Friday, June 20, 2008

Swinging from the Trees

Earlier this year I bought a hammock and a mountain bike in a garage sale. The hammock is massive: large enough to fit two people either lying vertically or stretched out horizontally across its width. Day before yesterday was the first time I used it. I took it along to Caura Valley where I'd gone with a friend who had an appointment with someone. I strung up the hammock in a bamboo grove and, while they were meeting, I lay there, cocooned in the large white folds, reading a novel and munching on various fruits and nuts. Being out in the country, hearing only birds, breeze and the creaking of the bamboo all around me, I eventually drifted off to sleep.

Then yesterday I strung the hammock up at the bottom of the garden between the sapodilla tree (where the Dream Catcher is) and the purple poui. Being a public holiday, everything was quiet. My nephew was over and he and I lay there chatting, sucking the seeds out of a passion fruit and gently swinging. When he was gone I finished reading the novel.

Nothing like a good hammock. It's a prime investment.

4 comments:

Andreamuse said...

oh boy! Nothing like a hammock and a book. What did you think of the book? I bought it but I haven't started reading it yet...

Elspeth said...

It didn't grab me at all until he met the strange, low caste girl that no-one liked. I found her intriguing and that's what pulled me in. I liked his sparse yet very telling descriptions of people and feelings. Other characters further on enabled me to get to the end.

Anonymous said...

Sounds sweet!

Missing the swing.....

Angie said...

wish we had room here for one...