Picture perfect in the UK

30.5.2018

I am now back on our farm and busy experimenting with olive oil production. Most of my olives had fallen off whilst I was away but I managed to gather a bucket full to crunch and press. 

Al, Bo and I spent last week staying with my friend Jill in the UK.  She made us very welcome and we all had long talks on serious topics and had fun hanging out together.  I never expected to get a chance to travel with my adult children like this so the whole experience was a rare treat, for me, anyway. They are such good company.

Luckily for us it was warm and sunny every day, and all the late spring flowers were blooming.  My sister’s garden was awash with colour from rhododendrons, azaleas and wild flowers and all the trees had fresh green leaves.  Someone had mowed the lawn into perfect lush stripes and cut all the borders perfectly. 

My cousin and two of her daughters arrived from Yorkshire and my sister’s children drove in from their various homes so we had a big family gathering.  Edd and I knew the Yorkshire mob well because we spent a lot of time with them when they were young, and they have also visited us in Australia. it was great to catch up with their latest news. 

My sister had the funeral all planned, and caterers organised, so there was not as much work to do as we expected.  It all went well, and mum was buried with my father and my brother in the local church grave yard.  Then we had afternoon tea on the lawn at my sister’s place.  I was very touched because several of my personal friends from 40 years ago came along.    This was important because my mother was 97 and there were none of her friends still alive to be there.

We were only in the UK just over 4 days but when we got a little spare time Bo, Al and I went for walks.  Al had hired a car at the airport, so we were able to drive to places that I had loved as a child and renew almost forgotten memories.  The cotton grass was in flower by Flash lake, but the blaze of golden sand across the lake floor had been covered with debris. The devil’s jumps had not changed, and the purple rhododendrons were still growing wild.  The beech trees in the Punchbowl were like old friends and the stream looked identical to the stream I see at night in my dreams just as I fall asleep. 

Al drove us around along all the back roads and I marvelled as one glorious old building was followed by another where ever we went.  With the sunny weather and the flowers everything looked more like a movie set than real life.  I had forgotten that the area was so beautiful.  I have visited the UK every 5 years on average but most of that time I sat talking to my parents to make up for living at the opposite ends of the earth.  This is the first time I have been able to visit the places in the woods and commons that I so loved.

Al took photos of all this and I will post some when I get them.

Bo took her role as a brewer’s wife seriously, so we fitted in regular beer sampling at local pubs.  I am afraid to say I still prefer the warm, English bitter to modern fizzy beers.  Finding gifts to take home was difficult but we did not allocate much time to shopping.

unexpected travel

18.5.2018

My mother died just over a week ago    I never dreamed I would be able to go but much to my amazement my kids presented me with a workable plan on Mother’s Day.  Al and Bo are coming with me, so we have three businesses and three families to sort out before we set off.

, and, much to my surprise I am off to her funeral in the UK tomorrow!

 Luckily, we have entered our slack period on the farm.  The goats are drying off as they get pregnant and only need once a day milking by hand. The chickens have been amalgamated into two groups, and the rains have cut out the need for watering.  Most of the fruit and summer vegetables have been harvested and preserved and the winter crops are mostly planted.

Today I have been making the cheese, writing stuff Edd needs to look after the permaculture students, paying bills, sending out invoices and I am about to start cleaning the house.  Al has spent the week trying to deal with a computer problem that has stopped him printing out plans and is sorting out who can care for his dog.  He is bringing Pip up to her parents tonight so that they can look after her and help her with baby P.  Indi is driving Bo and I to the airport tomorrow where hopefully we will join up with Al.  Indi and Edd are going to share looking after Bo’s kids and doing school transport.

This is all pretty major, so I had better stop writing now and get back to work.

12 May 2018

It is amazing how the weather changes from summer to winter so fast.  It rained hard all night and has continued with heavy rain all day.  I have lit the fires, dealt with some paper work and looked craft projects that were abandoned when summer arrived.  Edd has gone off with Morgen to look for car parts so that he can repair the vehicle he got after Ben hit a deer. Ben has got himself a large flash 4WD with massive bull bars that looks pretty animal proof.

Last night Al stayed here so that he was in the right area for a morning work appointment.  It is the first time he has visited since baby P was born.  He has a friend staying this week who was able to help Pip whilst he was away.  Indi and ben joined us and we all had a very jolly family gathering.  Edd came in last because he went to a meeting about Montessori education given by the USA lady that was here on Wednesday.  What a busy life we have!

Great Camps and Great problems

Fearsome artificial wounds created for first aid training

Camp classroom

11 May 2018

Sorry everyone, my computer crashed, and communications have been difficult this month.  I ordered a new computer through JB hifi but it never arrived and when we phoned up we found that they had lost our order.  They did give us our money back and mean while we had activated a plan B.  We took the old computer into a crowd in town who put in a new hard drive.  Finding which files were rescued and getting office back has taken us several weeks but most system are go now.

Our time to sort things out has been limited by the fact that we still had school camps staying.  On the weeks the camps were here we were busy all hours. We have now completed the 4 autumn camps, so it is time to sort out the rest of our life.  It was great having the kids here, and strangely I miss them as soon as they leave.  Much good work was done, and the weather stayed mostly dry and warm.  We were actually getting worried about the lack of rainfall and neighbours had already started buying water but last night we had a very heavy fall and the lowest water fall pond that we repaired is filling fast.

Last Sunday my mother passed away.   I was able to talk to her almost to the end and for the last few days my sister sat with her.    She was distressed and in pain but was given medication so to make her as comfortable as possible.   She has not enjoyed this last stage of her life after a stroke that made it impossible for her to live independently.  She lasted 97 years and outlived most of her generation.    Her passing marks the end of an era for our family.  We will now search for a memorial stone and plan our finishing up ceremony.

Luckily the news from Pip and Al is rather more cheerful. Baby P continues to put on weight and assert himself and Pip is slowly beginning to recover.  She is not able to travel or stand for long yet, but really, we are all so lucky she survived.  Next weekend we have mothering Sunday, which will mark a special first for her.

On the farm the goats have finally started to come into season and are getting mated.  Most of the summer vegetables are over but we are still ripening tomatoes.  The camps refreshed the garden beds and planted out successions of winter crops.  The beetroots are swelling, and we have not eaten all last years’, yet!

The grass is slowly going green again and it now gets dark by 6pm.  Winter fires are on the agenda again and I am hoping for some free time to work at crafts. Last night we had Montessori staff from Australia and USA here to look at how the children operated. They are planning an international conference for the end of the year.   I hope they felt we stood up to scrutiny. Our next commitment is for a local permaculture course, so work continues.