Our friends wonder why we don’t move to the country since my husband and I seem to spend more time in a neighbouring country town than we do in our own city.  Sometimes I wonder this myself.  I grew up in the country so I get a bit nostalgic for the “country life”.  However, we can enjoy both worlds, town and country, as it is only a 20 minute drive to our favourite country market.

Occasionally I like to sneak a cheeky photo at the market.  Unfortunately this time I opened my big mouth and confessed to this gentleman that I had stolen a photo of his dog.  In return for the photo grab, I thought I should offer to take a “proper” photo of him and his dog and email it to him.  He jumped at the chance.  Then we got talking, as you do, at country markets.  Turns out he is a professional photographer.  Well shit (pardon the French).  Serves me right.

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Can you make out that blurry fellow wedged between the woman in the green jumper and the beam in the photo above?  That’s Alan (ex-Canadian ice hockey coach).  We get a lot of our fruit and veg from him.  Like these oranges below.  They are seconds, ie. produce that doesn’t meet the supermarkets’ standards.  Crazy.  Perfectly good fruit.  That huge orange was delicious.  More than delicious.  Outstanding.

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The market is held at the local showground, so occasionally they also have other events on at the same time.  Look at the concentration on this young lady’s face.  I think she had a clear round in her jumping class.

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There is so much to see on our 40 minute round trip.  Like this little goat.  No sooner had it escaped from its paddock, it decided that the grass wasn’t any greener.

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And what about this odd couple?  They are always hanging out together.

odd couple

Finally, one last photo of my mum’s farm.  It is up “north”.  Queensland.  They are a bit strange up that way.  They like cattle and coal.  Round her area they even wear cowboy hats.  I suppose they might think I am a bit strange too — a useless city slicker — due to the way I kept looking around nervously for the bull and because I didn’t wear an Akubra.  I could go on, but I love me mum so I had better stop there.

cattle

Thank god I’m a country girl.

Kind Regards.
Tracy

For the Ragtag Daily Prompt — Nostalgia, and Aroused’s Friday Fun — Farm Scene.

47 thoughts on “Our Home Away From Home Local”

  1. Akubra? What’s that? Love all your photos and especially the comments about them. We don’t see many animals around here. Plenty of dogs and cats, the occasional bunny or horse. But the country and the farm communities are far away though when you drive long enough, you can see cows, llamas, ostriches, horse ranches.
    Taking our 2 older grands to the local fair today so we’ll be on the lookout for the animals and the petting zoo. And some good food. Take care, Tracy.

    Liked by 4 people

    1. Akubra is an iconic Aussie hat brand, which has been around since the 1870s. It is still a family business passed down through the generations. The hats are made out of rabbit. Although the company make lots of different styles, it is best known for its broad brimmed hats made for the “man and woman on the land”. I believe they are licensed to produce the Stetson as well.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Yes – what is Akubra? Lovely post, and I had a good laugh at you and the professional photographer…that is something that surely could happen to me – but afterwards it is quite fun. Lovely animals too – all of them.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Thank you, Ann-Christine. The animals were characters so I just had to take a snap of them. Akubra is an iconic Aussie hat brand, which has been around since the 1870s. It is still a family business passed down through the generations. The hats are made out of rabbit. Although the company make lots of different styles, it is best known for its broad brimmed hats made for the “man and woman on the land”. I believe they are licensed to produce the Stetson as well.

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  5. Lovely photos Tracy. Those oranges look soooo good.
    I am smiling at your photographer story. I’ve done stuff like that so often. The one that still makes me cringe was at a little boy’s birthday party years ago. I got chatting to his grandmother, whose name I knew was Joy. We were talking about work and how I was a (copy)writer and I did my little spiel about how people don’t value writers, blah, blah, blah. It was only a few days latter the penny dropped; the little boy’s last name was Cowley, and I’d been telling Joy Cowley about writing. Which is bad enough, but there was so much she could have told me (including what it’s like to be friends with Roald Dahl), and I totally missed the opportunity.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Oh woops, That definitely fits the cringe worthy category, even though Joy Cowley was probably just happy to be having a regular chat. I’m sure she didn’t think any the less of you, Su. Still. 🙂 Glad I’m not the only one with foot in mouth disease.

      I’m planning on going back for more of those oranges.

      Liked by 2 people

      1. She struck me as a genuinely nice person, who probably has more to do with her time than judge random mothers at birthday parties. I can see why her kids books are so successful — she was fabulous with the troup of little boys on that day.
        Enjoy your oranges!!

