windshield cleaner) many a time, to show that I wanted to turn right (or left)...small inconvenience...

Yasmin just reminded me how we used to joke with each other that when we got to Australia, we would both be sitting on the same side of the car...she would no longer be the passenger, but the driver; and I would go from driver to passenger...all without switching sides of the vehicle!

I do want to say this...THANK GOD FOR AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSIONS...changing gears with my left hand would have sent me over the edge! So...here's how it goes...

STEP ONE: Out of the driveway we go...it's a one car driveway...10 feet (3.05 meters)...I measured...now deduct 15.5 inches (40cm) for the chimney and 6.5 inches (16.8cm) for the fence posts, and you end up with a squeaking tight get-me-out-of-the-driveway maneuver...I admit to having to stop; pull up; and reverse again...better than scraping a swath of paint off Yasmin's car...but I have conquered the backing-out-the-driveway move....and yes, I use the mirrors...

STEP TWO: The streets of Melbourne...talking to the streets of Melbourne offer some new and exciting possibilities of damaging both humans and property...less worried about the property, so I'm always letting people cross in front of me...even though that's not the standard here...I know I frustrate many an Oz driver for doing that...but better safe then sorry...now about those signs...there are STOP signs...OK, a similarity...but they are interspersed with GIVE WAY signs (the Oz version of YIELD)...which, is not bad...I mean everyone in CA (and the rest of the USA) is rolling through those annoying little STOP signs anyway....BUT....I have to remember to LOOK RIGHT first...not LEFT...not like I have been doing for a majority of my life...but LEFT...because that's the first place you will be hit in a collision....driver mistake...driver gets the crunch first....OK....AND...if I'm turning right, LOOK LEFT...because that's the lane I am trying to turn into....now, not only is my left eye twitching, but my hands have become (literally) embedded into the steering wheel....

Trams, as wonderful as they are, have to have tracks (in the roadway) and special rules....you can drive on the tracks (usually in the right hand lane...they make the strangest squeaky/rubbing sounds), but you must yield, oops, GIVE WAY, to the tram...sometimes, you must stop (usually when passengers are disembarking) which is no problem because the tram is 12 tons bigger then me....whilst you are keeping your attention on the tram situation, don't forget the cyclist...Melbourne is blessed with many bike lanes that lead into the CBD (Central Business District, or Downtown as I would say), and they are used quite frequently...wonderful use of green energy...I'm sure they cringe whenever they see a green Subaru Forrester...probably for the rest of their cycling days....but I do try and GIVE WAY to them also...easier then wondering what the PROPER thing to do is...but I'm sure it confuses and confounds most, if not all, of the other drivers on the road....

STEP THREE: Parking lots...not much to say here...the parking lots here are just as dangerous as the ones in the US...just everyone is coming in the opposite direction...(LOOK RIGHT – DRIVE LEFT).

STEP FOUR: Return home...I will say I get a great nights sleep after driving....total relaxation...dreams of semi-tractor trailers, road trains (semis towing two huge trailers), motorcycles, bicycles, pedestrians, prams, trams, buses...its a big city with never ending movement...all I can say is BEWARE OF ANY GREEN SUBARU FORRESTERS...at least for the next couple of months!

A Day in the Life

12 January 2010

Yasmin and I are back at the beach, waiting for the heat to pass. This morning we swam in the clear – and I mean so clear one can see their toes in waist deep water – cool water of the Bass Strait.

We are enjoying ourselves at Whites beach, which is just north of Fisherman's beach. We come here because dogs are allowed to be on the beach off leash during the summer season. Fisherman's beach, on the other hand, limits dogs to the evenings and early mornings. So to accommodate Jemmah, Yasmin's border collie/kelpie mix, we spend our beach time at Whites. Jemmah is a constant explosion of bliss on the beach. Every dog is, for that matter. Boundless energy, joy, and happiness seems to be every dogs expression today. Every dog saying...watch me, watch me, isn't this great, can you believe how great this is...throw the ball, throw it again...watch me, watch me.

After frolicking in the sand and water at Whites, we head home. A shower, meditation, and lunch unravel effortlessly, so our decision to treat ourselves to ice cream seemed a logical extension to this day. Four flavours later, we found ourselves back at the beach, this time at Torquay's Surf beach. The Surf beach is south of Front Beach and Cozy Corner, which in turn, is south of Fisherman's beach. As the name implies, many surfer's come here, rather then driving further south to Winkipop and Bell's beach, whose wave sets and surf lines are legendary.

Today the tide reflects the moon's phase, pulling back and exposing ancient lava beds and mossy ocean growth that just hours ago were safely tucked under rolling water. I enjoy low tide. Its tranquility, its ability to share a hidden part of the shoreline with the observer, and its gentle withdrawal only to reach the top of its cycle and return to cover all it had exposed. This cyclical pattern reaches down into my own vibration of patterns...and at that level, I understand nature...I share its pattern.

Unfortunately, on this afternoon, the waves decided to keep small children and their parents happy, making the surfers wait another day, so Yasmin and I drove North up to Cozy Corner...a beach just around the bend (the “bend” is otherwise known as Point Danger) from the Surf Beach. We dipped our toes in the water then wandered back to the car. High temperatures, sea breezes, rambling clouds and the cool shade of the cedars....this was my world at that moment. I looked out over the ocean, over Point Danger, and was silent. I had a profound, yet very simple thought. “Infinity is closer than I thought.”

This thought elicited strength, calmness, and hope. I shared my thought with Yasmin and together we drove home.

Down (Under) But Not Out

Hi All...I hope everyone had FABULOUS holidays...Christmas in summer was a new experience....sort of....it reminded me of my first Christmas in Hollywood, FL...I had moved to South Florida in October to work for the Hollywood Police Dept, and was working my way through the police academy...I celebrated December 25^th alone that year...my parents lived in NY at the time, my siblings in CA....it was a sunny 72° (F – about 22.5°C) day...I went jogging in a T-shirt and sweat pants and nearly had heat stroke...it was on that day that I realized I needed the seasons to change...even if just a little...

But now, here I am with Christmas being celebrated in the heat....well, sort of....we have had some wild weather....heat waves, cool waves, storms, rain, wind...temps in the 90's dropping down into the low 70's (in one day)...definitely keeps one on their toes...

Speaking of toes....I do apologize to all for not keeping you amused this month...I have been writing in my journal, but not transcribing that into my blog...I am going to atone for my laziness....which may or may not be what you really want....by sitting diligently in front of my computer the next couple of days to create the Australian experience for you...so get your favorite snack and cuddle up to your monitors....here I come.

PS...the photo is of the coast at Anglesea...just off the Great Ocean Road...