Party time at The Drip, Mudgee

Happy 21st birthday, Frances Dargaville!   It was freezing cold.  It was wet.  It was windy.  But none of that dampened the spirits of partygoers celebrating with Frances over the weekend.  Guests from Sydney and as far afield as Belgium enjoyed several days of partying here at The Drip and exploring the wineries in the Mudgee valley. 

It was such a delight after so many years of hard work to see the house and grounds coming alive and being used as we intended by friends and family. 

Planting River Red Gums

Rosemary Poolman and two year old son, Jade, were here last weekend and marked their visit by planting a small grove of Eucalyptus camueldensis, the iconic River Red Gum.

Happily the planting coincided with this week's historic announcement that 100,000 hectares of Red Gum forest in NSW has been protected within the National Parks system. So good to see such positive steps are being made and that Jade's generation will now be able experience these magnificent forests in the future.

Rosemary, Jade and dad Josh will be here again for Mudgee Small Farm Field Days in July

In the Kitchen Garden

Frances Dargaville spent time here earlier in the week. Here she holds a bowl of late season tomatoes, sweet from ripening in the gentle autumn sun.   These will be some of the last tomatoes we get from the kitchen garden this season, now the temperatures are dropping now and the winter crops are going in ... Cavolo Nero or Tuscan Kale, cabbages, onions, broad beans and dozens of self-sown Mustard Greens.