Eat (gumnuts) Pray (branches don’t fall) Love (the car)

I was inspired by two of my guest writers today. Corinne and her out in the wild adventure with her sons, and Alice’s spiritual quest to Glastonbury.

So I had this idea that Cowboy and Monte and I should head out to the “woods” on a spiritual pilgrimage. Why not, the clothes were on the line and the plates were in the dishwasher.

Spiritual Pilgrimage felt the natural thing to do.

(can you tell I am also reading Eat, Pray, Love? Would have preferred Italy, India or Indonesia but the track near the river just outside the OHT had to do)

Cowboy looked at me like I had two heads when I announced “Wanna go on a spiritual pilgrimage this arvo?”

Monte was excited when I told him, because I completed the announcement with “Go and get your shoes” which meant we were going outside.

We loaded up in the car.

“Do we need to take anything?” Cowboy asked me.

“Water” I replied.

“And an open heart” I said to myself before deciding that would really make him look at me like I had 1000 heads!

I didn’t have a clue where we were off to, but just drove out of town for a bit until I hit an off the beaten track road passed a goat that had seen better days.

We arrived down a river bend with trees and windy roads, masses of grasshoppers and butterflies and birds.

We let Monte cut loose and explore the wilderness.

Cowboy took off with the camera and took some nature shots.

I walked around behind Monte and tried to get in touch with … nature, myself, the higher world…

As Monte ran up dusty hills and examined gum nuts (and inserted them into his mouth so I had to panic and explore his mouth to retrieve) I followed behind summoning the Gods of nature to pour some sugar on me.

It was then the creaking of the massive trees above became apparent.

Creeeeeak, creeeeak….

I looked up.

These massive trees towering over our head sounded as though they were going to drop a branch.

This terrified me no end.

“Don’t photograph that bark, that branch is going to fall on us and kill us” I yelled with a palpitating heart. (knew I should have bought open one instead)

I kept on, nervously double-taking at every tree I passed.

Monte clanked sticks together, ran and fell over, picked himself up again and nearly had a coronary over an ant. It was lovely to see.

Cowboy's photography

Cowboy got up close with bark and flowers and was off on his own little world snapping pics.

I tried to empty the space in my mind and find that little voice within.

Alas, the little voice “without” was the only one speaking

“Car! Car!” in the most excited tone I had heard.

Sure, we (I) had taken Monte on a spiritual pilgrimage through the woods and though the ants took his fancy, nothing was exciting as Mother Nature’s most phenomenal invention.

Our car.

The same car we had just left.

But he could see it now as if for the first time from behind the creaking tree.

We decided to go home again.

Don’t get me wrong, it was a lovely afternoon and it was nice to get out and about –

The spiritual pilgrimage thing?

I might save that for when I can get out on my own minus creaking trees and edible gumnuts when butterflies and kookaburras don’t have to compete with a Ford Laser

ahhh car,... now this is where it is at

Ommmmmmmmmm…