JONAH AND THE JUMBO PUMPKIN

JONAH AND THE JUMBO PUMPKIN

Ogg’s grandson Jonah lived at a place called Ngunnwal in the Antipodes, a very long way from the little green country where Ogg lived.  In the spring when Jonah was two years old Ogg thought that nasturtiums, sweet peas and a pumpkin might entertain Jonah who already showed great interest in green plants that flowered.  So Ogg wrote a letter to her daughter Claire who was also Jonah’s mother, but Ogg had also thought that Jonah might like a small pet (he already had goldfish) so Jonah and his mum and dad had already been to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals shelter where they purchased two rabbits who lived together in a cage.  Then Jonah’s family purchased an inside hutch for the night time and an outside hutch for Rabscuttle and Raspberry (who were both black and white bunnies) for the day time.  Jonah’s mum made a special fence so Rabscuttle and Raspberry could be in part of the garden during the day and there was still some space left for Jonah’s garden (there was no room left in the little garden for vegetables).  But in the little garden at Ngunnwal there was also a very large compost heap.  Matthew (who lives in Scotland) knows a lot about compost as his family has a compost bin and also near his home there is a Community Garden that has very good instructions on how compost works.  The compost pile in Jonah’s garden originally grew a wonderful tomato plant but this spring Jonah’s mother planted three organic heritage seeds from an early American variety of pumpkin (Ogg is also very interested in heritage seeds and their preservation and sometimes she is a little bit bossy).  The pumpkins seeds germinated beautifully but this summer in the Antipodes was very, very hot so Jonah’s mum made a shade tent so the pumpkin vine would not die in the long, hot afternoons.  And with watering in the evening, all the nutrients from the compost heap and with shade from the little tent, the heritage pumpkin vines grew and grew, even putting tendrils through the fence of Rabscuttle and Raspberry’s daytime run (they thought the tendrils and new stalks were delicious but the leaves were not delicious at all, but made nice shade).  Then one day while Jonah was a his day nursery the pumpkin vines made their first flowers, enormous, golden yellow flowers attracting lots of bees who visited them.  Even before the flowers dropped off the pumpkin vine something very interesting happened.  At the base of the flower stalk there was a round green lump.  Jonah was allowed to touch the little green lump very, very carefully.  As the summer went on Jonah and his dad feed the ducks very often at the Ponds, and the pumpkin vine fruit grew quietly bigger every day.  Then one day near the end of the Antipodes summer Ogg received a wonderful photograph, Jonah sitting on top of a jumbo pumpkin.  What a wonderful surprise!

GRANDMA’S FIRE TRUCK

GRANDMA’S FIRE TRUCK

On Sunday,
After Grandma goes to Church
She feeds all the farm animals
And puts on her yellow overalls
Because,
Sunday is the day that Grandma has
Fire Practice
In her shiny, red fire truck.

Grandma’s fire truck is a dual cab

CAT 7 – Striker.
It can go up mountains with water to
Put out fires where the big tankers cannot go.

Grandma loves her fire truck.

She has a special license to drive it
And a bright red hat to match
Because,
Grandma is the Fire Captain
Of her Brigade.

Her crew like her, even when she falls out
Of the cab in a hurry
To roll out a number 7 hose.
Grandma says her crew are “top rate” too.

Last summer

It was very dry.
No rain fell for a long, long time.
Where Grandma lives
The red dust was the same colour
As her Striker.
In the mountains
Near Isabella’s home
Fires started during dry thunder storms
(that is when lightning happens, and thunder, but no rain)

High

In the valleys
Little fires became bigger fires.
In the little, narrow gullies the fires
Raced up like flames in a chimney reach the top
Of the high hills.
Then,
Away the fires raced.

There are many wombats

Living in deep borrows
In the mountains
And red necked wallabies,
Lyre birds, possums
Eagles and koalas.
All of them were in danger.

The Fire Controller

In Bourke
Phoned Grandma and asked her to be
“On Stand By” with her crew.
Grandma packed her bag
And put on her yellow overalls.
The Controller phoned again
“You are to fly to Cooma
in a special plane”, he said.

