General

Lockdown Walk No 13 Out to the trig station and back

colleen General, Poetry, Uncategorized , , , , ,

Out to the Trig station and back  

the coddled clouds 
were part of a gentle day
their feather touch
calming
even the horizon misty 
a moist lightness on the sea air

the path soft and established 
with sandstone built sides 
the only reason we have hesitated 
before
is the steep gradients of ups and downs
today it seemed right to tackle 

I expected wildflowers at their best
a past memory was a gathering
of flannel flowers 

we met a back-burn
dry acrid smell
black ashen ground 

the air tasted acerbic
it harshened my breath 
agony of  past summer fires
miniture here 
reminded me of loss   
of absence  

yes nature survives fire 
yes banksia uses heat to propagate
yes it can prevent wild-fire destruction

but here I stood before empiness
my mind spinning

will the flannel flowers return?
will the flying duck orchids 
break this hard dry barren place?

all I can say
I grasped for answers
only when I got past this area
did they come
in colours and patterns
resilience and belief in renewal

 

Lockdown Walk No. 11 featuring the Sensory Gardens on Tuggerah Lake

colleen General, Lockdown Walks , , ,

A joint project of Wyong Shire Council and Lions Club The Entrance, located at Terilbah Reserve, The Entrance North. The gardens are filled with native trees and plants, a viewing platform overlooking the beautiful Tuggerah Lakes pathways, bridges, restful seats and all weather shelters.

 

A special feature of the garden of course is the sensory aspect. One is able to feel, touch and smell the many aromas and textures of the Australia Bush.   The colours of the Banksias , grevilleas and the three types of wattles  I discovered

 

Our picnics are very relaxing

And some of the birds that came up closer enough for us to observe each other

Spoonbills, heron, cormorant , pelican, egrets, ducks, honey eaters.

 

 

 

Lockdown walk No. 10, Under-cliff rock platform by Colleen Keating

colleen General, Lockdown Walks, Poetry , , , ,

 

Under-cliff Rock Platform 

A low tide walk
to explore the rock platform
snugly hidden
under the grassy cliffs
of Crackneck Lookout.

On the steep walk down
a whip bird song accompanied us
darting in and out of the foliage
with a clear sharp whip
content with an instant cheep-cheep reply

down on the beach
under the undercut of the cliff
through sand and rock and bush
scrub and mangroves

there was a salty feel to the day
out on the rock platform
we found a viewing spot
behind us the high projecting
grassy headlands
before us waves rolled in
dashing with jubilant spray
against the rocks

suddenly we were
the only two people in all the world<
the wide vista of horizon
like long arms curled around us
we relaxed into our oneness
into a cone of happiness
with permeable membrane
that allowed the real world to lean in
crashing of waves, rolling ofocean

then from out of a rock pool
a white-faced grey heron
like a mystic appeared

we accepted it as gift

namasté

our hearts as light as
lifting grey wings

At home I pondered once again the quote that has been tacked to my office wall for years

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.’ We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.  Marianne Williamson 

Launch of Olive Muriel Pink: her radical & idealistic life by Colleen Keating

colleen General , , , , ,

BOOK LAUNCH

Sun September 19 @ 11:00 am

ALL WELCOME   FREE EVENT

 GINNINDERRA

 PRESS

  warmly invites you to the launch by

          Emeritus Professor Andrew Hede PhD 

  of the book

OLIVE MURIEL PINK

Her radical and idealistic life

by Colleen Keating

Venue: Olive Pink Botantic Garden

Stay for lunch at the Bean Tree Cafe with the author and buy a signed copy.Later join us for a Pioneer Walk in the garden and learn more of Olive Pink with the curator of the park Ian Coleman 

ENQUIRIES: COLLEEN KEATING  touchstoneten@gmail.com

+ GOOGLE CALENDAR+ ICAL EXPORT

Details

Date:
Sun September 19
Time:
11:00 am
Event Categories:
,

Organizer

Olive Pink Botanic Garden
Phone:
08 8952 2154
Email:
curator@opbg.com.au
Website:
opbg.com.au

Venue

Olive Pink Botanic Garden
Tuncks Rd
Alice Springs, NT 0870Australia + Google Map
Phone:
08 8952 2154
Website:
https://opbg.com.au

Looking for Olive. Member’s Talk at SWW on Olive Muriel Pink by Colleen Keating

colleen General, Olive Pink Botanic Garden , , ,

THE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS NSW Inc.

