Country livin'

It was my birthday last Thursday (don’t ask me my age though – it’s way too depressing). I was a bit of a spoiled brat this year as one of my presents was a family holiday to beautiful Birregurra in the Otways. We got back on Monday, and it was such an ace weekend.
We stayed at King Parrot Cottages with horses, donkeys and alpacas on-site; bush-walking tracks and views to die for. The second photo below is of a bowerbird nest, gleefully discovered by my 8-year old, right behind our cabin. It was an incredible construction; scattered with bright blue things – bottle tops, cigarette lighters, doll parts and food wrappers. That is one dedicated bowerbird, as the scenery was pristine so it would’ve required some serious hunting to find all those treasures. I totally admire such dedication in a collector!
Our boys had a ball; lizard-chasing, kangaroo-spotting and exploring the bush.
We were mainly there though to visit the Birregurra Festival. I LOVE a good country fair and this one was a winner: a woodchop event (blokes in Dunlop Volleys and white pants – corrrr – hacking into log chunks), dog-jumping, farm equipment displays, animals everywhere (including camels!) and so many stalls selling local produce, home-made chutneys, relishes and cakes. Heaven.
We had some fab food. The lovely ladies in my photo below were whipping up spinach gözleme at a furious pace. The Vietnamese coleslaw was fantastic too.
Birregurra itself is such a pretty country town, all awnings and timber shopfronts. The General Store, an unassuming-looking milk bar, serves up perfect coffee, killer hamburgers and amazing lahm bi ajeen (Lebanese lamb pizzas – photo below), drizzled with lemon juice and fresh chilli. We make these at home quite often, with planned-overs from this lamb pilaf. Will provide the recipe soon!
So, I’m still on a high after such a lovely break. Finding it hard to concentrate at work. *sigh*