2025 You’re here already

2025…..you have welcomed us with some seriously hot days for someone like me who ceases to function after it gets to 25 degrees ( I think the name used in the world of machinery is thermal stress ! ) 

And as a result there’s been plenty of this….

Dennis and Raylene hosted our Britten family Christmas this year ( 22 of us) and they did a mighty job of feeding us all. 

 Dimboola was hot! 

Our Wimmera friends and family will know exactly what I mean. Heat induced brain fog kicked in early and I didn’t get to take half the photos I really wanted to and many of them were blurry and not usable. In fact some of the family missed out all together!

 I didn’t go over to the shed and that’s where half the action was.

 Sorry folks.

Kris Kringle time…..with special rules involving can swap and can’t swap depending on when you have your turn.

Apparently there was a situation at our last Christmas with Mum, where she stole one of the gifts selected by Kimberly and gave it to Leesa who really wanted it! That’d be right! She probably had heat induced brain fog too!

That caused some carry over argy bargy much to everyone else’s delight.

Dennis was last to have his turn and could have swapped with any of us. One of the very few times when going last is the coveted position. He swapped his tin of chocolates with the box of goodies I had chosen ( which just so happened to be his own ).

I’ve eaten them.

 The whole tin.

 Thanks Den.

Amy and Helen took their new little camper and stayed a couple of nights at the farm.

Thank you Den and Raylene and Ben for being such wonderful hosts. The littlies were in seventh heaven. Uncle Den’s shed was a favourite. As was Rosie, the pony. 

Amy and Helen wanted Jack to visit Church Street so that he could see where Amy remembers so many happy times. It felt very strange being there. We think Mum and Dad would love that Jack has been in the backyard at Minyip where we were raised and where they called home for so many years.

Sam, Karlee and her little ones came to visit after Christmas.

We loved that they got to see all the things we enjoy about living here.

Summery blooms in our garden. 

And some native flowers and buds from Marmalade House for a visit to the cemetery in Minyip.


We have this beautiful flowering gum here in the Cottage garden. It was getting ready to burst into bloom before we left to go away.

 It could have been a red one. 

It could have been a pink one.

I think it could have even been a white one.

But no. 

It HAD to be orange didn’t it. 

Talk about stop you in your tracks!

This is the view of The Orange Tree when it’s not in flower. 

The blue banded bee.
This delightful little native bee has been foraging in the flowers for a few days now. I think she’s the female. She has 4 stripes. The male has 5.

 Unlike me, they like days in the 30’s it seems. You can hear them long before seeing them because of their distinct buzz. That’s what makes them such a valuable pollinator. They seem to be especially attracted to the purple/ blue flowers of which we have many.

Found in all states except Tasmania apparently.

Not the prettiest of faces, but lucky to get a photo whilst in flight.

Back to scones on the deck with Brenda and David. Helen has perfected them….just like Brenda.

Bill was up on the ladder a couple of days ago cleaning out all the spouts in anticipation of some glorious rain that had been predicted. 

And they were right. We had 30 mm of precious water for the tanks and gardens.

These little pint sized gnomes/ gonks are a part of history/folklore from Scandinavian countries. They apparently bestow good luck upon the families they grace, if treated with kindness and respect. 

Thank you Karlee. I adore them.

This is just a reminder for me to attack the Box Room with purpose over the coming months and do something about the 120 boxes that remain in there untouched. 

I hope you’ve all had some time to rest and recharge before getting back to business, whatever that might mean for you. 

We are excited for what lies ahead for us.

I still don’t know why half of us come up as Anonymous in the comments ( including me). My computer skills are not good enough to work it out, but thank you to those of you who have left messages. I love reading them. If you just add your name at the end so I know who you are next time, that would be great.