Last night, golden hour, we drive the short distance to Lake Conneware to take photos. Dad loves it here, and after spending three days in terrible pain, sleeping, and what seemed to be getting about the business of dying, he felt well enough to show me this spot.

Te Connewarre Wetlands is expansive - a beautiful wetland system that plays a very significant role in the region's ecology, making me a little ashamed for never giving it attention. I mean, there's no surf there after all. But it's full of marshes, lagons and swamps, part of the Encompassing Lake Connewarre and the surrounding marshes, swamps, and lagoons, part of the broader Port Phillip and Western Port biosphere.

We manage to walk about 200 metres, which is a lot for Dad. I'm worried he won't make it up the hill, but he limps along, breathless, yet enthusiastic. We walk down to where there's a small jetty where fisherman cast - the sun is behind them, but I love this photo of the two of them.

I think this is almost my favourite photo - I had about two seconds to take it before he turned around, and I wanted it to be candid. He loves his photography so it's just an amazing shot of Dad that captures him so well.

As the sun descends, we here a cacophony of small birds I can't identify. The place is full of diverse wildlife, including birds such as pelicans, black swans, and the Australasian bittern. I will have to bring Jamie back here with the bird lens - he'd love it.

I did learn something I didn't know before - have you heard of the Ramsar Convention? It's known officially as the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance - a world wide treat that was first adopted in Iran in Ramsar in 1971. The main aim of the treaty is to promote the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands all across the world so they can keep up their ecological function and biodiversity. Ramsar sites are protected due to their significant botanical, zoological, ecological, and/or hydrological importance. Who knew!

I managed to get this beautiful shot of my parents - Dad usually is terrible in photos as he's always got eyes shut or he is grimacing, but this worked beautifully. It was really nice to get a photo of them in the last weeks of Dad's life. I think we were all aware of the significance, though we didn't say anything of course.

When we got home Dad and I listend to music - he's really into Hans Thessalink and just got his new CD he ordered ages ago. My Dad's name's Hans, and many years ago he saw him live and asked him to sign his CD. Thessalink obviously raised an eyebrow when Dad said his name for the signature. I like him - it's really blues and rootsy and he's a good guitarist. Sadly his new album isn't on either Youtube or Spotify but try this song to imagine the mood as Dad and I mucked around with photos.

I helped Dad connect his Sony A1 to his phone to get instant access to his photos and he played around with edits in Lightroom. I really admire him for just getting on with things and doing things he enjoys in the limited physicality he has and with the limited time he has.

With Love,

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