We drive about an hour to Peat’s Ridge where Dean’s sister lives. It will be our home until the weekend. I don’t see much along the way since it’s pretty dark outside. We arrive late night but Simone has waited up for us even when she has to wake up quite early to prepare Lily (her horse) and herself and go off to compete the next day.
Morning comes and I wake to the most tranquil of settings. It is quiet. Really quiet. It is so conducive to just relaxing. I make my morning tea and with my cuppa (Aussie speak for a cup of tea) I open the door and go towards the gate I opened last night in pitch darkness.
Wisteria gives a touch of color along the fence which I thought was lavender (though I have a green thumb I would not be able to identify most plants). Fortunately Marty, Simone’s boyfriend, knows them all and later helped me name them. I cut a branch filled with flowers and put it in and I sit with my Mac on the porch to catch up with friends.
I’ve been told to go up the hill for a good walk. 
I think it’s because I love to travel so much that I have a slight fascination towards paths. So this one is calling to me. Off I go.
More flowers along the way which Marty would identify as Gymea Lilies You have to look up for these since the flower blooms at the end of a long stalk. 
These two horses held my attention. I was curious about the patch on the white one’s eyes. I watched them interact. It looked as if the brown one was looking after the white one. He didn’t leave her side. Later, Simone would tell me that one was blind in one eye and that the brown one was 30 years old, pretty ancient for a horse. They are the best of buddies and are always close to each other. 
I was going to take a right at the end of the road and go to a Tough Mudder competition that was being held in the area but decided to go back to the house. Why would anyone want to stress their body to that limit is beyond my comprehension.
As I return the old tree -it is bigger than the house itself- commands my attention. 
Marty comes home. Simone comes home. She’s placed third in the dressage competition and scored really well on the other. Dean comes home. Dinner in front of the TV and catching Big Brother Australia. I might be hooked.
Today, Monday, Sept. 26 we are going to Terrigal.
It is a charming village. The bay is filled with boats. 
This combination of a Sea Rescue and a boat named Dream Catcher attracted me. Perhaps Sea Rescue is rescuing a dream that may have escaped the Dream Catcher? Don’t shoot me… I spin tales from very little. 
We go grab a bite to eat at the kiosk on the beach. Today’s menu is Fish and Chips (French Fries to Americans). 
As I eat I look up, and wonder why these pelicans have chosen to pose on an electrical pole as opposed to the lovely tree they have right next to it. 
Up close the bird’s eye looks almost painted on.
The sun is coming down so off to Coles it is to get stuff to cook dinner with. Simone’s son is coming to dinner.
The next day I learn that two little foals have been born that morning and I am taken to see them. They’re in a field with their two moms. One of the mares is colicky which can be dangerous for her so she is closely monitored by her owners and vet. The other mare, Gypsy, is in the middle of the field with her brown and white foal. She sees us at the fence and comes halfway and stands there staring at us and then calmly turns around and goes back to the foal. She has given us a warning and expects to stay away. Mothers of all types are immensely protective of their offspring. What a treat it was to see this.
The rest of the days before we relocate to Bronte, I spend the day relaxing, working around the house, and sharing meals and TV time with Marty and Simone at night. Really enjoying being part of their daily life.
Lidia The Explorer 