dry tropics

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june 27 lump below breastbone as i lay abed. eight a.m doctor said hernia! (which later doctor sain no hernia) got hose fixed on carly. drove past bowen. stopped by tomato fields and gathered a few. short stop in ayr for furious fulfilling spruik. north with traffic to townsville where library now wants $8 per hour internet when last year was free. massive mirvac construction at marina. shower door open but. parkedup my favorite spot overlooking strand and maggie. cleaned up glass and tinnies. brahminy kite. this blog has lost its edge. lonliness, boredom. white gaped honeyeater. as i read obrian the sun set behind clouds and the breeze faded. it had been a hot day. and clawing the hose from under the spare tyre to see if it woud serve for perished one, i abraded my forearm so it is now mottled purple red with dead blood. i'm becoming an old man.
june 28 cloudy fine. waited til noon. got race at yacht club on 'zoe' which i raced against last year at airlie. top crew. i was anxious about my hernia. skipper mark gave me running backstay duty saying mast was worth 85 thousand dollars. also did spinnaker pole. three sausage laps. fun and first. scraped both shins. skin like parchment. met bloke from last year's maggie race who asked me to sail with them this year!
june 29 coffee and laundry. up castle hill for day of spruik. the usual top response. tales of sightings and more tales. very windy. bowen fresh tomato and olives. finally down to pick up from clothes line. fighting doldrums with some success. parkup favorite spot for beer and sunset. blues and greys of evening. white caps gone.
june 30 another day castle hill. blokes from townsville show got five large to fly from their ride. said they travelled interstate too. fine day. honeyeater like bird, black bib, brown orange belly. later great bowerbird, striking scally back markings.
july1 went out to willows mall. did carpark undetected. good response. contact lenses $330 for six months! not long ago that would have paid for a year. swim in salt lagoon north end of strand. parkedup perched usual spot. oriental cuckoo male, black and yellow eye, hawk beak, grey with strong black and white bars on belly. groin hernia aching from sailing exertions. flock of pale brown finch with spotted belly (not found in book). pair of peaceful doves with pale blue around eyes and beaks, grey and brown barred backs. so now at last at the bedrock of reality, the difficult, the impossible lie before us. on this foundation the future must be built. the seed is planted. our gaia lies ahead.
july 2 reading financial page, dire news. could at last be the fall?

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