Spoiled Eggs

Great morning. Mild frost, cooked breakfast, beautiful ride. Em called and Noah told her we’d had “spoiled eggs with bacon on toast”. I fitted Nugget with his new bridle and took him for a ride up the back of the block. On the way we went up a little snig track I’ve had my eye on for a while. It’s nice discovering new places on our property. The forest is just starting to encroach onto the cleared track, reclaiming it as one of its own, Acacia and Casuarina seedlings pioneering the way. I have been thinking it would be a good idea for us to have a regular day a month to tackle the weeds on our property and as I rode up the track to the top of the hill behind the big house I added another day a month, this one for track maintenance. Over time we could have a good network of interconnecting firebreaks and tracks making it easy to explore the 200-odd acres of bush we have.


At the back of the block I crossed into our neighbour’s property and went and had a look at their little shack. They’re thinking of doing it up, perhaps to help them sell the block. It’s structurally sound and would be quite cute. A good little project. Riding back I was thinking about how much I love these winter days. Warm, sunny days, clear skies, cold nights. I have to struggle to remember the insect plagues of summer and I haven’t seen a leech for months.


Late afternoon we drove down to the hall for Bev’s shindig. The kids were set free to run and roam, and before long we were stripping willows and promenading around our little hall, keeping the cold night at bay. I left the shy cynic at home and just jumped right in. The water was fine. The girls twirled their skirts, we tried waltzing to 4/4 time, and we stuffed ourselves with delicious food – all in the company of good friends and family.


Congratulations to Bev for sharing her birthday with us all, sharing her vision of this night and making it all happen in our little barra. Our barra where, as Garrison Keillor might say, all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.


We missed our daily grateful time today. Can I take a guess, without trivialising Noah’s unique experience? “I’m grateful that we comed to the hall and played with all the kids.”
(Confused? Look)