I love this picture of bucolic bliss with the chooks free ranging next to the cows, we also love the fact that we can enjoy the cattle without any of the work that goes with them! We have been grateful as always to be here especially when Sydney went into a Covid lockdown for 3 weeks. We were lucky here to only incur restrictions – masks and social distancing and 5 guests to your house – but the ripple effect from Sydney on our little town has been huge. It happened just as school holidays began and of course that meant many, many cancelled bookings of accommodation, restaurants as well as the lost hordes of people that we generally see during school holidays visiting our retailers leaving many to reduce their opening hours and resort yet again to offering takeaway. We had several fun things planned that have all had to be cancelled including our annual Xmas in July weekend but so many people are doing it tough I can’t bring myself to have a whinge! Hopefully by Spring we will be on a path to opening up Australia as the country becomes vaccinated. I had my first one a few weeks ago and already feel I am better equipped if I came face to face with the virus and look forward to the day I can be fully jabbed and hopefully freer to book some overseas trips, especially to the UK to see my family.

Luckily we managed to squish in one of the infamous long lunches hosted by The Old Church at Milton before the lockdown came into force. This one held a rather special place in their heart as it was a fundraiser for Ovarian Cancer, something their daughter went through at 30. She is one of the lucky ones that caught it early and she is now a spokesperson for the cause as many young women never imagine it will happen to them. She is a lovely young woman and it was fabulous that with the generous donations from many people they were able to raise $19500 to further the research being done by UNSW to get on top of this disease. The entertainment for the day was superb. Murray Hartman who is an amazing Bush Poet and raconteur had us laughing in the aisles with his very clever verses about life’s ups and downs and a great comedian Tahir Biljic who had us in stitches with his unique brand of humour and very kindly drove the 7 hours round trip to contribute to the afternoon. News of the lockdown came through the marquee like Chinese Whispers, a ripple up and down the rows as people’s phones beeped and rang alerting everyone to the new stay at home orders starting a mere 2 hours later! The band had barely begun to play when we all had to pack up and head home. The important stuff had been done though and we had had a great day to boot.

Winter is in full throttle here. We wake to white frosty lawns that crackle underfoot as we walk to let the chooks out in the morning, our breath blowing great plumes of steam. Almost daily we see firewood deliveries and the evening air is perfumed with wood smoke. Most days however we have blue skies and sunshine and by 10am it can be warm enough in the sun to be in a tee shirt but inside the house its cold and a two layer minimum is necessary until we light the fire in the afternoon! The veranda is THE place to be and 5 minutes out there warms you better than one hour in the aircon. It has to be my favourite place in our house no matter what time of the year but especially in Winter.

I think Marilyn must be the number one fan of this blog. She has never failed to read it and leave a comment, she loves reading the stories of our country shenanigans and seeing our little family expanding. A happier, shinier person you couldn’t wish to meet. Her positivity got her through breast cancer a decade ago and through it she discovered she had a talent which then became a business helping others through guided meditation and teaching relaxation techniques. She loved music and singing, travelling everywhere she possibly could, she believed in the strength of friendship and family and the power of the Universe. Thus it came as a cruel blow a couple of years ago when she was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease. She fought it and then accepted it in her own inimitable style despite hating it and the restrictions it brought her. Covid certainly didn’t help. Her only son was living in England and she had rented a house for 3 months to coincide with the birth of her grandson but it was not to be. Luckily the kids managed to get jobs in Australia and returned at Christmas to spend some precious time with her and she finally got to cuddle her grandson. Sadly she lost her battle last week and she has left a big hole in the Universe. A shock to us all but also a blessing to be released from such an insidious disease that steals your body whilst your mind remains fully functional. We will miss her smile and her company. I will personally miss her encouragement which she gave me constantly and hope one day to fulfill some of her suggestions to me.

This is a rare picture of Australian parrots in the snow! Their striking colours contrasting beautifully against the white background as they search for some treats on snow laden branches in an inland town during the big polar blast experienced here last week. The lowest June temperatures in 123 years apparently and we have never been so grateful for the all encompassing warmth of our woodfire. Somehow nothing else warms a house up quite like it. The air con makes it comfortable enough but no where near as cosy and despite it needing a bit of effort (ordering the wood, then stacking and moving it) it totally makes winter an enjoyable season for us! I’m making the most of waking up later as it doesn’t get light until 6.30ish rather than 4.30 of mid summer and by 4pm the sun has sunk behind the escarpment and it’s pitch black by 5pm! We eat dinner earlier as it literally feels like 9pm by 6 and we indulge in some Netflix or my current fave program on Amazon Prime is Jeremy Clarkson’s Farm which is a scream. To give you an inkling his farm is called “Diddly Squat” which is what he reckons he’s going to make from it! The program is all about the trials and tribulations of farming of which there are many – definitely worth a watch! Jeremy’s rather gormless/gloomy face as he realises he’s made yet another farming faux pas just cracks me up! 😂

I love this word and the way it sums up something intangible that some people feel, the need some of us have to upsticks and move to another country or to try our hand at farming because we feel a connection to the land. Feelings that may seem unfounded but stir deep within us and have no apparent logical beginning or end. The sea calls to many and to others the green of pasture land or a stream running though the woods and is the yearning we call home or Hiraeth.

