Rutherglen House Sit

 

During the week just gone we've ridden a few times. Firstly out beyond Bowser and back on the rail trail. This takes you by the Vine Hotel where the trail is suddenly unsigned and you have to try either right or left. Eric went right, up the rise, I went left and around the corner only to be met by the resident magpie who has been 'greeting' riders for years apparently. No one warned us. He swooped me 6 times before I could pull up in the shelter of a power pole and call Eric to warn him. It made little difference but at least he was expecting it. Then we had to run (ride) the gauntlet on the return trip but he must have had his fun by that time of day. 

The Vine Hotel was the venue for the AGM of the local branch of Oxfam on Wednesday night. We'd been invited along by Prue, and with a fairly open social calendar at the moment, we were looking forward to a good old country pub counter tea. The food was not disappointing but of even more interest was Chelsea, the guest speaker, who works for Water Aid and has travelled extensively through 3rd world countries. Water Aid works with partners aiming to improve access to clean water, toilets and promote hygiene. My nephew has recently joined the not for profit organisation. The local branch of Oxfam has been dedicated to raising funds for exactly this same purpose. 

Another bike ride we ventured on was out to Oxley and back. This also roughly follows a narrow guage rail line that once went to Whitfield, in the King Valley. What intrigued me were the number of sidings in such a short distance; Targoona and Laceby then Oxley. The train would never be able to pick up any speed! The King River Cafe at Oxley was our target as they serve delicious coffee and treats. I was expecting it to be about 16 km round trip but it was more like 28 kms by the time we got back. Lovely lemon tart though! Ron (my Dad) would have approved.

There has been nothing new advertised on the house market so, with no viewings to arrange, we also had time to take another walk in the Warby Ranges. This time we walked in Pine Gully where the water was gushing down the rock-strewn stream and then tumbling down a waterfall. On the short loop walk we came across more wildflowers and Murray Pines. I've borrowed a book from the library to help identify the plants and between it and Google lens I'm making headway. These orchids on the right are nodding greenhoods. When I was in primary school the teacher often took us out on nature walks, in the bush, straight behind the school fence. Of course in those days we used to pick the flowers and press them between the pages of the biggest books on the bottom shelf of the library. I think we used blotting paper to protect the pages. I wonder where they all ended up?

On Saturday morning we helped out at the Op Shop where both Yve and John and Robyn's parents volunteer regularly. Eric has been helping on Tues mornings and I was roped-in on this occasion as they were doing the spring clean swap-over from winter to summer gear. It's a big job that has already taken the volunteers days to get ready for today's restocking. We spent a few hours filling bags to be sent off to Melbourne, repositioning racks, cleaning windows, dusting and vacuuming. The spread for morning tea was well worth it for us.  All the money raised by this store is reinvested in services for the townspeople so its a great operation they operate. 

Then we packed our gear into the van and moved to our next house sit in Rutherglen, half an hour away. Rutherglen is renowned for its port-style of fortified wine, particularly Muscat and Topaque (previously Tokay). There are now about 20 wineries all located within cooee of the main town. You can read for yourself above, the sign in town welcoming visitors to this North East Victorian town. This home is on Nashs Rd, just on the outskirts of town. It is 3.5 acres with 2 dogs, a cat and many chickens. The roofline is massive, covering the spacious 4 bedroom home, 2 car garage, verandahs and another undercover outdoor area. Then there's the sheds. Thankfully the lawns were mown last week so we only have to care for the home and animals. 

This was originally a goldmining town in the mid-19th century and the town’s main street has maintained much of its charm, with many buildings maintaining their original facades. There are plenty of cafes, bric-a-brac and an amazing second-hand bookshop. It was recommended we try a Parker Pie before leaving town. Overseeing the town is an old water tower that has had a mesh structure added to its top, making it resemble a wine bottle. Clever idea.

In the first few days we managed a short bike ride around town but had to accommodate the dodgy weather. We also had a trip back to Wangaratta to catch up with Yve and John now happily at home after about 7 weeks away in their van. While in Wang we joined the audience at the Special School's production of 'Where the Wild Things Are'. Our friend Robyn held a key role in bringing this to the stage. It was a great performance and the costumes were amazing. These are just a few.

Before the week was out we took on the 9km Rutherglen to Wahgunyah section of the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail which takes in wineries (Stanton & Killeen, Campbells, Pfeiffers, All Saints...), natural bush and farm land. It's a great path through a corridor of trees most of the way. The beauty on this day was that we had a tail wind all the way home.