Rumblings from Diane Late March - still in the States......the house has been packed up....what a job. Sold all 4 vehicles, including my wonderful BMW convertible (sob) plus the RV, but Richard could not part with his BMW motorbike, which will come with us. What other goodies we elected to keep (which turned into way more than planned) have been loaded into a container, (no not a 20ft container as we had thought but seems we needed a 40ft container) and as of 23rd March the container left our place heading for Miami to be loaded onto a ship bound for Australia via the Suez Canal. Goodness knows when the ship will finally arrive in Brisbane and our container is retrieved from the depths of her bowels to then undergo the full scrutiny of Australian customs and quarantine. That might be a circus all on its own. It is with some trepidation mingled with a little detached curiosity I ponder how well my packing of our boxes may hold up to this extended travel and custom's scrutiny. Early April - we are officially homeless....final settlement and closing of the property went without a hitch. Our last day in the house was a long, physically exhausting day cleaning, now that everything was finally out, all having been either shipped, sold, donated, given away, or unceremoniously loaded onto our truck and taken to the dump. There were no less than 6 dump truck loads. What a revelation to realize how much junk, carefully stored in the name of treasure, one can accumulate over the years. The philosophy of "well I just might need it someday" really can bite one in the bum.

  
The hand over to the new owners (a working couple and their almost not to be teenage son, plus horse, dog and cat) went well, they are thrilled with the property, which makes us just as thrilled. Seems the only blight on our copy book however was a missed pork tenderloin hiding in white wrapping at the bottom of the white freezer in the garage frig. This in itself was not the problem, it was the fact that Richard had turned off the power to the (apparently empty) frig before we left. The new owners said the entire garage smelt pretty ripe when they moved in a few days later.....oh dear! Spent 10 rather chilly days in DC early April, filling in as relief crew (in the form of grandparents) for Kate and Ben who were still adjusting to their new life style as parents of their first born, with all its joys and pitfalls, currently the latter being sleep deprivation. Our little girl and our first grandchild, Kaylen Eliza, was born Feb 28th and although a wonderful baby in all respects (no biases here) as all babies, she demands a lot of attention. I can say I am pretty slick at changing diapers now (again) and have developed new muscles from holding and pacing the floor with her during her "fussy" periods but when she looks up at you with a big gummy smile, one's heart melts and all the fussiness is worthwhile. We spent a couple of days with our son Travis in Pensacola on our way north and then bade him farewell, trusting that perhaps one day in the near future, he will make his way out to Australia for an extended visit, he being a little more footloose and fancy free in comparison to Kate and Ben who have so many more commitments. Richard and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary while in DC, where does the time go?

  
We finally bade our DC children farewell and drove back to Tampa. Spent a couple more weeks with several dear friends then early May we cut loose our USA ties. Boarded a cruise ship out of Ft Lauderdale FL. bound for San Diego via the Panama Canal and Central America. As our tenant's lease on our property in Australia does come to an end until late May, we have 2 1/2 weeks up our sleeve, so we decided a cruise was just the ticket rather than continuing to lob on the doorsteps of friends. I did have some misgivings about a cruise with 2000 other passengers, but any concerns were quickly put to rest on the first day, following afternoon coffee in the lounge than later a lovely dinner and onto settling into our comfy cabin. With glass of wine in hand, sitting on our private balcony I watched the sun dip over the horizon as USA slipped away into the mist of salt spray and the descending twilight. As I enjoyed the moment I found myself marveling at my lack of sadness and loss which could have potentially invade my senses, instead, however, I was enveloped by a deep sense of gratitude and appreciation for our 30 odd years living in the USA and the so many wonderful people who we have the good fortune to now call our friends. A new adventure begins, I trust it will be as kind and fulfilling as the past 34 years have been for us both which is the number of years ago we sailed away from Australia on our 40ft sailing boat for a 2 year jaunt across the world’s oceans…some jaunt!. Back on board ship, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Guatemala and Mexico have slipped behind us and decompression time aboard the ship has fully settled in. With the low throb of the ships' engines, the very gentle movement and sound of the vessel moving through the water filtering through the open doors of our balcony, it has been no hardship to be lulled to sleep each night, our bellies completely satisfied with fine food and of course a little vino. Ten hours slip by each night in such peaceful slumber and before we realize it, it is time for breakfast...what a hardship!!!! We have avoided all shore excursions, favoring having the ship almost to ourselves at those times. We have however, made a point to get off at each port and take a stroll, but that was about it. The Panama Canal was certainly fascinating. Having traversed some 145 locks in 2014 during our exploration of the States and Canada on Halcyon via their waterways, canals, rivers and lakes, we were no strangers to their operations. The sheer magnitude of the forces involved in the Canal however, were impressive as huge cargo vessels and tankers, moving in either direction, were manipulated one after another along the four parallel canals, which made up a series of 6 independent locks, with a mere 3ft or less to spare either side of the ships within each canal. Our journey through the Canal began at 7am. While the entire process was extraordinarily smooth and efficient it was not until 4.30pm before we were spat out the other side and released unscathed into the Pacific Ocean.

