When I walked down the avenue the next morning, the sun was just emerging over the hills, producing a wonderful halo effect.
The fallen leaves on the road were lit up as if they were in spotlight.
But the wind was rising. By lunchtime, the clouds had rolled in and by mid-afternoon so had the rain. It was the beginning of what was to be a very stormy week, as we now know. However, let’s leave this visit to the Abbey on a more sunny note.
Just before the big storm, I spent a few days at Jamberoo Abbey. I came by train and taxi this time, instead of driving down from Sydney, and I must say it’s a good way to come, as the train journey to Kiama really quietened the mind. But that also meant that I couldn’t bring all the things I usually brought in the car – my SLR camera was out! I must say I was regretting it when I was greeted by this.
Nevermind, I still had the camera in my phone, and I guess it didn’t do too badly.
The avenue looked rather like a scene from ‘Sleepy Hollow’ with the mist becoming thicker.
But the presence of orange leaves meant it wasn’t all gloom.
It was getting dark very quickly now – the path lights are all alight.
At the top was a reminder of the season to come – Easter Sunday was only a week or so away on my visit.
That’s the end of our wander around the Abbey. Next time we will be exploring sunnier climes.
Being half way up the Illawarra Escarpment, I wasn’t surprised to find the Abbey thick in fog by mid-afternoon. It certainly made everything look very eerie.
There was still enough light to capture the details of the ferns.
It’s amazing how much light there is when it’s foggy. In the photography class we learned that it was because each water droplet is like a micro mirror, reflecting and amplifying light.
The grass in the paddock was ridiculously lush and green, like all the other pastures around Jamberoo.
The moss on the fence was growing well in the wet.
A close-up of the wire fence revealed some intricate webs. You can’t keep a good spider down, even when it’s raining.
The flowers might have been nice and bright the day before…
But they took on a translucent, saturated quality when dripping with rainwater.
The rain came again the following day. From my room I could see that it was cool and very wet outside.
It didn’t matter too much as I had brought a few things to do, like my knitting.
The rainforest was lush and cool – and full of mosquitoes since water was plentiful. Despite the welcoming seats it’s not a place that I would sit at.
The stream was rushing, although it was not so long when it was merely trickling.
I could even remember a time when it stopped flowing altogether. Not anymore.
Lent is always a good time to visit Jamberoo Abbey.
Lots of peace and time to appreciate my natural surroundings.
The trees on the avenue were starting to turn from their lush summer green.
And shed their leaves.
I was struck by how much those trees have grown. This was taken five years ago, and the branches were still very wide apart.
My last visit to the Abbey was in the depths of August. It started out clear but cold, with the paddock covered by a thin frost.
But the weather is never predictable in the mountains, and the next day was a wet one.
There was certainly a lot of contemplation, knitting…
And painting (I practised my sheep) involved in this visit.
Static and Silence 