Uma and Jetson...

Horses and children, I often think, have a lot of the good sense there is in the world.

~ Josephine Demott Robinson

You know what they say, how 'time flies', how one day you'll be kicking back drinking up life as it is, you'll blink, and on opening your eyes everything has zoomed 10 years or so into the future? Yeah, you know how they say that? Well, it's true. Between the past and the present things kind of just speed past, it all becomes a bit blurry, the timeline melds into itself and we ask ourselves "where did it go?" "What happened? It can't be so!" Such is life. 

And so it is when I look at these images of Uma. Uma is my niece and just turned 13. 13!! Thirteen!!! I can scarcely believe it! Still caught in that strange dreamland called childhood but on the precipice of entering that even stranger transition period into adulthood called the teenage years, she embodies growth, change, and time passing into something else. I look at her and I see a curious girl growing into a vivacious, sensitive and thoughtful young woman who is fearless in her approach to life. 

Uma loves horses, and she loves one horse in particular - Jetson. I'd heard a lot about Jetson before taking these photos, but seeing Uma and Jetson together made me realise what a special connection they have. I've always been uncomfortable around horses but I was quickly put at ease by their quiet understanding of each other. There is something very beautiful about witnessing the bonds between humans and animals and watching Uma upon Jetson's back, galloping up grassy hillsides, brought me closer to understanding her love of horse riding. It engages all of the senses. It requires trust, cooperation and a pureness of heart. There is freedom there, abandon, wildness and love. 

xx

Horses lend us the wings we lack.

~ Author Unknown

The real...

All forests are one... They are all echoes of the first forest that gave birth to Mystery when the world began. 

~ Charles de Lint

I have this thing that I do. When the world gets too busy, chaotic and full of drama, I just sit and stare at the wall and remember how small I am, how completely insignificant and unimportant. This brings me great comfort and a sense of freedom. The other thing that I do is head for the mountains and the forest. The sub tropical rain forests of the hinterland are a great reminder of how each of us plays a teeny tiny part in a larger system, and that we are not the centre of the system ourselves. The rainforest is my leveller, a place of grounding - a space in which I can shuffle the cards in my mind and find that everything makes perfect sense. If you walk through the forest the right way, curious and quiet with eyes wide open, it will reveal its magic to you. My grandfather taught me how to do this. It's the greatest gift I've ever been given.

I spent yesterday in the mountains. Here is some of the magic I found...

Mount Kosciuszko...

"Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So...get on your way!"

~ Dr. Seuss.

Gosh, how time flies! We're due home in less than a week. I can hardly believe that 5 weeks have flown by already. It just doesn't seem possible! But alas, the calendar says that it is so. We're heading north east in the direction of home, cutting through central New South Wales in order to make it to the Blue Mountains in our last week of road trippin'. 

Today we woke up in Jindabyne after having followed a crazy, and lonely dirt track through Snowy River and Alpine National Parks yesterday. After a hearty breakfast we headed towards Thredbo to get the chairlift up to the start of the Mount Kosciuszko summit walk. Oh boy! I've been wanting to do this walk for quite a while so I was eager and raring to go. However, just 4 kilometres into the 6.5 kilometre track we realised that we were ill prepared to get to the summit. The weather was horrific - the guy who sold us the chairlift ticket said it was the coldest day they'd had in over 3 months! The clouds were thick and low and the wind was whipping the sides of the mountain. We gave it a good shot but at the three quarter mark we were freezing and damp, and I thought the wind was going to knock me over. It was so cold up there ice crystals the size of fat fingers were forming on the ground. Being without wet weather gear (and proper coats!) we thought it best to turn around. We were disappointed, but never mind, it just means we have to come back another time. 

In spite of my aching cold hands I was able to take a few snaps on the mountain. The bottom few images are from Charlottes Pass...