Daylesford Spring Dispatch - Sunday, 6th September 2026

 
Love Peppermint Patty's optimism

Last Sunday was a beautiful sunny one and we enjoyed our walk around Daylesford cemetery before heading to the Market & getting our weekly supply of fruit & vegetables for us & Morse. We were both tired, of course, after two late nights in a row, so took it easy, before Wes headed out into the garden, which is a delight at the moment with all the daffs, tête-à-têtes, jonquils & hyacinths in bloom. 

The next morning was another lovely one. After the walk, I went to Coles for the supermarket shop, and, after breakfast, went back into Vincent Street for further chores. Meanwhile, Wes mowed the embankment at the end of our street - a job that is shared by him, James@#80, and Dan@#77. I picked more daphne, hellebores and daffs and noticed that our tête bouclé bulbs were now flowering.

Me admiring some of the many daffodils in our back garden

ABC Radio National is holding a best 100 Australian books competition and I found it very hard to narrow my choices down to 10. I reluctantly omitted some earlier classics to include more modern ones, and will be very interested to find out the results in October. These are my choices in no particular order:

• A Fortunate Life (1981) - A.B. Facey
• I Can Jump Puddles (1955) - Alan Marshall
• My Brother Jack (1964) - George Johnston
• The Rosie Project (2013) - Graeme Simsion
• The Season (2024) - Helen Garner
• The Getting of Wisdom (1910) - Henry Handel Richardson
• Picnic at Hanging Rock (1967) - Joan Lindsay
• A Town Like Alice (1950) - Nevil Shute
• The Dictionary of Lost Words (2020) - Pip Williams
• Shadowboxing (2006) - Tony Birch

On Tuesday, Morse chased two bunnies on our walk, and was delighted with seeing them both. Afterwards I had a long overdue Zoom with Leanne, who filled me in on her past 10 days, which had been busy. Her support worker, Bec, is an excellent companion and they enjoy each other's company for two hours, three times a fortnight. 

Lovely shades of pink, lilac & purple hyacinths

Then Wes & I drove through the worst potholes in the Shire to Trentham Golf Course, where we used to be members and played regularly. Wes tells me it is at least 10 years since we played there, and we thought we would head to the practice green and try hitting a few balls. We were both delighted to discover we could and that matters of direction could be sorted out! I even had a few practice putts, before we agreed that golf could be on the agenda again. Then came the hard part - we'd brought Wes's bag & buggy and when we got to the car, realised we had no idea how to collapse it back again. It took 10 minutes before we finally worked it out. Fortunately, no-one was around to witness our humiliation, although they could perhaps have solved the problem easily for us!

On Wednesday, after our walk, I went to Muffins & More for Mah Jong with Judi. We had a lot to catch up on, so chatted before playing quite a few games. I was the early winner, but Judi matched me at the finish. Meanwhile, Wes did a lovely job of vacuuming & washing floors, and the sunshine helped them dry quickly.

We managed a walk before the rain on Thursday, and Wes had an interesting Zoom chat with the Jackson Group, where they covered a few topics. Meanwhile I hosted the Old Friends WhatsApp catch up, as Kathy had an appointment with her eye specialist, who was very pleased with her progress. She has had the most amazing experience getting her cataracts done, and is enjoying life without glasses. 

Morse in one of those contortions that dogs seem to enjoy 🤣

Among the morning's chores I visited Wombat Hill Nursery, and picked up some punnets of herbs as the heavy Winter rains have done damage to some of our existing pots, which need TLC. I ran out of energy to do anything that day, but will refresh the pots & plant when I can.  

It was frosty on Friday morning when we walked with Morse, but turned into a cool, sunny day. I chatted with Leanne again and we solved some issues, before I did a few chores in Vincent Street, and returned to find Wes cleaning our ceiling & exhaust fans. It's amazing the amount of stuff that collects in exhaust fans!

That night Carlton played Geelong in an Elimination Final in front of nearly 97,000. They started the game well, but were eventually overrun by the more experienced Cats. Wes was philosophical - he knows they wouldn't have progressed any further, and is grateful for an exciting second half to their season.

Geelong's amazing Captain, 36 year old Patrick Dangerfield kicked 5 goals in a stunning performance

We allowed ourselves a sleep in yesterday morning, and set the alarm for 7am. It rained all night and we couldn't walk Morse. He was perfectly happy to stay in bed after the late night watching the footy. We had planned to go out for lunch, but the rain and strong winds made staying at home very attractive and we enjoyed reading the Saturday Age before watching the remaining two AFL Finals of the weekend. 

Sydney unexpectedly trounced Brisbane at the SCG on a hot, wet day, and later, Adelaide were too good for the Western Bulldogs in an exciting match as Adelaide Oval. As well, our Daylesford Doggies won a hard-fought Preliminary Final against Bungaree to progress into next Saturday's Grand Final. Wes served steamed prawn & ginger dumplings with steamed broccolini for dinner, which was a most enjoyable meal, and we demolished some of his Father's Day chocolate honeycomb afterwards.