I’ll invite you on the road trip we took today.
We drove out to a small country town called Young, the town where Sean spent his childhood and youth until he moved to Canberra to go to university. His parents and several brothers still live there and we visit from time to time.
I didn’t take any photos of Young itself. I’ll do that another time. When we go to Young we tend to be at my in-laws’ house for the day without getting out and about much. We should rectify that because I really don’t know the town well (although it does have a nice yarn shop I’ve been to before!).
I always enjoy the 90 minute trip out onto the country roads which, in the last decade, have improved a lot. It’s now just a nice drive, as opposed to a scary trip onto dusty, corrugated roads. You feel less like you’ve taken your life into your own hands by deciding to drive on the roads now.
It’s a given that it’s always dry out there. We rarely see green other than land that’s farmed, or brief bouts of green after some rain. It’s never long lasting. This view is normal. That grass like straw waving in the breeze.
The area is famous for cherries. Beneath that pale grass is red soil all along the slopes and hilltops that’s just perfect for growing what are reputed to be Australia’s finest cherries.
I love the red soil against the blue sky.
And here’s a cherry orchard, right near the little township of Wombat. Wombat appears to have a pub and not much else. See what i mean about parts of it being green?
And one of my favourite parts is the cemetery on the way into Young, literally on the edge of town.
I grew up in a small coastal town and find the graveyards in small communities so evocative. They tell as much of a town’s story as anything else does and one day, we’ll actually stop and wander around.
I imagine this is a road we’ll continue to drive on, back and forth, for many years to come and I don’t mind in the slightest. Inland Australia is as beautiful to me as any of our more obvious picture postcard regions because I love the wide open spaces, the contrast between sky and land and the way the landscape seems to settle my mind. There’s a peacefulness in that windy, open space that really appeals to me.
Knitting while making the trip probably doesn’t hurt with the peace and quiet I feel either!
Bells
