Saturday, December 8, 2012

First Harvests

There is a lot to write about after our trip to the Arnhem Lands, but time keeps rolling and early summer has us hard at work.  This dress is one found in the supermarket at Kakadu - round neck, sleeveless, a-lined with a zip front and deep patch pockets.  Up north, it felt kinda Sapphires/ Suzie Wong/ Nam. Down here it's the perfect station summer dress.  Ok. I confess. I bought two. The other dress is bright orange and fluro pink and blazing with little sunflowers.  I wore it as we drove uphill to check out work on our neighbour Gordy's fence line. He has an amazing block - beautifully kept and vertigo inducing.  He saw the look on my face as I fell out of the Hi-lux and he said: "You'll be right Charlotte. Go over there and you'll find some cherry trees. Get yourself a feed. Got a bucket in the ute?" and then he disappeared further up the hill with my husband.  I grabbed every hat I could get my hands on, and a billy can, and staggered and stumbled around the bank....having strange flashbacks to that 80's movie Manon Des Source and silently calling Yiddee Yiddee Yiddee in the vain hope that it would get me to the trees more gracefully.  Once there, under five beautifully kept trees, in full fruit, on  the ripest day of the year, I went into a picking frenzy/awed contemplation of the valley as it was laid out below.  The deep pockets in the new dress were perfect for picking into.  How good it was to be so graciously welcomed onto land that was so well cared for. An inspiration. 



Manon Des Sources