Narelle Hunter RURAL LIFESTYLE

6am A shiny new bike stands at the window, a white helmet hanging from its bars. Towels line the pool fence, a newspaper lies out on a chair and the tarp is still across the lawn from the slip and slide game yesterday. We have enjoyed a week of visitors, so much good food, lovely gift giving, afternoon naps and games of cricket.  Having little voices in our home again is such a treat as we play with flying fairies, a ball that bounces across the water, a remote helicopter that has wheels and new dolls. My girls smell of new perfume and arrive at breakfast in new summer dresses. We make another cup of tea , as preparation for a birthday party is now underway. I really felt the spirit of Christmas this year and played Christmas music in the car and the home as we decorated the tree, set up fresh flowers, filled sweet jars and wrote long grocery lists. We have cooked BBQs, salmon dishes, roast meat and vegetables, salads and desserts. Just when y

The main street of Young is packed full of cars all day long. A heat wave sweeps across the state so by lunchtime we take a break with friends in the coolest café and discuss if we are organised for Christmas. There is a sense of stress building as the grocery stores line with overflowing trolleys and the local ATMs hand out money all day long. Some of us will have visitors over Christmas, others need to pack up and travel away to be near family and friends. At home we are hosting Christmas this year for both Howard and my family, so the girls and I sit under the air conditioner and explore recipe books for lovely salads and dessert ideas.    The last of the straw will be stacked today and covered with huge tarps to keep it dry. Howards cup of tea sits here on the kitchen bench unfinished. It was a 6am start so he rushed off to meet the other men. Tomorrow Howard will get the shorts out and expose his white legs, as we do some final gift shopping tog

A kookaburra sits in the gum tree near the house with a long brown snake in its mouth. He looks as surprised as we do and seems unsure what to do next. It is an interesting sight until the kookaburra drops the snake into the long dry grass. We leave the scene quickly incase it is still alive! As the red sun sets on a 37-degree day, I can see kangaroos in the hill and all types of birds flying in the hot evening air. Howard and the men are stacking straw this week, the last big job before Christmas. The sheep are all checked, the lambs are weaned and the water troughs are all cleaned out. I have sold most of the grain we stored at the Bribbaree silos and the bookwork is up to date, aside from our end of month accounts that I will complete on Monday. We have been working on our 2014 budget and plan to be organized well before the end of financial year this time. This year without the stress of the hard times farming can throw at us, th

I woke last night at around 3am and as our bedroom window was open, a cool breeze was falling across the bed. I began breathing deeply and enjoying the sensation of a summer evening entering my lungs. Sleep returned as I listened to the hum of the machinery in the nearby paddock. The straw is being baled late into the night. It’s a delight to have the girls home and I wake to breakfast all set out as today is my birthday! A cup of tea and a lovely gift is placed on the table and the phone starts ringing with birthday wishes. I check the computer and the Facebook messages also arrive. Birthdays are so fun. Kaylie and I go for a drive and I take some photos of the fresh straw. Howard is doing some sheep work with Emma but arrives in time for morning tea. We enjoy toasted sandwiches and cake. This month is all about fresh food, friends and family but the jobs keep rolling in on the farm and I can’t drop the ball with the bookwork. It will be g