The little aeroplane

Stopped at Narromine
To pick up
Another Fire Captain
And crew.
Then,
Off they flew.
The smoke was too thick
For the plane to land
At Cooma,
So Grandma (and the other fire crews)
Landed in Canberra.
The State Emergency Services then
Drove them all to Cooma.
It was very late
When they all arrived
But their Incident Controller
Was waiting to meet them.
His name was Ken
And he looked very tired.
“The bus leaves at 6am,
breakfast is at five thirty.
We’ll try to get lunch up to you
But take a case of bottled water.
You will change over at the
Staging Station at seven o’clock”.
What a lot of things to remember.
Grandma found her room with the bunk beds
And had a shower.
The night crew were out patrolling
The fire line.
The other ladies on day crew
Were having a beer.
Grandma was fast asleep
When they came back.

Bring! Bring!
Someone’s alarm had gone off.
It was a quarter to five
In the morning.
Grandma’s bed
Was near the light
So she switched it on.
Goodness!
What a lot of people
Were sleeping in the bunk room.
There was Angie From Forbes
In the bed next to Grandma.
Angie was the “Groupies” driver.
The Groupie looked after the crew
While they worked on the fire line.
There was Liz and Emma
Naomi, Lottie and Ann
And some other people as well
From Grenfell.

Grandma went to the toilet

And had a wash.
Everyone else had a shower.
Grandma put on her
Long cotton pants,
Her cotton singlet
And her woolly sox
And then put on her yellow
Overalls.
She put her ventalin and her
Pink stuff
In her top left hand pocket.
She put a hanky and her compass
In her top left hand pocket.
And then she put on a patch
(to keep her heart working properly).
Last of all
She put on her boots.
With her hat and her goggles
Under her arm
Grandma was ready
To fight fires
(after breakfast, that is).

There were lots of things

For breakfast
That Grandma
Usually didn’t eat
But today
She had eggs and toast
And baked beans and bacon
And a sausage.
What a lot for Grandma!

The bus was waiting

For everyone to finish
Their breakfast.
It would take the day crews to the
Staging Station at Shannons Flat
On the edge of the fire ground
And bring the night crews back.

Grandma’s Groupie

(Group Captain)
was called Peter Muffin.
Grandma thought the “Muffin” part
Was Angie’s joke
Because sometimes she thought
He was a bit doughy.
Grandma’s task was to
Direct and protect
A small D6 dozer.
The dozer was to cut a new fire break
Along the southern edge of the
Namagee State Forest.

It was very

Uphill.
Grandma was glad she brought
her compass
and a GPS.
She wished she had brought
Her binoculars as well.
The D6 was a nifty
Little machine
But the ground
Was very rocky.

Grandma walked in front

With her compass
And the map.
“This way –
then turn to the north –
that way”, she waved her arm.
“See the gap
in the timber line
on top of the mountain?
That is where we have to go”.

Peter Muffin and Angie

Couldn’t find
Grandma’s CAT 7
Up the mountain
So they didn’t have
Any lunch that day.
(Wasn’t it a good thing
Grandma had so much breakfast).

But they cut the new fire break

Exactly on course
And protected the D6
All the way.

The bus was waiting for everyone at the
Staging Station at 7pm.
Everyone had worked hard
For twelve hours.
Change-over
Was fairly quick.
The wind hadn’t been very strong
In Grandma’s sector
So the night crew shouldn’t have
Much bother.
But the wind was blowing strongly
In the west.

Grandma’s CAT 7

Was from Alectown.
Angie called it “Allycat”.
Grandma’s crew cleaned it while she made
Her report
So the night crew
Would be comfortable.

Grandma was tired

After twelve hours on the fire ground.
But,
She was very happy
With her crew and their support.
She though about the wombat burrows
That they had made the fire break
In front of
And the historic survey maker
That they had found and built a break around.

After dinner Grandma

And Angie
And the crew from Narromine
Walked down to the pub in Cooma
For a Guinness.
It was very late
And Grandma knew they must be up
Just as early the next day.
So they had one Guinness each
And walked back to their quarters.

Bring! Bring!

Another day.
Grandma’s crew was detailed
To evacuate anyone still in the valley.
The fire was moving.
All the people had gone from their homes.
They visited each house and made notes
On access and protection.
Grandma’s CAT 7 was then called
To regroup at the end of the valley.
It was “Hurry up and Wait” time.

