So near - yet so far

Tonights photo: Burns Bay

As mentioned last night,. it was impossible for me to put out a normal ten-post blog the last two days. However, tomorrow things will be back to normal.

In the meantime a photo and a rambling post to keep the blog updated.

Before I begin, many thank to castaway and his kind comment regarding the photos. Even when I am unable to write a post, I will at least try to post a photograph.

Tonight's photo is hot of the press - taken late this afternoon. Burns Bay, is one of my favourite spots, a place where the hustles and hassles of the day are ushered out of your mind by peace and serenity.

It's a place where on the surface nothing ever happens; yet if you open your eyes, your mind and your soul, you will see there is something happening all the time. The birds and the wildlife are always doing something, their days as structured and planned as our own.

Yet even the birds relax, and who can ignore a mother duck basking in the sun with her offspring by her side, all calmly watching the world go by.

The water is ever changing - different hues, different movements. Each day is like a slowly changing postcard - and you are part of that picture.

It is also a friendly place because everyone goes there for the same reason - to shut themselves off for a while. Yet they will pass and say "Hello" and briefly pass the time of day.

Businessmen in suits and carrying attache cases, come armed with small plastic bags of stale bread to feed the ducks. A couple of female kick-boxers practice in the background, their movements as calming and graceful as a ballet dancer. Schoolgirls sitting on the very edge of the bay - without an iPod stuck in their ears! Old men taking their late afternoon constitutional, walking sticks swinging with gay abandon.

They are all part of the scene, and all part of why I like it.

And you know something? Twenty yards away is one of the busiest stretches of roads in Sydney.

Life is oh so near, yet exquisitely oh so far.

Wherever you may be - be safe!
And yes - tomorrow I will get rid of the Valentines Day ads!