This is a rare picture of Australian parrots in the snow! Their striking colours contrasting beautifully against the white background as they search for some treats on snow laden branches in an inland town during the big polar blast experienced here last week. The lowest June temperatures in 123 years apparently and we have never been so grateful for the all encompassing warmth of our woodfire. Somehow nothing else warms a house up quite like it. The air con makes it comfortable enough but no where near as cosy and despite it needing a bit of effort (ordering the wood, then stacking and moving it) it totally makes winter an enjoyable season for us! I’m making the most of waking up later as it doesn’t get light until 6.30ish rather than 4.30 of mid summer and by 4pm the sun has sunk behind the escarpment and it’s pitch black by 5pm! We eat dinner earlier as it literally feels like 9pm by 6 and we indulge in some Netflix or my current fave program on Amazon Prime is Jeremy Clarkson’s Farm which is a scream. To give you an inkling his farm is called “Diddly Squat” which is what he reckons he’s going to make from it! The program is all about the trials and tribulations of farming of which there are many – definitely worth a watch! Jeremy’s rather gormless/gloomy face as he realises he’s made yet another farming faux pas just cracks me up! 😂
I love this word and the way it sums up something intangible that some people feel, the need some of us have to upsticks and move to another country or to try our hand at farming because we feel a connection to the land. Feelings that may seem unfounded but stir deep within us and have no apparent logical beginning or end. The sea calls to many and to others the green of pasture land or a stream running though the woods and is the yearning we call home or Hiraeth.
Home is also where family comes together and for this June long weekend we had Sam, Liv and the boys down to stay for 3 nights which was lovely. Oliver’s first trip to The Meadow and he was such a good little pumpkin, literally eating, smiling, blowing raspberries and sleeping! Cooper was very happy to be back and made good use of all the facilities available to him! Cooking Rara toast, pasta and eggs in the cubby house kitchen was high on the list and helping Papa with the chickens became a ‘must not miss’ morning routine. He loved picking oranges straight from the tree and he and Papa shared some special moments whilst peeling them while a certain little Choccy dog looked on hopefully!
As the never ending highway upgrade is happening right at the end of our lane we managed to get our ‘digger’ mad grandson up close and personal with a huge one currently not being used. On seeing it he threw his arms open wide declaring he was excited!! He was thrilled to “touch it” and “feel it” I love how easy it is to make a 2 year old happy sometimes!
So now the house is a little empty and the pantry no longer full of the baked goodies that tend to come with the arrival of visitors and I am ready with a LONG list of things to do. I know Spring is the traditional time to clear out cupboards and clean but somehow I always feel more inclined in Winter when its blowing a gale outside and I’m snuggled up indoors as opposed to a beautiful Summer’s day when I’d rather be walking the dog on the beach! Thus the list and this includes a few little jobs I’ve had in the back of my head since we moved in – changing the surround to the front door is one of them. It currently sports a yellowy coloured reinforced type glass which doesn’t let in much light to the hall so I’m thinking of changing it to proper glass, perhaps with an etched border or something to give a nod to the age of the house. Some research and pricing is necessary before I get too carried away. The same applies for another little project – to change the hearth tiles around the two older fireplaces which are cracked and also a bit boring. The trouble with little projects is it’s hard to get someone in for a small job unless they have a small gap between jobs for the big boys so I’ll just have to have everything ready to go for that window of opportunity! The other task is to rearrange the artwork in the bedrooms. We have changed the furniture around since we moved in and now the art looks out of whack as a result. The trouble is as soon as you move something you leave holes behind that need plugging/painting and then the paint looks weird next to the old paint and you end up re-painting the whole room!!! Watch this space!!
So as the three of us are being slightly more inside beings at the moment I am even more aware of (pretty much the only) downside of owning a dog. She is such a good dog in every way but she cannot help the amount of hair she manages to shed. This is because Labradors have an incredible coat. It is a neat, short coat, but it is particularly dense compared with many breeds and that is because the Labrador has what is called a ‘double coat’. Underneath that glossy waterproof outer layer, is a dense warm undercoat designed to keep your dog snug while swimming in icy water. However this means that the undercoat dies off at certain times of the year and the dreaded moult begins. The hair does not only fall where the dog sleeps but it drifts around the house, even in the areas the dog is barred from. You open a kitchen drawer to get a saucepan and you can bet your bottom dollar there will be a hair or two in there. Dust the bookshelves and there they are, run a bath and the hair has beaten me to the tub. Not in huge amounts but enough to be annoying. Apparently Dyson have brought out an attachment for a dog. Yup, you actually vacuum your dog with it! Not sure whether it was tested on a Labrador but it’s sounding rather tempting at this stage! In the meantime it’s consistent brushing outdoors that is getting the job done and the upside of that is that I often see her hair entwined in the birds nests and love the idea that the baby birds are getting some insulation thanks to one of the most frustrating parts of owning a Lab! Always a silver lining somewhere folks…..
My Move To The Meadow 