This has been the craziest winter I’ve ever experienced. Last week we were bundled up in every layer we could find, huddled close to the heater, clasping cold fingers around hot drinks. Today I’m barefoot, in a sundress, hair up in a pony tail as I stroll through green grass and turn my face to glorious sunshine.

I’m not complaining one bit.

Today was a rest and potter sort of day. I’m learning to listen to my body when it says, “Whoa, Nelly!” and I’m much the better for it.

So after work this morning I got my journal, a stack of books and magazines, and settled in on the veranda where I could watch birds flitting about, listen to the wind sighing gently through the gum trees, and get my heart quiet and inspired.

It’s such a lovely sitting spot, shady and cool all year round with wonderful views stretching out across the farmyard and out to the treeline of our bush.

We ate simply today, taking time savor delectable things like a perfectly ripe pear, garden fresh greens sauteed with garlic, sultanas, and toasted pine nuts, and, perhaps my favorite, new season mandarins.

There are fruits more exotic than a mandarin orange, but as I sat on a sun-drenched log looking out over green pastures, listening to our lambs chewing grass a few feet away, there was nothing that could’ve pleased me more than my oh-so-fragrant mandarin.

I took a wander around the farm, smiling at the bees buzzing so loudly as they flew from Paulownia blossoms back to their hive, inhaling deeply of the heady poplar sap that fills the air when the sun warms the trees lining our driveway. I called out greetings to our dogs – Luna, Solar, Freja, and Apollo – and chatted with the lambs who followed me on my ramble.

I love days like this, warm, golden days with time to collect armfuls of greens from my gardens, get lost in the latest issue of Victoria magazine, have chats with Bear over cold glasses of homemade orange beer. With so much upheaval in the world, I’m deeply grateful for the peaceful cadence of our life here, a haven where we can grow and heal.

The sun is setting now, and my perch on the veranda has cooled right down. Time to head inside for wine and dinner and the first chapter of a new book.

Where is your favorite sitting place at home? xo