As the UK celebrates “Freedom Day” and covid restrictions are all lifted with people free to live ‘normally’ again, we in NSW are plunged into the biggest crisis we have so far experienced since the pandemic began. Delta is causing havoc and so far we are in week 4 of lockdown in the Greater Sydney Area. Here in rural NSW we are not in lockdown but we are feeling the ripple effect of it. Being only 2 hours from Sydney a lot of our businesses rely on the weekend tourism and local holiday homes to provide them with income. Things here are VERY quiet and as masks are once again a requirement most people have cancelled their gym and exercise classes and with so many friends and family unable to visit from Sydney cancelling restaurant bookings etc – we are mostly just waiting for this to pass before resuming normal activities. I have been personally affected by the shutting of State borders to NSW leaving me with cancelled plane flights to Tasmania where I was due to fly this week ahead of my Daughter giving birth. Her In-Laws are also stuck in Queensland (where they were catching up with their daughter who they hadn’t seen in over a year) when this escalation occurred. As they have their car and caravan with them they are finding it hard to find an allowable route back to the car ferry in Melbourne by August 2nd as it is tricky trying to avoid all the border closures. Not what we had all hoped and planned for and needless to say we are more than a bit devastated that we may not be there to help but we are madly hoping that Tasmania will open it’s borders to rural NSW again soon and I can hop on that plane asap.

So as life has shrunk once more to our immediate environment we just thank our lucky stars that we have such a lovely choice of local areas to walk around and grab lunch outdoors which is still a delight in the winter as long as the sun is shining. Kiama has a wonderful coastal path that hugs its shores and you can walk as little or as much of it as you desire. Diggies is a fantastic café-restaurant where you can tie your dog up and enjoy a delicious lunch outdoors with a view of the coast that fills you with gratitude for our natural environment. I’m praying that Covid stays out of the regions as it would be a death knell for these little places.

We’ve had a rather bird orientated week here in The Meadow. Firstly the Corellas have come back. They hang in huge groups of at least 200 and we can hear them coming from kilometres away, great swathes of white in the sky as they swoop and turn before settling on the perfect trees or water troughs making a great hullabuloo as they do so. I have NO idea what they are trying to do? There is no food here for them? They stay only 10 minutes or so and then they are off again in search of goodness knows what. They look like baubles on a Xmas tree when they land, screeching across to the other trees which are similarly laden with birds.

The plovers are also in full throttle, their calls are heard constantly across the paddocks as the Dad wheels and soars above the nest where much against the odds they somehow raise a few chicks right in the middle of a field which houses cattle and the odd fox. Goodness knows what their success rate is but you wouldn’t want to be betting on it.

Our “chicks” who are now almost the same size as their Mum, are demonstrating teenagerish habits in as much as they don’t want to be thrust out of the nest. Peaches has up until literally two days ago been a supremely diligent Mother, still tucking them under her wings at night in a nesting box but the tide has turned and now she has abandoned them, finally returning to the roost at night and after so many months you can’t blame her. The kids have now got to be brave and follow suit and despite the pecking order in the hen house I don’t believe the older chooks would actually throw them off if they gave it a go??

One thing that discouraged all of them to enter the Chook-Mahal yesterday was the presence of 2 crows who had greedily snuck in and stolen the newly laid eggs before realising they couldn’t get out again. Rather stupidly they forgot how they had entered and spent a few fruitless hours flapping about trying to get through the mesh to the great outdoors. I managed to get the adult crow out as he was too large to take refuge in the rafters like the juvenile crow and ended up on the floor right next to the exit. Sadly the younger bird spent hours trying to escape and rather exhausted in the end was easily caught by the MOTH and released to its family who had gathered on the fence line above the chookyard trying to encourage its departure. Hopefully once bitten twice shy and they will stay away.

Our own little chick, Oliver, has been growing steadily while we have been locked out of Sydney and we are so sad we cannot be there to enjoy this gorgeous stage of his babyhood. He is a happy contented little chap and proof that good things can still happen during a global pandemic. Hopefully we will be able to make up for it big time when this is all over. In the meantime thank goodness for facetime eh?

I have taken some solace from the garden which continues to need my attention. This is the time of the year that we prune everything back – especially the roses and the salvias. The hydrangeas have to be trimmed back to the fat buds and the fruit trees need to be thinned out and pruned to a height where we can actually pick the fruit. The wisteria is best trimmed back whilst it is leaf-less and we can see its winding tendrils, even now there are new buds arriving every day so I am on notice to get it done soon. My veggie garden has been bare this winter as we let it rest and breathe. The weeds have diminished (for now anyway) and I have added loads of compost and soil improver to build it up ahead of Summer. I’m planting some perennial basil to encourage the bees around the perimeter and I’m looking for a good spot for a new lemon tree and to transplant my Olive tree, which currently lives in a pot. Our exposed position in the middle of the paddocks mean we have very little sheltered area away from the wind so despite our couple of acres we are not spoilt for choice unfortunately. I picked the last of the roses mixed with some camellias which made me feel happy for a day or two at least!

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One of the biggest things we’ve learned from this pandemic is how important it is to have something to look forward to. A visit from your family or friends, going out for dinner or a drink at the local pub and most definitely holidays. A trip abroad is on most people’s to do lists after all this is over. A trip to Queensland is almost as hard to organise with State borders opening and shutting like a barn door. With a visit to the UK high on my list to visit my Mum and Sister I also have a yen to revisit Greece where I lived for a couple of years back in the early 80s. I have such fond memories of it despite the fact I was living on the smell of an oily rag, sleeping on beaches and in Youth Hostels and limited to one main meal a day! I think I’ve been scared that if I went back it would spoil those memories but I now think I owe it to myself to do it in a bit of style! I can just imagine the MOTH and I wandering these beautiful little alleys and enjoying some great food overlooking the Med……

1. The only travelling we are doing right now
2. The crazy ups and downs of Covid….