On afternoon I was driving down highway 10 towards the town of Nanup in the south of Western Australia. Steam was rising off the road, warmed by the sun, which drove away the earlier rain. Suddenly the air was full of swallows wheeling and swooping over the road, buzzing over my car, cavorting, sailing around.
Eventually I found myself needing a restroom just as I was passing a place called the Nillup Village General Store. I pulled over and noticed a pair of old, rusting bicycles parked next to the fence. I grabbed my camera to get some shots. As I was photographing the bikes, a happy yellow retriever bounded over and forced me to play catch with it (well, it wasn’t that hard to convince me.) I petted the dog while photographing the bikes from different angles, then finally went into the store which was half shop, half restaurant. Out from the kitchen came a large, middle-aged man in an apron. “Excuse me, do you have a restroom I could use?” I asked. “Why would I, mate?” came the gruff reply. I must admit I was stunned. “Ummmmm.” “And next time you want to take a photograph on private property, ask first.” “Ummm, right then, goodbye.” It was “Doctor Doggy and Mr. Hyde” or “The Puppy of Dorian Gray” at the Nillup Village General Store, with a dog that was as friendly as the proprietor was nasty.
![[Bicycle wheels]](/PhotoAlbum/Favorites/Bicycle%20Wheels.jpg)
