Birds fly overhead with their cheerful ring.

I sit down on the lawn near a lake.

There are pink and red water lilies.

I rest.

Swans, ducks and a duckling swim towards me.

I talk to them.

They reply with quacks.

I don't have any bread for them.

A child appears on the opposite side of the lake.

She throws food.

The wildlife leaves me with great speed.

My stomach calls me.

In the garden cafe there are scones.

I choose the sweeter apple cake.

A couple with three smiling young children sit nearby.

A tied-up black dog yelps;

Its owner went to the bathroom;

I go and stroke the dog.

A sparrow comes for a visit;

It’s too timid to pick my left-overs;

I get another cup of coffee from the counter;

On my return the crumbs are gone.

In the distance an Australian national flag blows in the wind.

I go to a bamboo forest.

The canopy is thick.

I sit down on the ground beside it.

Brown mushrooms stand in clutters.

I like it here.

A ranger stops on the path near me;

He politely says that I’m not permitted to sit here;

I may rest on the lawns.

I get up and step onto the path.

There I continue writing.

It is lunchtime.

I go back to the garden cafe.

A cut sandwich looks appetising.

I buy a glass of Chardonnay.

The ham is fresh.

The wine is dry.

I rest.

I get up refreshed.

I return to the gate of the Melbourne Botanic Gardens.

The birds twitter ‘good-bye’.