By Lynn Elder
The icy embrace of snowy climes soon brings autumn to its knees. No good praying for it not to be when winter arrives on time. Artic blasts keep temperatures in check while us mere mortals shiver, And slosh about in rubber boots to keep the water out.
Whether you are a republican or a staunch monarchist, one has to admire such a commitment to serve your country and the Commonwealth for 70 years with so much dignity and diligence as Queen Elizabeth II. Her reign has spanned several generations, and history has certainly been made during those post-WW2 years. We are unlikely to see the likes of her again. It is a sense of an end of an era that has probably run its course in the modern western world. This milestone event has prompted many to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee in the mother country of Britain.
My brother-in-law sent us bright and colourful images of a street party in Berkshire where bunting and sponge cakes were plentiful. Here in Australia, celebrations are much more muted on the other side of the globe. No four-day weekend here for the Queen’s subjects. However, we celebrate her birthday next weekend with a public holiday on Monday. It also coincides with the official snow season opening in the southern parts of Australia.
But our newly elected Labor Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has announced a new name for an island located in the middle of Lake Burley Griffin in our national capital Canberra, known as Queen Elizabeth II Island.
The Queen has always been there in the background of my childhood. I remember a picture of the Queen riding side-saddle resplendent in black and red attire that hung in my bedroom. Women’s magazines were always full of photos and stories of the goings-on of the Royals and ended up in scrapbooks. The Queen has managed 16 tours of duty to Australia during her reign, which is impressive.
My mother remembers being bussed from Orange to Bathurst in NSW as a school student to watch the Queen drive pass during a visit in the 1950s. The two of us used to tease my dear Nan in fun about her uncanny resemblance to the young Elizabeth.
I have never seen the Queen in real life. The closest my husband got was during her visit to Blackburn, Lancashire, in the 1960s when he was a little boy. He says the car drove up Penny Street, and she waved at him. But he thinks now she probably waved at everyone. His other brush with royalty was when the Queen’s sister Princess Margaret visited the British Aerospace manufacturing plant in the early 1980s near Blackburn, where he worked.
The only royals I have seen in the flesh were Princess Diana and Prince Charles during a visit to Australia, where they landed at the regional Albury Airport in NSW in 1983. My housemate and I stood in the rain and the mud to catch a glimpse of Diana. Diana was even more stunning in the flesh despite the beautiful photos I had collected for my scrapbook. Being of similar age, I had a lot of empathy for the young Princess pushed into the limelight of being a royal.
Prince Charles has a link to where I live now in the Victorian High Country near Mt Buller. I think the locals are still dining out on the fact that Charles was a student at the Geelong Grammar School’s Timbertop Campus in 1966 for two terms. This same campus also hosted British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as a teaching assistant in 1983 as part of his gap year. But apparently, he was known as Alexander back then. Former Labor PM Tony Blair has been known to visit this part of the world because he has friends here.
It will only be a matter of time before Australia becomes a republic. In most respects, the country is left to govern itself with minimal interference from the crown. But there was the sacking of Labor Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in 1975 by Governor-General Sir John Kerr; now, that is a different story for another day.
In the meantime, best wishes to her majesty on her Platinum Jubilee. My photo above shows a piece of memorabilia found in a flea market off the High Street in Eaton, not far from Windsor Castle, several years ago, marking her coronation on June 2, 1953.
By Lynn Elder Grey clouds form a leaden sky Above the black cattle grazing below. Tree trunks are blackened By the dampness they absorb From heavy downpours Released from above. Dimming daylight alternates Between the various shades Of white, grey and black. Birds and pets alike match The colour scheme of the day.
Autumn is usually that settled period before winter arrives in earnest but this year it seems different. Spring is notorious for its fickle nature and the way that winter really doesn’t want to be gone too soon. A fellow blogger got me thinking about the time between seasons with his series on micro-seasons. This seems to be rooted in the Japanese culture unlike our western ideal of four seasons. We cannot mold the seasons to suit our requirements so maybe accepting these subtle or not so subtle periods twixt the seasons makes good sense.
Looking through my photos I was reminded of those occasions and activities that fall into autumn. Here in Victoria we start with a public holiday known as Labour Day in March. Then comes April holidays and the marking of Easter on the Christian calendar. On April 25 we also remember sacrificial love and duty to God and country when World War One broke out and so many took up arms to protect us. Sadly World War Two followed and other conflicts continue. ANZAC Day is not about glorifying war but honouring those who served. Younger generations of Australians and New Zealanders are learning about this part of their history. This year with no COVID restrictions more than 300 people turned out for the dawn service in our small town followed by the traditional gun fire breakfast usually a bacon and egg sandwich. Later in the morning there is a procession where veterans and other community groups and individuals are proudly involved.
The view from my bedroom window is changing with the arrival of foggy mornings and hot air balloons on crisp clear mornings. We see a red fox slinking through the grass in search of food and other times a family group of kangaroos waiting for the sun to arrive.
May is also when we celebrate Mother’s Day in Australia with all its commercial focus on pampering Mums everywhere. I managed a trip interstate to visit my own Mum. Last year, the borders between the states were being closed due to COVID and I just got home only hours before they were. I enjoy the larger open farming spaces of where I grew up. While visiting there was lots of burning off of stubble to make way for the next lot of crops. There is very little cropping near where I live now.
A new array of autumn colours has emerged while other trees shed their leaves freely. The sound of chainsaws echo in the valley as firewood is gathered for the coming cold months. The latest load of Black Angus steers has departed. Our birdlife changes with the seasons and weather. The colourful and cheeky King Parrots come searching for some wild bird seed. The weather has been a mixture of sun and rain with snow forecast this week on the nearby mountain. No doubt winter will arrive soon enough and with it comes the thought that we are almost halfway through another year!
