Away we go .......

We headed off on Saturday morning, making numerous stops to say goodbye.  Marion came over with 4 bags of mini Mars Bars.   Mars Bars replaced mini Crunchies which replaced cigarettes, as Marion knows.

We had a good trip to Gilgandra, a place I intend to have a really good look at, one day.  Now how many times have I said that!!!   It had rained a lot before we arrived.   The caravan park owner worried that we might get bogged but the rain had soaked straight down.  After talking with him as we came in, Steve said, "He's the saddest man I've ever met."   He had a very downtrodden look on his face, too.

       The following morning, Steve was bailed up by him again and eventually got away, hoping that the man felt better for having vented his problems!  

I've always liked staying at Gilgandra because of the large disabled toilet and shower.  For the last couple of years, there has been a man alone, with his caravan parked right in front of the shower.   He sits outside his van, facing the shower and I always feel awkward and fumble with the key.   The owner told Steve that the guy resents other people using the shower and toilet and views it as his own personal block.  Tough!   Lindy rang at 11pm to see how far we had got!!

Today, Sunday, we had a very strong head wind and Steve was struggling to do 85 kph.   We stopped at Peak Hill RSL Club for a Chinese lunch, as we often do.  I like Peak Hill; it has character.  The old open cut is on display; the shops are generally old and the people are friendly.  

Strangely, I got car sick, so Steve took the truck back to 75 kph and eventually we arrived here at West Wyalong.  That was the result of a misunderstanding.  Steve was questioning me about where I wanted to stop and assuring me that I could chose anywhere.  I was reluctant to slow us down but I really did want to stop travelling so I thought it would be good to stop where we were, at Parkes.  Somehow, my answer made Steve think that I was prepared to travel on.    The good news is that I slept for most of the distance and arrived feeling much better.

The manager here explained why he had to put in a security code in the toilets and showers.  Last year, men working on the crops parked their trucks and lived outside the park in them.  At night, they would leap the fence and use this ablution block, leaving it in a filthy state.

All fruit and vegetables have to be eaten or binned in the next 133 kms tomorrow.   Cauliflower for breakfast???

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The Growth of the Vegetable Garden

We had baby carrots and lettuce from the garden this evening.  Yummy!  Most of the lettuces have gone to seed now and Richard is planning on replacing them.  These were very successful and have fed 4 families plus numerous visitors.

Looking around, I decided to take another photo to show the growth.   Even my parsley and thyme seeds are thick and about 1".   Compare the three photos, particularly noticing the corn at the front of the photo. 

October 4th

Oct 17th

Oct 27th

We were meant to leave tomorrow, Friday, but that didn't happen ---- OF COURSE!   We're all packed and ready to go and I guess we'll do it on Saturday.   Lindy bets on Monday!!

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Thanks to everyone for flower ideas

DAY LILY is the most popular suggestion.  I've flicked through many images and my flower could be this.  But it's not at all like the day lily that we had on the farm, where a bloom lasted for only a day.  It closed at night and didn't open again.  Still .......

Anther suggestion was AMARYLLIS/Belladonna/Naked Lady.     As I remember it, the naked lady flower bloomed without any leaves and had a magnificent perfume.  I checked up and found many photos, which confirmed my memories.   So, I think that this is not the one.

Yet another suggestion was the HIPPEASTRUM.   Interestingly, the hippeastrum is "often commonly, but incorrectly, known as amaryllis."     This, like the day lily, looked very like my flower too!    


Thank you to everyone who emailed an answer to me.  It gives me a warm fuzzy feeling to know that people respond to this simple blog. 

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Packing up

Our weekly rent runs out tomorrow ------- but we aren't going!   We'll go on Friday or Saturday or ..........

We were invited out last night, with 10 others, to celebrate life, I think it was.  Nominally, it was to farewell Steve and Cathy and Laurie and Steve but we were just good excuses for a night out!  Lovely company and food at Tuhb Tihm Thai.  Our evening meal tonight is leftovers of a dish with chicken and coconut.  Delicious!    

Lindy and Angela work long and hard in the Office and Neville never ceases work around the park but they are always on for a laugh and a play.  They are inspirational.

I was feeling good after my massage today, so I chose the steps instead of the ramp when I went to the Post Office.  With the rail on my left hand and the stick in my right hand, I decided to try to walk up in a normal fashion. (Instead of having two feet on one step before going to the next step.)     AND I DID IT!!!  I was tired and it hurt but it was exhilarating.  On the way out, I did the same, although that was a lot harder but once again, I DID IT!!  All of my exercise in the pool is paying off!

On our return, we found Richard and Marion in the garden beside us.  Richard asked me if I was satisfied now that he had made beds for the strawberries.  LOL,  He had finally put straw under them!  I had been harping for ages.   While they were on holiday, I put thin pieces of wood under the growing berries.  These slats were Richard's markers, saying carrots, parsnips etc.  They helped to save a few berries from being belted with rain and pushed into the mud.  The straw will do much better because these plants are loaded and clumps of berries stretch in every direction.