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Home is also where family comes together and for this June long weekend we had Sam, Liv and the boys down to stay for 3 nights which was lovely. Oliver’s first trip to The Meadow and he was such a good little pumpkin, literally eating, smiling, blowing raspberries and sleeping! Cooper was very happy to be back and made good use of all the facilities available to him! Cooking Rara toast, pasta and eggs in the cubby house kitchen was high on the list and helping Papa with the chickens became a ‘must not miss’ morning routine. He loved picking oranges straight from the tree and he and Papa shared some special moments whilst peeling them while a certain little Choccy dog looked on hopefully!

As the never ending highway upgrade is happening right at the end of our lane we managed to get our ‘digger’ mad grandson up close and personal with a huge one currently not being used. On seeing it he threw his arms open wide declaring he was excited!! He was thrilled to “touch it” and “feel it” I love how easy it is to make a 2 year old happy sometimes!

So now the house is a little empty and the pantry no longer full of the baked goodies that tend to come with the arrival of visitors and I am ready with a LONG list of things to do. I know Spring is the traditional time to clear out cupboards and clean but somehow I always feel more inclined in Winter when its blowing a gale outside and I’m snuggled up indoors as opposed to a beautiful Summer’s day when I’d rather be walking the dog on the beach! Thus the list and this includes a few little jobs I’ve had in the back of my head since we moved in – changing the surround to the front door is one of them. It currently sports a yellowy coloured reinforced type glass which doesn’t let in much light to the hall so I’m thinking of changing it to proper glass, perhaps with an etched border or something to give a nod to the age of the house. Some research and pricing is necessary before I get too carried away. The same applies for another little project – to change the hearth tiles around the two older fireplaces which are cracked and also a bit boring. The trouble with little projects is it’s hard to get someone in for a small job unless they have a small gap between jobs for the big boys so I’ll just have to have everything ready to go for that window of opportunity! The other task is to rearrange the artwork in the bedrooms. We have changed the furniture around since we moved in and now the art looks out of whack as a result. The trouble is as soon as you move something you leave holes behind that need plugging/painting and then the paint looks weird next to the old paint and you end up re-painting the whole room!!! Watch this space!!

Steam rises from the cows as they lie on the dewy grass, the remnants of the morning mist hangs low in the dips of the hills like splodges of fairy floss and the leaves are falling from the trees creating a crunchy golden carpet underfoot. This is Autumn in The Meadow. It’s been quite a chilly one this year with an early start to buy firewood, unearth the electric blankets and generally cosy up. It seems crazy that just a few weeks ago the weather was warm enough for us to be in the garden in tee shirts and even to enjoy a meal outside! Luckily this coincided with a visit from our Tassie girls, Lauren working remotely meant she could work from here as long as I could provide childcare which I undertook gladly. We had some lovely days together with Miss Myla making me MANY cups of tea and toast in the cubby house, walks down the lane to see the cows and the horses, art work of every possible persuasion (I now have playdough of various colours inserted into several rugs!!) She absolutely LOVED feeding Bailey every night and her little face just shone with pride as she made Bailey sit and wait before she gave her the magic instruction to eat! Such power!! Her other favourite thing was waiting for Papa to come home in the afternoon and for her to help “drive” his truck, occasionally leaning out of the window and singing “la-la-la-la” rather operatically to the cows as she passed by! It was just so nice to spend some consistent time with them and do the simple every day things together, it helps us cement a bond with her that she remembers even if its a few months in between visits. Facetime certainly helps too, we even managed a call to Gigi in England so they could see each other in the flesh! Wonderful technology indeed and we’re so lucky that at 85 Mum is embracing of all of it!

On the weekends we managed a couple of trips to the beach, some local walks and playgrounds and a particularly lovely trip to Kangaroo Valley where we ate a picnic next to the river while Bailey swam and did her happy dance filled with the pure joy of it all. While she was here we also managed to celebrate that they bought a house! They have been looking for a while but the housing situation in Hobart has gone completely mad in the past 18 months and things were selling within hours of going on the market and for up to 20% more than the asking price, all of which was a bit nightmarish for our 1st time home buyers! After several very ‘close but no cigar’ moments they saw this house online and Berry had to go and see it alone, videoing it all for Loz to see and then ultimately becoming the lucky winners without her even having set foot inside! It’s a very exciting time for them after more than a decade of living overseas in furnished apartments to finally be able to furnish and decorate their own home. They will rent it out for a year as it’s all a bit too hectic now with the new baby arriving in 2.5 months and it will give them some time to work out their plans to renovate it. It’s hard to believe that this was their last trip to The Meadow before the new baby arrives and things will no doubt be slightly more hectic next trip with 4 kids under three joining us for Christmas!

We enjoyed another night in Sydney with Sam and Liv before she caught the plane home and the little cousins had fun together dancing around the lounge room and playing musical statues as well as plenty of joint artistic endeavours! Baby Ollie was again the star of the show, being the first thing Myla would request to see in the morning! He is 2 months old already and a good little bub, luckily very happy to eat and sleep and is starting to become his own gorgeous little person. I am looking forward to them coming down to stay for the June long weekend, this is the longest we have ever gone without them visiting but now that he is starting to sleep through the night hopefully they can relax and enjoy some time away and a change of scenery and Cooper can be reunited with his bestest fur friend Bailey.

Apart from the family fun we have been kept busy with our new baby chicks who are now getting rather confident in the manner of teenagers and are brave enough to mix with the other chooks but still run to Mum’s side and answer her clucking if they sense she isn’t happy. They are big enough to do nearly everything now and are 3/4 feathered but they still snuggle up under Peaches wings at night in one of the nesting boxes. They are safe and warm in there with her and it will still be another month at least I imagine before they roost with the whole gang. We haven’t had any eggs in weeks but today there was a freshly laid egg for us when we went out to check on them so fingers crossed they will all steadily get back into the habit as it has been most strange to have added eggs to my shopping list lately!

