Have you been near Knox Park in Murwillumbah lately? Have you seen all the beautiful new green grassed areas for everyone to enjoy? I am proud to say , these green grass areas came from our farm.
I am one of those weird crazy mums who run around and do things with and for my kids. Granted at the moment now they are all teenagers, it it mostly just taking them to different places and then picking them up. During these car rides, I learn so much about their lives. And they get to learn about mine too.
One of the weird things I do when we go places, is drive past peoples houses and say, “oh look at that lawn”; ” Wow, that lawn is so pretty”; ” Look Kids. Look at that one, I installed that lawn! And it still looks great. And that one too. I wondering if they lovely people still live there.” – usually while gesturing wildly down the road.
I think it is such a Tradie family thing to do. You are really proud of your work and how beautiful you can make something. And you want to share it with your kids. Show them you are more than just a mode of transport to and from places, or the person who makes sure there is food there for them.
I am not sure how much my kids love it though. When they were little I used to get “great job Mum!” and “Oh that looks great!” Nowadays it is more of a “hmm. Thats nice.”
Over the last 9 months the Coastal Turf team has been working with the Tweed Shire Council on the beautiful Knox Park in Murwillumbah. A place we drive past most days. My three wonderful, but teenaged kids, all go to Murwillumbah High School. (Great school by the way. Perfect for my 3!) Can you imagine what I do every time we go past Knox Park and the look my kids faces!
On the way to and from school (when I get to take them. Mostly they catch the bus though) and driving around to all the other extra exciting events and adventures my kids do (this happens a lot. My kids seem to have a lot of after school activities!), I point out Knox Park and proudly say “look at that grass kids!” Or see “See Poppa unloading gorgeous Wintergreen Couch to be laid in the full sun parts of the park. Or is it Sir Walter and Palmetto Buffalo to be placed in the shaded areas. Wouldn’t that be nice for a picnic?”
Can you see their faces now?
But it must have sunk in though. At least a little. Because when Knox Park opened up again after the COVID Lockdown, guess where my kids all went to meet up with their friends?
Being teenage children, my kids love to hang out with thier friends. But they are also active kids who want to move! Which is great. But also exhausting. So this makes Knox Park in Murwillumbah a perfect place for them.
Not only is there playground equipment for all ages (that even mothers can use. Please try the flying fox. It is so much fun), a skate park, basket ball court, netball court, and it has large open areas with a couple of huge open grassed areas for running around and playing games on. And some beautifully shaded grassed areas to picnic under. Or sit a little out of the way with other mothers so your young teenager can hang out with her friends, but you are still close enough to see what’s going on…..
And the best part for me is that all the grass, every blade, I feel like I have watched grow and mature from a sprig in our soil to beautiful park grass.
The Wintergreen couch in the open areas, perfect to take all the wear and tear of running, riding, playing, tackling and giggling on it anyone can throw at it, comes from our front paddocks on the farm. The grass was lovingly grown and fertilised and manicured to be the best looking Wintergreen Couch around. And also tested for its toughness in covid iso by the kids and I . We gave it a couple of test runs with some very amateur soccer games.
So amateur in fact I may have accidentally kicked a ball in to my daughters brand new glasses on her face that she needs to see everyday in one game. That was a really costly mistake. I had to buy her new glasses (which I think she is secretly happy about). I am not the most coordinated mother. But I get in there and give it a go.
As a family we also gave the Wintergreen Couch paddock few goes at touch football , but teenage brothers don’t really understand that touching should be just light, not hard enough to knock each other to the ground. We banned “touch” football after one game.
I can assure you though that if you do fall onto the Gorgeous Wintergreen couch at Knox Park, I have pre texted it for softness and comfort. Being uncoordinated does have some advantages. Like unintended rests. The Wintergreen couch is very soft and quite comforting to an older 40 year old body to take an unintended rest or fall upon. As a soft thin blade grass, the Wintergreen couch was good when I may have need a “rest” on my back, or side, or butt.
The shaded areas of Knox Park of course needed to be tested as well. We ran the Buffalos through the same extensive pre-testing as the Wintergreen did. But in a more refined manner.
As we knew that the Buffalos were going to be placed in the shaded areas where people would sit and picnic and chat and talk, my husband and I took it upon ourselves to partake in a few gentle beverages on the buffalos to ensure that they would be suitably comforting and supportive to have a lovely picnic upon. While we sent the kids to test the green some more with the dogs.
So if you see a lady in a little white car wildly pointing her arms in the car in the direction of Knox Park. Its me! Give me a wave. And point with me so the kids have to look.
You can imagine, every single time we go anywhere near Knox Park, I always make the kids stop and look the grass. Make them look how pretty it is. And if they have friends in the car, I make them look as well. Being good kids, they all say how lovely it looks. Or how soft it is to sit upon, and how much fun they now have in Knox Park. Sometimes other peoples kids are more likely to give you compliments than your own.