How’s The Serenity?

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“How’s the serenity?”

If you’re Australian and you didn’t think of this line when you saw the Weekly Photo Challenge for this week, well…. you’re just un-Australian. (We love to bandy that name about a bit too much in my opinion but I’ll still use it.)

Then again, if you didn’t think of that line, I’ll excuse you if it alternatively made you mad (again) that Joss Whedon’s masterpiece Firefly was cancelled after twelve episodes. The follow up movie – Serenity (what else?) – was little consolation.

Serenity for me, living in a household full of males, is anywhere they are not. The safest place is out on the river in the very early hours of the morning in a single scull. I particularly love the winter when the school crews have gone on hiatus and I can row in peace without looking over my shoulder every two minutes to avoid the boats full of hormonal teenagers.

And, setting out in the dark, I get to watch the sun rise over the water and to move gently and silently through the early morning mist.

Ah…. how’s the serenity?

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46 thoughts on “How’s The Serenity?”

  2. Brilliant shot! I love how it’s misty, sort of like you’re traveling along a magical path of some sort 😀 Ah, you’re not the only one to get annoyed by the school crew. Now that it’s holidays in Melbourne, they are everywhere where I am in the city and so hard to avoid. Serenity, for me is going about my own business without anyone bothering me or questioning me about it or getting in my way. It also means appreciating nature 🙂

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  5. Ugh. I know just what you mean about the “boats full of hormonal teenagers”……lately, I’ve been spending time at the nearby ski resort while my son skis with his school team and let me tell you……there may not be boats, but sitting there for 5 hours in a lodge with kids from about 20 different schools is NOT FUN. would very much like to be out in your picture instead! 🙂

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  9. I guess I’m un-Australian. But that’s probably axiomatic, since I’m an import 🙂 Lovely photo. My hubby and I used to kayak a lot around the waterways of Sydney in the early mornings of weekends. A good way to experience serenity.
    I can’t imagine what it must be like to live in a household full of males. My neighbour has 3 boys under the age of 12 and all I know is that she’s always yelling. 😄

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    • I’ll excuse you but you really should go and watch it. 🙂
      I’m quite attracted to kayaking. It must be nice to be able to see where you’re going.
      Mine are all teenagers now so I tend to yell less. They’re too busy holed up in their caves to fight with each other. And I find the removal of privileges – particularly those pertaining to technology – seems to bring the desired outcome more swiftly and effectively.

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  10. Ah, “The Castle” – and I only got to see it about a year ago !!! 😀
    It’s a wonderful mental image you kick off with your photo, H m’ love – I can just see you there with the early morning mist rising from the river, your shoulders working away automatically and without effort … Makes me happy to think of it.
    “Firefly” ? – I’ve never heard of it … Obviously I missed something. :-\

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    • Thanks, M-R. I’ve only just got back into the single in the last couple of weeks after mainly rowing in the quad last year. I’d forgotten how much more you see when you’re going at your own pace and not concentrating on the back of the person in front of you to keep in time. I spotted a wallaby in the rushes on Tuesday!
      “Firefly” came out in 2002. Best described as a ‘space western’. Which is probably why Joss had trouble convincing the Fox executives of its worth. It is now considered a cult classic and the cast still appears regularly at the Comic-Cons to huge crowds. There’s even a board game now. 🙂

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      • I’m dubious about liking that, as in fact there’s so much unhappiness about the severing of that series … F***in typical.
        H, if you continued your single rowing, wouldn’t that give you enough exercise ? – I mean, apart from those special 1-off 1,000-mile events ?

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        • And not just with the fans, either. You can see that the cast felt they really had something special and their grief at it ending is obvious. Watch this clip from about the 45m10s mark and it’s obvious it still hurts even 20 10 years later (the video is labelled incorrectly):

          Quite possibly. Probably. But there is a Half Marathon project to complete first. 🙂

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            • I get teary every time I watch it. It’s amazing. The cast and crew seem very close. They do a lot of convention panels together. And the fans are definitely on the avid side. 😉 People dress up as characters of the show for Halloween, there are fan groups all over the world (they call themselves the Browncoats after the name given to the independence fighters at the beginning of the show) and you can buy all sorts of merchandise. Not bad for a short-lived show cancelled more than a decade ago!

              I hope you get to watch it, Barbara. It’s an amazing show so rich in cultural references and political commentary but all hidden behind a story about a bunch of space cowboys! My word of advice would be – give it time. It’s a bit hard to get your head around it all in the first couple of episodes until you understand the ‘Verse (as they say). But then you’ll be sucked in just in time to scream “NOOOOOO!” when you realise there are no more episodes to watch. And then rush out to get hold of the movie for one last fix. 🙂

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  12. I love being on the water – I must share my day-long paddle down the Murray River with youse sometime. That photo makes me want to do it again! Never heard of Firefly, but then again I’d forgotten I’d paddled in the Goublurn River until I came across the photos the other day!

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  14. Such an outstanding photo, Heather, perfect for this week’s challenge. I never heard of “Firefly” but so understand your frustration about something wonderful being canceled. You feel as though the rug’s been pulled out from under you in a way. If you have a chance, among all the other things you have going on, to read something, I so recommend “The Boys in the Boat.” So much more than just crew, I just can’t recommend it highly enough.
    http://www.danieljamesbrown.com/books/the-boys-in-the-boat/#.VLuzxNLF-So

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    • Thank you, Barbara. I just took it on my phone which I carry in a waterproof thingy around my neck during term time in case the school calls me for work while I’m out gallivanting on the water. 🙂

      The book looks fantastic. I will definitely track it down. The synopsis reminded me of an article I read the other day about the view people have that rowing is only for privileged private school types when it is very much not. (Certainly not in my rowing club!)

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  15. A gorgeous photo. It feels like a perfect place to quietly absorb nature and let the spirit relax 🙂

    I appear to be the newest victim of WP’s random acts of interference. I discovered I’m no longer following you. I wonder who else WP has decided to cut out of my life? *sigh*

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    • And it’s a place full of nature, Joanne. Water birds, bush birds, fish jumping out of the water and Tuesday I spotted a wallaby!

      Well! How rude! No, not you. I was talking about WP. Gosh, they’re a petulant, vindictive bunch. What did we ever do to them? Well, apart from write some rubbish on their walls but, hey, lots of people are doing that.

      Very pleased to have you back on board. 🙂

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      • I’m glad to be back!! Thankfully I caught it so soon … I wonder who else WP might have randomly dropped on me!

        … I had to look up ‘wallaby’. I would have been thrilled too … although I would have assumed it was a kangaroo 🙂

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