The next job on the to do list is to prune everything back in the garden. Once the leaves are finally off we can prune the fruit trees, wisteria, hydrangeas and attack the mulberry tree. This involves sawing it off at the top of the trunk before it branches out, leaving a totem pole from which new supple branches will grow which we can tie to the trunk forming a lollypop type shape which means the fruit will be available to us and not the birds (the inside part anyway!) and make it much more manageable. My roses are still blooming despite the cold end to Autumn although they are looking a teeny bit sad and leggy so I am hanging on until July to cut them right back. The gardenias are happier than ever and they have been joined by the camellias of various colours so there is still a bit of interest in the garden for now.

With Winter’s imminent arrival my thoughts are turning to slow cooked meats and curries, oozy cheesy bakes, home made pies with flaky pastry and hot puddings with custard! A salad just doesn’t seem to cut it at this time of year and after a few hours working in the garden there is nothing better than a bowl of hot soup with some fresh bread from the bakery. Thank goodness we live in a climate that has 4 distinct seasons so we can enjoy all the different foods at the appropriate time meaning we never really get fed up with any of it! After a summer of barbeques and chilled rosé it is so nice to come inside, light the fire and enjoy some more substantial food with a nice glass of red! Vive la difference!

We are at that stage of the year when the colours begin to look more like Scotland than Australia and the leaves are crunching underfoot as I walk to the washing line and the chookhouse. The nights are cool and we have upgraded to the winter duvet and the electric blankets are about to be brought out of storage. Day time temps are still mild from 19-24 degrees and this creates the most spectacular morning mists. I awoke today to a complete whiteout and lumbering through the mist came huge hulking shapes passing our back fence in a steady stream. That they were cows became apparent as the sun rose and the heat burnt off the mist, so much less menacing in the daylight and already steadily ripping and chewing the grass in the paddocks. A chorus of silent chewing as they go about their daily task of eating their body weight in grass – they need every minute of the daylight at this time of year to get their necessary calories. I love their collective concentration on the task at hand just occasionally looking up if we venture too close to the fence or a certain chocolate dog cheekily barks at them whilst running past. The younger cows are very curious and will run across the paddock to see if we have anything special for them and will follow us until they are stopped by a fence, they remind me of a pack of large over excited dogs.

It has been a lovely few weeks with a trip to Sydney for a surprise 60th birthday lunch for my Sister in Law who is here from Switzerland. Her sons and their partners did a great job of rallying some of her oldest friends and family from far and wide to come together for a lovely sunny afternoon in Bronte where we enjoyed a seafood and champagne extravaganza in her honour. Lots of the cousins hadn’t seen each other for 4 years or longer so it was a very special afternoon for many reasons. I loved that she had absolutely no idea that it was going to be anything other than a lunch with her sons, we managed to capture a few pics of her shock when she arrived!

It was a great opportunity to see the latest additions to the tribe and for Aunty Sue-Ellen to grab some rare cuddles with the littlies. As she and I know to our cost, the decision to live in a country that is not your birth country and without your extended family on hand, means we miss out on a lot of these kind of events and have learned to grow a thick skin or we would be forever a babbling emotional mess, Covid has upset the apple cart further by taking away what was basically an exercise in saving the money and then taking the time to visit our families overseas and has made everything sooooo much harder to plan anything for the foreseeable future. We both try not to think about it too much as it would really be upsetting especially as we have parents in their 80s and 90s and we feel precious time is being wasted. 2023 will hopefully be the year we can once again safely plan a trip to Europe.

This lunch gave us a great excuse to have a quick catchup with our little grandsons. Oliver is growing fast and is so far a dream baby and Cooper really couldn’t be any sweeter as a big brother. He gives him little cuddles and pats him gently with the odd kiss to his head and has shown no jealousy at all so far which is always a relief! He has however started to escape from his cot, even from within a sleeping bag he can climb out and waddle down the corridor to Mum and Dads room. Great timing with a 5 week old and already with limited sleep, the last thing they need is a midnight wanderer!! Here he is caught in the act via the baby monitor!!

A week later Myla and Lauren arrived from Tasmania for a two week trip. As she works remotely she can easily work from here but Rara has to provide the daycare that Myla would normally go to 4 times a week! We made the most of a Sydney Airport pickup to stay in Sydney so that Aunty Loz could meet little Oliver and Myla and Cooper could reconnect. They are really so close together in age they are almost like twins, one minute cuddling and kissing and the next proclaiming the same toy to be “mine” and having a bit of a Mexican stand off! It works well with both of them having their midday nap and bedtime at the same time so basically life is either STOP or GO depending on the time of day!!

We have some new baby chicks! After thinking that the eggs Peaches was sitting on were not viable the MOTH went to take them away after 3 weeks but when he lifted a squawking Peaches off the nest there was a little fluffy chick and he could see that another egg had signs of activity with cheeping from within! So we are very happy that two of the 6 hatched and it is such a different experience from when we bred chicks in an incubator. It’s fascinating to see how Peaches looks after them and they became independent far more quickly than those born without a Mum to teach them. They follow her around copying her every move, scratching up the straw to find treats and now we let them outside every afternoon (separated from the other bigger chickens) they bury themselves in the dust with Mum as if it was the best fun in the world. My Swiss SIL has named them Citron and Plume meaning yellow and feather and I think it’s just perfect. Now let’s just hope that they are both girls……pleeeeeeeease?

