Thursday...30 October 2014

Cootamundra.
We have never been here before and it is a pretty little town.
The local caravan park has new owners and they know how to make a person feel welcome! The caravan park is very green with plenty of trees and lots of lawn areas. Right now the weather is glorious and we have added extra days to our one night stay just to enjoy this lovely spot.
Next to the caravan park is a council park that has something called The Captains Walk. It is a walk around the park past busts of every Captain of the Australian Cricket team since the team began right up to the present day. As each new captain is chosen a new bust is commissioned to add to the walk. Each bust has a plaque detailing the period of their captaincy.

This no doubt happened originally as a way to commemorate a local legend. Sir Donald Bradman was born on 27 August 1908 at a private hospital here in Cootamundra before the family moved to Bowral.

Wednesday...29 October 2014

So yesterday we went 50 km down the road to a town called Junee.

First up we went to the licorice factory. Great place. Very good guide who really knew her stuff and delivered it interspersed with liberal handouts of either licorice or chocolate samples. By the time we got done I am sure everyone had eaten more than the entry cost in free samples. All the licorice is organic. And the chocolate is Belgium, I even bought a packet of licorice tea, which I am yet to try but they say it helps with respiratory problems. Himself got some take home licorice and I got lucky in the gift shop, it also sells Crocs and had some nice new styles available.....lucky me!

After lunch at the local bakery we went to the Junee Roundhouse Railway Museum. This is still a working train service centre which in its heyday employed more than 300 workers. There are 42 bays. some of which are open to the public and the train turn table is still in use and we were lucky enough to see them turning a loco on it yesterday.

In the section open to the public, there is a variety of locomotives ranging from steam to diesel to modern electric, all of which can be walked in on or around to inspect. The rest of the bays have carriages of different eras from basic seating to first class sleepers.

Today we went 60 km west to Temora. We visited the Temora Aviation Museum. The big difference with this museum is that every plane actually flys. Himself had a nice time walking around the exhibits. We even survived sharing it with not one but two bus loads of school kids!

Monday...27 October 2014

Isn't this pretty? It is the Cootamundra Wattle.
Today we left Condobolin and travelled to Forbes and then down through Grenfell to Young and then to Cootamundra. We have not been this way before. There was a couple of rough patches on the road but on the whole it was good. Even the emus thought it was worth crossing! It was very windy all day and we often had small bits of trees blowing across the road and dropping onto the rig as we passed and by the time we stopped for the day we were being blown all over our half of the road. I was pleased to finally arrive and get off the road.
The country looks wonderful, paddock after paddock of cereal crops so thick you feel you could walk over the tops without touching the ground. The area is mostly flat but with a few slight rises which are good for scenic views of the area.
The welcome was warm and a free sausage sizzle for happy hour was great. Most people in the park participated and there was very lively chatter. We found out that there is a licorice factory in the next town only 50 km down the road so have decided to stay an extra night and do a day trip tomorrow to take the tour of the factory. Himself is extremely partial to licorice!

Thursday...23 October 2014

First day of harvest today, Himself went to lend a hand. The header mechanic finished the pre season overhaul service yesterday and it was decided that today they would give it a run and start stripping the oats....if the weather held up! Not sure what is happening out the road, but we have had thirty big spots of rain here in town. Mind you that was all we got. Now it is steamy and cloudy but still quite dry.
I have taken the opportunity to give our little house a complete spring clean and tidy up while I  have a clear run at it without Himself getting in my way. I sorted and put all the winter clothes into one of those bags you seal with a vacuum cleaner and they are now tucked away in the under bed storage until they are needed again. I mopped and vacuumed and shook and polished every thing I could reach. I even defrosted the fridge! The smell of a freshly cleaned house is so nice.
When I get my puff back I will cook up a few bits to go in the freezer. Pre cooked meals are a huge help when you are tired from a long days travel. While I have been here, I shared my lemonade scone recipe with Himself's aunt and she liked the results. In return she made a super yummy boiled fruit cake. We are always spoilt when we come to visit.

They saw another snake out at the farm this week. This time it was a big black snake right near the main entry to the aunt's house. It went in under the house so they are hoping it is not planning to stay for the rest of the summer.

Saturday...18 October 2014

Today we went out to the farm. 

Himself was lending a hand to enlarge the cattle yards when he happened upon a rather large snake devouring a slightly smaller snake. Now that is a sight you do not see every day. The small one was about a third of the way down the throat of the big one. Neither of them were happy to be interrupted. I would have thought the half dead one would have wanted to give Himself a great big hug. Maybe that was why it climbed up the handle of the shovel! Rather pleased to note that Himself had all the appropriate PPE. They were put back in the bush at a healthy distance from the cattle yards.  Cannot have them scaring the cows that are being yarded tomorrow. 

I of course will be watching every step I take for the next few months regardless of where I am, be it town or country! Oh and of course I will also have numerous nightmares for the same period of time.  

Thursday...16 October 2014

Another damn headache!
Visiting relatives in NSW. Now that the rain has stopped, the weather is glorious. But.....
The television here is nothing more than 30 second bites of whatever is supposed to be available interrupted by consistently annoying pixelation and the accompanying sound crackling, the internet runs at the speed of a dying sloth and mobile phone reception is a science fiction idea created for the enjoyment of city folk only!!!!
Come on Australia, why are we not doing better than this!
These people pay taxes too and what's more they grow our daily bread and milk and even the meat in your takeaways. They pay more for food and fuel, they are lucky if they have access to medical help. Yet we continue to treat them as second class citizens and leave them waiting for years for services that out here could honestly be life saving and life changing.
Grrrr. Not right, not fair!

Thursday...9 October 2014

Warm, blessedly warm.
Today we left the land of constant cold and moved north into the land of warm. By the time we return, the cold country will be into summer and the sun will be shining again there too. Yesterday I had the heater going flat out and today I am sitting next to a fan.
Being able to hit the road and follow the sun is the number one bonus to our lifestyle.
Last night there was a lunar eclipse and it sure was pretty special.

Saturday...4 October 2014

Well we survived the big blow.
Did get rather hairy there for a while and I was watching some very big trees do an lot of bending and am still amazed that all of them stayed upright.
Now it is time for turning the clocks forward to begin Daylight Saving over here on the east coast of Australia. Never have been a fan of the event and I have a much loved relative that calls it "Ratbag Time" and you know, I think he is perfectly right. The sun gets up, the sun goes down, altering the clock is only mucking with the natural rhythm of life.
But in half an hour the clocks will alter regardless of what I do or do not do.  And there they will stay until sometime next year. I guess I had better get used to it!