by Krista | Dec 11, 2014 | Summer
The sky continues to rumble with thunder and dance with lightning as one storm after another hurtles its way through our farm, saturating us with rain and turning our meadows into an unrecognizable maze of waterfalls, creeks, puddles, and ponds. It’s marvelous. We’re celebrating the glorious coolness with wine, pasta, and a Leverage marathon.
I’ve been working hard this week, catching up on writing projects that had to get set aside while I was sick. It’s such a wonderful thing to send off the last article tonight and get to sink down into my chair, wine glass in hand, sharing Belgian dark chocolate truffles with Bear.
I’ve also been wood-burning a lot, sending off a flurry of Christmas orders to England, Washington, D.C., and New South Wales. I’ve got a stack of audio books to keep me entertained as I work, and find it such a therapeutic activity to balance out hours at my computer keyboard.
Being self-employed and running the farm with Bear, there’s always something to do, but I’m renewing my efforts to make time for people no matter what. Yes, I need to meet deadlines and fulfill commitments, but that’s never an excuse to miss out on building relationships with people who make my heart happy.
I’m so excited to be done my work and have a few days to hang out with Bear and visit dear friends and get ready for Christmas.
Earlier this week we went hunting for our Christmas tree and even though we didn’t find one, we happily wandered through a nursery filled with gorgeousness. I’m completely smitten by artichoke flowers and am excited to grow my own.
And after seeing this stunning water lily, I’m more determined than ever to make a water feature in my secret garden. The secret garden is still in its infancy. We’re working on getting the ground prepared and collecting stones to outline the beds and make hidey-holes for the bright green frogs that live around here. I think it’s going to be something that we’ll potter at for many years, and I don’t mind one bit.
Now another storm is coming through and it’s definitely time for a cuppa before bed.
What are you looking forward to this weekend? xo
by Krista | Dec 9, 2014 | Summer
The air is soft and warm this afternoon as storm clouds gather overhead and thunder rumbles in the distance. Bear and I are both recovering from round two or three of a flu that’s hit one friend after another, leaving us all exhausted, aching, dizzy, nauseous, and bedraggled, looking forward to days when we don’t want to crawl right back into bed the moment we get up.
I’m loving the stormy weather that arrived last week bringing gentle rains falling for a few minutes each day, keeping the countryside moist and green.
After spending yesterday resting, it was lovely to get out today and wander a bit in my gardens, plucking ripe blueberries, checking on the asparagus, inhaling the scent of fresh dill filling the veggie patch.
After most of my nasturtiums withered away in the drought and heat wave, a few stalwart fellows have come back, thriving in the rain and cooler temperatures.
The comfrey has come back as well, covered in tiny lavender bell flowers that look like they ought to make music when the wind blows.
Our ducklings have been moved out of their heated box to the yard, and they’re having a marvelous time splashing about and learning to nibble grass and catch flies.
I love watching them as they luxuriate in their new mud puddles, nibble on a dangling rope to see if it tastes any good, and cuddle close with each other at night to keep warm.
The San Marzano tomatoes are finally growing from tiny red bullets into fat, juicy fruits perfect for salads and snacking.
I haven’t done a blessed thing about Christmas yet. No decorations, no baking, and not a single present wrapped. But it’s OK. Sometimes life gets a bit muddled and you just have to let go and do what you can. Instead of going all out with decorations and traditions, we’re sticking to simple things that make us happy: movie marathons, reading of beloved books, regular naps, visits with dear friends, wood-burning while listening to audio stories, dark chocolate with afternoon tea, and eating as many fresh white peaches and plump apricots as we can. When we feel better again we’ll think about Christmas trees and fairy lights and all those lovely things.
Until then we will rest and look after ourselves.
How are you faring this week? xo
by Krista | Dec 4, 2014 | Summer
Last weekend Bear and I went to pick up a load of hay for our goats from people we’d never met before. Our friends, Joe and Shirley, who also raise goats, had told us we simply must visit a property they’d recently discovered, not just for the hay, but also for the stunning gardens and kind owners.
So on Saturday morning we hitched up the trailer and drove to Banyala Downs, a beautiful property that sits at the base of a hill and ambles its way up to the top.
