When earth and sky collide a breathtaking display unfolds before the gaze in a realm where man matters least.
A dramatic outburst at sunrise, sunset and forever in between.
Around dawn a magnificent sky lights up to dominate over a quiet bush scape. There is the smell of raw earth. Dew on leaves. Birdsong echoes across sweeping plains. Everything falls into place for a crescendo at daybreak.
The peace that prevails is what we've yearned for. There is the realisation that the landscape, that goes on unhindered until it meets the horizon beyond, manages to startle upon each encounter.
The tune that binds a blue expanse and rugged soil underfoot invites a dance in the short grass. We can run unencumbered, our vagabond spirits free. Let’s explore. The entire day belongs to us. For the time being our playground is abandoned to collect twigs and leaves and stones and dead creatures to stow in jars once we get home.
Early afternoon. Crickets whir uninterrupted around us. We find a hiding place from the sting of the sun. The babbling of the trickling stream signals respite. We're home here, where we are protected by the inviting cool of the canopy formed by the overhang of the big trees. The enclosure is a sanctuary where we can linger.
Without noticing, the lushness of the surrounding vegetation has rolled into a canvas of golds, creams, beiges and browns touched by the late afternoon sun. Dusk is beckoning and we have to hurry.
As night threatens to fall, we need to find our way back to reality again. Reluctantly so. We don't want to let go. We want to slip back in time to when we were children. You stow the classic you’ve been reading in your leather sling, along with the pebbles we collected. We can smell the home fire and pick up on excited voices a distance away.
Where did the time go? We just forgot that around here rush hour lasts all day. Could our hiding place have sparked the idea for traffic-calming zebra crossings, you imagine?
Happy hour in big sky country never ends.
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