A Walk With My New Camera

October 14, 2014 by Sally

After months of thinking about it, I bought myself a new camera a few days ago. Yesterday, I took it on my usual morning walk. As a result, I didn’t quite get the usual walking pace up, but I did get to stop and look at things I might otherwise not have.

The path I follow

This is the path across from my house. It looks like I’m heading off into the bush, but if I’m honest it’s about 15 metres long before it meets the bike path, and the total block of bush is less than a hundred metres wide. But it feels like bush. And there are interesting trees, which harbour possums and other wildlife,

Knotted tree

and wildflowers

Pink flower

and awesome, tiny butterflies.

Two tiny butterflies

Down the road, at the lake, there are lots of birds. The most obliging of these, photo-wise, are the ducks. There are lots of these at present, and as I neared the lake a little yappy dog chased a large group of them from the grass back into the water. Of course, I felt sorry for the ducks, but was secretly a little pleased because it gave me lots of opportunity to photograph them. (Disclaimer: no ducks were harmed by the dog, and the dog was not mine). This was my favourite shot of the day:

Duck

but, proving that they weren’t left too distressed, I was also pleased with this one:

Three swimming ducks

I also tried to get some photos of the willy wagtails, which are one of my favourite birds, but hard to capture – both because of their constant movement, and their size. Oh, and my inability to hold the camera steady. This was the best of them:

Willie wagtail

On the other side of the lake, there’s a boardwalk which takes you close to the water birds that like the paperbarks growing there in the water. I don’t remember the name of these little black birds, but they’re fun to watch – and really interesting because they have a smallish body (smaller than a duck) but long legs and big feet. This one was not very obliging – I wanted to capture him on the branch with his reflection, but because he was busy grooming, most of the shots look like he’s headless. This one is the best I could get:

Coot

When he got back in the water, he swam very close, so I did manage a shot which shows how big his feet are. They are splayed to the side because the water was quite shallow:

Coot

I’ve been umming and ahing over a new camera for ages, largely because I didn’t know what I wanted. Now that I have one, I’m wondering why I didn’t get it ages ago. I’m looking forward to getting better at using it and discovering just what it can do.

A Tale of Three Dogs

October 3, 2014 by Sally

Meg Aug 14 There is a Murphdog sized hole in our house and our hearts. Meg (Murphdog) was with us for more than 15 years, joining us as a frightened puppy and growing into a gentle, loving, loyal companion to the whole family. She played with the children, protected them from snakes and strangers, and kept us all company. In the time we had her she had other companions – for a year or so, sausage do Pooch, who was killed by a snake, for a few months Eddie, an exuberant kelpie cross who we looked after till he found a home, and for the last couple of years Jonah (Murphpup), a maltese-shitzu who she grew to tolerate, maybe even love.

Not everyone loved Meg. With Jack Russel in her, she loved to bark at snakes, lizards, and people walking by. This is not always fun for neighbours. She also had an aversion to men with boots and/or ladders – we suspect a particular workman had kicked her when she was young – and so would snarl ferociously at visiting men.

But we loved Meg, and everyone who got to know her seemed to, too. She was gentle with the puppies she had, loving to her people and, in her later years, really didn’t cope with being apart from us (which is how Murphpup came to be added to the mix). She was a family member, and a big part of our lives.

Jonah needs extra cuddles.

Her death wasn’t sudden, and was seemingly peaceful, and that’s a blessing. We are also blessed with many memories and, of course,her friend Murphpup, who is adjusting to life as an only dog.

Quite by chance, this week we have had a second dog in the house, keeping Murphpup company. My daughter is off on a walking holiday, and has entrusted us with her little pooch for the week. Did I say little? Hmm. Murphhound (his name is Sos) is a rescued greyhound, and the biggest greyhound I have ever seen.

