We like big dogs

Murphy was part of our family for eight years - that was about 10 years ago.

He was just a delight.

TRENTHAM HAY BALES

Last winter the rains came and during spring, the grass grew. The farmers harvested the grass for sale however there is still a glut of hay bales in the area. The hay bales you see in this photo are possibly still sitting in the paddock. Seeing the hay bales on the rolling hills of Trentham's surrounding area remind me of riding the bike in hills of Tuscany in 2014. The difference is that there are no walled hilltop villages.

Hay bales in the Trentham district.

WOMBATS and the FOREST

I may have posted this photo previously - as it says on the the plaque, Trentham is the gateway to the Wombat State Forest.

The forest in years gone by was heavily harvested as Trentham was a hub of timber harvesting however with conservation laws being established over recent decades, the forest is protected and the local animals now have increased, wombats especially - not to mention kangaroos and wallabies.

Wombat forest is used by 4X4 enthusiasts, Trailriders, Mountain Bike and hikers.
There's also the Lerderderg State Forest and the both blend together at certain points. 

The Wombat Trail is an easy 2 hour walk that takes you through the Trentham village to the outskirts and in fact pass our house on its way through some of the forest, the Trentham Cemetery and the old Racecourse.

More on Wombats here.

The Fairy Tree

In a hamlet not far from Trentham is a place called Glenlyon which consists of a small community and a general store. This interesting establishment is more than your country general store. They have some great local and French wines, cheeses, and butter.

The food is scrumptious and the staff are fun. We try to get there every couple of weeks for a lunch. Our mobile phones never ring there as the coverage is rather poor, however there is on little spot where you just might get a fleeting moment of reception if you are lucky.

Leanne told us that if we needed to make a call, try standing beside the fairy tree - we did and it worked.

Pretty but Potent

Love the gorgeous colours of the fungi that pop up around Trentham. We see them in children's books  however I'll play it safe and purchase our fungi in the supermarket.

RURAL PETS

We've had pets when living in suburbia - cats, dogs, birds for ourselves and our kids as they were growing up. It's part of their learning process, the kids, not the pets - maybe so in both cases.

However, we are now empty nesters. The kids now have their own lives and pets will come their way again in their own good time.

As for us - we now have rural pets. Echidnas, Kangas, Cockies and parrots, but the most brave and bodacious are the maggies. Our magpies are so bold and they peck at our back door warbling their sweet song for us to feed them. One would visit us with his parents early this year but now he returns and eats from our hands. He is a demanding young fellow. Even though he has grown fat, we still call him baby.

He looks menacing but he really is very gentle and will take food from my open hand.
I wonder if he will bring his offspring to us next year.

The Trentham Plumber

Today's Trentham Tales daily photo is of our local plumber. Now I'm not sure how he runs a business from an outdoor dummy but we as residents do need to support our local Tradies.

Frosty Trentham

It was our coldest day this morning for this winter. 4 degrees below freezing but the day mellowed out to t-shirt weather for working in the garden. I'm thinking to do daily photos on the blog as my retirement life is so busy that doing a daily photo just may work better.