hello from Winter in August
We landed safely in Melbourne yesterday. Our trip was as uneventful as could be expected (we missed a connection, but I knew we would when I saw that we had been booked for an hour layover and had to clear immigration, pick up our bags, go through customs, and get checked back in in that short a time.) I felt like royalty flying Qantas. I've flown first-class and not been pampered so much. We got here with no desires above food, showers, and sleep, so yesterday was simple and quiet. We walked in the park, and again this afternoon. It is full of birds and flowers, even in Winter. There are lorikeets and mynah birds, and we saw a white heron of some sort. Doug doesn't know the plants and birds, so I think I'll have to pick up a field guide or two. The weather is warm and sunny, though the forecast says rain and it was rainy until just before we got here. About like a crisp September or October in Olympia, really. Everything here is different and yet the same. I feel topsy-turvy, with no sense of direction or weather. The patterns are all the same, but the elements filling each space are different. This is as true of the societal elements as of the natural world. There is a wonderful labyrinth in the park, made of low stones and dedicated to public use. I walked the labyrinth yesterday, trying to see how it all fit together, and I felt much better after I did. Less lost. I like it here. I keep wondering if I like it enough to come live here, in ten years. It is one possibility among an infinite number, but it is one that is in my mind.