Grandma sat on the water tank

On the back of “Alleycat”
Watching the flames spot over
The mountain.
New helicopter landing pads
Were being graded, but the crews
Were detailed to wait.

“Forbes One”

(a very big tanker)
had a soft ball.
“Alleycat” had a spare axe handle.
Everyone, even Grandma
Played cricket on the dirt road.
A lady from a nearby farm
Brought biscuits and a cake
For the crews to share.
She was very kind and grateful
That all the crews were there to protect
Her house and cows.

Seven o’clock changeover

Brought bad news.
Fires were racing from the west.
Tomorrow would be a long last day.

In the early morning

Grandma had breakfast
And waited with the other crews
For the bus.
It was very dark
And the sun couldn’t shine through
The thick, black smoke.
The bus took them past their old
Staging Station to where the graders
Had been making the helipad.
All the fire trucks were in a long line
Waiting for the change over briefing to end.
Peter, the Groupie,
Asked Grandma to mind a grader
That was smoothing the new track
Cut by “Binlarden’s” dozer.
(the fire truck was really Bindagullery
but Angie said that was Too Hard)
Grandma was pleased to be working
With the Narromine crew who were in
The “Binlarden” CAT 7.

 All around

The fire was making the tall trees fall.
Tall, beautiful trees
That had lived on the mountain
A very long time.
Grandma saw a red-neck wallaby
Frightened by the smoke
And all the people and machines
In its forest.
Two lyre birds were also startled
From their nesting place.
One dragged its wing
To attract attention,
But the dozer kept making the new track.

On and on through the forest

Went the dozer
Making the new fire break
To protect the lives of the people
Who lived on the flat
And the houses and farms
And the forest too.

It took a long time

For the two Strikers
With the dozer and grader
To reach a secret, hidden valley
In the National Park.
They were a long way from
“Forbes One” who carried their extra water supply.

Peter and Angie came to inspect the new

Fire break.
“Better start a back burn”
Peter said.
Out came the drip torches and
Grandma and the Narromine crew started to back burn.

Still the main fires came closer.

Burning trees could fall
Across the new break so they had to be
Cut down a burning tree.
Grandma held the fire hose on “fog”
To protect her crew while they cut the tree.
Then it was safe to go on.

Suddenly

On the radio they heard an urgent call
From Forbes One
The big CAT 1 water supply
“There is a spot over, spot over”
called Liz.
“It is in the tea tree, we can’t hold it”
Grandma radioed back that they would
Come up as fast as possible.
She called back,
“We have almost a full tank of water”.
Off Alleycat went as fast as it was safe to go.

Ahead of them was the “Binlarden” CAT 7

Still protecting the dozer.
Rusty, the Captain said “Don’t panic!
We have the dozer, we can stop the spot over”.
Quickly the dozer found the spot over and
Started to cut a break.
The flames were carrying quickly through the
Tea tree which burnt fiercely.
Just in time the dozer
Cut across the flames and the
CAT 7 crews moved in to control.

Grandma was in such a hurry
To roll out her number seven hose that
She fell out of the cab.
“Ooops!” said Grandma.
She wasn’t hurt and was glad no one
Was watching.

What a very busy time for everyone.

One of the hoses fell across
Some burning coals
And sprung a leak.
It had to be replaced
And rolled up.

In the fire it was hard to see

So Grandma worked with her crew
From the fire break
Making sure there was “blackout”
Along the edge.
Slowly the fire went out
And “mopping up” was done.
Time for everyone to drink some water
And roll up their hoses
And check the equipment.
Goodness,
How tired they were.

Then back onto the main fire break

Patrolling and blacking out
Along the edge
So another spot over
Couldn’t happen.
Their Groupie didn’t want to leave
The fire line unattended so he waited
For the night crews to arrive
Before changeover.

At eight o’clock

All was done
And Angie raced the CAT 7 crews
Back to the bus.
Everyone was very dirty
And very, very tired.
It had been their last day.
Tomorrow it would be home time.

 Grandma had a long, hot shower

After dinner.
Ken, their Incident Controller
Had bought some beer
As a “Thank You” for holding
The fire line.
Some people sat around quietly talking
But Grandma had to go to bed.
She had been very busy for three whole days.

Next morning

Grandma packed her bag
And was ready to leave for home
After breakfast.
This time the bus took them
To Cooma airport.
Their little plane was waiting
And soon they were flying home.

