Some things change
The tides are big again and I have taken to shitting in the bush.
This is an entry in my diary from earlier this week. It got me thinking about the things that have changed since we got here, and things that have stayed the same.
The weather has changed. I don’t walk up to the main camp to use the toilet anymore because the the sun has become very hot. What was a previously pleasant stroll is now more uncomfortable than making my way into the scrub, checking for snakes and digging a hole in the dirt.
To make writing bearable in these conditions, we have gathered up many sarongs and saris and hung them around the edges of our shelter with pegs. These can pop off occasionally, as the wind has picked up considerably.
It is surprising how distracting the wind has become. I lost half a day’s work this week because I was rolling my eyes at the squeaking tent.
When we arrived here, there were no bugs; no flies, no mozzies, no midges. Incredible!
‘How long can this last?’ we marvelled.
The answer is two months. I have recently had a few mozzie and midge bites, but by far, the flies are the biggest pest. They buzz around and around our heads like electric planes on a string, and take breaks on our mouths and our eyes. Adam has taken to spraying poison all over his face to keep them at bay.
There are other unwelcome visitors appearing too. This morning a snake slithered very close to Adam’s feet as he stood watching the sunrise. We’re not sure what sort of snake it was, but the description was ‘very big’.
Some things have become easier though. I can now brush my teeth in a sink, thanks to a kind donation from a good friend, and some metal work by Adam.
My dog, Pearl, has also returned to the camp. She was taking a break from prickles and spending some time with her dog Mum. While away, she took to eating her mother’s food, so she came back looking like a circle with four stumps. Our daily routine now includes a morning walk and a lunch time swim so we can shed those pounds. In the meantime, Adam continues to call her ‘Mr Fatty Fat Fat Boombahlini’, or ‘Fatty’ if he’s in a hurry.
Our bodies, on the other hand, have gone the opposite way. Both Adam and I have shed kilos. This was a surprise to us as we have both been eating like horses, so we have put it down to our fresh food, which comes predominantly from the sea or our garden. We are rationed to one beer a night.
Adam often turns to the side and asks if I can still see him.
As the days pass, so do our tendencies to get up from our writing tables and sweep the dirt or arrange the pegs by colour. We have become very disciplined at focusing for long periods of time. Today, for instance, we have been writing for six hours, with only two short breaks, one for second breakfast, and another to shave my legs.
The bay is also changing. We haven’t seen any whales for about a week, however dolphins and other unidentifiable sea creatures have been jumping around out there. The tides have become huge. They are swallowing up the beach and revealing reefs we have never seen before on the outgoing swing.
We have been incredibly lucky to see a full moon rise over that low tide, creating our very own staircase to the moon.
What remains the same?
I still look out over the most beautiful bay every day, writing a book with my fellow story teller. It is still a struggle to find the words I need, and there are often days when I feel like a fraud. But they are followed by days where I laugh out loud or cry with relief.
To reduce the frequency of brick walls, I continue to exercise my creativity with pop up writing challenges and walks around the Vortex of Genius.
My computer has been propped up on the same book since the day we arrived, The Master, by Colm Toibin. Every day when I have finished writing, I pull it out, put my feet up, and read another chapter or two, hoping that his magical way with words will somehow translate to my page.
I am learning however, that it’s dogged perseverance that writes books.
So I am still writing. That remains the same.