Our cocky rather scary rooster nearly met his match last Sunday when Mr Fox came a visiting and as a result he no longer sports his manly bits. No not THOSE bits but his magnificent rooster tail feathers which are now scattered to the four corners of our property. Mr Fox got a full mouthful of feathers but nothing else luckily, Atticus now looks decidedly out of proportion with his huge rounded body and no tail plumage to balance it and he has a slight limp but all in all he was a very lucky boy. This all happened at 3.30 in the afternoon when they were out free ranging in the sunshine. So much for foxes being nocturnal eh? Bold as brass he was and even stood his ground for about 30 seconds after I came after him brandishing a big stick and screaming like a banshee. Bailey got the message that something was wrong and chased after him barking crazily for at least 10 minutes letting him know she was NOT a happy camper and to not return on her watch thank you very much.

So now when I look out of the kitchen window in the late afternoons and see them picking about in the garden it is not with my usual feeling of serenity and tranquility but with a slightly anxious feeling in my tummy that they could be taken by surprise at any moment and become badly injured or killed right in front of my eyes. Cunning as they are I am sure Foxy will wait a few days until we are lulled into some sort of false security and then come back to try his luck again……aaaaargh!! There are animals everywhere at the moment and a wedge tailed eagle swooped down and took a young hare a couple of weeks ago (the worst sound ever incidentally) and we have also had an injured Corella wandering around our garden for weeks now – it’s wing flopped to one side and unable to fly. I wondered if that was the work of the eagle too? I wanted to take it to the vet but the MOTH made some very unkind remarks as to “there being millions of them and one wouldn’t be much loss to mankind” and said “to let nature take it’s course” which translates to let it die in my book. As if to prove him wrong Albi is still here and seemingly getting around ok and I always love it when I turn a corner and there he is waddling around and just getting on with life. Seems a bit lonely though as they usually belong to a flock but if you can’t fly I guess you can’t be in the gang.

This however has been the only negative thing in the garden the past few weeks as Spring has invaded The Meadow and we have trees full of blossom, a wisteria that is now in full leaf, jasmine about to burst into flower and the jacarandas are budding up ready for their huge show of purple in a few weeks from now. The summer veg have been planted and withstood a huge westerly wind, luckily I had staked and tied the tomatoes or we would be back to square one now. Our baby chooks are now scraggly teens with most of their fluffy down replaced with their new feathers. As feared at least one of them is a rooster but the smallest sweetest and prettiest is definitely a hen, named Chanel for her understated elegance! They are starting to mix with the older chooks for a few hours at a time and it wont be long before they fully transition to the big kids coop. None of the other chickens look like they are being mean to them thus far at least so fingers crossed it doesn’t all end in tears.

I had a lovely few days playing Grandma in Canberra recently. I went down to babysit Myla so the kids could work some extra days on the days she isn’t at daycare and I had been looking forward to us doing our thing together but I arrived to a rapidly unfolding situation.Viral gastroenteritis tore through Kindy classes Rainforest 1 and 2 with 30 of the bubs getting sick and a couple having to go to ER with severe dehydration. Myla succumbed first followed by each of us adults, luckily in a staggered start so at least one of us was always ok to look after the others so although it didn’t work out that I could help out while they worked it was a good job I was there to be on Myla duty at least! We spent an afternoon at IKEA where she loved playing in the kids section and we came away with a circus tent which she loves, taking her books and her “babies” inside and I’m sure if she could write ‘No Adults Allowed’ on the outside she would!!

Luckily we were all fine again for my last day and we enjoyed a day out in Canberra on the lake, hanging out in several of the Capital’s beautiful Parks and enjoying the 2020 version of Floriade which this year due to Covid has been reimagined and is scattered all over Canberra with wheelbarrows and window boxes of brightly coloured tulips and pansies for everyone to enjoy no matter where they are.

I got back home just in time for the boys to come and lay the driveway, the whole place was buzzing with trucks and men in high vis vests doing their thing and just like that we had a flash new drive! There is still some finishing off to do and it will take a while for the grass to grow back up to the new edges but the hard lifting has all been done! All ready for some little people to ride their bikes on when they are big enough…

In some very exciting news we have another little Grandson on the way! Due April 1st 2021 and growing very nicely he will make a beautiful little addition to our growing family. Cooper will be a super big brother I’m sure and if his Dad and Uncle are anything to go by he and his little brother will be as thick as thieves and mates for life. Watch out world, there is another generation of Cameron Brothers on the way!!

I made a passionfruit sponge to celebrate with the last of our fruit from the garden. I love that this recipe belongs to Bill Bevan who died in 2017 at the ripe old age of 94. Bill discovered his talent for baking late in life. The former trawler skipper and truck driver from Corrimal in NSW stepped up to the stove in his 60s and has since perfected the art of baking, winning a sponge competition at his granddaughter’s primary school, and making the family Christmas cakes and puddings. When his wife became ill during her early 50s Bill took over the cooking and began to bake the cakes his wife fancied. This was her favourite of them all and we love it too, all the more because of the story behind it. Cooking is a bit like a painting – far more than the sum of it’s parts and hence the nostalgia that comes with favourite family recipes, conjuring up the gatherings where these prized recipes would be served up with panache and a whole lot of love. (Bill’s recipe is in now in my kitchen section if you fancy trying it)

So as we lead up to the Long Weekend I will be planning a few nice meals for the family as we get together in The Meadow. The weather is predicted to be beautiful and for the intrepid amongst us the pool may be calling, I can envisage sipping an aperol spritz with my legs dangling in the water at least and it’s hard to feel anything but happy when the sun is shining and the sky is blue. The clocks will change too thank goodness meaning we may get to sleep in past 5.30 in the morning and have the longer evenings to enjoy eating alfresco. Bring it on!!