LITERARY EVENT

WEDNESDAY 8TH SEPTEMBER 2021

I .00 PM–2.15 PM

ZOOM FOR TWO WONDERFUL SPEAKERS

MEMEBER SPEAKER – COLLEEN KEATING

Looking for Olive – the radical and idealistic life of Olive Muriel Pink

by Colleen Keating

 

Colleen, author of five poetry books  with Ginninderra Press and 5 poetry chap books  with Picaro Poets will talk about the inspiration, development and publication of her latest book,  A Poetic Journey with  an Australian women Olive Muriel Pink .  Colleen first became curious after visiting the Olive Pink Botanical Garden  in Alice Springs on a holiday and unable to find local information about Olive.  Back home she became immersed in the passions and struggles of Olive Pink’s story, a pioneer Australian woman of the first half of the 20th century.(1884-1975).  Here was a justice warrior, an advocate for the rights of the Indigenous people, a trained anthropologist, artist, gardener, botanist and curator.  And one whose song needs to be sang.  

 

KEYNOTE SPEAKER – JULIE JANSON

A woman writer’s journey – the restorative justice of writing Australian Indigenous themes

by Julie Janson

 

Keynote speaker – Julie Janson: A woman writer’s journey –  the restorative justice of writing Australian Indigenous themes

Julie is a Burruberongal woman of Darug nation, Hawkesbury River NSW. She grew up with an Aboriginal father and mother of English descent in Boronia Park, Sydney.
She is a teacher, artist, novelist, playwright and poet, and a recipient of the Oodgeroo Noonuccal Poetry Prize and the Judith Wright Poetry Prize.
Julie’s published novels are The Crocodile Hotel (Cyclops Press 2015), The Light Horse Ghost (Nibago 2018) and Benevolence (Magabala 2020). This latest novel will be published by Harper Collins in USA and UK 2021.
In a career as a playwright, Julie’s plays have been produced in Australia, Indonesia and USA:
  *  Two plays-Black Mary and Gunjies (Aboriginal Studies Press 1996)
*  Gunjies, nominated for an AWGIE
*  The Crocodile Hotel, nominated for Patrick White Award and Griffin Award
  *  Black Mary produced by Company B Belvoir St Theatre 1997
*  The Eyes of Marege, Sydney Opera House Studio, Adelaide Festival Centre 2007 and Makassar, Sulawesi
Julie was fortunate to present at the Adelaide Writers Festival 2021, Bendigo Writers Festival 2021 and Byron Bay Writers Festival.
She has also experienced Asialink Literature Residencies Indonesia 2000, 2003; Varuna residency; Tyrone Guthrie Writing Residency, Ireland 2006; Australia Council BR Whiting Residency Rome 2013; Listowel Ireland Writers Festival and Belfast Book Week 2016.

To book and pay:
$10 members, $15 non-members

Book via TryBooking: https://www.trybooking.com/BTSFK

or by direct debit:

The Society of Women Writers NSW Inc
BSB: 062 018
Account:  00950433
Code:  VM (for Keynote Speaker) or VMW (for Workshop)

Email Amanda Mark – Email Amanda –
with your name, receipt number and date of event

 

 

 

Lockdown walk No. 9 Saltwater Creek Boardwalk by Colleen Keating

colleen General, Lockdown Walks , ,

    

Leave no footprints

Take only pictures

Constructed by the Central Coast Council to help prevent the destruction as well as protect the sensitive foreshore habitat of the Saltmarsh, the boardwalk is a perfect attraction to spot out water birds, reptiles and fish, as well as vegetation.  Families of magpies gather feeding in the grasses. Herons ducks and the elegrant egret were some of our highlights.

 

 

 

 

The boardwalk features an education loop and conservation/informative signboards that provide insight into why this is such an important ecological area.

 

Swamp Oak, Saltmarsh species including glassworts, Sporobolus, and sea purslane are some of the dominant vegetation that can be seen around the boardwalk, as well as many native plants.

 

It is an accessible boardwalk suitable for prams, strollers, wheelchairs and bicycles. 

Whether you live in the Central Coast or you are visiting/ passing through, be sure to add this recreational natural attraction to your itinerary. 

