Margaret River – Harmony

Nothing I have ever done prepared me for Jesters Flat, Margaret River

…….

Beautiful Perth.

My final few hours before returning to ‘the real world’

All to myself - time to reflect
as I walked along the banks of the Swan River

Enough time to marvel at what had happened over the past week at Jester’s Flat


Enough time to marvel at what happened when seven women, unknown to one another arrived in a place unknown to any of them, and challenged themselves to a completely new experience.

 

 

 

 

 

Some of the 'gang'
doing ‘their thing’ at different parts of the week.

And what happened was that I found, in that a week a glimpse

of His creation in all its glory.

Miles of beautiful fields, grass bending in the breeze
Miles of manicured vineyards; shade and light playing with the colours on display as the wild flowers showed off their extravagance

Birds of remarkable colour and sounds more varied and sweeter than any music created by man.
Grasses, flowers, trees of every shape and hue –  so many variations of blue, baby blue, dusky blue, egg shell blue, blue blue light blue; as many pinks as there are adjectives;  every variation of white imaginable and then the yellows, oranges, purples, mauves, reds and every shade of green.  Some tiny delicate plants last but a few hours and are as small as a finger nail, some stand bold and strong for hundreds of years, each a miracle of design and detail.

Only with His palette on His canvas, can these colours work so beautifully

and not jar the eye.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About 800 years old, this tree is

Forest of intrigue filled with mystery and bird song

Whites whiter than white, pinks, blues, details

The sun played with us

with light and reflections....

adding to the joy of 'bush walking'

I found a sky that brooded over us, kept us jacketed but honoured us all the same by not wetting us.
A sun that teased us, warming us intermittently and unexpectedly filtering through the forest or lighting up the fields and fields of yellow daisies, until finally it exposed itself totally to reveal a sky of such blue blue our eyes were opened to a world of promise; shining new growth on the trees, shimmering in the light, red clover stark and strong alongside the vines which ran so straight and neat beside us.
Kangaroos by the score looking at us as we looked at them, scampering away, with their young sometimes peeping at us from a snug pouch and at other times hopping alongside their mothers. Was there ever a stranger creature?
Cows always curious running up to stare at us, eyes luminous and vacant at the same time.
Sheep taking no notice of us at all.
All though, taking notice of the season, and dropping young as Spring arrives with That promise of new life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The entrance.....

that time of year.....

Rosie, the family 'pet' for whom....

dried noodles were as appetising as new foliage :)

And of course I found the horses.

The reason we were all here.

These four legged creatures;  as strong as an ox and as gentle as a baby, as wild as it’s possible to be and then again as submissive, as yielding as gentle as imaginable.

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There is nothing in the world quite like sitting astride a horse which weighs hundreds of kilos, and working with it to move, stop, walk, trot, canter, turn on a dime all with subtle body movements and a tiny metal piece in its mouth.   Having said that, they can be capricious and unpredictable, kicking and pulling for no reason and then again be kind and loving and snuggle you for no reason too (or perhaps it can smell that Apple 😜)

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And all the while seven women share their stories, their dreams, their fears.

They offer encouragement, a helping hand, a laugh, a glass of wine, a smile.

They stretch themselves doing things never done before (like trying to play polocrosse 😂😂😂)

They bond through a common love of horses and all that they experienced Through that love, in that place.

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And for one week His plan for creation shone; people and nature worked together in perfect harmony. Each leaving with a sense of being part of ‘what’s possible’ ; linked forever through Jesters Flat – a very special time

Me and my special George
The “Mob” – if we weren’t eating……

We were probably riding 🙂

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Or resting

 

 

 

 

 

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The local Polocrosse team – yes, we did – or at least tried to play 🙂 
He kept us company and amused throughout the day

 

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An amazing morning

 

as we learnt SO much
about this amazing land
and how it is possible to
live united to and with it, in complete harmony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

https://youtu.be/DqrPbv7lxV8&rel=0

 

https://youtu.be/u2QoIyPInvY&rel=0

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The Essence of our week                                                                                                                      Tranquility, harmony, beauty, nature, breathing, joy, serenity                                                              Such a special time

You what? 😂

You what?,

I’m going  on a horse trail.

Why?

Good question, and one I ask myself not infrequently.     And my answer always seems to be vaguely unsatisfactory.

Certainly, not because they are there, as with Everest.

Rather, I  want to. No idea why 😂.

O Except perhaps because Kate Pilcher has inspired me (www.globetrotting.com.au) 😃

“Do you have any idea of how sore you are going to be?”

Yes.

“For 5 days?”

Yes.

“Who are you going with?”

No one.

And so the conversations peter out, always with the same look of incredulity and pity!!!!

Which begs the question, why am I in Cape Town, getting ready to go on a horse trail tomorrow and what am I in for.

