Harper time.

After dropping Winter at playgroup and Kate at the hairdresser, Harper and I spent an hour or so wandering around the beautiful Fitzroy Gardens.

We lay on the grass and felt the warm sun and cool breeze on our skin. We collected pine cones and made a tower, which Harper promptly kicked over. "Do again, Dad? Do again? Knocky over?" We headed off the main path and up a narrow track that wound through the trees. And stumbled onto a teenage couple like fully makin' out on one of the secluded benches. With no apparent desire to stop. Oh. Um. Harper, look there's a duck back there behind us, shall we go and look at it? Yes? Good.

We watched the duck preen its feathers and then we threw twigs and leaves into the pond. Or rather, Harper threw twigs and leaves into a pond; I tried to restrain her enthusiasm and keep her from falling in. "Harper, waaaaait!" (She didn't fall in.) We chased the myna birds and told them to shoo. Nasty birds. We picked up sticks and whacked the metal bands around the trunks of many of the trees. We picked flowers for mum and took turns taking photos of whatever caught our eye. Harper by me.


Me by Harper.


Clearly she shares my fondness for photos with the heads cropped out.

And before I knew it, all too soon, it was time to go. Back into the car and back to collect Kate and Winter. Then some lunch.

As mornings go, it was another of my finest.