Melons

When living in New Zealand melons were considered exotic [by our family at least ... they were expensive and therefore never appeared on our menu].  You can imagine my utter surprise when whilst exploring an old mining site at Lake Austin, [Western Goldfields, Western Australia] I noticed melons growing, their spreading tendrils offering ripe fruit for the wild life. 

As I exclaimed and oohed and aahed, taking photos to record this wondrous discovery, my companion proffered the news that these melons were nothing more than weeds.  Stunned as I was, that did persuade me to seek other opinions ... all answers were the same; these melons were Paddy melons and not even suitable for jam.

 

I will never forget my excitement at my first sighting though!

 

Back at the hotel, where I worked, we were short of fruit for 'the boys' lunches.  The Boss suggested melons.  Where did one purchase melons when one lived in a small Outback town with one general store?

 

The Boss replied, "From the garden!"

 

Did we have a garden?  Where was it?  I had lived there for several months and to the best of my knowledge there was no garden.  The Boss went outside and brought in a huge water-melon!!  I will not divulge its growing position, suffice to say it was well fertilised. 

There were several melons growing in the garden and were a welcome addition to the hotel's menu which suffered slightly by the unavailability of fresh fruit and vegetables as our supplies arrived once a week.

 

Later, as I moved south, melons once again sprung on my horizon.  Not luscious juicy water melons, but small prolific paddy melons!  Over the past several years I have pulled out, chopped off, removed all paddy melons I could find on this block.  My diligence has paid off as the melon population has dried up.

 

However the neighbour is not as diligent and his paddock houses a veritable crop of melons ... all very ripe and full of seeds just waiting to be dispersed to continue the cycle. 

 Because of the close proximity of the two properties it appears that some hand weeding may still be necessary when the rains come and the seeds are scattered hither by wild-life.