So Rara is now girding her loins for a very busy couple of weeks of Myla daycare and hoping that the weather gods are kind to us so we can play outside a lot although the forecast is not looking too good……HELP, wish me luck!!!

All eyes are on Master Oliver Jack Cameron, our third grandchild, who arrived in the world on March 23rd and is the cutest little bundle of sweetness. Just 3kg and with a head of dark curly hair and a calm personality (so far anyway!) Big brother Cooper was very intrigued with the new arrival wanting to “hug Oviler” and “pat it”! He has been very gentle and loving and seeing him “help’ Sam bring him home from the hospital made my heart melt. Seems like just yesterday that Sam was helping his own Dad bring his baby sister home…..how the circle turns!

It has been a very busy few weeks as we hopped up to Sydney to see the newest addition and I stayed to help with Cooper and be there while Sam and Liv spent some time in hospital with Oliver and shared some time with family and friends basking in the euphoria that envelops you for those first few days. There was a post partum hiccup involving a hospital stay for Liv but now she is home and well and they are starting their next phase of life as a family of four. As those of us who have multiple children know it is a whole new ball game with the 2nd child. You can’t spend hours just gazing at them, cuddling them and sleeping when they do…there is a toddler in the house! Sam takes Cooper as much as he can when he’s not working and Liv’s Mum lives nearby which is a godsend! I’m looking forward to some newborn cuddles when I make a quick visit this week. He has already changed with his little folds of skin plumping out nicely and those cheeks are just gorgeous!!

Easter, which previously was going to be spent home alone, turned into a great weekend with our long term friends and Toms godparents coming down for the weekend and Tom was also able to get away for a few days. The weather was fantastic and we literally ate breakfast and lunch outdoors which was a plus this far into the year! A golf red letter day where Little Bear finally beat Big Bear, some nice meals and some good wines (the cellar is finally being raided for these events) beach walks, a quiz night and a bonfire and we were all happy bunnies! With no small people here this year there were no decorations or egg hunts but that will make it even more special for when they do come! The Tassie Crew made it by the skin of their teeth to Queensland, flying the day after the lockdown ended and are enjoying some lovely beach weather and catching up with their family for the 1st time in 18 months! Special times all round.

The Hen House is confused. Just before Easter we decided our Rooster Boris had to go. He hadn’t been at all aggressive to us but he had a huge fetish for our two oldest chooks and gave them the rounds of the kitchen morning, noon and night. The poor girls would run as fast as their little legs could carry them to get away from him – literally getting air and launching themselves at the fences in a feeble attempt to escape him. They had lost 3/4 of their feathers due to stress and were looking severely bedraggled. They are our two oldest Australorps, not even laying anymore and I had no idea why he picked on them so. They are my fond favourites as they always come up to me wherever I am gardening and “talk” to me through the fence! They have always been very social and gentle and we couldn’t let Boris beat them up like that so he has been let go. It breaks my heart every time I have to let a chook go and we just don’t need the guilt so that’s it – NO MORE ROOSTERS!! Having said that our smallest hen Peaches has been sitting on 6 eggs now for about 3 weeks. She started just before he left so we presumed that some of them would be fertilised and she has been so patient sitting on her clutch of eggs through heatwaves and now a cold snap. She only gets up for a few minutes morning and evening to eat and drink and have a quick preen and then she’s back to her box. Sadly we can see no activity at all and by now you would expect to see a pipped egg where the chick has had a tentative peck for freedom. In another 24 hours if she hasn’t given up we will have to remove the eggs as it means they are not viable. It’s a tough life one way and another in the hen house.

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We had a lovely catch-up last Saturday with my sister-in-law who has been really enjoying being out and about in Sydney after doing her 2 weeks in quarantine. She lives in Switzerland but her two sons live here so she has been missing them plus her 94 year old Dad and her siblings and the 2 weeks were worth it to now be able to see everyone. Luckily the weather has been beautiful since she escaped and after a LONG winter in the northern hemisphere and a bout of Covid she has immersed herself in coastal walks and beach swims and is thoroughly loving the blue skies and sunshine. Rightly or wrongly somehow all is well with the world when the sun shines! We had a great day, and a rather adventurous kick of the rugby ball gave Jason an opportunity to see the world from our roof – it all looks so different from another angle! Hopefully she will come back down for a day or two soon before heading back to her other life.

This is really one of the most beautiful times of the year with cool nights conducive to snuggling under the doona but with days that are still too hot to sit on the veranda for your mid morning cuppa! The leaves are starting to turn colour and the fruit trees are already bare, new views have opened up where once there were thick leaves and it won’t be long until we will see in the big trees all the birds nests built in summer that were so well hidden, like a little town we never knew existed. Once again it is a pleasure to walk the dog, with no flies and bugs to spoil the party and cooler temperatures mean we don’t have to be up and at it by 6.30am to walk before it gets too hot. Autumn is a gentle time of the year before the hibernation of winter, a last hurrah of golden sunlight and outdoor dining before we turn our thoughts towards firewood, electric blankets and more robust food. As I prepare the veggie patch for it’s first season off in 6 years I feel as if I am tucking it into bed for a few months, allowing it to rest and regenerate and giving us time to nurture it’s soil until next Spring when hopefully it will have appreciated our care and will give us bounteous crops of tomatoes and summer veg in return.

