Monday 4 May 2020

Picnic in the Park

On a shady patch of cool grass, in a little local park just a short walk from home, we spread out our red checked blanket and enjoyed a picnic lunch in the long weekend sunshine.

A packed picnic basket.
Homemade banana bread & homegrown mandarins among our picnic treats.

Sitting on our blanket in the quiet park, just us with the whole park to ourselves, was a happy indulgence over a long weekend where restrictions eased here somewhat and we could relax in the outdoors together.

The quiet little park not far from home.

Sir Steve dog came along too, ever so keen on at least the crust of someone's toasted sandwich and perhaps a corner of  shortbread if it could be spared. (Who could resist those deep brown Labrador eyes? Not me!)

 An enthusiastic picnicker.

We soaked up the warm sunshine, the soft grass on which we laid our blanket, the sharing of our simple lunch and the leafy greens of the trees that edge this little local park.

The leafy greens of the park's trees. 

We plan on having a barbecue lunch up at this same park sometime soon. There is a little barbecue hotplate to use under the wooden picnic shelter. I'm sure Sir Steve dog would be very keen on a sizzling sausage or two! 

It was lovely to have the long weekend, and that little bit more freedom, to make the most of the outdoors in our own little neighbourhood. 

Meg


18 comments:

  1. Freedom is going to be so good, when it comes here, we have to wait until this coming weekend to see our new rules. I am desperate for families to meet in each other homes, it will be good to get together again.

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    1. I hope the chance to enjoy a family visit comes soon for you, Marlene. It's been very hard to be away from loved ones whom we normally keep so close.
      MegXx

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  2. Yum I love all your little picnic food and home grown mandarin...more jealous...well done. I was thinking of going on a BBQ this weekend on Saturday [not Sunday as that's Mothers' Day] however at this stage it's only picnics and not BBQ's probably as people would gather around them more I think. I went and saw my sister who I haven't seen in 7 weeks so spent the day and evening with her and her partner which was so lovely to chat face to face. We normally talk every day on the phone but in real life was such a treat...still weird not to really be able to hug family and keeping to social distancing. Have a good week.

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    1. It's so lovely that you got to see you sister again, Kathy, and spend time together.

      We chose the little park just up the road for our picnic as it's easy to walk to and very quiet. I will have to make sure bbqs are allowed before we have our bbq lunch up at the park. Another picnic would be lovely if we can't use bbq in the park.

      Hope you have a nice week too.
      MegXx

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  3. It is so good to be able to start and return to some kind of normal. That is a lovely park and so good you had it all to yourselves.

    Sir Steve would be glad to get out and see something different too. He looks very happy.

    Have a great week Meg,
    xTania

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    1. It was lovely to visit the park and be able to spend time having a picnic. The weather was perfect; the wind had eased so it was warm. Sir Steve is always happy to come along for picnics and likes to see just what is in the basket for him. Have a lovely week at your place, Tania. MegXx

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  4. Meg, being able to have a picnic is good news for families I am sure. I haven't been on a picnic for years from memory but we used to go on one quite regularly when the children were growing up.the weather has been lovely just as long as you could get out of the wind.

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    1. This area has some lovely picnic spots, Chel, that we can walk to or that are only a short drive away. Spending time in the park makes for a happy afternoon and we just enjoyed being able to spend time relaxing outdoors. We still stayed very close to home though. MegXx

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  5. It all looks lovely, hopefully we will be allowed back out to parks in the next couple of weeks too.

    And yes, who could resist those puppy-dog eyes ... our dogs rely on their good looks and charm for titbits don't they :-)

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    1. Oh so hard to resist puppy dog eyes! Sir Steve dog certainly has a lot of charm and Labrador looks that earn him many free pats from everyone he meets and free treats too whenever they are available. Cheeky fellow!

      I hope that the restrictions where you are can be relaxed as soon as possible so that you too can enjoy parks and gardens and nature again too. I think that's what everyone is looking forward to. MegXx

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  6. It must have felt so good to enjoy a picnic outdoors. I really hope we will get the same opportunity very soon. And no, I wouldn't be able to resist those eyes. :)

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    1. It was lovely, Jules, to sit on our picnic blanket in the warm sun and just enjoy time outside. We've had beautiful Autumn days here and it's always lovely to have a picnic while the weather not hot as it is in the Summers here. MegXx

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  7. How lovely to be able to go out and have a picnic together outside at a park. I am looking forward to the day when we can start to do this too. Your picnic looks lovely and home-grown food always tastes amazing!

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    1. I hope you'll be enjoying picnics again soon before too long. We really enjoyed our picnic; the weather was beautiful and warm and the park was very quiet. Perfect! MegXx

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  8. Oh sounds lovely! We've been fortunate that we have access to our sons land so we have been able to spend time in the great outdoors but I do still want to go somewhere else!!! Our severe restrictions in NW Tas were lifted on Monday so now we are in line with most other states and have only moderate severe ones ;) It all seems to have worked and maybe soon we'll be able to have friends to visit!!

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    1. Having friends to visit again will be lovely, Evi. We are looking forward to the time when we can gather with our friends and wider family again. I can't wait to be able to fly home (up North) to see my Mum. MegXx

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  9. Oh, that sounds like fun! I've always wanted to do one of those bbq lunches, too. So glad that you got out in nature for a picnic. Your meal looks so healthy and organized.

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    1. We enjoyed our picnic very much, Stephanie. As the park is just a very short walk from here, I was able to toast some sandwiches and wrap them in alfoil to take to the park. They stayed nice and warm for lunch. Barbecue lunches in the park are lovely and I hope that we can do that soon. MegXx

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