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  6. Am so laughing at the references to what’s an Akubra. I didn’t expect that lol Love the odd couple best. A great story of a country market. I am a city boy raised by a country family and the only one to go back to the bush. I am a bushboy 🙂

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    1. Heehee. Of course you are, Brian. But I dunno. I haven’t seen any Lee Kernaghan videos on your blog. Or maybe I just missed those posts. Or maybe I just brushed off those ones. 🙂

      I love that odd couple too. That little pony is such a toad. So funny to watch.

      Liked by 1 person

  8. I do love going to country markets although the ones I have been to don’t have resident animals. I enjoyed all the Akubra comments too. As Tracy hasn’t come back yet I’ll tell you that the Akubra, which is a brand name, by the way, is our version of the cowboy hat.

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  9. Channeling your inner John Denver (Thank God I’m a Country Boy)? Oh, that last photo..if that doesn’t bring you to the farm, nothing will.
    We all have some kind of crazy photography story. Last Thanksgiving my husband and I were out of town and I was snapping photos of this very lovely lighthouse. Gentleman comes up and looks around. I said, ‘Oh if you stand over here, you can get some very pretty light.’ He looked at me and said, “I know. I work here.” Well, shit is right……

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Yep channeling, Lois. 🙂 Your story – that moment when ignorance is actually bliss. 🙂

      My mum does have a lovely place. She often gets city slicker extended family members visit her and we are taken in by the ambiance. But my goodness, it must be hard work!

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  10. All the characters (beasts and human) are so likeable! And I am sure you took a lovely picture of the pro and his dog, I mean, I bet you he does not get in his own frames very often. You do have the best of both worlds, Tracy!
    I wonder: Is the Akubra the one with the corks hanging around the brim?

    Liked by 2 people

    1. That is what the photographer told me, Irene, and once offered, I couldn’t take back the invitation. 🙂

      Heehee. I think the cork hat pre-dates me, Irene. The cork hat (now replaced with mozzie mesh) is more for the fisher person. The Akubra is more for the landed gentry and those who work for the landed gentry.
      🙂 Here is the long explanation. Akubra is an iconic Aussie hat brand, which has been around since the 1870s. It is still a family business passed down through the generations. The hats are made out of rabbit. Although the company make lots of different styles, it is best known for its broad brimmed hats made for the “man and woman on the land”. I believe they are licensed to produce the Stetson as well.

      Like

      1. Oh, cool! When I was a grad student, a friend from Argentina got a job as a professor in Australia, and a year later came to visit and brought me a toy koala wearing a cork hat 🐨. From your explanation (thank you!) I gather it must be the equivalent of getting a doll at a Mexican airport, wearing a big sombrero 😁

        Liked by 2 people

  12. I can relate to feeling embarrassed around professional photographers. I have a friend who was a commercial photographer and although we discuss photography I would be far too embarrassed to show him anything I’ve taken.

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  14. Tracy it wonderful to see the animal friends hanging out together. I live in a semi-rural mixed farming area and animals wild and domesticated are just minutes away. Herds of dairy cattle loafing in the pastures. Deer wandering through people’s gardens. Black bears making themselves nuisances scrounging for grub. The six lane express highway is just ten miles away but I seldom need to use it. I enjoy the respite of the rural/urban contrast.

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  16. Such a lovely post, Tracy! I had to laugh so much reading about the photographer, but it’s true – he probably doesn’t have his photo taken often so I’m sure he really appreciated it. 😊
    Love the look of the oranges – European standards drive me crazy with what fruits and vegetables are allowed to look like. So much produce that probably goes to the bin – it’s a shame. They once showed how imported bananas were controlled in Hamburg and when found lacking in perfection they were destroyed!! It’s not even allowed to get them out of the bin before. 😯
    That half-baked goat is a cutie.😉 And the cow in your last pic a real beauty! 😄

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Thanks Sarah. It is fun to watch all the antics of the animals and just to spend a little bit of time out of my mind. They are so comical. 🙂

      We’ve had bananas ploughed back into the ground because they weren’t the right size. An amazing waste when there are so many people finding it so difficult to make ends meet. Hopefully that will change. I’ve got my fingers crossed. Meanwhile I am wholeheartedly enjoying the “seconds”.

      Liked by 1 person

  17. Ah, that’s so sad to hear that the same is going on in Australia. 😯 The weird mechanics of economy I guess. Better to watch the animals and enjoy their antics and take photos of them to share with friends. ☺

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