Just as I’d taken my last photo of the chapel, the rain came pouring down. We hastily took shelter under a little awning and looked out on to the small cemetery. Here, old sandstone headstones, weathered and lichened, mingled with newer marble ones. As the rain came down over the fields, there was peace.
Holy Cross Catholic is the oldest church on the Central Coast, and the 5th oldest church in the country in continuous use.
Built from lovely Hawkesbury sandstone, it sits on the sleepy Kincumber South peninsula, surrounded by water and fields.
The beagle slumped herself on the sofa. She was not amused. It was hot, humid, rainy; meaning no walks along the beach, and no chasing after birds and flies in the garden. But worst of all was the severe lack of attention paid to her that endless afternoon. One can almost hear her huff, “Nobody loves me, everybody hates me…”
Let’s delve a bit deeper into BB’s garden, shall we? Apart from a variety of grevilleas, there are the usual suspects: bottle brush, a rather cute green kangaroo paw with a golden stimen. Not sure what the purple flowering bush is but the flowers are pretty with its white border.
But the crowning glory of the garden at the moment is rose and blue bromeliad. Spectacular, isn’t it?
I’m continuing the Summer Blooms theme with a look around BB’s garden at Umina Beach, on the NSW Central Coast. BB has only lived at Umina for two years, but in that time he’s transformed the garden with a combination of natives, tropical blooms, and even a vegetable and herb garden.
He’s a big fan of the grevillea, since they are easy to grow and are hardy. They also come in many shapes and colours, as can be seen from these specimens in the garden.
I’ve never had a dog. As a kid, whenever I asked my parents for one, the answer I inevitably got was, “Are you going to feed it, walk it, wash it, play with it, pick up its poo every single day?”
“Why? Aren’t you going to help?” I asked.
“No, since it’ll be your dog.”
Being an extremely pragmatic child, I wasn’t going to all the trouble of doing everything, even if it was the cutest dog in the world. So my childhood passed without a dog; in fact, without any pets at all, and this state of petlessness was sustained into adulthood.
But things change. I’ve now discovered the joys of dog walking on the beach. The dog is a ‘borrowed’ – very naughty beagle, who rejoices in digging holes and marking territory whenever and wherever she can – but her joy is infectious, even on a dreary, overcast day.
This tree was rather interesting too – very monochrome, even though I was shooting in colour.
I’ve heard a lot about Bouddi National Park, especially about the camping spots, but have never been until recently. It turns out that the park is very accessible, and the first place I visited was Tallow Beach. It’s a 30 minute walk down a fire trail, and even though it was New Year’s Day, fairly deserted.
Despite being overcast, it was warm and rather muggy, so a swim was very welcome. There were also lots of interesting shells to be found, and the beach is good fishing spot when the tide is right.
The other side of the lookout also affords a view of Umina Beach. Yes, it is a built up little part of the coastline, but from this angle one is reminded that Umina is surrounded by bush and water.
From Umina Beach, you are once again greeted with views of Lions Head, making this quite a lovely, if understated part of the NSW coast.
The lookout over Pearl Beach has a great collection of Hawkesbury Red Gum (we think), with its spindly shapes and copper coloured trunks. It makes for a great study of patterns and shapes and colours.
Static and Silence 