First they stopped at Narromine

To let off the other CAT 7 crew.
“Goodbye, and thank you”
said Grandma.
She had enjoyed working along side
The Narromine crew.

Then back to Bourke.

Grandma went home
And soaked her yellow overalls.
They had to be washed three times to
Get the soot and ash out.
Then she hung them on the clothes line
And had a long sleep.

GRANDMA'S GARDEN

GRANDMA'S GARDEN 

On Sunday afternoon I visit my Grandma. Grandpa goes to play bowls and Grandma stays at home so I can visit and we sit and chat, potter in her garden and then Grandma and I get Sunday dinner ready for everybody.

Grandma and Grandpa live in an old house near the golf course on the edge of town. It is seven blocks from where I live with Mum and Dad, my brother Eddie and my baby sister Violet. So I ride my bike. Up the hill past the hospital, along the Patterson Flat Road. Past the High School and down the lane to the Golf Club.

When Granpa and Granma came to live in their house the Golf course was all part of Grandpa's dairy farm that stretched down to the river. Now there is only a bit of orchard left on that side. Then the fence and people playing golf. Grandma planted the hedge with bushes that grow orange berries in winter and prickly plants called Grevilleas that have nice flowers that you can't pick. Grandma planted the hedge at the bottom of the orchard so she can't see the people playing golf, just the long loop of the river trees in the distance.

In the orchard all the trees lean a bit to one side. All the old apple trees with little red stripe apples in the autumn. And the pear trees, the apricot tree that I help Grandma make jam with when we pick the apricots in the summer Holiday, the plum trees, peaches, cherries and at the end by Grandpa's chook run, the walnut trees. Sometimes I like to lie in the soft grass under the orchard trees and look at the clouds. All the trees are old like Grandpa and Granma. A bit bent the same way and sometimes rough to hold but warm in the sun. And very gentle.

In the spring the blossom petals drift across the grass and the bees sing. In the summer Grandma and I pick fruit to make preserves and jam, jellies and chuckney. In the autumn the leaves turn gold and orange and red. Then they fall and make brown patterns across the ground. The wind gathers them up and blows them about until they start to break. After the rain they lie limp and different because only the leaf veins are left and they are worn and fragile. I gather up the best whole ones and put them in my books at special places. They are very beautiful. In the winter the bare branches have frost on them some days and the orchard is windy and cold unless I stand very close to the tree trunks for shelter. And then, suddently the snow drops poke up their heads between the blades of grass and I know spring will come soon. I love Grandma's orchard but it is not my favourite part of her garden.

When I wheel my bike in through the front gate at Grandma's house the gate creaks a bit and I have to prop my bike to close the latch. The latch is old fashioned and I have to make sure it clicks close properly. All up the path to the front steps there are theses little white flowers Grandma calls Sweet Alice. They grow in the cracks on the path, along the edge of the path and even in the cracks of the front steps. They look like little bits of lace and they smell nice particularly if I lie on my font and put my nose up close. There are lots of other flowers by the path. Tall Hollyhocks and Foxgloves, Delphiniums and Daisies, Lavender bushes and For-get-me-nots with their little blue flowers all bunched up together and other green smelling leaves. The path up to the front steps at Grandma's house always looks very pretty and I like to sit on the worn, smooth dippy steps and look at all the colours. But it is not my most favourite part of Grandma's garden.

The kitchen in Grandma's house is at the back. I wheel my bike around past the long wide verandah where the roses grow and park it by the tank stand. Grandma has a lot of rose bushes. High tall ones, low rambling ones, prickly upright ones and very small ones. They all smell wonderful but they prickle a bit. I like to look at Grandma's roses best from the verandah. The kitchen window has a little hood on it like a roof all of its very own. All up the window and across the little window roof a Passionfruit vine grows. In the spring there are wide strange looking flowers and in the summer the small green balls of fruit set. Thyen in the autumn we have Passionfruit. Big purple balls that Grandma makes into all sorts of wonderful things to eat.

