A new site:
On we drove, in search of our next site. Trees were few, the ground was flat, so the horizons were endless and the sky huge.
Phill had something very specific in mind, but unfortunately we missed an unsigned dirt road on the monotonous landscape
and we ended
up spending a little time....uh....reviewing a little more of the somewhat bleak countryside than planned, until we found
our bearings again.
How can I say this without suggesting that Phill got himself completely, hopelessly, madly lost. How about...he figured that
by driving us around on more or less the same roads in endless circles, he cleverly gave a small group of emus in the area
a case of dizzy spins, so they didn't mind when we pulled up alongside them as they foraged in a field. The sight of
these birds
sent Beth nonlinear with excitement. I noticed that Phill was generally uninterested
in the big birds; the only response they inspired in him was that he started talking about being hungry.
The climate was arid, and being good desert rats we had been hydrating regularly. Indeed, one side effect of all the water intake was
manifest when Beth mentioned that she would appreciate stopping for a little roadside
relief. When she voiced this, the idea rapidly became a compelling notion for all of us. So Phill stopped the car at a
desolate corner northwest of the Stirlings,
and we all stepped out to stretch our legs and do whatever else nature suggested.
This being Western Australia, carnivorous plants were present. Even though I had learned to consider
Drosera menziesii as being an "everywhere" species, this one was too pretty to dismiss.
