Out of town

This past weekend we travelled several hours out of town for a wedding. The groom we’ve known all his life, the bride for a number of years. The wedding was everything weddings should be: joyous, friendly, full of love and laughter. The venue was by the mighty Murray and she was showing off. From the chirruping birds to the river sparkle. From the redgums to the grassy verges, it was such a lovely spot for a lovely wedding. And the sunset – wow!

Murray River

There were surprises too as worlds overlapped and unexpectedly familiar faces appeared. Even the venue provided a link to university days, but this time I wasn’t required to clean the toilets!Sunset with silhouette trees

Summer has turned the grasses golden, and the sheep dusty. On the way up, there were bursts of intense colour with paddocks of corn and sunflowers alongside grain stubble. A house melted back to the ground as if its bones had softened and others hid behind forests of trees. Syrupy orange tree trunks stretched beside grey ribbon roads.

Sunflower crop

It was a quick up-and-back overnight trip but it was restorative, a reminder of how much wonder is to be found everywhere. Nectarines from a roadside stall. Signposts to fabulously-named towns – Calivil and Bears Lagoon. Skeleton trees. Scar trees. Full lakes. Full channels and empty dams. Blue skies with dry-brush clouds. Mobs of cockatoos. Freshly-shorn sheep lumping the shadows. Multi-coloured cows. Gum blossom. Weeping eucalypts.

When there is so much to distract and dismay, it was a timely reminder that there is so much to wonder at. Somehow, taking time away from researching and writing actually makes me more productive.

Now I’m back at my desk, ready to find the right words and put them in the right order.