I love her far horizons

A 22 year old homesick Dorothea Mackella (1885 - 1968) wrote the iconic poem My Country (click to read the entire poem here) while she was in England. And to this day it still resonates so much with all Australians.

I love a sunburnt country

A land of sweeping plains

Of ragged mountain ranges,

Of droughts and flooding rains.

I love her far horizons,

I love her jewel-sea,

Her beauty and her terror,

The wide brown land for me!

A friend lives about 2 hours north of Melbourne in a smallish country town. Her home overlooks flat paddocks that we Aussies are so familiar with. Whenever I go to visit we sit out on the deck (another Aussie icon!), drink in hand (another Aussie tradition!), watch the setting sun and marvel at the changing colours of the sky. It really is a wonderful sight. It always brings a tear to my eye. This country of ours is a land of big skies, far horizons, wide plains, ancient rocks and gente low hills. A worn out ancient land. 

Mist rising and nature presenting herself perfectly

 

Heavenly

 

An ever-changing vista - how could you tire of it!

But even in downtown Melbourne the evening sunset can bring a tear to the eye.  Chatting on the terrace one evening (drink in hand) I had to rush in to grab my camera. The colour of the sky blew me away.

Inner urban Melbourne - sooooo beautiful

As Dorothea said "The wide brown land for me!" Are you a skywatcher - particularly with a drink in hand?