Nature is not only what is visible to the eye – it shows the inner images of the soul – the images on the back side of the eyes.
-Edvard Munch (1863-1944) Norwegian painter and printmaker
Inflation needed to float above the world away from all cares, until we hit the earth again with a thud.
Lynn Elder
We enjoyed an Easter without lockdowns here in Victoria and many are making the most of this beautiful autumnal weather here in my hometown. Our church was packed today with adults and children to celebrate Easter Day. We have a tradition at our Anglican church where we enjoy wine made by one of our parishioners and home-made chicken sandwiches after the the service. It was so lovely to see families out and about enjoying quality time together.
There is a sense of hope and looking forward to the future after a difficult two years. Here’s to us being kinder and more loving towards one another and speaking out against evil and injustice. Happy Easter to all.
“Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go.” – Unknown
The clocks were turned back during the first weekend of April and it seems to have coincided with a definite change in the seasons. There is a coolness in the evening air despite some days of sunshine. The mid-March temperatures in the low 30s and annoying blow flies seem to have disappeared here in Victoria. But April can produce some stunning Autumn weather to enjoy over the Easter holidays. Will wait and see. We have avoided floods here but our hearts go out to those especially in NSW who have experienced severe flooding twice within a month.
For me autumn offers a calming time of year. It is subtle and yet spectacular as it reveals its hidden beauty. From green to gold, yellow to red. Here in North East Victoria the colours of autumn tend to really come into their own about mid April to early May. Then the great shedding of leaves starts as we approach winter. Raking is one way to get a good work out!
Over the weekend I explored our 25 acres with camera in hand for different perspectives and to capture the various tints and hues of the changing season. I also managed to find glorious brightly-coloured flowers.
There was also a visit to one of my favourite local places, Jamieson, an historic Victorian township on the river and in the bush-clad hills that were once home to many searching for gold. My husband and I attended the once a month Anglican church service which was followed by lunch in a nearby café.
Whatever season you may be going through, remember to enjoy the one you are going through now!
My mood was feeling a bit on the blue side so I thought sharing these pretty images of flowers from my own garden and far beyond would brighten someone else’s day as well.
A run of hot, humid days accompanied by thunderstorms has been the norm for most of March. A wetter than usual winter and spring created unprecedented grass growth. Good news for those who had hay to cut and bale, but for others on smaller acreage like ourselves, keeping on top of the mowing is a constant task. When there was minimal rainfall, grass growth was a lot slower. But seeing our dams full and household tanks almost at capacity, we are not complaining.
We had hot and dry conditions for our annual campdraft just gone, which made it a top weekend for competitors and spectators alike. Being on the committee kept me busy with various activities over the two days. I will do a separate post on the Australian equestrian sport of campdrafting and share some photos.
With its still calm weather conditions, autumn also marks a period of planned burn-offs in our high country. While this is designed to reduce the fuel load in the bush and mountain areas, the smoke haze can make one feel like they are living in an ashtray. It has been a long time since I have hung out in a smokey journo’s bar. I used to go home and hang my good jacket on the clothesline to get rid of the smell. I couldn’t afford to pay for the dry cleaners too often!
However, the smoke haze does provide some superb sunset photo opportunities. Another night we saw this large, red glow in the distance due to a burn-off in some stubble that flared up. Earlier this week, a storm and some rain cleared the air. Another photo opportunity.
This morning was the coolest start for several months, but it has been a lovely warm, sunny day. One can sense a change in the seasons and see the changes in the leaves of grapevines and various trees. Daylight saving is due to end the first weekend in April, which will see a return to being lighter early in the morning and becoming dark much sooner in the late afternoon.
On one side of the world, spring is bursting forth while here we prepare for the coming winter months. That includes sourcing more fire food and putting away the summer clothes. As restrictions and lockdowns disappear and we are told we need to learn to live with COVID, one dares to dream of travelling to warmer climes and visiting friends and family over the coming weeks.
Late afternoon and suddenly, the smoke haze returns, clinging to the sides of the valleys. I better close windows and doors to keep the smell out and rescue the washing from outside before it absorbs the smokey aroma. Happy weekend everyone.
A colourful window display in our local Mansfield Country Women’s Association hall alerted me to it being Purple Poppy Day on February 24, which commemorates the service of animals of all kinds in war and conflict situations. Many of us are used to buying a red poppy to support our service men and women on ANZAC Day, April 25 and Remembrance Day on November 11.
The purple poppy was introduced to Australia in 2013 by the Australian War Animal Memorial Organisation (AWAMO). It is also known as the “Animal Poppy”. According to AWAMO, purple poppies are designed to be worn alongside the traditional red poppy. They are a reminder of the bravery of both humans and animals that served together.
AWAMO uses money raised from donations and the sale of Purple Poppies to establish memorials. These funds are also used to train support animals to help soldiers with post-traumatic stress, and provide care packages, including paying for care for war animals retired from service due to illness, injury and old age after active service says the AWAMO.
President Nigel Allsopp talks about the organisation’s work in the video clip below.
The Mansfield CWA members put their crafting skills to work to create purple poppies and other items to sell to support the AWAMO. I bought a purple poppy yesterday and look forward to wearing it with my red poppy on ANZAC Day.
Reference:
https://www.purplepoppies.com.au/about/
By Lynn Elder
Listen to the crashing waves, Hear the cry of a lonely gull, Feel the sting of the salty sea. Hear the screams of a girl, Young and frail, As the giant waves, Wash her away. The waves whip the body away, Far away from the sandy shore. To the sea it doesn't matter, Who dies in its icy depths. When the sea is still, And the flock of gulls, Fly overhead, None could believe, That the sea could take a life.
Escape to the High Country... 