End of May...Australia, we have arrived complete with our four heavy suitcases plus carryon luggage into which we have stashed our worldly goods which will have to surfice until our container of stuff also arrives. Thank goodness for airport trolleys. We parked ourselves at my sister's place for a few days and immediately raced out and bought a Subaru Outback 4 wheel drive vehicle, (used) so now we are mobile and the bonus is, is that she is fun to drive. Her name is PeggySu, of course.

  
Two weeks later....we moved onto the property 5 days ago....yay...and now the fun really begins. Our container of goodies are still somewhere on the high seas heading this way, arriving sometime. In the meantime the house is barren, so we are sleeping on air beds in sleeping bags (which were some of the things stashed in those 4 suitcases. I did include a few kitchen essentials also, so at least we can make coffee of a morning). First night here we were awoken by the 12 volt night lighting system of the house merrily flashing away. It took us sometime, flashlight in hand, to find some sort of switch that would turn the dam things off, but Richard was not to be outwitted and had eventual success... both back to bed. For the first 3 days the reason for our lack of hot water totally eluded us until Peter and Datch, the previous owners, came to the rescue. Peter is 86years old and the ultimate of English characters. He designed and built most of the money saving systems for the house and property, trouble is he is an innovative, bush mechanic and his approach to problem solving is truly unique and well frankly, sometime dangerous. Of course any type of manual or "how to" is all in his head. On their arrival Peter whisked Richard off for a shake down on how everything runs, and this included the solar system and our elusive hot water.....this is a very organic house it would seem with some interesting quirks. Meanwhile Datch, his wife and master gardener, hauled me over the hillside (that makes up our back garden) firing off in rapid succession the names and care instructions regarding the multitude of ornamentals and fruit trees plus flowering plants and the amazing array of herbs she has growing here. Great, but this Thai woman stands no more than 4ft in height and is the energizer bunny reincarnated. Put this together with her strong Thai accent and the fact that she talks at an alarming rate of speed, my brain was addled very quickly. When we got to the orange, lemon, lime, cumquat, and mandarin trees, each staggering under the weight of their own fruits, Datch shook her head and said with grave concern "your tenant not good, she no water trees, fruit too small". Meanwhile I simply stood in a daze thinking, to hell with the size of each of the juicy delights, what am I to do with all this fruit? Fortunately the loquats, mulberries, bananas, avocados and mangos are done for the season with only a few papayas and custard apples still hanging on....thank goodness, for there is only so much that I can take in in one day. About this time Peter and Richard returned from Richard's tutorial lesson on the property (Richard looking as overwhelmed as I, I might add) whereupon Datch turned to me with a tone of authorative dismissal, "you now have hot water, you go take shower, I go water garden... not good it too thirsty" and off she bounded. Guess I will be watering the garden this week. All that being said, Richard and I are in hog heaven. We have already decided we never wish to leave this property. Morning coffee on the porch is just a killer as we take in view of the surrounds, the mist still clinging in the valleys, the cows mooing to their calves, the wallabies hopping around the front pasture, magpies caroling, the kookaburras laughing, plus many other birds and the total peace and serenity that engulfs us. No traffic noise, no traffic lights, and not a single leaf blower/lawn mower or emergency vehicle to be heard. I am sure it is not for everybody, but for us, it is just perfect.

