We Are, After All, The Lucky Country....

We drove up the red dust road towards the house. Fields as far as the eye could see, a few sheep and a group of black cows. 

"I am going to love being here" I sighed to my husband ... He looked at me with a smile and said " I knew you would." 

"Look!" said Zion, "they have two little dogs! Aww I'm going to play with them." 

We stepped out of our car after a 6hr drive. Geez my butt was numb. They kids needed to run. That Maccas playground did nothing for them three hours earlier.

Graham's wife Kate came out to greet us with a warm hug and huge smile. She was so nice. I wanted to be her friend straight away. We made our way inside. As the door opened we were greeted with warmth from the fireplace and the smell of country cooking.... Yesssss... Not only do I love country cooking but I love people who know HOW to cook country cooking! This stay just got even better. 

We sat down for a cuppa while the boys investigated all the rooms. Then as Kate opened the doors to the huge wardrobe full of toys their excitement level hit a new notch. "Toys!!! I love it here mum" stated Rome as his eyes darted to me, and then to the toys, and then back to me. 

The adults laughed and we continued sipping our tea. 

"Rain tomorrow." Graham said. 

"Really? How do you know? 

"I just know." He said with a wink. 

I love farmers.

Graham was right. The rain started through the night and continued for a good 24hrs. until Graham said, "Rain is going to stop at 4am tomorrow. And it did. 

That's the thing with Australian farmers. They know stuff like that. And after a 4yr. drought like they’d had from 2006-2009 which ruined countless crops and countless lives, I reckon they still get a buzz when those dark grey clouds move towards them promising a downpour. 

We headed to an old shearing shed where two sheep waited to, as Knox would later say, "get naked”. The smell of the old wool shed and the oily timber floors brought memories I had as a kid flooding back. Our Nambour Sheep Shed school excursion. We had watched the shearers shear the sheep, which I’d enjoyed watching, and then we had about an hour of wool education, which completely bored me. But now I had first class tickets to a real experience and my boys were stoked on life. They all had a go jumping in the wool boxes  and patting the sheep before he "got naked" and even my city-slicker husband got his shear on. I was completely impressed. So was Graham. 

We collected eggs and walked around the property with umbrellas in the rain.  Kate has made a stunning vegetable garden. I thought of how much I wanted one, and how my friend Kathryn was almost "self sufficient" on her farm and how much money I spend on stupid vegetables at Woolies. 

We played with the sheep dog called Ned and made our way to an old house that was built in the 1800's... that's history for us Australians. We are but a young country. J 

There were old outhouses made of galvanised iron sheets in the middle of a paddock, the old rundown house, an old vintage pram and wheelchair, old rusted flour tins and tools. All I could think of was how much we pay for stuff like this in the city and how it's hiding in the darkness of an old house whose roof leaked when it rained on a big old property in southern NSW. 

We dreamed of the olden days and taught the kids about how they used to use wooden wagons behind a team of horses to help the farmers get the job done. 

On Saturday we made our way to the Henty football field, a Saturday afternoon community ritual, and cheered the Swampies to their victory. 

We stood under the dark sky that looked like black velvet ribbon with millions of tiny holes as though heaven shined through. We waited and hoped to see one of its stars shoot its way towards earth. Wishes were breathed into the chilly air and kept bottled up in our hearts and imaginations forever.

We slept like logs in our Victorian four-poster bed, laughed over red wine and lamb from the land, we made damper and ate marshmallows, got muddy and made axed wood fires. 

We actually had the time of our lives and our world is truly richer for meeting Graham and Kate, Emma, Joel and Hannah. 

I fell more in love with Australia with is huge gum trees and red dirt and got the bug to continue to explore our land. 

We are, after all, the Lucky Country.