Banyala Downs is owned by Doug and Avis Stehn who began building a home there 18 years ago. When they arrived there were two palms and a fig tree. That’s it. Nary a flower, hedge, or garden to be seen.
Since then, Doug and Avis have transformed this barren landscape into a lush oasis of shady nooks and exquisite vistas, making the most of the views around them.
Everywhere you look is something interesting, such as these incredible artichoke blossoms. I’ve eaten artichokes for years but have never seen artichoke flowers until I moved to Australia. They are marvelous! Huge, vivid, blooms that look like something out of a Dr. Seuss book.
The fruit trees and vineyards are outrageously good this year, each branch and vine dripping with delectable fruit.
Aren’t these grapes amazing?! It was so inspiring to see an established garden and catch a glimpse of what our place could look like in a few years. It renewed my vision for our property and set my imagination whirring about what we could do, plant, and build.
As Avis and I walked among the fruit trees, we stopped to pick sun-warmed peaches and apricots to eat along the way. Juicy, fragrant, and luscious, the perfect treat for a sultry Summer afternoon.
Once or twice a year Doug and Avis host an Open Garden Tour and invite the community in. All proceeds go directly to sponsoring the education of young people in Cambodia. In Avis’ words:
“Cambodia is a country that suffered incredibly after the Pol Pot era from 1975, when Pol Pot and his Khmer Rouge tortured and murdered one quarter of the Cambodian population. They singled out the educated people and their families particularly to kill, so that is why it is so important to educate young Cambodians now so they can help their country to grow and get back on its feet.”
The day Pol Pot took over Cambodia was the day Doug and Avis’s eldest daughter was born. Avis was struck by how the same day could bring so much misery to one part of the world and so much happiness to theirs.
When their daughter grew up, she was a passionate humanitarian, and when she died in her mid-twenties, Doug and Avis decided to carry on her work by raising money each year to sponsor students in Cambodia.
It was such a pleasure to walk through the gardens at Banyala Downs, to see how Doug and Avis have created an outlet for their grief by making a place of beauty and respite that in turn transforms lives. I loved listening to stories of the young men and women who’ve been rescued from abject poverty, given an education, and prepared to change and rebuild their country after it was crushed and devastated by such a cruel regime.
I especially liked talking with Avis and seeing how content and happy she is to simply do what she can to make a difference. She doesn’t try to do everything, she just focuses on providing an education for 1, 2, 3+ people who can then change the lives of the people in their small circle, and on and on it goes. One kindness leading to another.
It was also good to know that it didn’t happen all at once. This beautiful place has taken nearly two decades to build and they’re still adding to it, changing this, enhancing that, knowing that every addition is building towards something bigger than pretty flowers and charming vegetables.
The day we went to meet Doug and Avis I was so very tired and run down. Recent situations had knocked me flat and I was discouraged, plain and simple.
But by the time we left, I felt so much better. We had such a fun time admiring two-day-old piglets, swapping recipes, pooling our knowledge to figure out the best way to build and use a smoker. They gave me great advice for how to help my garden survive the heat and drought, and filled my hands with fresh garlic and onions just picked from their veggie patch.
As we drove home, Bear and I chatted a mile a minute about everything we’d seen. The creativity of Doug and Avis had given our own a boost and we were full of ideas and plans.
Sometimes all a weary soul needs is time with kindred spirits.
This is Avis. 🙂 See that apron of hers? I’m going to be sporting a similar one soon. It’s her very clever way of protecting herself in case of snake bite while out gardening. In one pocket she has her mobile phone to ring for help and in the other a pressure bandage. Such a simple but smart idea for those of us whose gardens tend to be a haven for critters of all sorts.
Have you ever met strangers who made a rough day better? xo
(If you are interested in joining Doug and Avis in sponsoring Cambodian students, please let me know and I’ll put you in touch with them.)
by Krista | Dec 2, 2014 | Summer
Sometimes life gets a bit topsy-turvy. In those moments it’s lovely to slip away for awhile and hang out with good friends in the fresh air, laughing, talking, and working together.