This evening was another gorgeous sunset followed by a full moon rising over the nearby ranges...snap your brain! Yesterday I saved a very waterlogged Kookaburra from the cow's water trough. Peter said, "well you have definitely established yourselves with good karma". I believe he is right. Each day has been full and very very satisfying followed by wonderful hours of deep sleep, despite the lack of a comfy bed. Our first week here involved a lot of administration re establishing our identity, ie driver's license, bank accounts, tax man, Medicare, tele communications, etc. In as much, we have got to know the local administering bodies plus some of the local inhabitants of the area (two and four legged) and the very Australian dry sense of humour......cracked us up on a number of occasions, such a laid back, friendly bunch these rural people. The house has a lot of potential, a bit of a diamond in the rough, in need of some serious updating. Initially Richard did need some convincing on this aspect, but as he looks around he is coming over to my way of thinking....thank goodness for that, otherwise it could have got a wee bit testy, perhaps even messy....and so it begins. Wifi seems to work fine, so far and Richard just reported with some glee that he has established we have a TV signal with multiple channels. However, I am happy to say he seems equally enchanted with his huge workshop and all the equipment which came with the property. He has disappeared up there for some time each day and I get the full report of his explorations of an evening. He is like a kid in a candy store, bubbling over with enthusiasm....to hell with
the TV.

Meanwhile I ponder possibilities for the upgrades to the house while chucking and/or clean stuff (I do believe Windex was an unknown substance as far as the windows were concerned, let alone a wet cloth...I have now managed to create mayhem in the lives of all the little critters living in and on them, (sorry little guys). The planned menagerie will have to wait a few months as we get more acquainted with the ins and outs of the property and inevitably repair or replace things and build a few new things and so forth. Aha, our container of goodies has been sighted, in Korea! Maybe arriving end of June, then who knows how long it will sit awaiting customs and quarantine inspection. It would seem our container has had quite the adventure having been off loaded and reloaded onto a total of 3 ships since leaving Miami. It has also spent time sitting on docks in China. A neighbor took pity on us and dropped by with a small garden table, complete with tablecloth no less, and 2 outdoor chairs so we had something to eat off rather than the floor. I cleaned it up and now it has center stage in the dining room with a small vase of flowers adorning it....we are beginning to look civilized....well almost. Spent much of the past week chain sawing, clearing and burning fallen timber in the pastures and around the house... quite the job. Nothing along these lines had been attended to for the last 12 months here and there had been several strong storms that had come through over that time. I am now checked out on driving Shirley, the tractor....woohoo.

After each of the long days cutting, hauling and burning, we finish it off sitting on the hillside beside the remains of the fire enjoying the view as the sun sets with the wallabies grazing nearby.....exhausted contentment. Spotted a young calf on our lower pasture (which we lease to our neighbor) lying in the long grass, mom and herd quite some distance away. As he/she had been lying there for some time and fearing the worst, I beat my way through the thigh high grass to the little guy, only to have him take exception to my sudden intrusion, leap to its feet and bound off in the direction of the herd. MMMMMmmm..... our neighbor smiled indulgently at me when I asked about this behavior, assuring me in a very Australian way, but stopping short of adding "you bloody idiot", that the calf was doing just what it's mom had told it to do, lying quietly, hidden in the long grass. It is okay Diane, she would return to the calf later in the day when it was time to feed.....survival characteristics. Guess I ruined that little guy's day and got him in trouble with his mom.

One morning I was awoken very early, I mean daybreak early, to a chorus of very loud mooing. It was different and sure got my attention. Grabbing shoes and jacket I stepped outside and found the whole valley was alive with cows mooing, this was definitely new. The cows in our particular pasture were gathered in a tight group, bellowing as though in answer to everyone else. I since learned that the cattle were communicating the presence of wild dogs in the area and the entire herd of cattle in our pasture had placed their young into the center of a circle, and encircled them for their protection.......and then we eat this gentle creatures, oh dear, I am so guilty. Peter (our eccentric new BFF) came over today to offer further (much needed) advice. Richard told him that he had failed to get the very ancient push mower to start, almost ripping his arm out trying to pull it into life. Peter 's response was, "what, the mongrel bastard giving you problems, let me have a talk with it". Where upon he gave it a swift kick, called it a mongrel bastard to its face and dang me, the bloody thing roared into life with one pull and off they both took up the hill, clearing a large area of knee high grass on the steep hillside. No mean feat for an 86 year old man and machine well beyond its prime. Loving the fact that all but one the farms adjoining our property are run by single women, no snowflakes live here, it's all women power. Richard will have his hands full when trouble looms and they require some urgent male assistance.....he will be in his element me thinks.

