Well here we are folks, another year has begun, so full of promise for about 2 and a half minutes but now looking suspiciously like a clone of 2021. We are much more attuned to it all now and the whole Covid chat is becoming very blah blah blah just as it is in fact the deadliest it has ever been in Australia since it reared it’s ugly head. Two years is a long time to remain interested/fearful/diligent about something and we are all a bit over it…. until it arrives at your house. Yup we have a man down in The Meadow with the MOTH contracting it this week. Suffice to say he hasn’t shrugged it off like a common cold and is feeling pretty awful. It’s a mandatory 7 day isolation period for both of us and hopefully I will continue to be well and our life will resume in early Feb but who knows? I luckily had my booster a couple of weeks ago which may be giving me an extra layer of protection, his was due today. All in the timing perhaps? All we can do is stay alert and stay healthy…these are my kind of preventatives

Anyhoo….before this happened we were trotting along nicely, gradually getting on top of our garden (which seems to be on steroids) and trying to whip things into shape after our holiday hiatus. Maybe because there has been so much rain and everything is prospering the birds have so many choices that they left us with a few of our crops this year. I have a gazillion apples – probably for the first time since we moved here 7 years ago – and finally some macadamias!! We have a very established tree which fruits every year but usually the white cockies get to them before us but this year I got a few which we have shelled from their outer husk and are drying on our windowsill until they rattle which is apparently the correct time to break them open. Watch this space….

The garden has been producing some beautiful flowers of the more exotic kind. The sort of flowers that remind me I do not live in England anymore and make me feel like I am on holiday somewhere tropical. The frangipane continues to surprise me – this beautiful crown of flowers pushing through the leaves to show off to everyone and the very impressive flowers of the ginger plant that arrive a couple of times a year and make very architectural cut flowers with an amazing fragrance.

We also enjoyed our first big social ‘thing’ in months when we were invited to a supper show at Willinga Park in Bawley Point featuring Tom Burlinson who I primarily knew as the guy from ‘The Man from Snowy River’. He and his band hosted a Swing Night performing all the hits from Sammy Davis Jnr, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin etc and it was pretty good. Willinga Park is a destination in itself, a fabulous equestrian centre holding dressage, camp draft and show jumping events. The architecture is amazing and the gardens are maturing every year. It reminds me of MONA in Hobart with it’s modern lines and huge sculptures dotted around the grounds. The 2300 acre park is peppered with word-class, architecturally-designed equestrian facilities, including arenas, yards and stables. Public art and native gardens complete the park landscape, while luxury accommodation in the form of modern pavilions rounds out the Willinga Park experience and if you love horsey events I would highly recommend a couple of days in lovely Bawley point for a unique experience. We are going to go back for the Camp drafting in March if things go to plan (which is quite laughable as we can barely plan anything as it is and even then it has maybe a 20% chance of coming together!!!!)

We stopped at our friends place in Milton en route and finally got to enjoy their beautiful Altar Wine Bar. It was a perfect sunny afternoon for a cocktail under the trees and I can see why their venture has taken off so quickly and has become a firm favourite of locals and tourists alike. It is a unique setting and they have a permanent marquee in case of inclement weather, lovely food, live music and even a courtesy bus all set within the picturesque grounds of the Old Church – what’s not to love!

We were very pleased last week to see that our brand new fantastic nature park is finally open in Berry. It has had it’s fair share of setbacks with the weird weather and Covid but is now seemingly being enjoyed by every child within 30 kilometres! It has so much going for it and is only stage 1 of a bigger plan to include a pump track and skate park, a sensory garden and water play and the barbeque areas are in full use already. The only people that probably aren’t quite as enamoured are the people living directly opposite it as parking has already become an issue apparently! I cannot wait to test it out on the grandkids over Easter.

Australia Day was a little subdued this year. I used to really love it as it seemed to be the day where you gave thanks for where you lived and embraced all that was Aussie – a barbie with friends or a day at the beach, a National holiday to immerse yourself in everything Australian, a beer and a flag tattoo sticker or two, the boxing kangaroo flags fluttering from car windows and the Aussie Open or the cricket on TV. Nowadays it is somewhat tinged with the political wrangling over the date. It really shouldn’t be on January 26th which also happens to be Invasion Day as it marks the 1788 landing of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove and raising of the Union Flag by Arthur Phillip to claim the land as a British colony and the beginning of many brutalities against the Aboriginal people and the taking of their land. I think it is wonderful to celebrate being Australian but not on the date that has so many bad memories for so many. In the meantime here are some of the more affable aspects of being Australian that we love to celebrate……….if you know you know!!!

You Know You’re Australian When:

• You have a spider as big as a dinner plate living in your lounge room and you’re not really worried, because it’s only a Huntsman… (take note Sandy Cherry)
• And a little daddy longs legs never bothers anyone.
• You go to the servo for your petrol.
• You go to the Bottle-O for your grog.
• Your don’t go to a barbie without your beer stubby and your esky.
• You love your barbie (And it’s not a doll).
• You went outside for less than 5 seconds and you are covered in mosquito bites.
• You’re strongly encouraged to slip, slop slap.
• When if it’s not on, it’s NOT ON!
• When you dob in a tosser.
• When you find special beaches for dogs.
• When you are not allowed to keep a Kangaroo for a pet but you are allowed to eat them.
• When you dial before you dig.
• When you each chips – Not fries or crisps.
• When you have a thong tan (On your feet) all year through.
• When you need to get a pen license before you can stop using your pencil at school.
• When you check for Red-Back’s before sitting on the dunny.
• When you have Blue Tongues living in your yard, and you think they’re friendly
• When everyone calls you their mate.
• When half the time walking out in your yard is like walking into an oven, and the rest of the time it’s like jumping in the river.
• When you say “Straya mate!” when referring to where you’re from.
• When there aren’t many full words in your sentences.
• When you understand that it’s acceptable to call Tom – Tommo, but you wouldn’t call Sarah – Saraho.
• When they build the great wall of China to keep the rabbits out.
• When you always have tan lines. Even in winter.
• When you drive though “Macca’s”.
• When you know “Crikey!” can mean something’s either good or bad.
• When your builder is a “Brickie” and your truck driver is a “Truckie”, but your Accountant is still your Accountant.