As you follow the stately, meandering Tarwin River south, you arrive in the picturesque town of Tarwin Lower. If you allow yourself the time to stroll along the shopping strip, the delicious, teasing scent of award winning Little Rebel roasted coffee will lead you straight to the popular ‘The Bird & The Wolf’ coffee shop.

As always, I bumped into lovely, familiar faces in town and struck up a jovial conversation with an endearing, retired farmer I hadn’t seen in a long while (social distancing rule applied of course). He too was buying fuel and we enjoyed a good, old yarn, laughing and teasing as I proceeded to fill my diesel container with ‘unleaded petrol’!

It’s been over five years since the Schreurs uprooted themselves and their successful vegetable farm from the outskirts of Melbourne to Middle Tarwin, converting over 1000 acres of lush, former dairy and cattle land. The soil, climate and access to water sealed the deal. “We managed to find a location with a lot of water and a lot of water catchment area,” Adam Schreur explained.

The covid-19 pandemic is horrendous on so many levels, however the creativity which is transpiring and rising from the ashes is commendably astounding. One of the innovate ideas presently emerging at full speed is Pages For Wisdom.

Chelsea Dynan, from Gembrook, is a psychologist and an experienced palliative care counsellor. Presently on maternity leave after giving birth to a gorgeous, second child, Chelsea has been reflecting and writing about her meaningful work. “I found myself pondering over the fragility of our aged care community and how one person can have such a substantial impact on another,” she claims.

As we welcome warmer temperatures to defrost our bones, it’s also time to keep our wits about us to avoid undesirable experiences. Swooping magpies injuring our scones or being stung by angry bees isn’t much fun … nor is wrestling snakes.

Between April and November each year, Australia’s southern and eastern coastlines blossom with magnificent displays of playful, acrobatic, humpback whales.

Having fed on krill during summer in Antarctic waters, these beautiful, majestic creatures begin their migration north, traveling up to 10,000 kilometres in search of subtropical waters to feed, mate and give birth.

Although I diligently wear a mask when necessary these days, I can’t say I’m accustomed to it, nor will I ever want to be.

The saturated earth is waking up and preparing to come alive with all the colours of the rainbow. The sun is finally radiating welcoming warmth and the grass is beginning to accelerate its growth. The birds are busily, vocally fluffing around, focussing on expanding their families, as are most creatures at this weather-pleasing time. It’s definitely nice to see and feels uplifting.

Our wildlife warriors, Sue Moore from Tarwin Lower and Kylie Laing from Venus Bay, both appreciate the responses to the wildlife story posted online and printed in week one of the hard copy South Gippsland Voices newspaper.