Spiders so large they appear to be wearing the pelts of small mammals. Dave Barry Hey, Lovelies! Our little farmhouse is a spider haven. We have ‘house spiders’ in every room, and more come out each night. We’ve grown used to them. They don’t harm us (although they have occasionally given us a fright!) and […]
The Quiet Of Morning
Outside the open window The morning air is all awash with angels. Richard Wilbur Hello, Lovelies. Mornings here at the farm are a quiet affair. The sunlight slants golden fingers that edge out the darkness and soften the gloom of dawn until you can make out the shapes of trees and cows. Birds call to […]
Counting Down The Sleeps!
“After all,” Anne had said to Marilla once, “I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.” L.M. Montgomery Hey, Lovelies. Overall I’ve been doing okay, […]
Daisy Mae, Ninja Stealth Cow!
The trick to not being discovered until it is too late is to become part of the expected surroundings. Stealth is more the art of blending in with the background than sneaking through dark shadows. Raymond E. Feist Hey, Lovelies! I know that you’re not supposed to have favourites But I do. This girl. Daisy […]
Another Weird Day In Byron Bay
“I think everybody’s weird. We should all celebrate our individuality and not be embarrassed or ashamed of it.” Johnny Depp So, this happened to me yesterday. I live in an old farmhouse on an organic farm in the hinterland of Byron Bay. Our farm is at the end of a quiet and trafficless road only […]
A Sense of Community
“The world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers & cities; but to know someone who thinks & feels with us, & who, though distant, is close to us in spirit, this makes the earth for us an inhabited garden.” Goethe All through the drought we have left out food for the […]
Everything Green At Last
“And the needles of the pine trees, freshly washed to a deep, rich green, shimmered with droplets that blinked like clear crystals.” Billie Letts Lovelies, I can’t begin to tell you… Our farm has been in drought most of the past two years. Drought in a rainforest. Unheard of. And then there were the fires. […]
Hugs, Cuddles & Cups Of Tea
“For the two of us, home isn’t a place. It is a person. And we are finally home.” Stephanie Perkins As you are reading this my plane is landing. As you are reading this I am pulling myself out of my seat and gathering my bags and trying to walk SLOWLY through immigration and customs, […]
The Strange Goodbye
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” ~ Benjamin Franklin Not long now, lovelies, and I’ll be on a plane. Usually, post-Retreat is a blur for me. I’m always the kind of exhausted that makes moving impossible, let alone thinking or talking. My normal post-Retreat plan is three days of solid sleep. But […]
The Sound of Rain
Rainy days should be spent at home with a cup of tea and a good book. Bill Watterson We’ve been in and out of drought here at the farm for the past two years. Byron Bay is rainforest country – it’s usually a place of frequent rainfall. When the rain dried up, huge cracks in […]
Frosty The Calf Teaches Us About Life
And suddenly you know: It’s time to start something new and trust the magic of beginnings. Meister Eckhart There’s a new little calf at our farm. She came into the world so quietly. She just slipped in without a sound. Ben named her Frosty, because once her coat dried and fluffed out it was bleached […]
Tiny Treasures!
“We need the tonic of wildness…At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.” ~ Henry David Thoreau My morning meditation […]
The Fairy and the Bandicoot
“Sensitive people care when the world doesn’t because we understand waiting to be rescued and no one shows up. We have rescued ourselves, so many times that we have become self taught in the art of compassion for those forgotten.” ~ Shannon L. Alder I planned to sleep in a little this morning. After my four […]
The Sweet Smell of Night
“Pleasure is wild and sweet. She likes purple flowers. She loves the sun and the wind and the night sky. She carries a silver bowl full of liquid moonlight. She has a cat named Midnight with stars on his paws. Many people mistrust Pleasure, and even more misunderstand her. For a long time I could […]
On Hot Days Add Water!
“A river seems a magic thing. A magic, moving, living part of the very earth itself.” ~ Laura Gilpin There’s a heatwave moving slowly across Australia this week. That means you’ll find us near the water. River, ocean, swimming pool. Any and all of them. All our birdbaths are full, and we’ve added extra saucers and […]
I was going to write something else…
“Good stories are like those noble wild animals that make their home in hidden spots, and you must often settle down at the entrance of the caves and woods and lie in wait for them a long time.” ~ Hermann Hesse This morning started as it always did. I meditated at 4am, and then rose with the […]
Holiday At the Farm!
“There is more to life than making a living. Do not work more than you live.” ~ Mokokoma Mokhonoana Hello, Lovelies! Right now we have a friend and her little girls vacationing with us here at the farm. Each day the girls have farm chores to do – watering the gardens and fruit trees (it is very […]
Help Can Come From Anywhere
“I do believe in an everyday sort of magic — the inexplicable connectedness we sometimes experience with places, people, works of art and the like; the eerie appropriateness of moments of synchronicity; the whispered voice, the hidden presence, when we think we’re alone.” ~ Charles de Lint The other morning, as the house slumbered on, I quietly […]
Short and Sweet Update!
