The Endless Beauty of Spring: Routines of a Slow Life in the Countryside

 

                 The Endless Beauty of Spring: Routines of a Slow Life in the Countryside

At this time of year everything 

is endlessly beautiful we plant and garden and build and 

there is new life everywhere we look hey ducky duck ducks hey everyone so honestly we haven't been 

getting a lot of farm work done at the moment   with these new additions to the family meet 

mushroom ghost bug and cosmos this is cosmos   who keeps falling asleep under a little flower hat 

so we named her after the beautiful pink flower at the end of spring everything is shifting and 

growing and there is so much change in the air the creeks fill blue with the 

new life that the rain brings and the ducks in their soft innocence learn to 

play and duck dive in the clear waters we learn   so much from this and take the time to enjoy these 

slow special moments of life in the countryside finding the balance in our routines between 

stillness play and work is so important for us   

 It's these little things that really 

matter like dancing in the sunset   and stopping to appreciate 

the joy that nature brings the big here exits with its 

roots in the water it is so tall   and strong and looks so happy for the fresh 

mineral-rich water flowing down from the mountains this is our puppy Clover he is a maremma which 

is a guardian breed this means that he is slowly   learning to care for all of the animals and he is 

already so sweet and caring for the baby ducklings he is still a puppy but he's learning so 

much already we hope for him to protect   all of the animals from predators like 

snakes crows goannas wild dogs or foxes Moth's getting so pregnant 

each day she's getting rounder   and we think she's due in a couple 

of weeks clover the guardian dog will   learn to protect her kid and make sure 

that they are safe from any predators but first he's learning to swim 

 Our childhood dog Lachie passed away over a 

year ago now and we miss his presence so much so many things still remind us 

of our beautiful memories of him   but it feels like this chapter 

of our life has passed with lucky   with clover comes a new chapter different 

and unfamiliar but so full of joy so oh Maggie is jealous of all the attention 

but isn't game to go for a swim herself today has been so much fun swimming 

and playing with all of the animals   but tomorrow we have a lot of work to do in our time in nature we have learnt the 

art of balance to balance work and play to   balance our own needs with others and to balance 

caring for the animals the land and ourselves nature teaches us this in the 

most beautiful and obvious ways 

 We learn the importance of balance by 

watching the balance in the weather   how after a dry winter the monsoonal rain comes 

and most days are filled with storms and showers this rain fills the creeks lets the grass grow 

and the waterfalls flow and the gloomy afternoon   storm brings the most incredible sunset filled 

with rainbows and mist and the deepest pinks in the morning the whip birds call 

out and the spangled drongos sing   the common cole coos and marks 

the beginning of the wet season storms fix nitrogen in the 

soil and the next day it is   so clear the grass has turned so 

green and the plants seem happy we give the ducks a special bath 

each day they are growing up so fast hi it's anastasia and mushroom the duck 

here and today we are planting in the garden   and finishing the big duck pen we just need to 

add electricity to it so that the big ducks are   safe in the night time from predators and stuff um 

and there's a few little holes that i need to fill   

 And these little guys are helping me but i keep getting distracted by 

this little cutie you are so adorable it's starting to rain so i'm taking the 

little duckies home you don't like rain do you we're going to bring the boys down to the garden 

to introduce them to their new pen and backyard they are so excited about their new home julia is planting a fig tree the land gives us so 

much energy meaning and purpose to balance this   we try to give back as much as we can by clearing 

weeds regenerating the bush and by planting trees the simple act of planting a tree feels so immense   it feels incredible knowing that this small 

action will bring so much change and growth thanks to the support of our patrons 

we are able to plant trees most weeks the black sapote tree is so full of 

fruit the abundant fruit is always a   reminder of how much change you 

can make with a single action   

 Our father planted this tree from one seed 

decades ago now even though he has passed   we spend our spring climbing picking fruit and 

laughing in the shade of the tree that he planted we are now nourished and comforted by the tree 

that grew from a single seed so many years ago in summer the australian flying fox which 

is a fruit bat comes at night screeching   and collecting all of the fruit the flying foxes 

have begun to take the fruit so we're picking lots   the ones that are already over ripe are 

a special treat for the sheeps and goats we have a lot o