A Weekend in the Country Garden


Every Friday afternoon, Kees and I pack up supplies for the weekend, try to find Billy the cat, who always can tell what day of the week it is and thinks she would prefer a lonely weekend to travelling the 50 kilometres in the car, and make sure perishables in the fridge have really reached their used by date. We always hope that we will arrive at "Kibbenjelok" in daylight to face immediately any tragedy that has occurred during the four days when we are in Town. This could be the awful sight of a Tasmanian Devils' Christmas party and the departure from our care and love of 14 various pet domestic birds - guinea fowl, baby ducklings and mother, laying hens and baby chickens. All that is left for us to mourn are the feathers and the wings

Every Friday afternoon, a regular scenario takes place. Kees is walking the corridor outside my computer room, now and again popping his head in and asking "Are you ready yet?" Why do men do that? Why not come straight out and say "I want to leave in ten minutes" There have been times when Kees will see me running around in my petticoat getting ready for a social function and ask the same question

So, I thought I would give you a resume of this weekend

Friday, 14th January, 2000, Sandy Bay house:

4.00pm: Gay is in the computer room trying to get up to date with thank-you emails for Birthday wishes and Suite101.com discussions and her email and creating her photo pages for this overdue article. Kees has only asked once the usual question. Tasmania is in the middle of a heat wave and a long period with no rain. Tempers get a little short under these conditions, so he treads carefully.

4.30pm: Our daughter Michele arrives with her children, Isobel and Thomas. The swimming pool was such a success on Gay's Birthday and the weather is so hot, she wants to give the babies more swimming lessons. Gay immediately drops the Suite for more important things.

9.30pm. Arrive at "Kibbenjelok", due to daylight saving there is just enough time for Gay to check that the four Christmas doves are all present and Kees to try and find if the chickens have hatched that were due on the previous Tuesday. Gay's task is successful but Kees can't find either the mother or chickens, only four out of eleven abandoned eggs. Too late for the usual walk around the garden so we watch cricket on the TV and go to bed

The copyright of the article A Weekend in the Country Garden in Tasmanian Gardening is owned by Gay Klok. Permission to republish A Weekend in the Country Garden in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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