The Quiet Country Life

Posted on March 18, 2014 by Bec H

Well, it’s been a few weeks between drinks.

Events conspired against us, and we’ve just come through a very busy three week period. Two 2-day work trips to Sydney, a 2-day work trip to Brisbane, a girls weekend away, a 5th Birthday for my little man, a 5th Birthday party with 15 kids (never doing that again.. what was I thinking?), a visit from my in-laws (to coincide with the birthday celebrations), a husband also traveling for work, my Mum flying back into Sydney after nearly 5 months overseas with her sister, a good friend’s 30th birthday celebrations (Sydney again) and all this on top of the normal weekly routine.

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The Princess and the Bug

Posted on February 10, 2014 by Bec C

Bugs. Life is full of them. The good ones…

And the bad ones…

One bug’s not so bad. Thousands…? Not so good. Excuse me while I have a little itch just thinking about them.

Bugs are the bane of my summer living. I should be acclimatised by now, swiping them off my fevered brow without a second thought, but quite honestly, the feeling of one bug on my skin is magnified 20 times so that I begin to imagine I have stepped into some kind of Hitchcock horror movie, where I am eventually devoured. Yes, in terms of bugs, I am a little like the Princess and the ~~Pea~~ Bug. Continue reading →

The Sounds of Summer

Posted on January 3, 2014 by Bec H

I hope this blog post finds you happy and revived after the Christmas and New Year break. Wherever you were and with whomever you celebrated, I trust it was fun and yummy. We had a quiet and relaxed Christmas here, and New Year has been fun, catching up with friends.

In between, I’ve been enjoying the familiar sounds of summer – the two that top my list are: the drone of the cicadas and the cricket on the radio.

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Christmas Tree Festivus

Posted on December 12, 2013 by Bec H

We’ve started a Christmas tradition. This December was its third incarnation. The Getting of the Christmas Tree. This year, Hubs named it Christmas Tree Festivus. And so it shall be known, from here on in. On Monday 2nd December we went with two other families (Bec C’s being one of them) to the Burrell Creek Christmas Tree Farm and collected our Christmas trees.

About this time last year, the Christmas Tree Farm was hit by a severe hail storm and many of their trees suffered significant damage. So much so that there will be no trees available for Christmas 2014. What will become of our fledging tradition? The rows and rows of tiny trees will be ready for cutting in Christmas 2015. Relying on the weather, or lack thereof, for your livelihood can be tough.

The Christmas Tree Farm has acres and acres of trees planted in neat, long rows. Everyone piles onto the back of a large flatbed trailer and the owner of the farm drives his tractor through the paddocks, excited customers bouncing up and down and hanging on tightly behind. Because of the limited stock this year, our three trees had already been tagged. In previous years, we’ve wandered the rows hand-picking our favourite tree to take home with us. Continue reading →

Birdsong

Posted on November 16, 2013 by Bec H

It started raining last Sunday, at about 3.08pm.

I can’t tell you how much of a relief it was. The tanks were nearly empty, the grass was dry, brown and crackled beneath your feet. The dam levels were dropping. Everything and everyone looked parched.

It was beautiful, steady, soaking rain. Torrential rain when things were so dry and dusty would have been destructive, but the rain we got was just absorbed into the landscape. Within 48 hours there was a happy, fresh green tinge to the paddocks. Even the eucalyptus which usually cope so well with dry conditions, perked up.

Initially as the first run-off from our roof started pouring into the tanks, you could hear the echoey splashing deep down in the cavernous belly of the tanks. We’d come so close to running out, and with a month-long wait on water delivery, it would have been a long, hot and very dry December. Continue reading →

Springtime

Posted on September 27, 2013 by Bec H

“I enjoy the spring more than the autumn now. One does, I think, as one gets older.” Virginia Woolf, Jacob’s Room.

Well Gin, I’m not so sure.

Don’t get me wrong, I do love spring and all that it represents: new beginnings, fresh starts, a clean slate, budding life, flowers galore. But I love autumn too, and winter and summer. I’m not so sure I could choose a favourite season now. As a child, and possibly up until the last five years or so, summer was the outright winner for me. I still love it but, unlike Virginia, as I get older, I’m appreciating the diversity of the seasons and the qualities that each brings to our lives, experiences and senses. I love all of the seasons.