We were thrilled when our neighbours recently scored a trip in a friend’s helicopter and took this aerial shot of our house. It has a totally different perspective from above and makes me very glad we kept all the various outhouses cohesive with the commonality of the white weatherboard making it pleasing to the eye. I also hadn’t realised we had quite so many trees but am very grateful that we are a bit protected from those horrible westerly winds that love to whip across the paddocks in winter!

It is quite female dominated here in The Meadow. Myself, the Choccy Drop and ten hens definitely outweigh the MOTH and our new gender bender rooster Boris. Chanel, my sweet elegant little chick who turned into Charlie and is now officially Boris as he morphed into a giant rooster over the past few weeks! So the chook house is once again a place of hormones and rape and crowing at dawn. God help me!! If he gets aggro like Atticus did he will not be welcome to stay but for the moment he is quite shy and is no immediate threat to my safety! Last night however both the ‘men’ in my life proved to be painful. The MOTH was snoring at a decibel rendering sleep impossible (to be fair this is a rare occurrence nowadays) so I transferred into the guest room at 1.30am and was in a deep sleep when the reedy warbling of a juvenile rooster sounded from across the garden waking me pre dawn. The boys basically ganged up on me and ruined my attempt at a good nights sleep. Luckily our bedroom is on the other side of the house so I cannot usually hear the young buck greeting the day.

It has been a busy couple of weeks as we attempted to get the garden under control. After a summer of La Nina and her huge rainfalls and mild temperatures everything has gone completely crazy and even if we spent three hours pulling weeds and grass runners out we would literally only have covered a few square feet. It was like painting the Sydney Harbour Bridge…nothing ever got even remotely finished and the whole task became overwhelming so we called in the cavalry in the form of professional help! Within minutes of the trucks arriving there were guys getting stuck into the flower beds, working methodically as a team they soon had things looking spic and span and after 2 days with 5 workers we are officially weeded, mulched and some areas have even been poisoned in an attempt to dissuade the deepset weeds from reappearing. In between we continue to plant ground covers to take up the space the weeds would otherwise occupy and it looks just lovely. However a week later I can already see evidence of life poking above the mulch and as we are almost underwater with the incessant rain it is impossible to get out there and do anything right now. I shall have to make it a priority when I get back from Sydney that’s for sure. For now the biggest challenge is keeping our chooks from scratching up all the precious mulch as they think it has been provided for their pleasure and cannot understand why we chase them away. It means we have to have a sentry when they are let out in the late afternoon as even ten minutes unsupervised they cause absolute havoc!

This is Cooper’s ‘smile for the camera’! He is starting to be aware of it now and if he is in the right mood will bestow you with one of his special grins. It is going to be so interesting to see what he thinks about his new baby brother next week but we will be there to pay him some extra attention while Mum is in hospital and spoil him a bit so hopefully he won’t feel left out when everyone is talking about and cuddling the new bub. He is a caring little boy and I think he will make a super big brother. I’m so excited to see what our next little grandson will look like and what sort of character he will be, special times indeed!

It has been quite a week one way and another. Good news from the UK where my family is being vaccinated as we speak. With everything as dire as it is in the northern hemisphere the vaccine is giving them hope of some loosening of the restrictions that have been in place since October. Six months of isolation for my lovely Mum which she has borne with patience and grace despite the fact she literally only leaves her flat once every 10 days to do her grocery shopping. Thank goodness for the phone, decent TV and her love of reading to keep her from going mad. Six months with no hugs or company to share a laugh with is a LONG time and with her 2nd vaccine being administered next week I really hope she will soon be able to have a bit more of a life outside her four walls. My Sister and Niece have both had their first jab and as the numbers are finally heading in the right direction in the UK lets hope the scientists have it right and we can knock this bloody virus out of the ball park. In the meantime Wayne’s sister has flown in from her home in Switzerland and after 18 months is very keen to see her sons, siblings and especially her 94 year old Dad. She is in quarantine for 2 weeks but as she has already had Corona she should have some protection against any errant germs that sometimes float around these hotels. We are very much looking forward to seeing her once she is out and hope to host her down here in The Meadow at some stage. So with the advent of Spring in the northern hemisphere in conjunction with the vaccine inspiring hope we can slowly dream about reuniting and after the last 12 months everyone will have so much more appreciation for EVERYTHING and hopefully will never take the simple things for granted again!

We finally boarded a plane to visit Lauren in Tasmania, masks were the only requirement to go interstate and a small price to pay to be travelling again! They are living in Lauderdale, a part of Hobart I had never been to before but it is in a lovely area and their house has the most amazing 260 degree views of the ocean and there are two beaches within walking distance so a fabulous location for our newly repatriated Aussies and no better spot is there than their deck for a quick sausage sizzle in the sunshine! We arrived the day before my birthday so we gave ourselves permission to have a weekend of fun and food, lunching at various wineries and enjoying a night out on the town courtesy of the kids to celebrate. There is no shortage of food and wine in Hobart and there is also a plethora of people with a home brewery or distillery making bijou gins, beers and ciders so we were spoiled for choice! The boys were pleasantly surprised when they really enjoyed their couple of cocktails prior to dinner and can now understand why girls love them so much! A good time was had by all and a big thanks to Loz and Tom for my special treat xx

This time last year we had just heard the first whisperings of a virus coming out of China, another Sars or bird flu we presumed and carried on with our lives never realising for a moment that everything we took for granted was about to come to an end. 12 months later we know alot more and are no longer under the illusion that it will all be over in a few months, speaking more in terms of years now until we can travel and holiday, even live and work the same way as before. Knowledge is power as they say and as we now know how very clever our adversary is we just have to keep doing the obvious things to keep one step ahead of it and hope for the best. And boy oh boy won’t we appreciate it when things return and so much the more for having been deprived of it!