That’s what Bear and I did on this sultry Summer day, meeting up with Oma and Opa at their place for cold drinks and a visit before heading to the plum orchard for some serious picking.
Their trees are covered with gorgeously fat plums in dusky shades of purple and magenta. While flying foxes and birds have feasted royally on the upper branches, the netted ones below hung heavy with juicy jewels for us to gather.
We visited as we worked, swapping ideas for what to do with our bounty: Hungarian plum soup, jam, cobbler, juice, cordial, slivovitz (plum brand), and plum wine. Mmm, just thinking about such things kept us in fine picking fettle.
Before too long we had four buckets filled to the brim and it was high time for another drink and a sit down in the cool basement. We made plans to glean in the Stanthorpe vineyards this Autumn so we can make and bottle our own wine. Bear has been tasked with making a press while Oma and I will collect bottles and Opa will taste test to make sure we do things properly. Methinks Opa has scored the best job of all.
Such good memories with good friends.
My other happy thing today is the publication of my second book: “portals.” It’s a collection of door photographs from around Europe, and is very dear to my heart. It was my dream this year to publish this book, and I’m overjoyed to see it come to pass. Click here for a preview at my bookstore, and let me know what you think.
Now it’s time to cozy in for the evening. I’ve made two batches of plum juice, a stack of banana oat muffins, an apricot raisin pie, and now I’m ready for a big glass of red wine and some lasagna.
Gnite xo
by Krista | Nov 26, 2014 | Spring
It’s dark and cool tonight after a gorgeous rain that soaked deep into our parched soil. The air smells delectably clean and fresh and frogs are croaking happily outside my office window.
It’s long past my bedtime, but I don’t mind. It’s the last day of my 30’s and I feel quiet and thoughtful, happy to indulge in some quiet moments to settle my heart and embrace this next big adventure: turning 40.
I feel deeply thankful to be in this place, this time in my life. Not because things are idyllic and stress-free, far from it, but because I’m handling things so much better. I love sitting back and observing my stronger self, getting little chuckles of pride when I don’t crumple before a bully or have my health shatter at the first hint of stress. It’s a lovely, amazing thing to grow, heal, and strengthen, to feel courage and self-confidence instead of crippling fear and self-doubt.
A few months ago I decided that I was going to do something brave and creative before my 40th birthday, something I’ve been dreaming about since I was a little girl: publish my own book.
Although I’m thrilled with the history book I was commissioned to write, and can’t wait to share it with you in a month or so, I really wanted to make a book that was all mine, my words, my photographs, a sharing of something precious to me.
So, bit by bit over the last months, an hour here, a few snatched minutes there, I’ve been working on a black and white photography book about Italy. Although I initially thought I’d write words to go with it, the photos took over and it became a book more about inspiration and reflection than words. I finished up the last edits today and am delighted to be able to share it with you on the eve of my 40th birthday.
These are not images of famous buildings, fashionistas, or posh restaurants, they’re moments of daily life. From laundry blowing in the wind and a farmhouse breakfast to surprising works of art and treasured moments in Italian homes, these are the photos that I love: quiet, simple, reflective. (You can see a little preview below.)
If you would like a bit of Italian inspiration of your own, you can
order the book here if you’re in Australia, and
order it here if you’re in any other part of the world. And if you’d just like to bask a while in the preview photos, that would be lovely too.
In the morning Bear and I are off to spend my birthday together and I can’t wait. We’ve both been working so hard and it will be bliss to set aside a whole day just to have fun and make good memories.
Wishing you a beautiful weekend.
xo
I’ve also been wood-burning a lot, sending off a flurry of Christmas orders to England, Washington, D.C., and New South Wales. I’ve got a stack of audio books to keep me entertained as I work, and find it such a therapeutic activity to balance out hours at my computer keyboard.
And after seeing this stunning water lily, I’m more determined than ever to make a water feature in my secret garden. The secret garden is still in its infancy. We’re working on getting the ground prepared and collecting stones to outline the beds and make hidey-holes for the bright green frogs that live around here. I think it’s going to be something that we’ll potter at for many years, and I don’t mind one bit.
Now another storm is coming through and it’s definitely time for a cuppa before bed.
