Wonderful Winter
Winter is my favourite time of the year, except, of course, for summer, spring and autumn. Every season has its wonders and winter has plenty.
I was thinking about this as my wife and I were on our early morning walk. The newspapers had said winter has arrived, and the compulsory photos of sheep in snow-covered paddocks had been on the front pages. It was early and we had walked up the hill, round the corner, down the hill, through the streets, around the sporting fields, the car park of the large club and into McDonald’s for a morning cup of McCafe. Macca’s was warm and the coffee hot. But we were also hot, our cheeks were red, and our fingers were tingling.
It was a beautiful winter’s morning – crisp and cool, but the sky was cloudless blue. Later in the day it would be about 14 degrees C.
We walk back to our home, cutting through the bush to the back gate. In the bush I carry a thin whippy stick to prevent myself walking into cobwebs strung between the trees. Today, the cobwebs are sparkling with goblets of dew. Inside the gate our citrus trees greet us. Oranges, mandarins, limes and grape fruit are in abundance this year. The rain has enabled the trees to produce fruit that are bursting with sweet juice. The branches are so heavy with fruit that they bow to the ground. We pick up some fruit that has fallen overnight to take inside, but peel a couple just to enjoy the freshness of them. If you have winter apples, they are crisp and juicy.
Winter is the time for a colourful garden. The tibochinas are covered with flowers, the wattles are golden, the banksias hold up their golden candles, the multihued salvias line the drive, the rhododendron is in full bud, while the camellias, japonica, sasanquas, and gardenias are a delight. Of course, now is the time for the tulips, daffodils, jonquils and iris to push through the earth to gladden our eyes.
In the veggie boxes the new plants strive to outdo each other: carrots, peas, all the root crops, kohlrabi, kale, cabbage and cauliflower, and of course parsnips (for real Cornish pasties!).
In the house the winter sun is shining through the windows warming all inside. In the grate of the slow combustion wood heater are the embers of last night’s wood fire, which is one of the greatest pleasures of winter.
In the city, winter is the time of some of our most wonderful festivals. The Sydney Film Festival is in full swing, and soon the Shakespeare festival will begin. Take a walk around Darling Harbour and you will be amazed by what is on offer. Meanwhile on the Harbour, all the yachts are out for the Cruising Yacht Club’s winter competitions. And don’t forget to visit the Sydney Observatory on June 21st, to observe the winter’s solstice.
For many hundreds of thousands of people, winter is the time for all four codes of football while others enjoy baseball or hockey. And in earlier years I was dressed in shorts, warming up for a Cross-country, half marathon or City to Surf Fun Run. Winter is great for sports, and that is not just the skiing and snowboarding. Go for a walk through the Southern Highlands or the Hunter.
While I am writing this, Beverley has been in the kitchen cooking. There is a chocolate cake in the oven, and a huge crock-pot of vegetable soup cooking. Winter is the time for soups: pea and ham, potato and leek, tomato, chicken and corn; and of course curries (hot and hotter). We don’t have desserts but our guests enjoy hot apple pies and custard, Danish and rhubarb pies.
I wait all year for winter to put on warmer clothing. It is the only time of the year I can wear the big all-wool jumpers and cardigans my wife has knitted with their beautiful cables, or the magnificent ones I bought in Scotland’s Hebrides and Ireland’s Aran fishing ports, used by the fishermen of the North Sea. Each village has a distinctive pattern, so if a fisherman is washed up on shore, those who find him recognise which village he comes from! In the city, in my Parliamentary office coat cupboard, is my full-length leather coat I wear around the streets when it is raining. I purchased it at a store sale in Tennessee for a $50 marked down price, when the original price was $850!
Winter is the time when all your senses are alert. Praise God for winter.
Rev the Hon. Dr Gordon Moyes AC MLC