We have been enjoying this cooler and wetter summer as it makes working in the garden so much more pleasant (and also means less watering by hand) but it has also meant that everything has gone bananas and is growing like we live in the tropics rather than the south coast! The MOTH could honestly mow twice a week if he had the time or the inclination and the plants have gone berserk too. I think it is a season of abundance and we feel like we are in an animal sanctuary lately with babies of all decriptions everywhere we look. Baby lorikeets, baby peewees, baby rabbits, beautiful green frogs have taken up residence in my mailbox, the acoustics amplifying their throaty calls to Opera type volumes at night and we feel very lucky to have so much life happening all around us and reminding us life is good no matter what!

My nephew and his wife popped down for a lovely 24 hour visit on one of our more summery days and we enjoyed catching up with them and eating al fresco, enjoying a bonfire and a beer and a swim in the pool – all of which have been rare this summer in between all the showers! It’s so lovely to have my now adult Nieces and Nephews nearby and be able to offer them a change from their city life when they fancy it. The amount of visitors to The Meadow has shrunk lately as our friends also become Grandparents and the weekends are more taken up with family events and responsibilities. I’m guessing the next wave of visitors will occur as everyone starts to retire and their weeks are freed up a little more although maybe then golf and holidays away will take over instead! We had a very special little visitor a couple of weeks ago when Cooper came to stay for a few days. His Mum and Dad had managed to squeeze in a couple of days away for a Babymoon ahead of baby #2 arriving and we seized the opportunity to have him to ourselves! He is a good little boy with an inquisitive nature so it is quite easy to keep him entertained however he has the attention span of a gnat so it often took me longer to set up an activity than the time he spent doing it!!!! However Papa’s tractor and a pair of gardening gloves can keep him enthralled for hours so it’s just a case of finding the right things to do! I was suitably exhausted after a few days but so happy we could help out for a change. (FYI…Bailey was also exhausted after many many many Cooper cuddles) Our Coops turns two this coming week and is turning into a real little character who I think will be a lovely big brother….watch this space!

The frivolities and celebration of Xmas and Summer holidays eventually came to an end at the beginning of February and many people have turned to living with a tad less excess and more healthy eating and improved fitness. It isn’t too hard when we are surrounded by such tasty produce and I have found that the more appealing and colourful a dish is the more I am inclined to eat it! I challenge anyone to think this is boring…..!! The cooler weather has made a daily walk with Bailey a pleasure and we alternate between the beach, the river and the countryside for our various outings. As my recently tweaked meds seem to be working and are finally allowing me to breathe deeper I am attempting to increase the hills I walk up and although I am still out of breath when I do it I don’t feel I am in imminent danger of collapsing anymore so here is to a year of improving fitness and a few new challenges as well as eating a rainbow and trying new things. We may be down but we are definitely not out!!

With only one true lockdown under our belt and that spent with 5 adults and a baby we never actually got to the stage everyone was talking about – THE BIG CLEAN UP. Finally in the past few weeks we have actually attacked the garage, throwing out all those little cans of paint kept “just in case” and old crockery/pots/lampshades/sheets that you think the kids may want (incorrect assumption as they like to buy everything new!) and the odd box of paperwork from a business we sold 8 years ago! It felt good so we kept going and my office now looks quite zen and my bookshelves have been pared right back and are looking a little bit less ‘mad professor’ than before. I even cleaned out my emails – taking me well and truly down the rabbit hole of things that happened up to 15 years ago and reminding me of things both good and bad. I have the bit between my teeth now and have my wardrobe firmly in my sights. No need to keep all those tailored outfits and high heels from the old days at The Races or those black tie Balls that used to be all the rage. Not only do we not go to those kind of functions anymore they probably dont even fit me! So it’s time to be a bit ruthless and have a big chuck out and it does make you feel lighter and brighter when you pare things back. I could never be a minimalist and I am a very emotional and nostalgic person (ask the kids) therefore it goes without saying that there are still some folders and boxes with “special” things kept for prosterity and they bring back memories of things I would never otherwise remember so it is definitely worth it. It did however take me an entire day to go through the memory cupboard so I can totally relate to this…..

Well 2021 is beginning a lot like 2020 ended…full of scary news, uncertainty and an acute inability to plan anything more than 24 hours in advance. We in Australia are very lucky to be both in mid summer and relatively covid free. Our lives are almost normal with the exception of not being able to travel anywhere and being reduced to takeaway or reduced seating at many restaurants due to insufficient space to be covid safe. I am one of many here who have family back in the UK, Europe or USA who seem to have a case of Covid Guilt, hardly daring to say what we have been up to as it sounds like we are gloating and uncaring as life elsewhere is a very grim affair. After the Northern Beaches flurry which of course managed to coincide with Christmas we have luckily managed to squash the virus for now but it is only a matter of time before it pokes up it’s ugly head again so we are far more prepared now for any last minute changes, shut downs and cancellations and almost incredulous if our meagre travel plans actually come to fruition. Our own backyard is ALL that is open to us right now and we are pretty darned lucky that we have an AMAZING one! Local tourism is through the roof albeit open to last minute changes as State borders close willy nilly and airlines change their policies overnight. Plan, and indeed book travel, but do not be surprised if it all ends up on the back burner AGAIN….and 2022 is now the year touted as being the year we can travel overseas again. I’m not sure what we will see when we get back there to be honest? Will we still be able to sit in an ancient piazza sipping prosecco and watching the world go by without a care in the world? Will there still be companies to take us adventuring down rivers and up mountains? Will it be a different world that we see when we get back there again? Time will tell I guess….