Inside the kitchen Grandma is waiting for me. She makes a pot of tea and pours it into the blue cups with people on them called Willow Pattern. Grandma drinks her tea from her saucer. Mum gets cross about this but when there is just Grandma and me on Sunday afternoons we don't mind Mum at all. We eat scones that Grandma makes with jam that we made last summer and cream from Granpa's cow Molly. Grandma cleans up all the crumbs and I go out exploring in the garden.

In the kitchen there is a big black stove that burns wood even in the summer. Grandma has blue and white curtains with some lace at the bottom across the kitchen window. There aren't any fly screens so the curtain blows in and out. Outside the window is a twiggy bright green shrub Grandma calls Lemon verbena. Sometimes bits of its branches climb in the window. On the hot summer afternoons the scent of the lemon blows through the window like invisible clouds. Sometimes when I'm home in bed I dream about the smell of Grandma's kitchen.

Grandma calls the garden outside the kitchen her herb patch. There is sage that I scrub my teeth with, little leafed thyme, parsley, marjoram, dill, lovage, borage and mint are the ones I know best but there are lots and lots of other herbs Grandma uses for all sorts of things. The herb patch has wonderful scents and I like to sit quietly smelling the herbs and trying to guess which one is which. The brick path is always warm and I always feel very safe  when I'm there. But it is still not my favourite part of Grandma's garden.

Between the tank and Grandpa's shed Grandpa built a pergola. It must have been built when Grandpa was quite young because there are grape vines all over it and they droop down to the garden all around. Grandma grows her ferns and precious plants under the pergola. It is very shady and cool, especially as the rain water tank leaks a little bit. There are frogs sometimes hiding under the old bricks Grandma puts her pots on. The pergola is a secret sort of place but it is not my favourite place in Grandma's garden.

Down by the wood shed Grandpa has a vegetable garden. It has a high fence all around it. Grandpa said that he built the fence to keep out the kangaroos. Now it keeps out low flying golf balls. Grandpa grows vegetables in long straight rows and has a System. Leafy things like spinach grow where carrots did last year and tomatoes grow where the spinach grew before. Grandpa says his System is called rotation but Grandma puts left over flowers in at the corners. Grandpa says she has no idea but I quite like marigolds growing with the beetroot and daisies with the potatoes. Grandma says its companion planting and that Grandpa is just plain old fashioned. Either way there are always loads of vegetables. Enough for Grandma to make pickles and for me and Dad to have at home instead of getting things from supermarket. Mum even has a special basket she brings on Sunday night for Grandfather to fill up. Grandpa's vegetable patch is really great but it is not my most favourite part of the garden.

Right down the back of Grandma's garden, past the outside toilet that isn't used any more, past the old pig pen where Grandpa has his worn farm, past the wood heap where Dad chops wood for Grandma's stove, down at the end of the path after the bricks have stopped...is the Little Brown Bird Tree.

The leaves on the Little Brown Bird Tree dangle down to the grass. Bees are always busy at the tiny white flowers that hang down too. It is shady and cool like Grandma's pergola and moss grows on the ground near the trunk of the Little Brown Bird Tree. And all around I've planted the seeds that Grandma has given me from her flowers in autumn to make a special wild garden for the finches and robins, wrens and willy wagtails. Sometimes in the winter the Rosellas come down and I make up a tray of grain from the sunflowers that I grow.

This is my very own special place. I like to lie in the sun in winter and watch the ants store their seed. I like to see each week how my spring bulbs are growing. In the summer I sit under the shade of the Little Brown Bird Tree and listen to the birds chirp and sing. And in the autumn I collect more seed and rake up the ground to make more flowers in my own special place.

And every Sunday afternoon Grandma and I potter around doing a bit of watering. And I visit my special place with the Little Brown Bird Tree while Grandma has a rest on the verandah. And then I help peel the potatoes and pumpkin for dinner and set the table for Grandma and Grandpa, Mum and Dad, Eddie and Violet and me.

Sometimes after we finish washing up Grandma asks Mum to give her tune on the piano before we go and Grandpa nods happily. Dad sings the songs from Church. Eddie sings in the Church choir too and wants to study music when he grows up. Grandma  loves long gentle bits called the Moonlight Sonata or something to do with a Faun. Mum loves to play the piano and we don't have one at our place. I just like to listen.

And then Sunday afternoon is all over until next week. I go home to my own room at our own house and dream about Lemon Verbena and Little Brown Bird Tree and something about the rustle of spring.