We find ourselves on a large verandah in a beautifully comfortable and casual home at Bolton Point looking south across Lake Macquarie to Toronto on the other side.
The house was lent to us by some friends while they’re away. In return we’re looking after a very friendly Labrador and one equally friendly marmalade cat who is the dog’s best mate, as well as a less friendly and rather superior blue-grey cat. The house is surrounded by trees predominantly gums, but there’s a wonderfully veined and grand old Moreton Bay fig tree nearby. The sun is just breaking through the morning mist and the water is calm, almost flat. Today is going to be just another beautiful day here and I am relaxed, any accumulated stress is just ebbing away.
Tracts of lawn-like grass along the foreshore here are well-maintained and there are never too many people in this area, in fact we’ve seen hardly any people at all, just the occasional walker with a dog or two. Yesterday we took the walking trail ourselves and stepped off the track onto some wonderfully old rocks with the water encroaching on parts of them. Nature has artfully striated the surfaces with fissures caused by thousands of years of lapping water and sun.
Along the way I found a piece of driftwood lying marooned on the rocks which I’ve decided to lightly seal with some Orange Tung Wood Oil tomorrow, and if I want to make it a centrepiece in the lounge area here, I’ll follow up with a coat of Feed-N-Wax to give a rich glow to the wood.
