A simple, beautiful day.

Friday, 5 February 2016

Here I sit, having morning tea with my little man.

What a beautiful morning. The sun is shining, there is a slight breeze which is making the leaves rustle and sway. The air is fresh and clean. The dust settled temporarily. The bees are buzzing busily around the flowers and herbs. Birds are nipping in and out of the trees and bushes and the chooks are scratching about and eating the dropped fruit under the trees with great delight. The proud rooster is keeping a protective eye out for his girls and herding them under the trees when a butcher bird comes too close.

The washing machine is swishing and sloshing away in the outdoor laundry behind me, the first load is swaying gently on the line.

It is a completly normal, ordinary morning. But its beautiful and peaceful and life is good. My heart is full and my my mind is at peace. I wish I could hold onto these moments where things feel so lovely. But instead I will have to make do with savouring them, soaking them in and letting myself be still in them. The moment will pass, chaos will re-enter. Possibly once all three boys are home again! But for now I'm going to let it fill my tank and give thanks for the simple beauty in the here and now.

This week Angus started school. Goodness. I'm excited for him on this new adventure, but aware a chapter of my parenting journey with him has come to a close. Gone are the days of he and I at home, pottering about during the week. It is a big change for all of us. But as one door closes another opens. I look forward to hearing stories from his days at school, watching him learn new things and make new friends. I look forward to spending our weekends catching up, and pottering about with my littlest fellow.

I think once our garden is in full production I'm going to be kept very busy. The fruit trees were not netted this year and the birds have had a mighty feast. I actually don't mind sharing to a degree, especially considering the recent bushfires where so much land and habitat is now bare. But I do wish they would have a little restraint and just start and finish one peach at a time! The cheeky things have pecked holes in half the crop, and then knocked it on the ground and wasted perfectly good fruit! Little buggers have no manners. ;)

This batch is earmarked for Jam making on the weekend.

This week I preserved a dozen jars of peaches in a medium sugar syrup. Felt good to dig out my kit, wash off the ash and get preserving again. It's very satisfying seeing homemade jars of fruit lined up.

My old water bath is a generous size. They all just squeezed in. This is my electric one, my dad picked it up from the tip shop. I have a stovetop one aswell though I don't want to take up my stove top for that long.