Sos Sep 14 I had always thought greyhounds were a beautiful looking dog, but I really didn’t realise how very placid they are. Sos doesn’t bark, or yap or whine, and is happy to lie on his bed – or outside in the sun – for much of the day. But when we go out, he greets us on our return with an enthusiastic trot to the door or gate, and a very exuberant wag of his very large tail.

The Murphlets have been walking the two dogs each day – the tiny white dog and the huge black dog – and I’m guessing have provided a bit of amusement to onlookers. Apart from this, I can’t say that they’re best friends, but they seem to tolerate each other. Murphpup has no fear of the hound – but Murphhound does look a bit nervous when the little yappy one is being vocal.

In a few days Murphhound will be gone and Murphpup will once again need to adapt to life as an only dog., and Meg’s absence will probably become more noticeable as we adapt to the new normal. Still, I’m counting my blessings. Aren’t I lucky to have had her in my life for fifteen years – and to have other dogs in my life still?

Privilege

September 25, 2014 by Sally

All of August and much of September have been gobbled up, with no time for blogging as I drove up and down the Forrest Highway to Perth, and around the Southwest and even flew up to Geraldton, all for the most privileged of reasons: to talk about books, and reading and writing.

The word ‘privilege’ is one I used many many times over this most busy of periods, but it was used with heartfelt sincerity . It is a privilege:

Doing the Bookweek Dance 🙂

To speak to hundreds of young readers from schools large and small, in their schools and in public libraries to celebrate Children’s Bookweek.
To have the opportunity to inspire those children to read more and to write more.
To share my book-babies, including of course Roses are Blue, my latest, but also to have requests for old favourites. This year those requests included Floatingest Frog and Head Hog, which are such a joy to read to younger audiences.
To visit one of my old schools, Iona, and catch up with many of my past teachers, as well as to talk to year seven and eight girls about my writing, as well as why I chose to write about Mary MacKillop and what an amazing woman she was.
To be invited to a festival as amazing as the Big Sky Festival, in Geraldton, where a relatively small city manages to turn out good sized, enthusiastic audiences to talk about all things literary and where the amazing Geraldton Library and University Centre staff treat their visiting authors like stars.
To spend a weekend at said festival in the amazing company of fellow writers who started the weekend as relative strangers and ended as lifelong friends.
At the Big Sky Festival after a session with Kaleidoscope Ensemble.
To return home to emails and messages from children and adults who saw me at different times over those two months and wanted to thank me for inspiring them – when it should be me thanking them.
And last, but not in any way least, after a busy couple of months, to have a beautiful family to be at home with and cherish.

Now it’s back to normality – writing a bit, reading a bit and even, occasionally, doing boring stuff like housework. What a privilege to live the life I do!

Ten Things I Learnt at SCBWI in Sydney

July 16, 2014 by Sally

Every day should be a learning day, but there are some days that you learn far more than others.

I’m just back from a magical few days in Sydney where I attended the SCBWI Australian & NZ Conference at the Hughenden Hotel (as an aside, if you are looking for a warm-hearted boutique hotel in Sydney, you can’t go past the Hughenden).

I’ve been to lots of book and writing conferences over the years, but I still have so so so much to learn about writing, about the industry and about life in general. In these few days I’ve learnt dozens – maybe hundreds of new things, some big, some small. But lest I overwhelm you, here are just ten things I learned in Sydney.