“After all,” Anne had said to Marilla once, “I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.” ~ L.M. Montgomery After far too long in the city […]
I Thought I’d Recorded A Relaxing Meditation For You, But Then This Happened
“The world is too quiet without you nearby.” ~ Lemony Snicket I decided to record you a guided meditation yesterday. I sat in the sun, with birdsong all around me, moved into deep relaxation, closed my eyes, and spoke into my little recorder. Then I came back to the house and listened to the recording. It […]
Hay, Hay, Hay – it’s a drought!
“Without water, life would just be rock.” ~ Anthony T. Hincks It’s been a strange winter. I can count the number of really cold days on my fingers. Mostly it has been as warm as spring, and sometimes warm as summer. No-one jokes about global warming anymore. It’s here, and the evidence is all around […]
A Posy Of Weeds For My Friend
“Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain. It’s not something you learn in school. But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.” ~ Muhammad Ali I have a friend who waits for me every day. Our big tough bull – or Red Bull, as we […]
This Crystal Farmer’s Latest Harvest
“Always do your best. What you plant now, you will harvest later.” ~ Og Mandino We harvested crystals on the weekend. They have been out in grids under our magnolia tree and below the massive platform of sticks that is the Eagles’ nest in the old tree down by the river. The stones had been on […]
Trapped by Dog!
“Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.” ~ Edith Sitwell Winter arrived overnight at our farm. Brrrr! So cold this morning. And this morning after my meditation I popped back into bed […]
My Favourite Morning Job
“Have you also learned that secret from the river; that there is no such thing as time?” That the river is everywhere at the same time, at the source and at the mouth, at the waterfall, at the ferry, at the current, in the ocean and in the mountains, everywhere and that the present only […]
The Crystal Farmer of Byron Bay
“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds that you plant.” ~ Robert Louis Stevenson We live on an organic farm, tucked in the hills behind Byron Bay. Our main focus is organic heritage citrus, beef cattle and bush tucker (Bunya nuts and herbs). But we have come to do […]
Stones, Crystals and Meditation Magic
“The soul always knows what to do to heal itself. The challenge is to silence the mind.” ~ Caroline Myss I have long been a meditator. In fact it has been a daily practice for me since adolescence. Even with my recent bout of ill-health I haven’t missed a day. It’s as much a […]
For The Love Of A Small Dog…
“Happiness is a warm puppy.” ~ Charles M. Schulz This small red bundle of energy who we now know as Rufous Dog only came into our lives on Monday, but what a difference his presence has already made. Harry hasn’t stopped smiling. He now has a playmate, a buddy, a brother. They play together […]
The Eagles and the Crystals
“Believe something and the Universe is on its way to being changed. Because you’ve changed, by believing. Once you’ve changed, other things start to follow. Isn’t that the way it works?” ~ Diane Duane, So You Want to Be a Wizard In January, we pulled down our massive Ancestors and Songlines crystal healing grid […]
Crazy Wild Weather!
“Suddenly all the sky is hid As with the shutting of a lid, One by one great drops are falling Doubtful and slow, Down the pane they are crookedly crawling, And the wind breathes low; Slowly the circles widen on the river, Widen and mingle, one and all; Here and there the slenderer flowers shiver, […]
The Tawny Family Shows Off Baby!
“She had blue skin, And so did he. He kept it hid And so did she. They searched for blue Their whole life through, Then passed right by- And never knew.” ~ Shel Silverstein We have a family of Tawny Frogmouths that nest in the teak tree outside our kitchen window every year. They […]
Grounded Goodness
“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” ~ Rachel Carson Yesterday was one of those days when my […]
Five Things I Love About Being Home At My Farm
“To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter… to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring — these are some of the rewards of the simple […]
Snubby-Nose 1 : Mustering Team 0
“There is a stubbornness about me that never can bear to be frightened at the will of others. My courage always rises at every attempt to intimidate me.” ~ Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice I was hoping to be the bearer of good news this morning. I was planning to tell you that Snubby-Nose, […]
Chop Wood, Carry Water, then Surf the Net!
“Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water.” ~ Zen Buddhism quote “When hungry, eat your rice; when tired close your eyes. Fools may laugh at me, but wise men will know what I mean.” ~ Zen Buddhism quote It has been a frustrating week. Due to a faulty landline I’ve […]
Watching The Afternoon Fade to Grey
“On this road where nobody else travels autumn nightfall.” ~ Matsuo Bashō Late yesterday afternoon I wandered through the back garden, and then up the hill toward the old orchard behind our house. My word for the year is ‘home’ and I truly allowed myself to feel into that space yesterday. Close to […]
Misty Morning Wonderland
“An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.” ~ Henry David Thoreau It’s so good to be home. The dogs and I went for a very early walk. We have six new calves and the unseasonably warm weather means that our paddocks are lush with dewy grass, and the dam is still […]
Farm Life
“The first supermarket supposedly appeared on the American landscape in 1946. That is not very long ago. Until then, where was all the food? Dear folks, the food was in homes, gardens, local fields, and forests. It was near kitchens, near tables, near bedsides. It was in the pantry, the cellar, the backyard.” ~ Joel […]
An Afternoon with the Cows!
