Monday, January 16, 2017
A Proper Summer
This is the first summer in years I've been able to love without trying very hard. I had summer down as a nasty, ridiculously hot season of dryness and storms that passed us by. In the space of about five years, I'd forgotten what a proper summer is like. Yes it's hot - and some days it can feel like you're melting into a puddle - but on those days a storm comes along in the afternoon and cools everything down. There's bugs making noises allllll day long, and in the evening another kind takes over the chorus. This has rendered my plans for putting together an online course futile. I'm sure no one wants to hear the sound of cicadas playing in the background - and trust me, they can get incredibly noisy.
Everything is vividly green around me at the moment, and muddy too. The lawns are neat and tidy after a sunny weekend once again, which is lucky because after a small shower overnight there's water lying everywhere again and the seasonal creek is back up and flowing. The ground is so saturated with water it takes nothing for puddles to collect.
It's going to be hot today - a brisk walk through the paddock when the sun was coming up let me know just how hot, and the sound of the cicadas is already drowning out the beautiful early morning birdsong.
I'm so grateful for this proper, wet summer season that I don't mind any of the pitfalls. The muddy dogs, the damp washing that has to be put into the dryer or the endless whirring of ceiling fans seeming to make no difference to the temperature in the hottest part of the day.
The paddocks have become lush, which makes my heart both happy and a little sad. We held onto the stock for so long, and now that there are none left the rains have arrived. As I read on another blog once though, better to sell and repent than not sell and regret.
And I don't regret it anyway. Caring for animals takes it's toll, especially through drought and trying to convert them to organics at the same time. I very much needed this break from caring for so many others (which probably sounds silly, but those animals were put first in everything), and just have the time and energy to focus on myself and my family.
Halfway through the first month of the year, I can truthfully say I'm pretty content with how it's going so far. The bumps have been small, and ones that I might have found bigger just a month ago, don't feel so big right now.
I hope the beginning of your year has been good too.
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The difference is incredible, Sarah! Enjoy the green, and know that you made the right choice for you and your animals. One never knows what the future holds.
ReplyDeleteNo one doesn't, which is both good and slightly annoying at the same time :-) I am certainly enjoying the green! x
DeleteSometimes, caring for everything, makes you simply exhausted. Enjoy your respite and use it to plan and get excited about your farm all over again. That's 2017 for me too :)
ReplyDeleteA friend told me to think of this year as a holiday (as far as the animals go) and I shall. I hope you get your animals back when you're ready for them x
DeleteLook at the beautiful green, Sarah! How wonderful that everything that was parched has come to life again. I think we can only make decisions based on the now, as we can never really know what the future holds. Perhaps, the freedom you have from caring for animals right now will allow you to focus on other things, and to enjoy them. Meg:)
ReplyDeleteThank you for your lovely comment Meg! I find it amazing how everything springs to life - and how rain seems to water & nourish plants at the same time. No amount of hosing or irrigating ever gets the same result!
DeleteSo green Sarah, sooo green.
ReplyDeleteIt's so dry here, with more hot days predicted during the week. I just can't remember the last time it rained properly. The garden hasn't looked green and lush for a long time. More brown and gasping.
It is green and I relish it all the more after it being so very dry, and knowing that some places still haven't got the rain. Brown and gasping is about right! Hope you get some rain soon x
DeleteLovely to see everything so lush. It's very dry in central Victoria where my Mum loves.
ReplyDeleteIt is very lovely! I hope your mum gets some rain soon too x
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