Waterlog

WATERLOGGED!

Endless weeks of rain. Coastal areas north & south of here just had 1 in 500 year events. 26 inches in 5 hours up on Sunshine Coast & Coffs Harbor declared a Natural Disaster Area! Many lost everything in the walls of water that swept thru, taking all in the unprecedented surging waves. We had our share, but nothing so devastating. It has been an endless wet season. Good rains here tho, not damaging, just persistent.

It's been nearly 6 months since I blogged - so much has happened.

I've been Apophysing endlessly mainly. Follow the links on sidebar to see my latest output on deviantART. But been keeping my eye on global events. We live in interesting times.

The race to keep the tail up with the head is getting tense, but at least we have People of Peace (well, some!) trying to put the ravages of the past to rights. But with the latest news of the accelerating breakup of the Antarctic Ice shelf it is obvious that the warming process is far advanced. Too far for us to survive? Time will tell. Meanwhile the ridiculous wasters keep destroying, denying and generally ignoring the fact that we need to act as one to get thru what's coming.



Meanwhile I'm reading a book that fills me with joy.
Roger Deakin's Waterlog







I'm taken back to all the free swimming of my life.
Rivers, surf, lagoons, pools, creeks, dams and so on.

Drifting downstream on bubbling streams in Far North Queensland, only to find, on exiting, crocodile slides on the banks....oops!

Lilo-ing down Bell's Creek gorge canyons in the Blue Mountains in NSW.

Years of early morning laps in Sydney's Queenscliffe saltwater rock pool after running the 5 miles up Manly Beach & back.

The freezing cold dips into the Tamar River pools at the bottom of our cottage field at Hardstone Farm in Devon before and after my daughter Klea was born back in '66.

The raging force of the Himalayan snow-fed Ganges at Rishakesh .....then the eye-to-eye meeting the body-eating dolphin midstream of its'downstream turgid muddy polluted maninfestation at Varanasi. I broke all records to get back to the houseboat of louche stoned hippies who responded to my "omfg you should have seen it" freaking out as I threw myself back on board, with "Cool Man".


Countless naked dawn surfs on pristine surf beaches all along our Pacific coast here in Oz. Crystal aquamarine tubes catching the rising sun, dolphins in silhouette riding the waves in alongside me.



Bliss beyond bliss.















Mountain pools high up in the canyons of our old volcano, not called The Fridge for nothing!










Water has been the dominant presence in my life in so many ways, right up to the last real work I was able to do, surveying the rivers for appropriate vegetaion for restoration works by govt depts., Landcare & Councils & etc.

Now, lame, all I can do is live vicariously in the memories. How I long to swim in a saltwater rock pool just one more time.















I can dip in my creek, but that's about it for me now.

This book, Waterlog by Roger Deakin, such an erudite writer & dedicated swimmer & environmentalist is bringing back my love of water and so many memories.

I went to find him online but sadly found he died a couple of years back.

So I add this blog to the tributes to his ethos, spirit, energy.

In the Search I did find this site: SwimSallySwim Reading that has given me a new thrust and determination. I will swim again! Thank you Sally!