Narelle Hunter RURAL LIFESTYLE

In the middle of harvest Howard stopped the header and joined me in Sydney for the final Dru Yoga teacher training graduation. Our four daughters came along as well, together with my parents. Mum and I completed the 3 year course together and as we participated in the Dru Vitality Sequence with our fellow graduates, I felt happy for my mum and happy for my daughters who were witnessing both their mother and grandmother becoming Dru yoga teachers at the same time. It was a very special day that I will never forget. Now we are home again and harvest is going really well. Although I am going to miss studying it is great to be able to focus on helping on the farm even more. Yoga is a part of my life now though and I take my mat onto the front lawn each morning and go through the yoga postures that feel fabulous on the day. Reaching high and sweeping around I enjoy the mild morning sun and the birds in the garden. My body feels fit and fle

10pm Nov 18 th 2013 I arrive home from my final yoga graduation weekend to find the same washing hanging on the line and a very empty house. It is dry, quiet and still. The distant rumble of machinery and constant booming of trucks along the long road is the sound of harvest. A big full moon rises from the horizon and lifts slowly into the sky. Howard calls and reminds me to lock up the chooks. I run out with the torch, regretting the decision to have bare feet when I see the centipede. It’s a warm night. The house phone rings. Our neighbor Jo calls to let us know our new calves are out on the main road in the dark.  I call Howard with another job. He is close to home but not close to bed yet. After delivering a load of wheat to the Bribbaree silos he looks for the cows, this will keep him busy until well after 10pm. This morning I was drinking a hot chocolate as the heavy rain fell across Sydney. The winter clothes where back out and the umbrellas where

Our 2013 harvest starts very early this year and will continue throughout November and into early December. It is a time all hands are on deck as trucks, headers, chaser bins and utes align in one central point in the paddock that is being harvested. The first crop to be stripped was the barley, followed by oats and canola. That’s 170 acres, only 1900 to go!! The days have been hot and dry and the crops are yielding quite well at this stage. Yesterday a cold wind started and a storm sat on the Weddin mountain threatening to stop the headers. I was out in the paddock helping Howard finish the oat crop. Howard had a terrible toothache and his face was swelling on one side. We decided to run into the doctors and this was a good decision because it started to get very painful. He certainly doesn’t need this at such a busy time. It is raining today which is nice for my garden and it gives Howard a chance to recover from his toothache but it is not doin

I have had the most wonderful day teaching three yoga and deep relaxation classes at Gusollio’s Day Spa in Young. There is nothing like yoga to bring you into the present moment so you can be with the breath and enjoy moving the body with great intention. It is so fun to practice with a group of good friends too. We speak about the ways we can stay present and enjoy the detail all around us. My theme for the first class is finding ways to manage the busy months ahead without having the negative effects of stress take the fun out of everything. The postures we practice help us feel at peace and yet strong, capable and confident. I return to the farm and pull up the car in the carport, the dust follows. The chicken are starting to lay so I take my bags into the house and plan to head outside again to collect the eggs. We are having pasta for dinner so that goes on the stove top and I make a cup of tea. Howard collects the eggs when he locks the chicken up