The changing of the seasons

It's been a long 2 long months of harvest. We've survived rain, deluges, flooding, storms and bogged headers. After what seemed only days ago to be a season we wouldn't survive, today there was a light at the end of the tunnel. White fluffy clouds in a bright blue sky and paddocks of stubble as far as the eye can see. This bittersweet season of harvest is finally coming to a close. Soon there will be no dust rising from an overworked header, no flash of green tractors speeding past the gate.

Soon we will be on holidays, and this year we will relish every step in the soft white sand, every spray of ocean and every sip of ice cold beer as we say goodbye to a season we hope never to meet again.

Harvest "the act or process of gathering in a crop"

Pop on over to Faith Hope & a whole lotta Love to share in Wordless Wednesday xx

Wordless Wednesday: grey skies are gonna clear up!

Pop on over to Faith, Hope and a whole lotta Love to join in the delight of Wordless Wednesday xx

Life in the country

Grey skies in November and the thunderous roar of a lightning storm  aren't something to celebrate when you live on a farm, but there is something about the magical landscape. Golden crops against the blackest of skies, pitter pattering of rain and that delightful smell of wet gravel roads.

Harvest will be upon us all too soon, for now I am drinking in the peace, quiet and tranquility.

   

This week I am grateful..... that spring has sprung

Spring has sprung and noone is more excited then me! The first day of spring marks one of the most exciting days of my life, the birth of my little boy Oscar. How can he be three already?

 Spring also means our farm is a burst of colour with vibrant signs of life. What better way to celebrate an extra special birthday and the first day of spring then with a frollick and some fun in the gloriuous sun.

 I hope you had an enjoyable start to spring, and you're getting some of this gorgeous weathe. I am playing along with Maxabella loves, this week hosted by the lovely Emily from The Beetle Shack. Why don't you pop on over and share in the fun xxx

Jumping in muddy puddles

One of Oscar's favourite cartoon characters is Peppa Pig. She's a cheeky little pig who loves jumping in muddy puddles with her brother George. She has become quite a phenomenon in our household, and Oscar delights in quoting his favourite lines:

"Eeeeeeek too SCAAA-RY!"

"DIIII-NOSAUR, roooooar!"

On a recent sweltering autumn day, we were delighted by an afternoon sun shower. The rain fell in big fat drops and smelt delightful. It was such a welcome relief to the persistent 30 + degree days we've been having for more then five months. 

The first thing Oscar did was pull on his gumboots, and declare "Time to jump in muddy puddles!"

"Oh where's the rain gone?"

Today we enjoyed another day of autumn rain, and this time the cool weather came with it. I have my fingers crossed those 30 degrees are finally behind us.

Morning glory

I have so much to be grateful for this week; not least my beautiful mum, my gorgeous babies, and the time I have spent relaxing and re-energising. When I return home to the comfort of my Mac I will recount all my blessings and tend to my neglected blog, but in the meantime I wanted to share a snippet of my joy. Something that guaranteed a smile every morning this week.

There is finally a chill in the air! It's crisp and fresh, smelling of dewy grass and an early morning sun. Blink and you will miss it, but for those sublime few moments each morning, Oscar and I have been able to dream of winter. And pretend it's nearly upon us.


I hope you've had a delightful week too xx

Raindrops are falling on my head

*gasp* my eyes and ears don't deceive me....... we have rain! Big fat delicious drops of autumn rain, smelling so sweetly of dry dirt and a long hot summer.

This afternoon as the rain pelted our tin roof, Mathilda and I watched and listened to the clouds rolling by and the lightning and thunder as the skies opened up above us. We drank in the beautiful sounds of pink & grey galahs squawking in the trees, sheep bleating and scurrying for cover and nature gobbling up every last drop of this long awaited weather.

I'd almost forgotten how delightful an afternoon shower can be.

Hoorah I won! Handmade Kids and Ruby & the Dodo Flood Appeal

  

Thank you to everyone who visited the Handmade Kids and Ruby & the Dodo Flood Appeal page and placed a bid on one of their gorgeous items. I hope you found something delightful to take home. I was very excited to to be notified that I had the winning bid on this gorgeous set of original prints designed by Jessie from Art Candy Boutique. They are so adorable, and are going to look perfect in Mathilda's nursery.

At last count the appeal had raised more than $17 000 for QLD flood victims. What an amazing show of generosity, and that's through just one of the many appeals being run through Facebook. I'm still fervently watching my bids on other items from the Summerblossom Flood Relief Charity Auction. If you haven't already had a look at the gorgeous items on offer, why not pop on over now?

Splish splash I was taking a bath

   I find it quite ironic that as the east of Australia was being deluged by torrential rain, we here in the west were sweltering in 38 + degree temperatures. Ridiculous as it sounds, I was praying for some rain to ease the unbearable weather.

And lets not forget that only weeks earlier, the north of Western Australia was facing flooding of its own. Carnarvon and surrounding residents were evacuated as the Gascoyne River reached record levels.

It's quite a poignant tale of how mother nature can encumber our wide country with complete extremes of weather. And as Australians we battle on as best we can.

Thankfully with the heat, we here in the west got the better deal. As horrid as the oppressive temperatures were, we at least found some relief by splish splashing in the bath all afternoon. Oscar has a whale of a time creating his own mini tsunami in the laundry.

 

I guess you could point out the irony of little kids in the east paddling boats down their main street. What a crazy world we live in!

Flood Appeal Auction

Like so many of you, I'm struggling to come to grips with the devastation caused by floods across Queensland. I shed a tear this afternoon at the irony of watering my new garden and quenching its thirst after a scorching hot day in the sun. As we played under the sprinklers I couldn't help but think of the poor children who were threatened by walls of water and torrential rain. Of the people of QLD as they struggle to come to grips with the devastating aftermath of mother nature at her worst. I've never faced a natural disaster, but have always felt so helpless when heart wrenching details of floods and fires around the world are played out on the nightly news.

When the the Black Saturday fires ravaged parts of Victoria in 2008, I donated as many blankets, clothes and personal items as I could. It goes without question that I will do the same for the people of QLD. It just never seems enough though, and as the hearts of so many Australian people open, I am always looking for ways to do more. 

It was tonight on facebook that I found the appeal I was looking for. Handmade Kids and Ruby & the Dodo Flood Appeal is aiming to raise funds for the 2011 QLD Flood Appeal by auctioning off generously donated handmade items from small businesses across Australia. 100% of proceeds will go to the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal. Another similar facebook based appeal is the Summerblossom Flood Relief Charity Auction. I already have a long list of beautiful items I'll be bidding on!

So if you too are looking for ways to help, please visit these flood appeal pages. Not only will you have the chance to take home a beautiful handmade gift, you'll be helping to ease the pain of victims and their families.

And while on the subject of handmade gifts, please pop over and see my post about paying it forward. I'd love for you to take home one of the two remaining gifts I have on offer xx