Lucy
was woken one morning by a terrible noise. She looked out the window and saw a
convoy of trucks, graders and bulldozers trundling down the driveway into the
bush. She tried to run out to stop them but Pignig wouldn't let her. She had to
shudder helplessly inside, huddling under the security blanket with William and the cat while they mercilessly felled
all the trees. The entire 25 acres of bush was totally decimated. Lucy wanted
to save some of the flowers, she went outside and dug up some bulbs. The
bulldozer was getting closer and closer. It wasn't going to stop. The trees
came crashing down around her and she had to flee back inside with a handful of
bulbs, all that remained of her idyllic world where trees had reached up to
touch the sky. They demolished trees so old their girth was so wide the family
couldn't hold hands and reach around. All completely flattened in just 6 days,
the same amount of time it had taken God to create the world. On the seventh
day they burnt it. They pushed all the fallen trunks and leaves into huge pyres
and set them alight. For weeks the green wood smoldered, sending toxic smoke
billowing high in to the atmosphere, choking Lucy and her family as Lucy choked
on her tears.
 |
| Sunset of Destruction. At least now Lucy had a clear view of the sky |
They
left the grove of trees around the house (for then), though if you were to go there
today you would find the house is an old shed full of junk, surrounded by no
trees at all. From far in the distance when you looked back you would see a
huge rectangle of bare land, a scar in the bush. Eventually they built a canopy
of netting to keep birds off the apple trees that they planted. Poisonous
apples, as it is the practice of the Tadrosse to spray the fruit with toxic
chemicals before selling the apples to markets.
Her
heart was broken, her beautiful fairy world was totally destroyed. All the
homes for the animals, the holes in hollow trees, all the nests of the birds
were all gone. Lucy’s home was gone, where was she to go to now? She had nearly
saved up enough money to buy a cow, but she needed more money so she could buy a
paddock to keep it in.
She
got the family to help her cast a magic spell. Seven times clockwise they weaved
round the glade, chanting a rhyme to bring them some money. Lucy scattered magic
as they walked and talked, using a picture they had from an old poker machine as the catalyst*. They hit the jackpot! Within a week they received word
that Ray had died and left Lucy a fortune. Do you remember Ray? He had given
Lucy the ticket to see the Pirates of Penzance at the Opera house that day. Now
he had saved her, she truly was blessed.
[Authors
note: I need to interject to tell you that the wicked witch insisted that she
gave Lucy this money because she used to do Ray's cooking and cleaning and she
handed Lucy the cheque.]
This
was not all Ray and his family gave to Lucy. His mother was tiny and frail and old, she
was a saint. When Lucy was very small she made her two toys. One was a rabbit dressed
in blue trousers with a carrot in his pocket for meal times. The other was a
cat with an apron with a pocket with a fish (that sounds familiar, a little
girl playing with her cat and a fish?). They were exquisitely made with needle and thread. Lucy loves them. She also left Lucy the OBE she had been
presented with by the Queen during the silver jubilee. Lucy loved Mrs Fry with
all her tiny might. She died many years ago.
They
could buy the farm Lucy had always dreamed of. She made a wish. She wished for 16
acres of beautiful land. She wanted a view and a creek and a line of poplar
trees. She wanted trees around her but not near her. The bush was lovely but
she wanted to be able to see the sky. She added to her dream. She wanted to
create a bird sanctuary. She wanted to replace all the little birds whose home
had been destroyed by the bulldozers.
They
searched far and wide for the most beautiful place to live. They found it at
the foot of Mirannie Mountain in the beautiful Hunter Valley. 16 acres, a
spring fed creek that never ran dry during the following seven year drought.
Poplar trees and willows grew right along the winding creek. The house perched
on top of a hill with a clear view of the sky but plenty of trees grew around.
She planted native bushes to provide food for the birds.She made fountains for them to drink from. She watched trees grow
from saplings into tall gums. Tiny thorn bills, fairy wrens, robins and finches
happily nested in the trees and bushes around the home and down at the creek.
She watched their population spread through her garden then up and down the
road and eventually all the way to town.
She
fulfilled her dream of milking a cow. She bought a poddy-calf from a neighbour
up the road. Lucy hand reared it by feeding it powdered milk and pellets.
She needed it to be tame. The name of the calf was Mooney, she grew into a fine
black and white Friesian cow, just like Hendrika, the Cow who Fell in the Canal
(that is someone else’s story). She made friends with a neighbouring bull and
nine months later gave birth to a calf. Cows make a lot of milk. Lucy milked
her in the morning, on a three legged stool a friend made for her before letting
the calf have its breakfast.
It
was the creamiest, freshest milk you could ever imagine. They made milkshakes and
strawberry ice-cream (the most divine smell you could ever smell) and they
had fabulous coffee with fresh cream on top. It didn't always go to plan; occasionally
Mooney would kick over the bucket or put her great clod hopping hoof right in
the bucket, totally spoiling the milk. Then Lucy would have to wash and
sterilize it all over again. She made sure Matilda and William learned how to
milk the cow, it wouldn't be much good if they had to grow up with the same
ambition as Lucy.
There
were plenty of farm animals for the children to play with. White ducks and a
rabbit called Slothly, Geese and a guinea pig, chickens for eggs, and a blind
goat who originally came with the name Matilda that was changed to Mamada so
Matilda wouldn't get mixed up. Mamada was a whirling dervish in another life;
she spent hours and hours walking round and round in circles.
Lucy
had a new baby she named Wayland. Wayland means the path-way land; he arrived
on her pathway through life. His second name was an old family name, Forrester. Together his name became the pathway through the forest. He had a third
name – Jack meaning healthy, strong & full of vital energy. Wayland was an
ancient Celtic folk hero, a super black-smith in Lucy’s favourite book called
Faeiry Tale. Lucy had him to become the protector of the forest.
 |
| Wayland's Smithy in Oxfordshire Some say that Wayland forged Excalibur at his forge near Uffington. If you leave an unshod horse there overnight, in the morning he will be found shoed! |
Lucy’s
life was complete. She had everything she had ever dreamed of. She had a loving
family, a farm and a cow, she had a creek and birds and animals who loved her. She
grew a beautiful garden with fruit trees, vegetables and flowers. They still
didn't have much money but William said they were rich in flowers. She was
quite content.
She was quite content. She was quite content.
But
what was she supposed to do now? She had completed doing everything she wanted to do.
She lay in the sun in her hammock.
*catalyst
- something that makes a change happen or brings about an event.
 |
| 1236 Mirannie Rd Reedy Creek by Google maps 2010 |
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