Even if you haven’t seen a friend for two years – or three, or even four – sometimes it feels like you’re just picking up a conversation from a few moments ago. No awkwardness, no need to reintroduce yourselves, you just know each other.
Sometimes that ‘old friend’ is someone you’ve never actually met in real life but number 1 still applies. You’ve emailed or Facebooked or tweeted so well that you really do know each other.
Most people like hugs, but some don’t, and that’s okay, though sometimes you can convert them.
If you must write a story in rhyme, you need to test the storyline by writing it out in prose for yourself to ensure that it works. Sometimes a rhyme can lead you off on tangents. (As someone who has had a rhyming picture book published, and worked on several more, I must confess I’d never thought of that, though I do always have the plot in my head)
The thing you think you’ll learn or benefit you think you’ll get from a session is often not the most important thing you do learn in that session. It can be something incidental, but something just right for you.
Not everyone knows what a verse novel is. Actually, I already knew this, but it still surprises/saddens me. (Must do more to spread the word).
Not everyone likes poetry (again, I know this, but GOSH it is sad). Hopefully through my writing and doctoral project I can make a small contribution to changing this).
That new technological/technical skill you’ve been procrastinating about acquiring will be the one mentioned by numerous speakers and delegates, sometimes in passing, so that you leave inspired to go and learn to do it. For me, this skill is Skype visits, so watch this space.
In a crowded conference space it’s okay to step away for a few minutes, take a deep breath, stretch and be alone. It not only energises you ready to dive back in, but it can also make you a nicer person (I hope).
The tips you get and the ones you share in the coffee breaks/lunch breaks/bar are often not directly writing related but can be incredibly valuable and start both conversations and friendships. In Sydney I evangelised about my comfortable shoes more than I ever thought I would, and learnt about stationery, iPad apps and so much more

I said there were only 10, but I’m a writer and counting is not my forte, so here’s one more: it doesn’t seem to matter the size of a conference, there are always people who you don’t get to spend enough time with. There were so many wonderful friends who I feel I hardly said more than hello to. With a packed conference programme and so much wonderful conversation taking place, you don’t always get hours to spend with each friend – old or new. But you know that, in two years, or whenever your paths cross again, you’ll be able to pick up again. And, in the meantime, we are so lucky to live in a time when technology means keeping up with friends is a daily thing, even when you’re miles apart.

Of Walking and of Writing

June 26, 2014 by Sally

This evening I trudged my way around the oval where Murphlet 6 was doing footy training. I usually love my evening walk, but tonight I was , without a doubt, trudging. It’s cold today, a but drizzly and I’m tired and a bit grumpy. The walk did not improve my mood. But it ticked a box on my list of things to. And back home, thinking about that walk, it has just occurred to me that getting my walk in is just like getting writing done.

See, the reason I was so determined to walk even when I’m didn’t want to, was because I’m in one of those pedometer challenges where you try to walk at least 10000 steps a day. This one is called the Global Corporate Challenge, and involves workplace teams trying to challenge themselves to be more active at the same time as competing against other teams in the workplace, across the country and internationally. If you don’t walk enough, you see your average go down, and your team average go down. If you do the steps your stats go up. And, you get fitter and maybe leaner.

Most days I’m loving it. I go for a morning walk and an evening walk, and often sneak in one or two quick strolls during the day giving me a break from my desk.

And I’m seeing stuff like this

Walk Pic June 14

and this

walk Pic June 14b

and this:

walk pic june 14c

But today, as I’ve said, was cold and wet and also cold. And I didn’t get much sleep last night. So it got to five o’clock and my step count was right down. And I thought about not bothering. Then I thought how I would feel tomorrow morning when I entered 6000 steps instead of the 13000 I’ve been beating most days. And that thought got me on my feet and I went for a trudge, and it got cold and I didn’t feel uplifted . But I achieved my goal for the day.

It’s just like writing. Most days I crave more time to write, so I appreciate the time I actually have to sit at my desk and write. I write poems and strikes and reviews and blog posts, and it get to the end of the day and feel satisfied.

But some days, I don’t feel like it. Maybe I’ve had a rejection. Or maybe I’m tired. Or maybe the sun is shining and I’d rather be out walking <grin>. Sometimes I don’t realise I don’t feel like writing, but I let myself get distracted by other stuff – the internet, television, rearranging the pantry. And some days I get to the end of the day and realise I haven’t written anything.

