It's been a while

I can't believe that so much time has passed since I last wrote.  It's been 7 months now since we moved and life has been crazily busy, exhausting and simultaneously exciting.  It feels like so much has been achieved but what lies before us in terms of work and plans for this property of ours requires so much labour and time.  It's fair to say that we badly underestimated the time needed to work this land of ours and to move it toward a level of production and sustainability of that we hoped for.  Working full time simply does not allow for all that needs to be done.  Our dreams of being so connected to the land and living more simply have become murky with the exhaustion of  commuting and paid work balanced with the work the land requires.  But alas, we have not lost hope, and with each day comes a new learning, an achievement and an ever deepening love and commitment to this little piece of Huon paradise that we are now encamped in.  So things get thrown up in the air, questions about work/life balance emerge and new priorities reign.  The connection to community that we thought we may find is  to date only tenuous as the exhaustion that infuses our bodies each Friday night and the need to immerse ourselves in our home on weekends means that we barely leave the land. Yet when we do venture out we love the energy, creativity and resourcefulness of this small thriving community. There are 9 sheep here now and the attack on the Broome that threatens to consume us seems to be finally taking effect. I can bake a sourdough now, grow and consume my own veggies and I have formed an ongoing and intimate relationship with the lawn mower and in an effort to tame the ever encroaching grass. I completed a 6 week Sustainable Living Course recently that was brilliant and covered topics such reducing waste, growing produce, reducing energy consumption and making your own environmentally cleaners and personal care products. It was a great program not only for the knowledge obtained but for the motivation to commit to sustainable living practices. Shortly, we have two French guys coming to stay with us in a HelpX experiment where we offer food and accommodation in return for labour.  If it goes well we may have a steady stream of helpers for our land along with the benefits of some cultural sharing and friendship.  With all of this, I'm plotting reduced working hours and more time in the place that I love to be.  It seems I am a Valley girl now!