As usual, I'm not contributing much to the packing up.  Steve has the biggest job ----- getting the annexe down, making sure the truck is in perfect condition, likewise the caravan.  I just have to pack away the things that will fall when we travel.  I know what I have to do but I'm reluctant to do it!!!   I hate leaving here each year but I hugely look forward to seeing all the family again.  I get butterflies when I think about them!!

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Rest In Peace, Marco Simoncelli

Steve is safely back with me, after his 25 hour train and bus journey.  Although a bunch of people wanted to pick him up from the station, I had to tell them that he preferred to walk.  His choice.   We went to the pool as soon as he got here and that helped to iron out some of the kinks.

 The great news from home is that there were no mice!!!!!

The sadness of the day is the death of Marco Simoncelli.  We were watching the Moto GP race, live from Malaysia.  We both have had a keen interest for many years. Then came a horrible, 3 bike pile up.  It was very clear from the beginning that the outcome wasn't going to be good.  Only 24 years of age.

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The Yearly Swap

As we have had the Landcruiser and the truck both here since August, it's time to return the car back south.

Steve drove from Moree on Thursday evening, around 6.30pm.  He drove and slept (alternatively) and arrived home around 1pm on Friday.  By 5.45pm, he was on the bus to Albury, having parked the car at Marion's, in Cohuna.   A quick turnaround!!

We have kept in touch by text, all the way, just quick 'sit reps' --- on station at Albury;  on train to Sydney;  on train to Moree.  He will be here in 2.5 hours, around 6.30pm Saturday.  If we could think of an easier, quicker way to do this swap of vehicles, we would.  Over 24 hours on trains and buses makes a long trip.  Fortunately, Steve can sleep anywhere.

Only another 6 days here in Moree..... sigh. 

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Garden

This garden is growing like crazy, largely due to the rain that we have had.   2" in 2 hours, last Thursday.  I revelled in rain on the metal roof of the caravan!  I definitely didn't like the light and sound display, though.  Cringe, cringe!!

Here is a photo of the vegetable garden after the rain.   Note the differences between the first photo and this one, taken only 10 days later.  The corn, at the front, has grown in leaps and bounds and the tomatoes are headed for the sky.

We have all eaten a lot of the lettuce and Richard is planning on putting more in very soon.   We tried baby carrots, for a real treat and surprisingly, baby parsnip is fantastic.    I didn't expect the parsley and thyme seed to be up for another 2 weeks but it has broken the ground!

If anyone can tell me the name of this flower, below, I would be very grateful.  The buds seem to come at the end of the stem, which grows thicker and thicker.  One day it bursts open, displaying tatty looking, unopened flowers. A day later, out they come, 5 or 6 flowers to a stem.

The bud at the end of the stem.

Individual flowers are only tatty for one day before they open.

Almost fully open.

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Gardening

I've been weeding today.   It used to be the vegetable garden of the man who lived here permanently, up until 9 years ago.  Eric had a fabulous flower garden too and some of it is still blooming.  Not being here all year, we couldn't keep it going and no one else had the interest.  But this year, Richard Rush put in a lot of work, renewing and remaking the vegetable garden beside our van. 

Entrance to garden

He went to a lot of trouble to prepare the raised beds.  I told him that we were going to move out when he dug in chook poo.  Boy was it smelly!!   It has had a marvellous effect, though.  He has planted carrots, parsnips, lettuces of different kinds, silverbeet, two sorts of onions, corn, tomatoes, capsicum and zucchini.  I've put in mint and seeds of thyme and parsley.  In the paddock outside the fence, he has planted pumpkin and watermelon.

Richard and Marion have gone for a short holiday and the garden is our baby while they are away.   Our main task is to keep it watered but there has been rain every second day, so we haven't had much to do.  Everything is thriving and I'm sure the tomatoes in particular have grown many inches in the last 6 days that they have been away.

We have set a date to leave here.  It's Thursday  27th October.  That means Friday at the earliest.  Everyone would be so surprised and disappointed if we broke our tradition of never leaving on the day we planned!!     Shortly after we arrive home, we are going down to Melbourne for our nephew Shane's wedding on Nov 5th.  Then on Nov 11th, it's a "girls' weekend away."   There's a lot to look forward to.

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AFL Grand Final or Melbourne Cup??

One of them is Melbourne's biggest day.   Football or horse racing?   Despite my best efforts, I can't think of anything local that rivals these events in excitement, numbers and fervour.   I don't particularly follow a footy team and I  rarely have a bet on the races, so I have no vested interest in either.   So, why can't I think of other events that can match these two?
Anyone have a suggestion??   Aussies, that is.  We have to compare oranges with oranges.

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