Narelle Hunter RURAL LIFESTYLE

We now enter the pretty end of winter, as our mornings begin with a thick fog that doesn’t lift for hours, leaving every blade of grass tipped with dew and glistening in the sunshine by lunchtime. Howard takes me for a drive around the farm, so we check the ewes, which are lambing and cut some wood for the week ahead. I take some photos around the farm and garden, while Brooke saddles up her horse and prepares for next weeks Harden Polocrosse carnival. We will do a little work around the house this afternoon and more washing will hang inside by the fire, as it is the best place for drying. I am enjoying being at home again after my shock to the system of a freezing cold winter compared to the delightful Spanish Summer. The farm is a carpet of green as the crops grow well and the rain keeps falling. The ground is muddy and the dams are full. It is the perfect start to the season for our region and the farmers ar

I feel very mindful of the impact the overseas holiday has had on me and it is interesting to note the resistance. Addressing the 'to do' list and the urgency of what 'should be done,' doesn't seem so important any more. I want to sit by the fire in my holiday state and let winter flow gently into the warmer seasons. It was a shock at first, this 2 degree weather, after basking in the Mediterranean sun but now I accept that we have returned to the farm in all its green glory, for we have been blessed with good rain and a crop that has kindly decided to raise its head above ground and look healthy and lush. Brooke is in her lovely routine of rushing from the school bus to horse back. She could not know how good her life is but I see it, as I do my own. I bathe in the bliss, of a life well lived. Words get in the way......   

I look at the photos one by one. Images of London, Paris and Spain pop up on the computer screen together with all their good memories. They attempt to capture the taste of the fresh croissants on offer in the patisseries of France, the grandeur of Westminster Abby or how it felt to sit by the 900 year old olive tree in Spain. It certainly was an incredible holiday. Some days I had to pinch myself, before my eyes were things I had heard so much about, now right in front of Howard and I. The enormous Eiffel tower in Paris, the wonderful Ascot races in London, the World War 1 battlefields of France, the fascinating island of Majorca, Spain. They all swirl around as one great feeling that has inspired such a curiosity in me about history, architecture, language, human nature and all the natural wonders. It is a big beautiful world out there and I want to get to know it better. Howard and I indulged in romantic din