Late Afternoon in Noosa

Late afternoon by the sea is such a lovely time to be outside. That time of day when the light begins to fade, when the sea breezes refresh your skin, when the fine sand is cooler underfoot and when shadows and silhouettes are shaped by the setting sun. Our little family enjoyed just such an afternoon last Sunday, up in Noosa, a popular beachside town not far from here.

A golden sunset over the waters of the Noosa River.

We made the trip up to Noosa,  a couple of hours to the North, to watch the Surfing Dog Spectacular, as our boy loves anything and everything related to our canine friends. Together with their surfing buddies, quite a few cool, well-trained dogs caught some waves off Noosa's Main Beach and rode them in. (Our Sir Steve dog was not among them...we all agreed that he would sink a surfboard should we ever manage to get him up on one!)

 Heading out past the breakers...

...and riding a wave back in again!

After such a funny event, we wandered back down the beautiful beach and over to Noosa's river, a spot so close to where it meets the sea. We wallowed contentedly there until the sun began to set. As the last rays of sunlight signalled the end of the "day", we reluctantly dried off before we set off in the twilight to a favourite picnic place.

Twilight over the Noosa River.

We spread out our simple picnic dinner, upon our little red rug, at the entrance to Noosa's National Park. There, as "night" settled around us, we listened to the commencement of a chorus of cicadas and watched the last-of-the-day's surfers ride their last waves in to shore. 

 My picnickers looking out over the ocean.

Night descends over the ocean.

The drive home was a happy one. Salty and sandy and content from an afternoon spent together, in Noosa. Bliss!

I hope you will spend your coming Sunday afternoon contentedly too.

Meg

Down to the River

A tradition is emerging. Slow, Sunday Spring mornings down by the river. 

The view up river. 

 The view down river. 

These river mornings begin with a very short journey in our old ute. Sir Steve dog, his enthusiasm knowing no bounds, barks "happy woofs" the whole way there as if to announce to everyone in our neighbourhood (and beyond) that he's going somewhere.

A walk!

A swing!

A turtle!

That somewhere is a local river, wide and deep. A gravelly walking track to follow, birds and fish and turtles to spot as one walks along. Swings to dangle from and rocks to hop across. And, most important of all, sticks to fetch over and over again!

Sir Steve dog playing fetch.

This favourite game, repeated over and over again, fills both stick-thrower and retriever with delight. It ends only when Sir Steve dog, drenched and having drenched everyone else with his wagging "sprinkler tail" and whole body shake, carries his stick beyond the river bank and returns, not to the river but to the ute, for the drive home.

These warm Sunday mornings, spent by the river, bring our boy and his very best friend to explore and to play together. I'm sure we'll make the short trip to the river often this Spring...and in many of the Springtimes to come.


 Meg