Veronika Wild

It's berry and cherry season at last! I called in at a berry farm the other day.   True, you can probably buy raspberries for the same or less in the supermarket, but there were several reasons for getting them at the source. For a start, you can be sure of getting fresh fruit – you can see people picking it, and it’s nice to know where it came from.   There were also some of the more unusual berries such as gooseberries, red currants and Kentish Cherries which you don’t often see in the shops. The gooseberry fool* I made   afterwards reminded me of   summers past when most families had a backyard, a Hill’s hoist and a berry patch with at least one or two prickly gooseberry bushes. * see instructions at the end of this post, also about the origin of the word. Looking South East Wolfe's Berry F arm lies in a lush valley beneath Mount Wellington and has been operated by the same family for over a hundred years. That may not mean much by European ...

First real rain since early October Whooeee!   It just rained, and a real gutter -spiller it was, complete with thunder and lightning. I don't think we've had a drop of rain since I came back from Broome on the 4 th of October.   All around you can hear the bush and the trees sighing with relief and I feel much the same. Before that it’s been a bit like "Troppo Season" in Darwin just before the rains hit, which is usually accompanied by an excess of violence, pub brawls   and road rage. Then, when the rain does finally break, you feel like going out and dancing in it. That how I felt last night. Kangaroo Mum and baby popped down this morning  for a spot of green grass - note how skinny Mother Kangaroo is It’s been over 37oC for the past few days and everything has been tinder dry. Tempers have been short too. Indeed, the Allied Shop Assistants Union has been thinking of going on strike due to abusive shoppers. So much for Christmas Cheer.  ...