Morning Walks

Sydney must have been of a hilly terrain as it is in Los Angeles. Without much change to the undulating landscape the city was built, and so we have different gradients as we cover even short distances on foot.

The place we are at, i.e., Wahroonga, is beautiful with stately gum trees of the eucalyptus family and several shrubs and plants blooming mainly in the Australian winter. What set me wondering is the absence of the koala in spite of so many of these eucalyptus trees. Then I examined the odour by crushing a few of the fallen green leaves and find that its native fragrance is negligibly faint. These trees are protected by the State and felling them without approval on one's own is prohibited. On the other hand, over a few days as Spring gives way to summer, some of the flowers, like the Hydrangeas and poinsettias have started showing. There are rich colored bushes and shrubs of bougainvillea spilling from over the compound walls of some houses, carnations and many others which I have to learn about. Flower named " Dancing girl " More buds, opening buds, sprouting petals and full bloomed rhododendrons, red, pink and mauve colored flowers, the jacaranda which blooms full to hide its leaves if any. A pretty sight indeed!

Jacaranda An early morning walk through the Hill and dale territory is indeed refreshing. Streaks of sunbeam gently accost you as you look up through chinks in the dense foliage. The leaves glisten as the rays bounce off from seemingly oil-polished surfaces.  And the tweets and chirps of lorikeets, the scrawk of the cockatoo, fill the densely wooded neighbourhood  Kookaburra Kaa Kaa Kaa Koo koo koo kaa, kaa, kooka kooka is the full throated mating call of the Kookaburra (Burra means bird in the native aboriginal language). It can be seen to suddenly dart from the branch of a tree to the lawns of buffalo grass and pick up a worm in the twinkling of an eye. As one walks the paths and lanes, one cannot escape the beautiful sight of the flowers and different shades of shining green leaves. So the walk is invariably with a camera on the go in hand and every morning as we return there would be at least twenty pictures taken for selection. Digital Camera! What a wonder!

Almost all houses in this area, spread over several square kilometres, are single storeyed and have ample garden space in front and backyard space in the rear. Well manicured lawns are a common feature, and almost any family with children has pets too.

Cubby house

As one looks out of the window or walks along the pavements through the lawns in the sidewalks, one has a wide view of the vast expanse of clear blue sky.

Home in Sydney

One is inclined to feel that Nature has been pretty partial to these parts of the planet. Well yes! In terms of the climate and the terrain, the skies and the natural flora. But what sustains all this in its natural splendour is the sincere and dedicated effort put in by the people here with a foresight and desire to meaningfully maintain and retain.

I have come across several different breeds of dogs, the likes of which I have not seen before, a white colored Golden retriever, a Scottish setter, a bull dog ( I could recall a famous British Prime Minister) a Swiss mountain dog, a Chinese Temple dog of a pedigree of the huskies, the black and white sledge pulling huskies, which look like wolves, and a Cocker Spaniel, all as friendly as their lovely handlers. Gently stroking a dog behind his ears has always evoked a friendly response from all breeds except the Rottweiler, which I am scared of even at a distance. The other breed to keep a safe distance from is the pit bull

10 month old huskie and 16 month old small dog

Eight minutes of walk up and down the road leads to a beautiful playground, uniform as a golf green and when it does not rain, this is where Radha and I spend at least an hour in the morning with walk, jog and floor exercises, not to mention admiring some of the canines and their handlers. Some activities that I have managed to convert to exercise are in raking the lawn in front and in the backyard. This is new to me because I have never experienced living in an independent house with all these trappings. Watering the garden, scrubbing, scraping and painting the fencing, sawing fallen branches and logs into sizes suitable for a bonfire and of course the Surya namaskaram. All these keep me busy and my mind at peace. Subconsciously we are in a frame of mind, imagining that we have plenty of time and trying to keep busy till, God willing, Preethi brings home the bundle of joy. And then, we imagine, that we will be very busy. But I have always believed that busy people will find time for everything. The weather keeps changing from one day to another, the beauty being that it is accurately forecast on TV. One day it is a hot 31 deg C, with winds. The next day is a tonic 22 deg C. A bushfire had been raging across different parts of NSW.

Summer in the Southern hemisphere is hovering around the corner.  Good wishes and blessings 

This Season, Greetings come to you from Down Under.

Shanker