Meanwhile back in The Meadow we were lucky to be untouched by the latest virus outbreak which is a total miracle as our little town has been inundated with Sydneysiders ever since the schools broke up for the summer holidays. The queue for the “famous Berry Donut Van” stretches endlessly down the main street and there are lines to get into the shops. All this is great for the small businesses that depend on this to get them through the year and in the wake of last year’s bush fires to potentially keep them afloat so I am happy for them but it also keeps me away from the hub, most probably venturing back after the school holidays end when I can shop in peace! Instead we head out to the river or the beach where we can all spread out and enjoy the beautiful scenery that we call home. We managed a couple of hours in between the showers when Sam and Liv finally made it down after the lockdown eased and we had one very happy toddler and Choccy Drop! Nothing better than splashing around in a river!

I’d like to pay homage to a special little tree that we love in our garden called a Crepe Myrtle. It is a relatively small tree perfect for suburban gardens . Believed to have originated in China, it is a tree for all seasons. In summer it produces vibrant flowers of pink,purple,white and almost red, which last for up to three months, and in autumn it provides great leaf colour in shades of yellow, orange and scarlet. It also has incredible bark which gets better with age, as the trunk develops a wonderful gnarled appearance, and the bark peels off in summer to give a gorgeous mottled look with patches of pink, grey and brown. All of this makes it a winner in the garden, also it seems to be used more and more in streetscapes as they rarely grow bigger than 6m and don’t take over the pavements in which they are planted. Their branching habit makes them perfect for shading plants that hate the sun and I have them guarding my hydrangeas! If you had to choose just one tree to have in a garden I would thoroughly recommend this one. This one was on the property when we arrived and it is a joy to behold every summer!

As some of you know we had the Newcastle franchise for Harry’s Cafe de Wheels for around 7 years and we were totally delighted when we recently saw one opening near us – a mere 2 kilometres away in fact! It was one of the things we missed when we moved away from Sydney, not because we ate there all the time but because it really did hit the spot when you needed it most and there has always been so much care and attention paid to the Harry’s pie it tastes homemade! Their ethos hasn’t changed over the years and they are still totally delicious! The menu has now expanded to include burgers but we can never get past the pie or the chilli dog! So if you are travelling up or down the coast and you are a bit peckish give it a whirl folks! Our other favourite pie shop – Haydens in Ulladulla – is just a bit too far away from us (75 mins) to make it a viable option but if you are holidaying in Mollymook do not leave without going there!

There was a charming little story floating around a few weeks ago about a little pigeon called Joe and it gave everyone a reason to smile and stop talking about you-know-what for a while. The story goes like this…..

Mr Celli-Bird (yup that’s his real name) a nice unassuming man living in the outer suburbs of Melbourne noticed a rather scrappy looking little pigeon had taken up temporary residence in his garden so he fed him some bird seed and expected him to fly away but he hung around. Mr CB noticed a leg ring and decided to google the number which told him it was from a bird in America who went missing from a race in Oregon back in October!! He called him Joe after the incoming US president Joe Biden and the story was broadcast on the local radio. It didn’t take long for the story to spread and it was a feat that won hearts around the world, that a common pigeon named Joe had flown 13,000 kilometres from the United States and had landed, weak but alive, in an Australian backyard. A story of hope winning against adversity and just what people needed to hear.

Mr. Celli-Bird thought it was all a bit of good fun, but the Australian authorities had a different view. The Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment said Joe “posed a direct biosecurity risk to Australian bird life and our poultry industry.” and it intended to euthanize him. Fortunately, there was a twist in the tale. The Oregon race organisers told Mr Celli-Bird that the Oregon bird did not have Joe’s bell-bottom style feathers around his feet. It seems that Joe will be spared because his leg tag was found to be fake (goodness knows what sort of person fakes a pigeon leg ring?). Pigeon Rescue Melbourne volunteer Kirsten Macleod says Joe is not a racing pigeon. He is a ‘Turkish tumbler’, bred to do tricks and not fly long distance so Joe is probably Australian after all and will get to live. Mr CB is relieved. And Joe is definitely on a good wicket. Mr Celli-Bird says Joe is not a pet but he did buy him bird seed, and the pigeon is welcome to bathe in his water feature and potter in the garden as long as he likes. He won’t be buying a cage. “As long as he’s happy to stay there I’ll let him stay and if he chooses to fly off, he can do that too.” Lucky Joe I reckon and a happy ending!

