I watched with annoyance the ABC’s 4 Corners report on glyphosate and its ‘carcinogenic causing’ qualities, then with amusement when the 7.30 report started its series on Australia: how big is too big?

It's been ages since I've been able to read. I'm not sure why, because it was my favourite pastime. I started to find it hard when I was under a lot of pressure: looking after a sick family member, then my marriage breakdown, and so on and so forth!

There is a Facebook photo with a picture of a strawberry saying: ‘Cut ‘em up, don’t throw ‘em out. Please continue to support Aussie Farmers through berry tough times.’ What a great campaign created through horrible circumstances.

A few months ago, we had another L-plater enter the house. The older daughter is already a P-plater, so I’d had my fair share of hanging out of the passenger’s seat; knew what it was like, what directions to give, how to be calm and soothing when really all I wanted to do was scream.

Having been a farmer for twenty years, I can tell you what the reality of drought is: it’s dry, dusty paddocks, with little or no grass. It’s dams that have nothing but mud in the bottom; sheep or cattle getting stuck as they search for water.

Being a woman, 'you'll need to lose weight' is NOT a phrase you really want to hear. Still, I heard that last Monday when I went to see my specialist about my back.

I've always said I can write anywhere. With a deadline looming (as they always seem to!) and having to take our exchange student back to Perth to fly home to Italy, I've proved again that I can do just that.

Today, Where the River Runs goes to print. This book feels like it's been a mammoth effort - I was supposed to have it finished a long time before I actually handed the manuscript in...There was a reason! 

Now here's a funny story... I went to Sydney last week for six days. Six days with lots of different meetings and activities required at least seven different outfits, shoes to go with them and all the toiletries, etc you need.

Thinking ahead is critical in life. Planning is important. You'd think at nearly 44, I would understand this. So, today (Saturday morning) I fail to understand why I have woken up with a slight hangover and found there to be no cold pizza in the house for breakfast.

This entrepreneurial businesswoman, who was born and bred in Kununurra,  has recently been named Western Australian winner of the RIRDC Rural Women's Award and one of Business Women Australia's Women on the Rise.

"Passion for the land is a pure and marvellous thing! Dream big, work hard, take advantage of the wealth of knowledge out there …but most of all, take the time to listen to your heart. It won’t always be easy, but it WILL be worthwhile."

“I am driven to improve agriculture and the viability of rural communities, and to show others just like me that we can do anything!”

— Dr Jillian Kelly

Welcome to my series, Bush Lanterns, highlighting women in the rural and agricultural sector! There are so many amazing and wonderful women who don’t always get recognised for what they do, and I feel it’s my job to be able to bring them to you.

Success isn't an accident. A dream doesn't become reality through just clicking your fingers. It takes sweat, determination and hard work. There aren't secrets to success, just as there aren't any get-rich-quick schemes.

Work hard but also work smart. Keep up with what is happening around you. You don’t have to attend every meeting, workshop, etc., but you can always find out what is happening by staying in contact with others who do get to attend.

Not all abuse is physical. Domestic Violence is another form of terrorism. Why? Terrorism creates fear, and fear is what these people live with daily. Fear of what will happen next.

That crazy time of the year in between Christmas and New Year, when no one seems to know what day it is, has passed us by once again!

Hand-me-down recipes from previous generations are a wonderful heirloom. I love it when we get to Christmas time, and I can open my old, tattered, food-stained, handwritten recipe book and start cooking food from my Nana or Aunty.

What a difference a year makes. This time in 2015, my daughter and I were hanging out in Melbs waiting for the last concert in the Taylor Swift 1989 World Tour. Do you know it feels like a lifetime ago, yet I can remember everything so clearly.