Spring brings...

warm, breezy days,

busy buzzing bees,

bright flowers of every colour dazzling our senses, inciting squeals of delight,

sniffly noses from hayfever and flus

Freesia buds

runny noses and a diminishing supply of oranges

is sadly what September has brought us this year,

along with some delicious new growth in our garden

which makes me very happy...

new leaves unfurling on my propogated begonia

such an intense pink colour, almost fuscia

fresh new growth on my precious Children's Rose

I am From

Thou art thy mother's glass, and she in thee

Calls back the lovely April of her prime.
~William Shakespeare

Today is my mother's birthday.  She is away visiting her sister who is also celebrating her birthday today.  My aunty is 80 years old, she is 13 years my mother's elder.  Knowing they are celebrating getting older makes me reflect and think about where I am headed and where I am from. 

I recently read this post of Kellie's on Don't Look Now!  I thought it was lovely that she was from a similar place to me but never thought I'd write my own poem.  Then, at times unsuspecting, the poem sprouted and before I knew it my poetic juices were flowing and I had my own history penned.   So if you think you cannot, you will not, I encourage you to let go and see what might flow.  It is actually quite cathartic.  If you do write your own "I'm From" poem please let me know so I can join you in learning more about where you're from.  If you follow the links from Kellie's poem you will find the original from whence it came.

So here's a sneak peak of some of me.

I’m From

I’m from tireless pioneers, hard-working farmers and long dusty trails. From blacksoil plains, deceptive mirages and vast, tree-studded horizons.  From small country town, regional farming community and “townie vs cockie” the former is me!  From Mehi River, Gwydir River, where rivers meet. 

I’m from maternal ancestors trekking across seas, across lands; from England to South Australia, into northern New South Wales, up to central Queensland.  From sheep grazing, wheat farming then cotton as well. Corrugated iron sheds, blue-topped cotton modules, and seasonal “snowy” cotton lined roads.  From worshipping in a country church built by relatives of friends.

I’m from aesthetic beauty: flowers in the garden, arranged in vases, floral shows as well.  From cakes carefully decorated by my mother’s own hand, from embroidery, crochet, sewing, handmade.  Fixing loose threads on my clothing, “not the good scissors!”, stashes of fabric, buttons, binding and ribbons.  Always dressing well to go out.  From Sylvia’s fabrics, pattern hunting and fabric matching.

Paternally from Denmark to Australia, right into Queensland, freezing to heat.  From food production, apple orchards, vegetable growing and home baking.

From awkwardness, confusion; leadership and faith.  From silliness and laughter with my treasured brother and sister.   From independence and competence, achievement and success.

From “hugs and kisses”, “hugs and kisses” among siblings at the end of car journeys, upon arrival at our holiday destination, the “Uh-oh better go to bed” and “I wear my sunglasses at night, to keep my panties on tight” fun play with siblings.

Photo found at  www.Redbubble.com

I’m from the bright yellow daffodil, pretty pink poppy and rich red rose, the calm Carbeen tree, breezy Belah and the beloved, guarded unique Leopard Tree.

From the smoking besa block incinerator in the backyard, the besa block “barby”, begrudged family trips to the dump.

From oranges, mandarins and almonds in the garden, lawns always watered through hot summer months.

From home-sewn school uniform and Dad-knitted navy cardigan, from tights keeping legs warm from pesky, shivery Jack Frost on our front lawn

From Sunday roast dinners and baked beans on toast, salad plate lunches, toast fingers with soup.  From Potatoes La Jolla, Herbed Chicken pieces from “promite, not vegemite” or “vegemite not promite” sandwiches in lunchboxes.

Piano lessons during lunchtime, then through swimming lessons in high school. Piano duets in my best friend’s Mum’s bedroom on weekend retreats from boarding school.  Boarding school challenges, fun and successes.  Singing and singing, and singing some more, “Yes, Jesus loves me”, Christmas carols and rhymes.  Renaissance polyphonies, madrigals, and contemporary and sacred choral works.

I'm from sharing my music, from teaching tiny littlies, imparting my intuition and knowledge to the families I meet.  From meeting my beloved and sharing in our union, from bearing two treasured, precious daughters who now ofttimes lead me in my journey.

And now I am me, here today, returned to the start, growing veges and living down south in South Australia from whence my ancestors came, living and loving creatively, following my Creator.

Farm photos courtesy of my brother and sister-in-law. 

Baked Peaches with a Crumble Topping

If two or three persons should come with a high spiritual aim and with great powers, the world would fall into their hands like a ripe peach.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Tis the season for peaches.  We were very fortunate this week to receive some peaches from Grandad's neighbour.  Who can turn down fresh fruit from someone's tree in their own backyard and their wonderful generosity to give it to us?  We are privileged.

There were some bumps and bruises on them however and the flavour was perhaps just a little tame, so I have created a very healthy delicious dessert.

Baked Peaches with a Crumble Topping

Halve and de-seed your peaches and place them in an ovenproof dish.

Make a crumble by combining the following ingredients:  

1 tablespoon of shredded coconut per peach half

1 tablespoon honey (maybe more if you are doing a load of peaches)

1 teaspoon rosewater

some crumbled cereal (I use low gluten Kornies (à la cornflakes))

Place the crumble mix on each peach half.

Bake in a preheated 200degC oven for 10-15 minutes until golden.

These are absolutely lovely with a dessert wine such as Bleasdale late picked Verdelho if you feel like indulging just a wee bit.

Simplicity is bliss...enjoy!

Taking Time

Admiring beauty...

Watching new leaves form...

Contemplating whether the parsley seeds are yet ready to collect...

