PRE- ORDER Fleur's newest novel 'Voices in the Dark'
I’m sitting in my office this afternoon with Rocket, my Jack Russell dog, at my feet. The wind outside is howling and intermittent rain showers are coming up from the coast. The fire is going and as many clothes as I can hang in front of it are drying. The puddles outside are growing larger…
These are my favourite views of our farm. It seems to say everything about it – natural (all the bush that has been left as stock shelters), fertile (that dark green is a lovely, healthy looking barley crop), undulating. Then the man made things – good fences and a great road that also acts as…
I love crutching time. It’s wonderful when the sheep leave the yards with beautiful clean, white rumps and we know that really, there shouldn’t be any problems with flies. There is real satisfaction in finishing a job that needs doing. The top photo is the last of about 1,000 ewes that went through the shed…
Leaden clouds hang in the sky. The anticipation of a downpour is thick in the air. We feel the winds pick up and hear the distant rumble of thunder. A flash of lightening, then the plop of a drop: one, two and then a million! Large, heavy drops which, as they hit the ground, throw…
I went to sit with my first ‘child’ today. Although he’s a bit dottery on his paws now, and old and grey around the muzzle with weepy eyes, underneath he’s still my old Rex. He was born one cold blustery winter night under the combine in our machinery shed. Coincidentally it was on my dad’s…
Within my circle of friends, it’s well known that I can sometimes be an idiot. My best antic is mixing up my words and saying the wrong thing, or acting without thinking. Most of my family and friends smile and say “Oh, Fleur….” when I’ve done something particularly ridiculous, and today I think I might…
All country folk have a driving short-cut story don’t they? and usually they don’t end well! Here’s my take on it: Setting: Afternoon barbeque, blokes having a few beers, girls around the table with a wine. Conversation: Bloke 1: ‘Gotta head over to *insert town’s name* tomorrow.’ Bloke 2: ‘Oh yeah? What for?’ Bloke 1:…
I’ve written before about the depth of my South Australian roots. They are especially entrenched on the station that has been in my family since the 1800s. It’s hard to describe how much the landscape is burned into my soul: the old ruins, the creeks that criss-cross the land, the ‘casha’ or Acacia trees that…
Being a farmer can be trying, especially since our livelihood is so much at the whim of the weather. This season started off beautifully with 30 millimetres of soaking rain over a few days. After such a long dry summer, it was a relief to see some green poking through the ground. It’s often been…
Once upon a time there was a vibrant homestead set deep in a gully. The backdrop to this beautiful setting was rolling hills, green pastures, grazing sheep and kangaroos, and a bubbling little stream. In days past, these buildings would have echoed with the shouts of shearers as their blades snipped across the sheep’s back,…
We’ve had our opening rains – 30mm over about five or six days. Awesome. You just can’t be unhappy with that. Now I’m going to be a farmer and complain! We need some more. The canola crop is in, we’ve got over 2,000 lambs marked (with another 6,000 to go that I’m not thinking about…
Going to Perth, for us, is mostly a big adventure. We don’t go often – the eight hour drive puts a ‘quick trip’ out of the question. We left very early last week – 4am. My daughter needed to be in Perth for an appointment at 3:30pm – nothing like a deadline and an unfamiliar…
So the boss gave me a slight heart attack on Saturday night! Actually, it was rather a large one. Happily getting tea ready, I was in the kitchen, enjoying a moment of peace, when my daughter came hurtling inside yelling that she needed her camera. Curious, I asked why. ‘Haven’t you seen the fire?’ she…
I’ve loved all of Enid Blyton’s books, since I’ve been able to read them. I still enjoy going back and spending time in amongst the pages now. I love the fact I can read them in about half an hour and still get as much enjoyment out of them, as I did when I was…
This is our dog Law – he understand English – especially farm dog instructions like ‘Go back, get up, up the front and most used of all, F*** off.’ Have you ever thought about animals speaking other languages? When you do think about it, it seems perfectly logical. After all if the only words that…
… is great when it works! And it’s even better for farmers who are a fair way out of town and need something as soon as they can get it. We’ve borrowed a scarifier from a friend and we need to get some points for it – points are the bits that dig into the…
I think regular readers of my blog know that our family spends a bit of time at the beach. The boss is a keen fisherman and always seems to have his eye on the tides, his Almanec and whatever else that tells him it’s a good fishing night. Our beaches are usually deserted but in…
For the last two weeks, our calves and lambs have started to arrive – it’s always a beautiful time of the year. The calves, in particular are gorgeous, as they play, tail in the air and canter around the paddock, chasing each other. When they’re first born, they are very much like human babies (or…
I can honestly say, this is my least favourite time of the year. Yes, believe it or not, I do think like this at times! Like Wednesday when we preg-tested 1600 ewes in 35 degree heat, the dust swirling around us like a dust storm, or Thursday, when I spent only about two hours in…
The term ‘white gold’, a long time ago, was used for wool, especially super fine merino fibres that would sell for an absolute bomb. Because we’re mainly meat producers and some of out sheep produce fairly strong micron wool, (which isn’t usually worth as much as fine merino fleeces is), this pile of fertiliser is…