2021 will be remembered as COVID 19 “year two”. However, like any other year it has had its ups and downs. The moment that stands out for me was when I got a phone call from our son, Declan, to say he was safely in Sydney. He had been given a seat on a repatriation flight from Bangkok. The relief and joy of knowing he was now in the same country was unbelievable. He still had two weeks of quarantine in Sydney to face before we could catch up, but that was just a blip when compared with the months he had spent trying to get back to Australia.

His original flight in May 2020 was cancelled and so began the tortuous process of  booking flights and then being notified of cancellations. In fact, he was about to give up trying to get to Australia and was in the process of returning to Dubai when he was informed about the possibility of repatriation flights being commenced from Bangkok.  He informed his father but suggested it be a secret from me for the time being. He was hoping to arrive back, do his quarantine and turn up as my birthday surprise. Unfortunately, he missed out on the first flight but was in quarantine in Sydney for my birthday- the best present possible.

Declan has spent the last sixteen years working in the Middle East as a University lecturer. When he's not working, he spends time in Thailand and visits us regularly, but Covid19 restrictions impacted his ability to visit us and of course, we could not leave Australia. Normally I am not worried about his wellbeing, but these last two years have put a different slant on things. Prior to this pandemic I was confident that we could visit him if needed and vice versa.

Declan is remaining in Australia at present.  I am enjoying the fact that all our children are presently in the same state and just a two to three hour drive away.

I know this will not last as he will return to Dubai to work when Universities resume face to face teaching.

Whether life will ever return to normal remains to be seen, but at the moment I am 
                    
"Carpe Diem".



​Marg McCrohan
​February 2022

Looking over the last year, COVID dominated our lives.  There were a lot of lows - not being able to visit family, my orphan calf dying after spending months caring for her.  The grandchildren missed having graduation ceremonies, presentation balls and birthday parties, not forgetting the little ones unable to socialise or play in the park after enduring months of home schooling.

However, the highs were numerous too.  We did spend Christmas in 2020 and 2021 together, having a brief break in lockdowns.  We did manage short trips between lockdowns to see friends.

It was a wetter than usual spring and summer, so we planted a vast vegetable garden.  It was a huge success and we picked peas and beans, tomatoes and cucumbers, squash and zucchini, and gave lots away.  The corn was amazing and parsnips, which are notoriously hard to germinate, thrived.

The spring flower garden was our best ever, the bottlebrushes were weighed down with red brushes, and the camellias flourished in the wetter, cooler conditions.  The iris garden which we had worked on for years was an amazing rainbow of pink, blue, purple, yellow and white.  I waited with interest to see how my newly purchased bi-color irises would grow.   Lots of photos were taken to remember this special season.

The pair of thrushes who have nested in a flower pot on top of the hot water service on the back verandah, hatched three chicks.  I was lucky enough to be watching the day they hopped on the lip of the pot and took their first precarious flight.  One made it to the garden shed roof, another got as far as the tree line beyond the back fence, but the third only made it to a bush close by.  It paused, recovered, and followed its mates.  Rain was threatening.  I worried about them out on their own.

The biggest high was at the end of lockdown when our two grandchildren from Melbourne arrived for a visit.  A five and seven year old who love the farm.  From the moment they walked in the door they were at home. 

Thomas had missed his birthday party and I had promised to make a birthday cake on their next visit.  On the way up his mother phoned to remind me, so I hastily made a marble cake, iced it with lashings of chocolate icing and sprinkles.  The cake blowing ceremony was held, seven candles on a separate cake (due to COVID rules), and a huge amount of cake devoured. 

The calves were inspected and the chook house visited in search of eggs.  Peas were ready to pick and pod.  They learned this quickly and were a great help.   

It was a lovely visit.  Caitlin summed it up beautifully by announcing that she was lucky because she had a home in Melbourne and a home in Benalla.


Margaret Nelson
February 2022