Harvesting strawberries from our very own patch...

Oh what delight to see little faces with red-stained lips and eager anticipation to find more before the ants and other creepy crawlies do!

Watching a bee carrying out its work of pollination on our oregano flowers.

Taking take to enjoy the simple things.

Koala Viewing in the Adelaide Hills

Look at what we saw while enjoying the playground in Hahndorf.

A very agile little koala.

Climbing around his tree...

Sitting in a favourite posi...

Before jumping onto the next tree.  Quite a sight to see, unexpected and one we probably would have missed if it wasn't for our baby, little Eee, calling out "birdie, birdie" and pointing at the Magpies who were somewhat disturbed by this little fellow's antics.

(apologies for the sideways video. I keep forgetting you can't rotate video on my camera.)

Ess was thinking "will he climb all the way to the top or will he get scared?" she tells me.

I feel for Australia's koalas.  There is talk they may become extinct due to the cancer-causing virus when is prevalent in the koala population particularly on the east coast.  This added to the great urban sprawl gives them little hope.  However koalas on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, are found to be free of the virus.  This sounds very promising yet koalas are not native to the island and it is overpopulated.  There have been calls to cull the koala population on KI, due to the fact that the riverine habitat was becoming defoliated.  There was consideration of relocating koalas.  Discussions last year show that some have been relocated to the South East and that the problem is prevalent and the issues of sterilization, relocation and culling are still needing consideration.

A resident of Hahndorf told me that the koalas had been quite active there. I was surprised to see one in the town and wondered if he was one who had been relocated from KI??  He was adorable for us to view and I felt privileged knowing that it is not a common occurrence to see one of these furry friends outside a zoo and let alone one that is so active.

 

Of course being out and about in the Hills we could not resist some cherries.  These will be our last of this season.  On our last visit there was hustle and bustle in the processing of cherries.  Today there was only a saleslady with a few last boxes :(

...and strawberry picking in Hahndorf, which was actually the impetus for our trip.

Verdale Olive Estate, Two Wells, SA

"The olive grove of Academe, Plato's retirement, where the Attic bird trills her thick warbled notes the summer long" ~ John Milton, English Poet

A short Sunday afternoon drive led us to Verdale Olive Estate in Two Wells.  Now Two Wells isn't really the type of place that entices you in to stop and enjoy a coffee.  It is quite small (although larger than I had anticipated) and simply a country town on the flat, dry and dusty Adelaide Plains not far from the mangrovey beaches of Port Gawler and Middle Beach where our day concluded.  However I had seen a piece about this new olive tasting cellar door on Postcards recently and noted the address so we could pop in when we needed to stock up on olives.  [The mention of "chocolate olives" also enticed a number of members of our family as well.]  Well I sort of noted that address, we had to stop and ask some locals just where to head in order to find the olive grove.

We were not disappointed.  We were welcomed in and allowed to browse around before sitting down to taste some olives, their olive tapenade and a superb sundried tomato and capsicum dip containing olives of course.  We ordered a Greek Pizza which we watched being cooked in a wood-fired oven.  Interesting, an indoor wood-fired oven working hard on a 33degC day with air-conditioning on in the room as well.  It all worked though - it worked very well.  My Generous Gentleman declares the coffee was excellent!

The food was all delicious - so fresh.  The olives were simply divine and tasted as though they were real fruit freshly picked - of course there is a lot of treatment that goes on with olive production but you could tell these had not been sitting on a shelf in a supermarket and goodness only knows where before that.  And, of course, our aim is to support local growers buying local produce direct whenever we can.

If you are ever travelling along Port Wakefield Road and have a hankering for a cup of coffee, a freshly made pizza or some olives I definitely recommend you stop in at Verdale Olive Estate.

Christmas Cherries

This special feeling towards fruit, its glory and abundance, is I would say universal...  We respond to cherry orchards and strawberry fields with a delight that a cabbage patch or even an elegant vegetable garden cannot provoke.  ~ Jane Grigson

 

One of the things I love about where we live is that it is merely a hop, skip and a jump to the Adelaide Hills. In less than 30 minutes we arrived at the cherry farm we intended to visit.  We were not disappointed as we stocked up on cherries to enjoy in this time of festive preparation (and of course with Pa who was visiting from Brisbane).  South Australia is certainly the place for fresh fruit and the Hills show an abundance of cherries and strawberries, apricots and plums this season and apples and pears etc. during winter.

We were very happy, as for the price of 1kg in the markets we carried 3.5 kgs home to be devoured.  Those working in the shed and picking in the orchard were not so happy however as the cherries were not in very good form.  The day before we had had very heavy and consistent rains.  The only real rains we have seen this year - the December rainfall this year is already over the average (and that was the only time of rain - we have returned to sunshine!). This is wonderful for many but for others it has seen the destruction of their crops which have been wiped out by the rain.

We bought both seconds and first grade cherries.  The seconds cherries had split skins as you can clearly see above but the fruit is still so juicy and sweet and succulent.  They just don't look so marvellous.  Last year's seconds were in much better form than this year.  It is such a shame as the farmers won't get the price they need for this fruit.

Still much of the fruit, even in the bag of seconds, is really quite nice in appearance and certainly edible.  Nothing was thrown out!  These fingers of my Generous Gentleman often visited his lips during the great cherry sort which followed our trip to the orchard.

Cherries speak Christmas to most of us here in Australia as the season is so short.  I don't remember a Christmas table that didn't contain a beautiful glass bowl full of cherries.  Ours will this year also.  It may also contain some Mini Black Forest Gateau if I find the time to bake these also...