When I painted this I was thinking about my home bilya (river), near Pingelly, near Pumphreys Bridge, where my family gathered for fishing, swimming, camping, telling stories. Before I was born, there was a mysterious event - small smooth stones falling from the sky like rain around Pumphreys Bridge. It happened a few times in the 1940s and 50s. My people called them spirit stones. They were warm to touch, sometimes struck Aboriginal people gently as they flew through the air. The stones rolled when they hit the ground, and appeared without leaving a hole inside tents and buildings as well. I included the djiti djiti (Willy Wagtail) in this painting. He is the spirit bird, my family’s totem. He warned us about the spirit stones. He also represents me, looking back over the water, remembering my childhood.