The muted colours of nature are doing a bedazzling dance at the moment. The road’s just been graded, hallelujah, it makes neat the i)drive to town and ii)the view. A good grade makes even the dull grey gravel look a picture, snow gums arching over, hampering what it can of the morning’s fog. Dotted along the roadside are the fluffy baubles of White Wattle’s and it’s all blended in rather beautifully. (I’ve taken pictures of this before, you have seen them) But far my favourite is the drama of the Golden Wattle; never subdued, always shouting it’s aliveness. Every time, I want to stop and pick bundles of the stuff but….too many tissues, too much sneezing. It’s better left to the side of the road where I can admire it in the rush to get to town. How can it be that I forget how nice these times are. The changes in landscape makes me (us?) take notice and for that, I am somehow energised. I do miss it. What I mean is, there are times where I drive to and from town, down this same stretch of beautiful road and I miss the beauty. ‘Why can’t I see it today?’ I think. I’m sure it’s a mindset thing, but what is it that makes us suddenly switch on and allow ourselves to see all the pretty things? Surely it’s not the grading. The seasons certainly help….. and perhaps that is precisely how nature works for the mind.
You’ve helped me greatly this week in my discovery of new bricks and mortar shops opening up in small rural towns.* Thank you! There are so many, it’s so wonderful. I’m still pulling together my thoughts on it but in the meantime if you want to tell me about a cool shop front that’s new to the main street of your rural town please do! This is the post on Instagram.
*This is not the case for Fish and Chip shops along the east coast of Scotland. This beautiful article charts the decline of the ‘chippy’ industry via a visits from a potato delivery driver. An institution in decline they call it.
This newsletter is sponsored by The Homestead Pantry Box.
Podcast Playlist
Someone, I can’t recall who, one of the bazillion newsletters that I read I think, recommended Tiny Acts of Bravery this week and I went there. The episode with Annie Macmanus reminisces about the days of Raves, nightclubbing when no-one was watching ie no-one had a screen permanently attached to their hands. It’s nostalgic joy. Did you guys end up reading this article I posted a week or two ago - about Annie’s (who’s a DJ by trade) realisation on loneliness. She says we all took friendships online during Covid and we haven’t quite converted back to our normal ways.
I see that an episode with Olia Hercules has been uploaded this week too: so cue it up!
Lay your eyes on these Instagram accounts
@doyouremember_⠀⠀⠀⠀|| @akindofhome || @evvecollective ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
The Homestead pantry team sources local artisan food products and shares them across Australia with you. Its aim is to reach all corners of rural Australia and deliver to your doorstep. The bi-monthly box is the most popular - and if you’re struggling for meal inspo, they have monthly menu ideas too.