“Cows are amongst the gentlest of breathing creatures; none show more passionate tenderness to their young when deprived of them; and, in short, I am not ashamed to profess a deep love for these quiet creatures.” ~ Thomas de Quincey Late yesterday afternoon, after I’d finally finished the last of my psychic readings […]
Meet Our Latest Edition – Calvin the Calf!
“The apple does not fall far from the tree.” ~ Proverb Here’s our cheeky heifer Daisy Mae with her young bull calf – her first ever baby! We’ve named him Calvin, after Joelle’s suggestion. When Daisy Mae was a young ‘un she’d crawl under the fence, romp through my vegetable garden, and play with […]
One of those mornings…
“Nic, you should know by now – nothing ever goes to plan!” ~ Ben Phillips. Husband. So, we’re on our way to breakfast with cafe dog. Later than usual. Because it is raining. I slept in. Worse, the cows got into the house paddock and were eating my garden. My agapanthus! My parsley! My fresh […]
Green Grass, New Mums and Other Exciting News
“When despair for the world grows in me and I wake in the night at the least sound… I come into the peace of wild things who do not tax their lives with forethought of grief. I come into the presence of still water. And I feel above me the day-blind stars waiting with their […]
Koala Concerto
“I want to go to Australia and take the same goofy picture of me holding a koala that everyone else takes.” ~ Jessi Klein Our little farm here in Byron Bay is a koala sanctuary of sorts. We have plenty of them living here, and we see them daily. Cute, huh? As I stumble around, bleary-eyed […]
Santa’s Unhappy Helper
“How long do I have to wear these stoopid things? Where’s my Schmackos and Scoobie Schnacks?” ~ Nurse Bert I tried for a cute shot of two dogs in reindeer ears. Harry ate his. Or rather, ripped them to pieces. Bert was slightly more well behaved, and stoic in his misery. It’s beautiful here […]
Crazy Wild Farm Life!
“Patience is the calm acceptance that things can happen in a different order than the one you have in mind.” ~ David G. Allen Behold the beautiful flat space where my new vegetable gardens shall go. It seems so peaceful, doesn’t it? Part of that peacefulness is derived from the fact that the excavator […]
Big Brave Bert And The Terrifying Fly!
“Courage is found in unlikely places.” ~ J.R.R. Tolkien Summer is fast approaching here at our little farm, and with summer come the March flies. March flies are big flies. Big. Did I say big? Some people call them horse flies too. Besides being big they are also bullies. They bite, and their bites […]
Bush Lemons And Farm Strolls
“Lemons. He liked lemons. They made you make funny faces when you bit them, and a very, very long way in the future there was a really amazing planet where they’d evolved into people and lived in harmony with a variety of hyper-intelligent bee. Evolution. Thousands and thousands of years of tiny changes could turn […]
Late blog because… COWS!
“How did it get so late so soon? It’s night before it’s afternoon. December is here before it’s June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get so late so soon?” ~ Dr. Seuss While enjoying a late afternoon session at the Byron Bay Writers Festival yesterday my phone went nuts […]
Signs of Spring
“It’s spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want—oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!” ~ Mark Twain The days are slowly getting longer. Nights are cold, but the […]
Restful Rambles
“We need the tonic of wildness… At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.” ~ Henry David Thoreau, Walden: […]
My Kind Of Nightlife
“I love the silent hour of night, For blissful dreams may then arise, Revealing to my charmed sight What may not bless my waking eyes.” ~ Anne Brontë, Best Poems of the Brontë Sisters We’re home again at our little farm, for a while at least. It rained on and off from late in […]
Simple Pleasures
“I’d rather have roses on my table than diamonds on my neck.” ~ Emma Goldman Here we are, home at the farm. Such a healing space for me. While I’m soaking up the magic before we head back to the city again to support our beloved family, here’s a taste of our last few […]
Sunshine and Apples
“As the years pass, I am coming more and more to understand that it is the common, everyday blessings of our common everyday lives for which we should be particularly grateful. They are the things that fill our lives with comfort and our hearts with gladness — just the pure air to breathe and the […]
All Hung Up…
“Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson If you look carefully at the photo you will see a very large tree on a very big lean. It is not the best of photos. The scale does not do this red cedar justice. Its trunk is wider than the body […]
It’s The Little Things…
“After all,” Anne had said to Marilla once, “I believe the nicest and sweetest days are not those on which anything very splendid or wonderful or exciting happens but just those that bring simple little pleasures, following one another softly, like pearls slipping off a string.” ~ L.M. Montgomery, Anne of Avonlea Yesterday was […]
Red Bull’s Beautiful Babies
“To country people Cows are mild, And flee from any stick they throw; But I’m a timid town bred child, And all the cattle seem to know.” ~ T.S. Eliot Do you remember Red Bull, our miracle calf? That’s him in the photo above, taken about eighteen months ago when he was just a […]
Adapting to Change
“When asked if I am pessimistic or optimistic about the future, my answer is always the same: if you look at the science about what is happening on earth and aren’t pessimistic, you don’t understand the data. But if you meet the people who are working to restore this earth and the lives of the […]