Australia Day is tomorrow, but today is rather special...

Tomorrow is Australia Day, but today has been rather special...
There is no bushfire, smoke-laden air...
There are no gale force winds...
It is not autumn-chilled and grey on my peninsula, while other parts of Australia swelter and burn...
The sun is shining and sharing friendly warmth in a blue, blue sky...
And I can actually breathe freely...
Outside...
This morning, for the first time in many months,
I took a walk on the Dromana foreshore by the sea...
(As did many others...)

And took photos...


Nippers were lining up to learn how to surf...




Even the seagulls looked happy and relaxed in the sunshine...


The foreshore trail seemed to have a mystique that touched the soul...

I loved seeing foreshore trees gently flowering...


Finally...some cuteness overload...

may the wings of peace..........dona nobis pacem

For many years now I have been involved in Blog for Peace...

It is a story that must never end...

(And read Mimi's wonderful celebration of being who she is... I need trees...)

As many of you know, the last couple of years have been emotionally rugged for me,

dealing with a very ill man...

Early this year, he slipped away from me...

So my blogging has been at best sporadic and certainly very half-hearted...

I have felt not only continuously exhausted but lost...very lost...

But now, slowly, I am finding 

some purpose

some light

some glimpses of peace...

Today is Blog 4 Peace day
Below are previous postings on this day, on this blog...part of my ongoing tradition...


2015



2014


2013


There can never be
too much peace...






PAST GEMMA'S GREYSCALE TERRITORY BADGES


hashtag #blog4peace #blogblast4peace


Linking to:
Mimi Writes

HANGMan Dan...

On a very busy Easter Saturday morning outside Dromana Hub,
this man was playing a handpan...
often called 'the hang'...
I only discovered the beautiful sounds of this instrument a short time ago...
Instant enchantment...


But last Easter Saturday was the first time I had heard the sounds 'live'...
Enchantment overload...


He performs as 'HANGMan Dan'...
From his Facebook profile:
'Since discovering ‘The Hang’ aka The Handpan only a few months ago, I have found a more peaceful, mindful and loving way of life!
This is something I am so passionate in sharing with our beautiful community,
especially here on the Mornington Peninsula...'

Here is a taste of the beautiful handpan sounds...
HANGMan Dan playing at Arthurs Seat
(Arthurs Seat is the mountain on the Mornington Peninsula
overlooking Dromana and Port Phillip Bay...)
+
Here is another link...
Hanging out on a cliff in Mornington

Easter weekend...

Traditionally, my husband and I always began the Easter weekend on Good Friday
with an early morning walk on Balnarring Beach...
I decided to still maintain the tradition this year...
The day dawned sunny....(usually misty and cloudy and a little rain but becoming sunny...)
That was surprising...


The scenery was so peaceful...


And the waters were a radiant, rich blue...


Especially loved the different wave patterns...

the Eagle still flies well...

Unbelievably, it's been nigh on 3 years since the Eagle began flying at Arthurs Seat...
It's a great draw card to the mountain for tourists and locals alike...


NOTE: Just 4 days after my last post, my beloved husband David slipped away from me...
My eagle can fly now without endless pain...

a short, refreshing walk...

Yesterday morning was sunny...perhaps a little brisk...
but glowing with the spirit of a Summer-going-in-to-Autumn morning...
Before the day unfolded with my other life, I took a walk along my beloved Dromana foreshore...


I hadn't checked out the mural of old Dromana in a while,
so decided to see if it was still faring well...
Clearly, plants had grown, obscuring one large section of the mural on the right...


But my favourite section of the mural was still clearly visible...
The rails that used to run along the pier - to load goods on steamers bound for Port Melbourne - were there in the foreground...
and quaint little shops gathered opposite the pier...
It was built to facilitate the regular landing of Port Phillip Bay’s Steamers – firstly to transport the produce of Arthurs Seat’s logging trade to Melbourne, as well as transporting passengers around the bay. In the latter half of the 19th century, as the tourist industry grew, steamers such as the: PS ‘Ozone’, PS ‘Hygeia’, PS ‘Edina’, PS ‘Weeroona‘ carried passengers to the Mornington Peninsula, whose beaches became a very popular seaside holiday destination. Source: Dromana Pier c. 1860's


As usual, casual runners, cyclists and walkers were active...


and those running to a fitness routine...


and dogs of course...


But I was really there for the quiet walk with trees and the sea views...

stolen time...

Great to steal a little time before the demands of the day took control again...
This is atmospheric Cafe Jett, in Dromana, about 7am yesterday...
Cafe Jett is right opposite Dromana beach...
I decided to have a Saturday morning breakfast out for the first time in a very long time...
While my appetite was low, nevertheless, the experience was refreshing...


Not long after these photos were taken, quite a number of early risers drifted in...
Meanwhile, I was enjoying some poached eggs on sour dough + cappuccino...

face lift...

This power box in the main street of Dromana opposite the foreshore
has recently been given a makeover...symbols of sea worlds?

50th Westernport Festival parade...

 Town crier rings in 50th anniversary of the Westernport Festival
in the main street parade at Hastings today...
The parade element of the festival celebrates the Westernport Bay community
around the Hastings region...
Groups, schools and services take part...
Each year has a theme...
This year, the theme was celebrating diversity, inclusiveness and friendship....


The town crier looked resplendent in his red and black finery
in contrast with the white of the naval band...


The street parade was alive with colour...
Rainbow Connections Youth and Family Group supports
transgender and gender creative children 12 years of age and under,
plus their parents and siblings.
It is the first time that an LGBTQI+ group has ever marched in the Westernport Festival...


I am not sure what this group represents, but it was certainly colourful...


Many primary aged children, representing their school, enjoyed being part of the parade...