Sunday, September 11, 2011

No Duck Talk! ... Drifting Riverside, The Whiff of Memories - Remembering

Thinking of You!
To All those lost 9/11

Black Swans, Avon River 2011


Canada Geese, Avon River 2011
We walked for a while without talking, when we were accosted by a couple of ducks.
We are always followed when we walk along the Avon river, the bird life is still constant, and this time of year sees them out and about, looking for morsels of food, small nests in the willow trees or in the rushes at the side of the river.
No matter about cracks or liquefaction, these birds are constant.
Every year weve watched them. Weve oohed and ahhed over their babies, fed them and shared our bread... It was a bit hairy seeing them this time last year, but we still made sure we took some bread down to feed them. They were just as hungry as we were!
Two ducks came up to us this morning, and  as usual, being the wonderful bird whisperer that I am, I clucked my tongue and called to them, as you do (dont you?) and they called back, that slow chuck chuck kind of ducky noise.
Muuuum. (Rolls eyes) The little girl sighs.
They cant hear you, Miss 5 says, hands on hips.
Oh. Why not Arlais? I ask.
Thinking quickly, how do I explain simply that ducks DO have ears, you just cant see them etc. 
Well, they cant hear you Mum,
because you
DONT SPEAK DUCK...

I am enlightened.
I swear that girl thinks on her feet for one so young, and will one day turn peoples heads with her thinking.
So I need to learn DUCK.

It is THE most gorgeous day out there.
Bless. I love the sunshine, and this morning it hurt my eyes when I opened the curtains, in fact Mister 11 remarked on it. It was if the sun was shining with his best shirt on, expansive and full. I love today.

We walked down the river, the way we used to for years until our Avon Loop bridge was *munted*.
We stumbled over holes, loose metal on the road, liquefaction, debris from diggers. Theres so many empty houses, some things are broken, some is overgrown, messy and yet... It still has a beauty about it.
The River still glistens, it still moves gracefully if you choose NOT to notice the debris and the mud, the missing trees and the fresh gashes or the sandbags.
I chose today not to see them.
Let me walk in ignorance of the negative things.
The Willows and the Oak trees are pushing upward, the new leaves are about a breath away from expanding outward from bud. The sky is a perfect blue, and the meagre clouds small and puffy.
Today I noticed something that made me smile and remember other times.
The River has a smell to it. Like the smell of algae and water mud, of willows and brackish waters. It reminds me of a time when I was young (ooh Im so old!) and we lived beside the Waitaki River.  After flooding, the river always had landlocked pools of green algae that hid under big  willow trees, their leaves falling into the pools making them brackish and strong smelling. Today that smell leapt at me, from the river... Memories.

Well, memories I guess, make us who we are to some extent. For good or bad, happy and sad. And as you get older, you recall things so much easier, perhaps until you get so old you cant remember anything *grins*
Life is funny. Not ha-ha funny.

Wow, a very deep post today... Just hoping I can fling off all this and start to be the crazy cat lady with the big garden and too many kids who knows weird stuff soon. It is all part of the Life Process I guess.
Now. Where was I?
Thats right... We are off to paint River stones with bright coloured paint for the garden, and talk about our walk around our River.

Love and Blessings,
Remembering 9/11 and the way the world changed...
From My Heart to Yours,

E BUTTERFLY
XXXXXXXXX




Holy Tree Batman!


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