By Laura Brearley
 
IF YOU want to see and hear …
 
Uncle Kutcha Edwards’ powerful performance of his anthemic ‘We Sing’, accompanied by Daniel J Marquez 
 
The musical and poetic communion of Catherine Watson and Mark Finsterer in their breathtaking rendition of ‘Bernadette’s Beach’
 
The toe-tapping Celtic interpretation of Inverloch by multi-talented musicians Lyndal Chambers and Brian ‘Strat’ Strating     ​

By Aleta Groves        
          
The place I love is where peacocks roam free and each day you see their beautiful courtship ritual, the male with his spectacular fanned iridescent train impressing the hens. Where the quirky guinea fowl hunt and aren’t afraid to sing their fearsome song to keep the predators away and the fine fluffy silkies chat away trying to navigate their way through their beautiful puffy crest.

This is the place where unusual friendships have blossomed. A striking highland cow, with her flowing black locks and majestic horns can be seen cavorting with an obstinate, braying
Mediterranean micro donkey. And a fearless Jersey cow, and a group of shy but curious Alpacas befriend an orphan Angus calf.
 
It is a place you hear a symphony of sound from the whistle of the cavies to the bellow of the deer. It is music to my ears. This is our Farm the Groves Estate.

By Sally Lewer Ahern    

Like cookie cutter indents, dog paw prints on the beach skitter every which way. Large, small, and in-between prints in erratic circles indicate doggy games. It’s zany, unfettered joy, a game of canine ‘chasey.’ They claw the malleable sand recklessly, digging holes and flinging sand helter-skelter.

They don’t give a toss about sticky sand on their snouts, or that they’ll be banished outside when they get home. That’s all in the future. This is here and now. They’re living in the moment, and they’ve got it down pat. A quick swim to cool off, a woof, or two, at a seagull – real, or imagined - and then it’s the vigorous body shake, the flinging of a sticky mix of sea and sand.

Finally, a tired canine sidles up to his human, his long, pink tongue lolling floppily from his mouth.

He’s pooped, but his face says it was all worth it.

By Barney Meyer

This sunrise epitomises the beauty of Phillip Island for me, encompassing a 180° view at low tide, revealing the deeper channels as well as the wreck of the Minah.

Capturing views from exactly the same location at different times and seasons reveals the changing phases of the ocean, sky and land. These aerial images comprise many frames captured with a drone, which are then seamlessly stitched together.

In these scenes I captured the Phases of Rhyll: Cloudy, Sunset, Evening and Dawn, allowing the viewer to switch between the views and maintain the same viewing direction. Dawn, January 4th 2019 was the start of the horrific bushfires in Eastern Victoria.

View this sequence of 360° panoramas here: https://www.hiddenmelbourne.com.au/aerialviews/phasesofrhyll/
This link shows Rhyll during a beautiful moonrise. Note the oil rig offshore from Cowes https://www.hiddenmelbourne.com.au/aerialviews/rhyll-vic-sunset-gigapixel/
Recently I created a complete “walkabout” of Phillip Island by air
https://www.hiddenmelbourne.com.au/aerial-tour-phillip-island-2020/
​​

The Harper of Lyra

By Malcolm Brodie

A Returned Man's Remembrance at a First World War Grave in Wonthaggi Cemetery

By Tricia Storr

Standing at the Southpoint lookout, Summerlands, Pacific Gulls swoop and glide on thermals.  In winter, a form of wild energy is made by the sea which is mesmerising to watch and hear as the waves roar when they smash into rugged rocks with powerful fury, leaving a wash of white as they recede. The sea is grey and it's hard to distinguish where the sky begins on the horizon.
 
In summer, an atmosphere of calmness lifts the spirit. The sun shines, the sea is blue and the fury has been left behind. Instead, the waves sound like a musical rhythm as they reach the coastline. Peregrin Falcons fly high in the sky above and Cape Barren Geese nibble on the green cliffs. No matter the season, this place is therapeutic for the heart and soul.

By Lynne Cook
 
The Bass Hills are an incredibly, re-juvenating place for a country drive. With three hundred and sixty degree panoramic views of Mornington Peninsula, the Dandenongs and Wilsons Promontory, the vista includes sea, bay, rolling hills, farm-lands, hamlets and islands.
 
After tree clearing of the Bass Hills in the 1800s for fuel, building materials and bark-tanning to supply the surrounding countryside and Melbourne, the hills remained bald and lacking appeal for most of the twentieth century. With Landcare and the farmers’ help with re-planting of trees, the hills and gullies are now re-gaining their aesthetic beauty, albeit different to the original natural bushland. Today the sky-line is once again boasting ‘trees’ and ‘tree-lines’.
 
Sitting atop the hills looking out over the view, especially at sunset, is a great place to unwind, re-group and catch your breath before resuming the challenges of daily life refreshed from your country drive.