Autumn has arrived in paradise

Autumn has arrived in paradise and with it, a surprising depth of colour in the deciduous trees. The most common are the liquidambers.  These were at Krambach, west of Nabiac about 20 minutes drive from home.  We went there this morning for the markets.

The Krambach markets were an excursion in the time machine back to John Howard's dreamtime. They were held in the "School of Arts" building, aka the community hall. Outside were some stalls where worthy locals sold produce grown in their own places. Above, this weathered and laconic woman in her check flanny sold us big and bumpy lemons and limes off her trees, and a gramma pumpkin, plus some feisty little new season oranges from the gardens of Wingham high school.

The bird man was there, with his cages of exquisite Gouldian finches and various parrots and lorikeets and fat little quails, busily laying eggs as you watched.

This person must be a local character, with his table full of undesirable trinkets, sitting under the verandah warming his belly and his beard in the sun. Perhaps the ladies indoors preferred him outdoors. Inside, the ladies had tables all piled with the kinds of home-made items I remember from fetes in my childhood: crochet edge tea towels, padded coathangers, hand knitted socks, teacosies and embroidered facewashers. It was marvellous. I bought a knitted toy bunny.

Then we drove home via those pretty country roads and drank coffee and ate walnut cake with the Boroughs out on the north deck in the sun. It's getting cooler here, but everything is relative. Still gentle cool, not the bite you get from the nights and mornings in Canberra.