Into the woods

August 2014. Snow in the heavenly magical place called the Sugar Pines.

PS. I'm alive :)

switch off, relax, escape.

Last weekend we went camping to switch off, relax and escape, as well as road test Tim's birthday presents (tent & camp stove). We did just that. It was perfect and Lola did very well too!

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I dashed outside in my ugg boots to capture the frost! Magical.

Autumn is here.

Isn't she beautiful?

* Batlow cider festival
* Our anniversary weekend - we got married here.

In my garden...

The side garden. Continued...

 Okay, I've dug a ditch and laid my bricks. I've also dug over a tiny quater of it (you have to start somewhere!) I just used a fork and flipped the deadish grass over, beating the dirt of large clods and putting them in the compost. I then mixed in, again with the fork, a wheelbarrow of horse poo. Luckily for us, and our garden, we have access to as much free horsepoo as we want, as my parents are riders.
We're going to put in that cute rustic gate when we work out gate installation (I'm only up to fencing so far!) so we can more easily pop to our neighbours place. True country folk style!
I've popped in two plants that were in the front garden but not white, an echinacea (also called a cone flower) and  some kinda of salvia, it's tag says Gaura. And speaking of pink, the Crepe Myrtle is going bananas right now! So PINK!

Also, I've just discovered this nursery. It is proving hard work not to give them all my money in exchange for all their plants! So pretty and such great write ups!

Lola: Noble dog of the setting sun. (Puppy Love ep.5)

Or Puppy Love Episode 6: The sunsets are so dramatic here. Just recently on a walk Lola sat herself down and contemplated the setting sun. She's a wise and thoughtful beast. When she's not being a lunatic.

Foggy

Have I mentioned the fog we get here?

We get fog. It's beautiful.

He's a lumber Jack

We went lumber jackin' the other weekend. We all wore check shirts. Actually I didn't, but everyone else did. We collected wood from an old tree on a friends property. It is super beautiful out there - the dogs had a ball! Husbando got to learn how to use my dad's chainsaw. Yes that's right. I am now officially married to a manly man. Phew!

Vege Patch Before & After

 

Pictures from February after we had just moved in. Way too much grass, not enough veg!

Retreat

Tim and I ran away for a few days. We thought, well we have no internet, how about lets go the whole hog and have no phone reception either. It was blissful. To have an excuse to not think about it all, to not worry about it all and to not bicker about it all. We ate cheese, and watched crap movies and I re-read some of my favorite teen fiction. Enough talking have some pictures.

May I recommend Mannus Lake B&B to anyone wanting to stay somewhere quiet and peaceful in the snowy mountains. It’s just 10 minutes out of Tumbarumba but feels (and is) completely secluded. It’s a cottage just for couples, it has a spa, a fully equipped kitchen, a music system and dvd player, plus gorgeous views and horses to chat to whenever you like. Although there is no longer a lake as its walls got washed away in the 2010 floods, the Mannus creek is very pretty and you really do have a whole cottage and the view all to yourself.

These parts...

* Our matching boots outside the back door.

* Wild cornflowers(?) on a walk.

* Getting the laundry in order.

* Being greeted by a rainbow at the front door.

* At the top of the hill on our walk.
* Discovering what was behind our boarded up fireplace.

* More incredible evening light.

* Chairs for two at dusk on the front verandah.

I lived in the city.

In the middle of the city.

There's this hill.

It's quiet.

It has the most perfect view.

There's a bench.

And you bring your own beer in a brown paper bag.

And you can watch the sun set to magnificent colours to your left.

And the city lights twinkle straight ahead.

There's people walking their dogs.

And I could just walk there.

Climb the hill.

And sit.

And feel an enourmous sense of not only belonging... but ownership.

Today we leave. I wonder if that sense of ownership will too?