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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