a cup of reflection, a pinch of advice, a teaspoon of sweetness
I’m a bit of a list person. At work on a Monday morning I start the week with a list. I usually re-do that list each morning, always with the best intent of crossing items off the list. Some weeks it works great, other weeks and days the wheels fall off quickly and the list becomes just a reference point, not a ‘things to do this week’ list.
But I have a list. Read More
It had been an industrious morning for Ellie. A few hours earlier she had donned her faithful apron to bake. It was the monthly CWA meeting tomorrow and she was taking morning tea to share.
Ellie looked forward to these meetings. With a husband that rarely talked and four children that couldn’t the CWA meetings were one of her only connections to other country women to simply chat, share news, ask questions about raising her children and have a sense of belonging. Read More
Josie sank into the old
musty chair on the front verandah and took in a deep breath. There was no better time of day.
The sun was making its way over the hills in front of her, giving the sky an orange hue building the suspense before is big ‘ta-da’ moment as it lights the earth.
There is a slight wisp of fog layered on the young wheat, dancing and swirling like a fairy’s dress as she whirls in excitement, welcoming the new day. Read More
I woke one morning l
ast week and peeked out the window.
NO!!
The sky was dark, the city was grey. The heavens had opened, it was pouring rain.
When I’m home I love the rain. I know it is filling our dams, our water tanks and the soil profiles that will sustain our crops and our community. It is Mother Nature’s gift to Father Earth. Read More
She stood at the kitchen window and watched Tom drive off down to the wheat paddock, his faithful dogs happily yapping in the back of the ute. The tension in the house lifts as a quiet settles around the homestead. Mary is alone for a while, a time she has grown to enjoy. Read More
As the sun breaks through the final of the rain clouds Tom strolls into his paddock of wheat and surveys his land. He kicks the black soil under his feet and the corners of his mouth turn upwards, ever so slightly. He starts to get optimistic for a good yield this year. That last bit of rain has topped up the moisture store, should get the crop through to its end now.
But he has learnt there is still a ways to, so don’t go banking the money just yet. Read More
“I have to sort my life out” is a common phrase one of my daughters uses often. At times it is used a little flippantly like to work out whether she is going out with friends or sorting out her study timetable. At other times it is for real life decisions that I am sure many young people are faced with today. Read More
I missed the memo yesterday. Or at least that is what I started to wonder. It didn’t hit me at first; I ploughed on oblivious to the change. I turned the corner and it hit me.
I was faced with a wall, a wall of people heading in the opposite direction to me. The country girl was back in the city and trying to cope with the hustle and bustle of “peak hour”.
My head was cloudy and grey 
even though it was only 8am. Read More
I had to do one of life’s necessities this week, renew my driver’s licence. I know there are many people in the world that do not have one but living in a country location where the nearest shopping centre is 15 kilometres and no public transport it is a necessity. With my work I fly often to the city. The airport is one hour drive away, so it would be extremely difficult to do the work I do without that small little card that says I am allowed to drive. Read More
I met a man the other day. It was ever so fleeting. He told his story. I listened.
I will call him John, he looked like a John.
John is 75 years old. Forty of those years were spent shearing sheep across north west NSW. From Walgett to Walcha, from the Queensland border to the hills sweeping the Liverpool Plains. He had spent time in most of the shearing sheds in the district. Read More
Country Horizons 