Sunday, May 03, 2009

Winding back the clock

Now I may have alluded once or twice in recent weeks to the onset of autumn, despite the temporary blip last weekend when we skipped straight to winter. It seems to have been a slow process this year and peaking later than I can remember (which hopefully means a shorter winter…) It all seemed to begin over two months ago, but now I feel we are finally at a peak to bring you this year’s official autumn tree collection, courtesy of Commonwealth Park on a bright Sunday morning.





So like autumns across the globe it is time to avoid the pigs with sniffles and venture down on the farm to harvest all that natural bounty. While the diversity of Australian climates means that the likelihood of there being something nice growing somewhere nice is a no-brainer, down here it is time to pick the pumpkins and gather in a small country town to celebrate, 1950s style. The no doubt normally placid town of Collector hosts the annual pumpkin festival, complete with largest pumpkin prizes, pumpkin scones, pie and soup served up by a host of lovingly doddering eighty-somethings, sheep shearings, choirs singing Clancy of the Overflow, and self-styled bushmen selling the latest in sheep dip technology. Vintage charm in the afternoon warmth.





Buying my obligatory pumpkin (butternut squash variety) on the way out, an even smaller nearby town is Gundaroo, possibly even more charming and heralding future visits I’m sure with its log fire restaurant, cosy pub and wood-fired pizzeria (yes, everything does revolve around food!) Despite the cooling off, it aint gonna be too bad after all. Now where did I put my butternut squash?

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