To both, I have no idea except perhaps there is something about ‘the stars conspiring’ (https://leepowrie.com/2017/01/10/horses-stars-and-me/#)

and life is too short not to take up opportunities.

And so, the opportunity to visit Dee’s Saddlery was too good to miss.

Lovely Dee

An enchanting store filled with stirrups, saddles, caps, jackets, jodphurs, boots – an alladins cave for riders.

People popped on, to buy, to chat

think I should get my horse a toy,

why?

Not sure😃, maybe she would like one,   Perhaps she is bored

I gave my horse a ball and she looked at me and never touched it.    Have a glass of wine, forget the toy 🍷⚽️⚽️

We had such fun, jodhpurs, chaps (so very kindly lent), advice, warnings, and encouragement: topped of with wine to celebrate – madness, adventure, joy, horses, life.🍾🐴

Clearly our attitude was good 😜
Practising 😂😂😂



Am I organised, do I have the correct gear – make sure you wear the pants you always ride in, the instructions say, don’t try to ride in new clothes.   Ha ha – I don’t normally ride, so that is one I have already messed up on!!!!!   But committed now.  With brand new pants I have never worn before 😩


Flying in to Cape Town is always special, such a blessed city.  Is it a good omen that the tv cameras at the airport have a series on horses I wonder?


Being met by family is also special and a dinner to celebrate, family, babies soon to be born, and the same questions – why, why, and why.

Although, there was some support this time, – thank you cousins 😜and a quick Google of where I am riding to raised the anticipation considerably.

She likes crazy
They think I’m mad 😂
He gets it 😜

If my body holds up, if the horse holds me up, if my spirit holds, this will be a special special time.

Time will tell……

Utan jobless

 

Horses, stars and me

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It is a long time since I rode a horse, and even then it could be debated whether I rode the horse, or the horse carried me around.   I have done a few trails, in Lesotho, when the weather changed everything and the Mountain Club had to rescue us 🙂   a trail in a private game reserve in the Low veld where one rider fell and broke her arm; one short (very short) trail round this sphinx and pyramids in Cairo, on Arab stallions (so they so much smaller than I anticipated – thankfully) which was thrilling, frightening and left me black and blue for several long painful days 😦

These were some forty years ago –

which as I said, makes it a long time since I rode a horse 🙂

It is also a long time since I wanted to ride a horse!!!

One of the benefits of getting to the age of maturity (others use the word old) is that the short term memory fails one; so I cannot remember whether I decided faint hearted (see blog: ‘me, faint hearted?Me – Faint Hearted?) was a term I applied to myself, or in fact one I did not use to describe myself.

Which is probably just as well, because I had a glorious day today; even if I find myself ready for bed before the sun is!!!!

You see I received a very generous birthday present a year or so ago – a gift voucher for a horse trail ride with Hepburn Lagoon Trails.   This sat in a drawer waiting for me until, it would appear the stars aligned, and I received through the ether – sometimes I have no idea how things ‘find me’ – an email about a horse trail in Mongolia.    Now wouldn’t you, too, be tempted?   Well, one thing led to another and I found myself driving across Melbourne, roadworks notwithstanding, to finally arrive at a little bit of paradise.img_6356-copy

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Keiran is just the kindest, may I say sweetest person – patient, encouraging, friendly, confident and clearly competent with great horses.   With, minimal formality (ready paperwork) we were helmeted, booted and allocated ponies.   Some instructions and we were off.

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I will not pretend, I was apprehensive,  and wondered again why I hadn’t put ‘novice’ down on the form instead of beginner – the alternatives; intermediate or advanced were easy to decide on.    Keiran had us all trotting after a few minutes; reminding me that I should not double bounce on the saddle (did he really believe that banging my nether regions around like that was by choice 😂😜)  and it didn’t take long for me to find a more comfortable rhythm.

It is almost impossible to describe the feeling of riding through bush, the breeze through the grass, the light playing patterns with the trees, the sound of the horses, the views offered by the extra height of being on horseback.   I love walking, but this is different; this huge animal and me; for those few hours joined, trotting, cantering, walking, just ‘being’ – there is conversation between ourselves, and there is silence as we absorb a silence – that of the bush.   The bell birds, kookaburra, wedge tailed eagles being swooped by magpies, rosellas.   Fields of oats, cattle looking at us, horses calling from far off paddocks.

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And then it was over; and we had to ‘get down’ and feel our legs again. !

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Always a post mortem; sharing, eating, drinking – ‘all’s well with the world’ kinda feeling

I shall let you know in the  morning how these old bones feel, but for tonight, I shall sleep well with memories of a glorious day –  Mongolia still calls, but reality may leave a stronger calling card tomorrow.

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