Saltwater Marsh Boardwalk is located at the eastern end of Lucinda Ave (opposite McLean Street). Carpark can be found at the Saltwater Creek Reserve.

(with acknowledgement and  thanks to Gypsy Rose and her blog WeekendNotes for her great photos and succintct story.)

 

Lockdown walk No. 6: Colours of early spring by Colleen Keating

colleen General, Poetry , , ,

 

Lockdown walk No. 6 Colours of early Spring

a wattle way
harbinger of spring

we take the track
to a chatter of lorikeets

they dangle like monkeys
from golden banksia

spring is coming
steeling through the twigs

silently seeping
through the sap

budding vernal green
once seen it is everywhere

 

lilac waraburra is showy
it vines over the scrub

purple trails up the trees
no wonder it is often called
happy wanderer

white star flowers sometimes
called ‘tread-softly maybe because
of its spiky leaves

and the pink wax flower
just budding open
sprinkled through the bush
fuchsias delicate little trumpets
stand out

bright red comes
with the dusky coral pea
hard to see at first
and then it turned up hiding quietly
in the brambles in the scrub

maybe wild jasmine
and wonga wonga the native climber
gives us our touch of purple in its delicte white trumpets

And the wattles three we found today

Galahs were busy too
one on a branch as decoy
and this gorgeous one
in a hollow of the old  tree

Finally at the lookout Crackneck
we watched an eagle play


on the air currents
and then down the less worn track
back to the car

Time to be slow – John O’Donohue

colleen General, Poetry , ,

 

 

Time to be slow

This is the time to be slow,
Lie low to the wall
Until the bitter weather passes.

Try, as best you can, not to let
The wire brush of doubt
Scrape from your heart
All sense of yourself
And your hesitant light.

If you remain generous,
Time will come good;
And you will find your feet
Again on fresh pastures of promise,
Where the air will be kind
And blushed with beginning.

John O’Donohue, Irish poet and philosopher

Excerpt from his books, To Bless the Space Between Us (US) / Benedictus (Europe)

https://johnodonohue.com/

Photo: Fanore, Co. Clare / Ireland – 2019 © Ann Cahill

Eucalypt: A Tanka Journey celebrating 30 issues by Colleen Keating

colleen General , , , , ,

 

Exciting to receive the latest Eucalypt: A Tanka Journal in the mail.  This month celebrating 30 issues of Tanka.

(Beverley George always  acclaimed for the first 20 issues.)

Thank you to the editor, Julie Thorndyke and congratulation on her very creative and thoughtful presentation of our tanka. Proud to see my name twice and feel privileged being included in every Eucalypt since I began writing Haiku and Tanka . . . the succinct intimate Japanese form of poetry.

Julie has her own new collection of stories Divertimento: Stories by Julie Thorndyke publ. Ginninderra Press 2021,  just recently published by Ginninderra Press so this is double congratulations  to her.  Julie spoke at Society of Women Writers of NSW last meeting  in Member Bites 

Ginninderra Press sends us exciting mail

colleen General , , , , , ,

 

You have Mail

How exciting, double exciting,  to receive two emails one after the other, from the award winning publisher Stephen Matthews OAM  at Ginninderra Press regarding our poem entries for  Ginninderra Press’ new anthology Milestones. 

Michael and I are both  thrilled to have our poems:  

cherishing the moments by Colleen Keating

Reset by Michael Keating 

selected for inclusion.

Hello Michael,

Thank you for submitting a poem for inclusion in our 25th-anniversary anthology Milestones. I’m delighted to inform you that your poem has been selected for inclusion in the book. In due course, you will receive a proof to check before publication. Covid permitting, we hope to launch the book later this year.

Regards,

Stephen

Hello Colleen,

Thank you for submitting a poem for inclusion in our 25th-anniversary anthology Milestones. I’m delighted to inform you that your poem has been selected for inclusion in the book. In due course, you will receive a proof to check before publication. Covid permitting, we hope to launch the book later this year.

Regards,

Stephen

(Stephen Matthews  and yours truly at the launch of Mountain Secrets)

 

Just reflecting . . .

I have been priveleged to have a poem in each of these past Anthologies :

Michael after reading a poem at the Writers Festival in May 2018 at Varuna Writing Centre Katoomba

in the autumnal beauty of the Blue Mountains NSW