So as we approach the end of January there are changes afoot.The vaccine is starting to be rolled out in the Northern hemisphere, the only thing they are clinging to as the numbers soar and gloominess rules. No real end in sight and as they haven’t been quaranting or stopping people flying in and out I really can’t see how things will change in a hurry but there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon and they are counting down to Spring and hopefully a new start. We have a new guy in the White House with a more measured approach to the science of it all and hopefully his calmness will give the American people the balm they need after all the division of the past four years and he will steady the boat. He has a huge job ahead of him. Fingers crossed he can make a difference. C’ya Trumpy, can’t say I’m sorry to see you go but good luck with the new venture……

Well it’s been a year that no one will forget in a hurry that’s for sure and one we will remember for many reasons both good and bad. The big question is will 2021 be any different? Things in the Northern Hemisphere are shaping up to be as bad or even worse than 2020 and they are pinning all their hopes on the vaccine. We in Australia are just lucky to have contained things a little better and be in a position to wait and see what happens up north before we also vaccinate the masses. I know a lot of hope is being pinned on the efficacy of the vaccine and it seems that international travel will not happen without proof of having had it so I guess that will sort the men from the boys! As someone who loves plans and lists and looking forward to things the whole virus situation has forced me to instead enjoy what is in front of me instead of the anticipation of what lies ahead and that is not a bad thing. We have all slowed down, appreciated our local environment and reconnected with our friends and families that are far away, bound by a mutual experience and a sense of gratefulness for having people to care for and to be cared by them in return. We are all in this together after all. Life has a habit of continuing on though, babies are still arriving, houses being bought and new jobs started. Our homes have become our castle once more as we spend more time working from home so DIY and home renovations have gone through the roof. Exercise has taken off – any excuse to get out of the house has meant cycling, surfing, running etc have become flavour of the month (and is the much needed antidote to all the eating and drinking we have all been doing in lockdown!) and camping has once again been the family vacation of choice – the great outdoors to the rescue!

Christmas came to our little town despite everything. Half the population determined to party bigger and better than ever before as if to say “up yours” to Covid and the other half couldn’t quite get into it in the face of all that was happening. This was our year where the kids go to their partners families so we always knew it was going to be a small one just with Tom but there were plans for the Sydney crew to arrive on the 27th for a week and we would have a couple of nights of overlap. Covid however had a different idea and with Sam and Liv living on the Northern Beaches they sadly fell into the only area of Sydney to be locked down over this period. They were very lucky to be allowed to enjoy Xmas Day with Livs family as they were in the orange zone and not the red but I had a few friends that weren’t so lucky and had to rely on technology to see each other. Much better than 37 years ago when I landed in Sydney and had to queue up at Martin Place post office to place a call to the UK and even then it was just a 3 minute call!! Now we can see each other opening gifts, share a virtual meal or have a group video call all at the press of a button.

The three of us had a lovely Christmas day, enjoying some yummy food and rather too much wine, ending the day with a huge bonfire, music and dancing and a rather sloshed call to my Mum in the UK who at 84 was having her very 1st Christmas alone and was understandably a bit sad. She got through it of course and made the best of it as many others did but I know how much stead she places on family and it would have been a tough day for her.

Before the big day we got to spend a week with Loz and Myla before they flew off to Tassie to start their new life and we were lucky with the weather meaning we could play in the garden in the little paddling pool or the sandpit, enjoy the sand dunes at the beach or picnic on the river according to how we felt! I must admit to a twinge of regret as we packed them up from Canberra to once again live over the water and a plane trip away although it is of course Australia and only a fraction of the time that it used to take us to get to Asia to see them. As a family spread far and wide we always try to think of the positives and to be honest a week in Tassie every few months is definitely a pleasurable thought and I know it will give them the outdoor life that they love and want for their family to grow up in.

At the end of November my beautiful bookclub girls all got together at the gorgeous home of one of the gals and we celebrated our friendship, Christmas and the good riddance of 2020 over a delicious meal. It was doubly sweet for us all to be together after a year of being all over the place with our usual monthly meetings and we were very thankful for the whole tribe to be together for a few hours. Long term friendships are a gift, there is no pressure to be someone you are not and they are the people that have been there for the good times and the bad to support you and make you laugh when everything is going to the dog house. We are indeed lucky.

These past few months has seen our garden mature and start to fill in and become what we had originally envisaged. As the never ending weeds were still winning we decided to just plant loads more flowers and groundcover so there is no space for the pesky interlopers. It is working for the most part but the grass runners are omnipotent and I am definitely losing the battle with them, the only good thing is they are harder to see amongst the plants now! As all our planned visitors have been locked down I am going to use the next week or two to exert my authority over the garden and get it back into some semblance of order. In the meantime the waft of perfume from the gardenias cut for the house is heaven…..

I’m writing this on my 36th wedding anniversary. You get less for murder some people say. It really seems weird when I look back at the photos of that day – I’m still that girl in there somewhere but with so many rich experiences added in. Life in a new country, 3 kids that I adore and now grandchildren to be silly with and love to bits. I’ve had some great jobs with super people and have a large and wonderful friendship group so I forgive the wrinkles and the grey hairs and think how lucky I am and that 36 years is a pretty good achievement! Of course in true 2020 style it’s a public holiday, the restaurants are shut and a huge storm has dampened any ideas of sharing a bottle of wine somewhere picturesque with the MOTH but we are happy to snuggle up at home with a nice dinner and an episode of The Crown. Real life and not half bad….

Lizzie sums it up beautifully here (please excuse her language but 2020 has her reeling….)

So here is to the whole world being a better place next year, to optimism balanced with practicality in how we deal with this virus, a new appreciation for what we had and didn’t even realise and to our bodies, temples occasionally but often used and abused and still expected to do the right thing. Health is the new wealth folks! Thanks for following our story from The Meadow, we definitely don’t feel like the new kids on the block anymore but are still feeling grateful that we found this gorgeous little corner of the world to call our own. Happy New Year to you all.