Well after all the usual build up and crossing off the days until the Big Guy in the Red Suit comes, it’s all over – leaving a recycling bin full of wrapping paper and an extra kilo or two around our middles! Luckily our very variable weather behaved itself and gave us a traditional Aussie Christmas with plenty of sunshine and an opportunity to enjoy the pool, the beach and to eat outside on the veranda. The evenings were warm enough to sit outside under the fairy lights or have a glass of wine around the bonfire at sunset and after a dodgy few years it felt like things were finally returning to normal. Mince pies were made, the ham was glazed (thanks TC) and the prawns, oysters and ocean trout were all enjoyed, The MOTH became an accomplished oyster shucker after our Xmas order arrived still in their shells prompting a quick drive to a friend’s house to borrow a shucking knife and a quick lesson on “how to” which proved successful. This year we had our prawns and special sauce in brioche sliders and everything was so delicious we decided to pace ourselves throughout the afternoon eating in stages rather than in one giant overload!

This was our ‘quiet’ year when the Tassie crew have Xmas with their side of the family so we were just a grown up foursome for Xmas Day which was rather nice especially as we knew the little boys were joining us on Boxing Day for four days of fun in the sun. They had a ball and especially loved running through the sprinkler and enjoyed the Slip and Slide so much we now have a patch of dead lawn there!! Gerroa was a perfect beach location for them to run through the shallow parts of the river that join the ocean and having Daddy, Papa AND Uncle Tom to play with was the icing on the cake! A trip to The Shoalhaven Zoo where Cooper got to cuddle a baby rabbit and pat a wallaby as well as seeing lions and monkeys was a hit and the big new Boongaree Nature Park in Berry was a fun way to while away a few hours too. Their favourite part of the day however was their icecream on the steps after dinner – simple fun that has been enjoyed throughout the generations! They were so knackered after running around outside all day they fell asleep as soon as their little heads hit the pillow! A lovely few days creating memories in The Meadow.

Our Garden….what can I say? She is a pleasure and a pain in equal quantities!! We are finally getting into areas we haven’t been able to access for almost 2 years due to the excess rain and some parts look more like the Amazon than The Meadow. The grass runners are as tall as me in some parts and have intertwined themselves amongst the plants seeking the sun and hiding from the weeders a.k.a me. Every morning I do a different section collecting a huge garden cart full of weeds and runners but it is a needle in a haystack to be honest. If there were a dozen of me maybe it would make a more obvious dent but alas ’tis only me and I’ll just have to persist. There have been a few little bonuses – a garlic crop for the first time since 2020 and the parrots left me enough plums to make some jam for the first time in 8 years!!! We finally have tomatoes and lettuce growing in the patch and we are in the process of reinvigorating the soil in there, turning it, weeding it, feeding it and mulching it as all the nutrients have been washed away over the past few years and we really need to start afresh. Even my old stone troughs have been cleaned out and refilled for a whole load of new herbs. So many of our established trees and shrubs are really struggling after all the rain. A few trees are totally dead, others have shed all their leaves despite it being summer. The most common theory is that the deeper roots all drowned and died leaving only the shallow roots closer to the surface which of course are now pretty dry leaving the trees parched – talk about out of the frying pan and into the fire! My hydrangeas have all suffered too – spindly with brown leaves and half dead flowers instead of the lush vibrant flowers that we usually have at this time of year. I’ve had to cut them all back by half, fertilise and mulch them and hope for the best…..fingers crossed…..

This resonated with me as it’s so true! For instance, who deemed dandelions to be weeds? Who is to say that agapanthus look prettier than onion weed in full flower? Before the invention of lawns, people praised the golden blossoms and lion-toothed leaves of the dandelion as a bounty of food, medicine and magic. Gardeners often weeded out the grass to make room for the dandelions. But somewhere in the twentieth century, humans decided that the dandelion was a weed. By definition a weed is a plant that is growing somewhere that it is not wanted but I think our main dislike of them is mostly down to the fact that they are the ultimate survivors and continuously pop up in the worst places just to drive us batty. Also, much as we LOVE meadows of wildflowers, most of us have a desire for a garden design that is planned and much more manicured and we sometimes pay big bucks for just that instead of letting things go wild and free!

When I was at Bunnings (for what felt like the 24th time this week) I saw a pineapple plant for sale. As a Brit I still find this kind of thing so exotic! A little pinch me moment that I live in a country on the other side of the world from where I was born with beautiful tropical plants and birds and wildlife! It made me think how very similar, yet different Aussies are from Brits – we have so much shared history and culture but we both have a distinct sense of humour that is quite different. I saw these phrases that mean absolutely nothing to people in other countries but often perfectly sum up a situation for Aussies better than anything else could! If you know you know!!