From the forest into light
This has been a tedious morning of fence repairs – bending staples in decades-old wobbly hardwood posts and untangling cantankerous strands of barbed wire – so when we found a tree over the fence in the bush block, the kids and I broke it with a little “adventure”.
Inside our boundaries lies just 11 hectares of largely unremarkable bush. But it is a wonder, too, full of secret paths, dripping lichen and toadstools. After early hesitation, the kids relished their chance to explore this forgotten forest, darting here and there down the wallaby tracks, ducking under monstrous spider webs and peering into mysterious hidey-holes.
Days like this, it’s great to be a milk maid!
The Milk Maid Marian 
beautiful photo Marian
LikeLike
Thanks Lynne. It’s a wonderful place.
LikeLike
What wondrous memories they will have!
LikeLike
Thanks, threecollie, they already have an inherent love of the bush!
LikeLike
Everyone should have an Aussie bush memory….
LikeLike
It’s the vegan man here. Hi again!
I have to say, Marian, you have a lovely style of writing. Have you ever written a book?
My upbringing was on a potato farm at Robertson NSW. Besides the crop and grazing paddocks there was a lot of bush, perhaps roughly 250 acres . While most of the bush was, I guess, dry sclerophyll with a variety of shapely gums, tee trees, banksias and waratahs and other wonderful wild flowers, there was one special block. Probably around two to three acres, we aptly called it “the Jungle Paddock.” Quite different to any of the other bush, It was mostly untouched and was probably as it was in ancient times. The trees were rainforest types with lots of twisted vines and running down the centre of this rectangular block was a that creek trickled in droughty times and gushed after rains. It had a moist atmosphere, replete with mossy fallen trees and was an endless fun playground for my siblings and me. I cannot but feel sorry that my city cousins missed out on a wonderful experience not living in a place like that. Wiht the dogs running on ahead to our treehouse cubby – just a platfrm really – and a disused pigs hut which we called the “Red Dagger Club.” Your description above transported me back and how nice it is to have such memories to visit.
My best,
Ralph Graham
LikeLike
Thanks for the compliment, Ralph, and judging by this lovely anecdote, you have a book in you!
Maybe we could write one together titled, “The vegan and the farmer go to town” or some such! 😉
LikeLike
Ralph
There would have been a fair selection of leeches in that bush to keep you on the move I am sure
LikeLike
You’re funny.
I have a few chapters of a novel about an Irish convict written – now on the back burner – but that’s another story ( 🙂 )
One day.
R 🙂
LikeLike
Pingback: Why Landcare matters | The Milk Maid Marian