Seasonal Almanac
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February 2nd, 2009
Austinmer escapes the most extremes of temperatures although the high relative humidity on the coast generally results in higher apparent temperatures. After dinner at around 9pm, the temperature hovered around 22 degrees and the house still felt warm. We decided to take a walk.
The thick night air allows your sense of smell full reign. Walking along I could sampled the myriad of plant scents accented by wifts of Frangipani. Towards the end of Moore Street, the ocean took over and satuated the air with saltiness. The tidal pools lit by the tall bright lamps are filled with languid clear turquoise water.
The moon was half full. We swam about in the water and watched the tide comes in. The water rushed towards the wall of the pool with upmost enthusiasm. The waves splashed and broke up, sprays of water shot up in a trajectory forming an arc from left to right.
Swimming at night is simply a delight. As we walked back from the beach, I suddenly felt at home.
February 4th, 2009 at 5:37 am
Hi Jo. Your night swim sounds delightful! I should show your photo to my students who are starting to get to grips with the idea of outdoor swimming as they start to design their lidos. I am jealous of your balmy evening – it is below zero here and the ground is covered in snow – thankfully my lovely new slippers (thanks!) are keeping me warm.
February 7th, 2009 at 11:29 am
Hi Eleanor, I am glad the Australian-made export La Ugg slippers are keeping your warm! I am not usually one for heat, but it is lovely to be able to immerse yourself in a large body of cool water when one is experiencing major heat. You know, there have been heat waves in Australia and Adelaide was having 47C days! Imagine that! In comparison, subzero temperatures and snow sound postively delightful.
February 18th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
I swam a few nights this summer and this image is very evocative for me… Also, my friend Kurt and I have been doing a project: swimming in every sea pool between here and Sydney and recording these using sound and images. We’ve also been researching the history of the pools (as a little project). So your image of Austinmer pool has another
resonance for me…
February 18th, 2009 at 11:38 pm
I love to be inside the archive of your ‘every sea pool between here and Sydney’. I can imagine looking at one photograph of a pool and listening to the sound recording. Would I be able to picture being at that particular pool? Would the next image and the next track give me a very different feeling? In your experience so far does each pool have a distinct quality?