Ribbons of life

This photo was taken in 2014 near Grenfell in country New South Wales, Australia. I love travelling along country roads. They lead to farms, and kids on bikes, and ants busy at their nests, and corridors of shade, and corrugations that shake the teeth, and windmills that creak and whirr, and storms that never come close, and storms that come too close, and cattle that dawdle to the dam in fading light, and cockatoos that screech, and wheat that whispers, and butter that melts on scones, and ‘I was just passing, so I thought I’d drop in.’ Country roads take us far, sometimes much further than we think they can. They are ribbons of life.

One of the most famous writers in Australian history was born in Grenfell: Henry Lawson. If you are a young reader, see if you can find his funny story ‘The Loaded Dog.’ If you’re older, look up ‘The Drover’s Wife’. Both stories will take you places you’ve probably never gone. That’s the beauty of stories; they are the ultimate time- machines.

Can you tell a story about a country road? Where will it lead you?