The neighbor who leases the lower part of our property to run his cattle, popped in today, with a basket of fresh eggs in hand and stayed for a lengthy chin wag. He is also happens to be a local real estate agent. He was very funny describing his experiences with our new BFF, Peter, explaining he had had several very interested buyers for this property (before we came along) but after meeting the prospective buyers, Peter, in his full blown very correct English accent, told them they were not suitable candidates. Our neighbor also said with a wry smile that after we had returned to the States last year and before we had made the final decision on whether to buy the property or not, he had another very interested buyer, but Peter told him quite emphatically, "no, the property has been sold". Apparently, we had been deemed the “suitable candidates” in Peter's mind. Whew!...glad it all worked out. Mid July......the house renos are moving very slowly, but all will fall into place according to someone else’s timing, not mine apparently. ….ahh patience grasshopper!

Meanwhile, after more unexpected importing expenses, our container has finally made landfall here, just shy of 4 months after leaving our USA address and of course it arrived the same day work started on ripping out some of the interior walls in the house....fun, fun, fun. The good news is that 95% of everything in the container arrived unscathed, even all the boxes I packed. Unfortunately some minor yet frustrating damage to furniture. They even managed to rip off one of the crash bars on Richard’s motor bike…..good one!

Last week I helped the neighbors move their cattle across several properties to a cattle round up area, which was a fascinating exercise in cow management. Just as well as since then I have herded several escapee cows off the road and back into pastures, goodness only knows if it was the right pasture, but everyone just seems to take all that in stride, cattle being resorted to the correct owners at the next round up.  All of the State of New South Wales (the one we live in) is suffering a rather bad drought, with hay being carted across States to help relieve the farmers. We rely totally on the rainwater we catch plus a pump sunk into an underground river bed, and so far we are fine. However, the countryside around us is very dry and brown, fortunately in this area there still is fodder in the pastures for the cattle. I say fortunately as this is the largest area in Australia for cattle raising, (and happily without the feed lots, all pasture raised).

Mid August…. our 5 Isa Brown laying chickens arrived yesterday (referred to here as chooks). They have already delivered their first 3 eggs, way to go girls. Fencing here is outrageously expensive and nailing down a fencing contractor (no pun intended) is next to impossible, so it will be awhile before we seek out dogs and horses to add to the family. In the meantime, our neighbor just landed a long distance truck driving job, so she is gone for several days of the week. I take care of her chickens and we adopt her dog (or he adopts us) while she is away, meaning we get our dog fix without the overheads!!!
The house is in totally disarray with partially opened but yet to be unpacked boxes everywhere, finding anything is a real adventure, but slowly slowly things are moving in the right direction. Peter’s home grown electrics have been brought up to code, (thank goodness, for that was a worry) fans together with central heat and air installed and the painter finishes up…well soon. The upgraded kitchen goes in in two weeks, carpet and wood flooring in 3 weeks, and bathrooms……still on the drawing board. After much debate, we have had a wood burning combustion heater installed in the living room. Love it, heats far better than a regular wood fire place and its glass front gives a very satisfying visual of the flames….makes for very cozy evenings.

Oh for those who are interested in this aspect, I will be back in the States next June and will be offering a 3 ½ day retreat incorporating Holotropic Breathwork and Equine Facilitated Experiential Learning in Monument, Colorado, which I will be co facilitating with my friend and colleague, Laurel Boyer. Let me know if this piques your interest. It is open to 8 participants only.

So that is it, we have now been here a little over 3 months and are immensely and supremely happy with the property, the region, the local people and just being back home….do you realize, living where we do, we have not seen a traffic light in over two months…..whoa! Oh yes, I was invited to join the local ladies for Wednesday morning tennis, and oh boy did my body tell me later how long it has been since I had played tennis. But I guess I held my own as they have strongly encouraged me to I join them weekly…..too much fun! As for work…..not yet, enjoying this downtime. By next week the guest bed will have been assembled so anytime you are ready, come visit.

  
Pictures below. If I can get the link working, I will send separately a link to videos of the property.

Be well, be safe and be happy.

Fondly,

Diane and Richard