But I’m a writer, And my job is to write. If I had a little pedometer type thing attached to my wrist that told me how much writing I’d done, and then I had to enter in on a website each day, maybe I’d trudge my way through the words. But I don’t have a counter (except word count which isn’t always a sign of productivity because I don’t do all my writing on my computer, and also because sometimes a hundred perfectly crafted words is worth more than 10000 random ones).

So without the counter, all I can do is try to account to myself for each day’s productivity. And remind myself that if I want to be a writer I must write, even when it isn’t easy or fun. I have other tricks, like making a list of tasks to be done, and crossing them off as they’re done., and sometimes there are external motivators like deadlines. But other days it’s just a trudge. Getting one word down at a time till I can tell myself I’ve done enough. Because, again, I’m a writer.

Luckily, most days writing is fun and rewarding, just like most days are for walking. And, having written all this I now feel a whole lot better about this evening’s walk.

A Weekend to Treasure

May 20, 2014 by Sally

What a weekend!

I’m just back from four days in Canberra, where I attended the CBCA National Conference. The CBCA is a not for profit organisation dedicated to fostering a love for and awareness of literature for young Australians. And, in a time when bookstores are closing, funding for the arts (including literature) is being cut, libraries are under threat, and we hear lots of doom and gloom about the future of books, let me tell you that the future of Australian children’s books is looking bright, if this weekend is anything to by. The conference was full of authors, illustrators, publishers, librarians, teachers, academics and more, all passionate about putting good books into kids’ hands.

Highlights, for me:

The above. Spending time with so many friends, old and new, with the common love of children’s books. I think I’ll blog some more about friends in the coming days.
The launch of Roses are Blue, during morning tea on Sunday. The book isn’t due out till July 1 so there will be another launch closer to home a bit later on, but seeing the book in print, and sharing it in that environment was fabulous. It was especially wonderful to share the moment with my special friends (again, I’ll say more about this in another post), and to also share the moment with the delightful Choechoe Brereton, whose debut picture book A House for Donfinkle, was launched at the same time. We’d not met before, but I know we will meet many more times, and after a short time together I felt like I’d know her forever. Gorgeous gorgeous lady.
Andy Griffiths‘ session where he discussed whether Humour is Really Necessary in Children’s Books. He had the audience laughing and nodding and laughing some more. His answer? In brief – not every book for children has to be funny (think A Bridge to Terabithia, for example) , but yes we need humorous children’s books, as well as humour within books which are not completely funny. I agree whole-heartedly.
A session celebrating the wonderful work of The School Magazine.( In a wonderful piece of serendipity, I didn’t know my poem Rain was in the new issue of the magazine, so that was a lovely surprise, as was the fact it was illustrated by Matt Ottley. Then, in another lovely coincidence, my first email this morning was an acceptance for another poem for the magazine.) But back to the magazine itself. This wonderful set of publications is produced monthly, and has been around for almost a hundred news, sharing stories, poems, articles, puzzles and wonderful illustrations with school children in NSW and around Australia. Significantly, it is basically the only publication which purchases and publishes poetry for children, something which is very close to my heart, not just as a poet but as someone who adores poetry and wants to see it on every child’s reading menu.
Anne Bell. She is covered also as one of the friends I refer to above, but she is a highlight all on her own. This wonderful wonderful lady is a poet and an artist whose work I’ve long admired, and who is a stalwart of the Dorothea MacKellar Poetry Competition, which I judged for three years, and which encourages children from around Australia to write poetry. She’s also very good for my ego, as she told anyone who’d listen (and probably some who didn’t) how wonderful she thinks I am for focussing on children’s poetry for my Doctoral studies. She even offered to come over and wash my dishes if it would help me get it done! I adore the energy, the dedication and the wonderful spirit of this lady, as well as her humour, and it is an absolute privilege to call her a friend.

I could go on. And on. But I’m still processing the wonders of the weekend. Luckily I have two years to plan for the next conference, in Sydney, 2016.