Coming round again
I woke up in Fish Creek at around 4am on Saturday morning to a tremendous blasting noise and our house shaking. Half asleep I think it’s an earthquake.
I stumble out of bed and open the front door to a storm roaring through the old gums along the driveway. It’s way bigger than me so I slip back inside and pull the doona over my head.
In the morning, the sun is out and walking around the garden there’s surprisingly little damage. The air is clean and super crisp and I’m struck dumb coming across the most intense little Ceanothus bush that appears to be made entirely of tiny blue flowers and nothing else.
Colour is suddenly everywhere; the apricots, the nectarines and plums are in blossom, a mass of pinks and whites.
Behind the apricot there’s a blinding explosion of golden wattle and coming back to the house there’s a spiky grevillea with the most intricate flowers covered in glistening raindrops from last night’s storm.
The bees are all out and the wattlebirds are chasing each other through branches even more boisterous than usual.
I take it all in and am reminded that Spring is a force.
I guess that’s why it’s called Spring.
Spring’s a busy time for farmers too, but after this dry Summer and Autumn and a cold Winter, Spring is not straightforward this year…
Simon Schulz at Schulz Organic Dairy in Timboon says the cows still aren’t back to producing their usual amount of milk and cream.
His paddocks have some winter growth but until it warms up and the grass gets growing, it’s a bit of a cruel illusion – a green drought.
Simon’s also put out a call for people to send their glass bottles back to be refilled – they’re running low on empties at the dairy so if you’ve got some put them out for collection.
Up in Clarkefield, with the longer days Madelaine Scott from Madelaine’s Eggs reports her chooks are finally laying enough eggs to put a few extras out at her farmgate stall along with her heritage pumpkins and raw honey.
Meanwhile down at Foothill Organics in Colac, the drier conditions give Joe Sgro a chance to get into his normally wet paddocks nice and early to plant out this year’s potatoes – he’s got his ever reliable sebagos & his special purple midnight pearls which will be ready for harvest around Christmas.
At Cafresco in Koo Wee Rup next weekend’s forecast is a high of 23C – it only takes a few good days to warm the dark peaty soil and get the asparagus sprouting. Maurie Cafra is busily gathering his people and equipment – when you farm the world’s fastest growing vegetable if you’re not prepared you’re lost.
Finally back home at CERES, Kelly Gillespie has got the propagation team planting up trays of heirloom tomato seeds – there’s the Tommy Toes, the Banana Legs, the Green Zebras, the Wapsipinnican Peaches and so many other varieties to get ready for the Spring rush.
Spring is a force; it shakes us awake and calls us out from under our doonas to get busy and join the most colourful fashion show in town. It reminds us we’re part of a cycle, endlessly repeating yet endlessly changing and reassures us that there’s always another tomato season next year.
Pick my park
In 2018 six hundred people voted for CERES in the Pick My Project Competition helping win $200,000 to build the giant millipede and playground.
Right now, the Victorian Government is asking the community to Pick My Park and nominate improvements you’d like to see at your local park.
With your vote, we can build on what we started seven years ago in the CERES playground adding more play equipment, BBQ and seating areas, sculptures, garden nooks, performance spaces, whatever you feel would make CERES a more welcoming, inspiring place.
You can nominate CERES here (it takes 2 minutes) – please share it with friends and family!
If we make it onto the shortlist we’ll go into a final public voting round and be in the running for $250,000 of improvements and upgrades.
Have a great week
Chris
