A few tin strips of fleecy cloud lies long
And motionless above the eastern steeps,
Like shreds of silver lace: till suddenly,
Out from the flushing centre to the ends
On either hand, their lustrous layers become
Dipt in all crimson streaked with pink and gold;
And then, at last, are edged as with a band
Of crystal fire.
~ Charles Harpur, Dawn and Sunrise in the Snowy Mountains ~
***
My latest hobby is collecting library fines. We seem to live among a pile of borrowed books and audio books with no idea when they fall due. Yesterday in a mad dash to mall while Little Wanna's ballet lesson was in progress, we bought a few new books including yet more Lego collector series and The BFG by Roald Dahl. So now we have our noses in brand spanking new books while time is ticking on the borrowed ones.
I love putting on the squish-diddly voice of the BFG. But I was beginning to think he wasn't suitable fare for a bedtime story with his imposing height, scary old face and big ears. He comes across as a formidable figure in the first two chapters. Thankfully, as it transpires, he doesn't eat people. Not like library officials (nah, kidding).
On our regular trip cross suburbs, we rise and descend over Hindmarsh Drive with astounding views of the Brindabella Mountains in the distance. It really makes me gasp sometimes and forget all the outstanding fines and hundred-and-one other tasks awaiting me at home and in the office. It's one of Canberra's redeeming features ... in the absence of a beach. Mr Harpur has captured the magic accurately in his ode to a sunset over the Snowies.
