Time to gather my thoughts...

It has been an emotionally draining few weeks with lots of tears but also love and laughter. I always find I need time to recharge my emotional tank with lots of time alone in my garden. I need time to think. Time to pray. Time to remember who I am and what makes me glad. Life can be challenging and I find I need courage to face my days.

It is also full of joy. I just need to remind myself to go find it!

Spring has well and truly arrived. All the early spring bulbs have blossomed and finished flowering. The fruit trees and rhododendrons have been flowering and covering the garden with carpets of petals.

My garden and home are my solace, my happy place, my refuge..

 

 "Spend time in a flower garden. Stay there as long as you wish, but make sure your visit is long enough to take in the various charms that the world of blossoms and petals provides. You can sit in a chair or on the grass, lie down looking up at the flowers from below, or walk around. However you choose to spend your time, be aware that you are a guest in someone else's home — nature's — so act accordingly."

'Adopt the pace of nature; her secret is patience. ' 

  Emerson

A welcome to Spring and the cultivation of gratitude...

  

It is difficult to contain the joy I feel as Spring engulfs my 

garden. 

I wait patiently for bulbs to push through the cold earth and 

then open up into beautiful delicate blooms.

I am endeavoring to practice a life of gratitude. I try to find

 something each and every day to be thankful for and It is a

 life changing experience.

“Is the spring coming?" he said. "What is it like?"..

.

"It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the 

 sunshine...” 

― Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

 “She turned to the sunlight

    And shook her yellow head, 

And whispered to her neighbor:

    "Winter is dead.”

 

― A. A. Milne, When We Were Very Young 

 “Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy; they 

are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” 

                                        Marcel Proust

       

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that

 comes to you, and to give

 thanks 

continuously. And because all things have contributed to your

 advancement, you should 

include all things in your gratitude.” 

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

Spring is in the air

I have had a lovely week away spending time with my daughter Claire, her husband and my grandson. It was wonderful to play with him and give him lots of cuddles. He is a delightful little man. 

I have come home to my house and garden. It has rained for a week and everything looks alive and growing. There are bulbs coming out and my plum tree is flowering. 

I harvested some of my winter veggies. 

The Fruit trees are getting ready to bud. 

Oh my the baby chicks have grown so much in a week and Myrtle has started laying again.

I came home to the most beautiful gift from my daughter Sarah. It is a wonderful white Bird house with a rustic metal roof. My husband has fashioned it on to a post and we have found it a home in the garden. I have plans to plant a lovely garden bed around the base of it but we have positioned it under the Japanese Maple... 

I LOVE IT!!

I am excited for spring to arrive in full force.. it will be beautiful!!

Home in the mountains

 I always love driving around our little neck of the woods...

It takes my breath away every single time I come up over the hill and see this vista..

I love the smell of the eucalyptus and the sound of the birds.

I love the look of the houses perched all over the hills. I love all the federation style houses here. 

I look out towards the horizon and see miles and miles of bushland and wilderness.. and I think to myself, this is my home.

SNOW!

Just last week we had snow! Oh I'm so excited to be living somewhere that snows on occasion!!

It makes me so happy. Now I don't need the snow to be knee deep or to stay for weeks or months but a little bit of snow is a rare gift here in Australia and a reason to celebrate!

So here my friends are some pics! Enjoy!

A year in the mountains...

 We have just celebrated our one year anniversary of living in the mountains. I have honestly loved every part of it! I feel so blessed to live here in this house and in this garden. It is mid winter here and it has been COLD! We have great central heating which we have used constantly. We have had quite a few frosty mornings and a couple of days with light snow!  I have enjoyed the definite change in seasons here.  On the coast we had really mild winters and the summer was always tempered with a light sea breeze. I do miss the seaside, but I love the mountain air. Right now most of the trees are bare and the grass is quite dry and not too green. There are bulbs starting to poke their heads through the cold earth promising a spring in the not too distant future.We have been very busy here both inside our home and out in the garden. We have planted lots of trees and shrubs, bulbs and perennials. We  have submitted some plans for approval  to our local council for a new garage and some extensions to our home. 

We have some long term goals that we are working towards and we have happily put down our roots. We really want to make this wonderful old cottage our forever home.

HAPPY ONE YEAR TO US!!

                                   “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow"

                                                                  Audrey Hepburn

                                    

Our new additions...

This week we picked up three little chicks for our hen Myrtle. She has been quite broody and sitting patiently on the nest for a few weeks and since we have no rooster we bought her some babies to adopt. There are not enough words to express how cute they are.  So I thought I'd just show you all some pictures instead!

 We named them Dot, Gladys and Hazel...