PRE- ORDER Fleur's newest novel 'Voices in the Dark'
It’s nearly harvest – in fact some of the farmers to the north of us, have already started. Harvest indicates, to me, that summer is here. Long hot days, snakes, flies, strong seas breezes (if we’re lucky!) in the afternoons, the rumbling of trucks and headers at any time of the day or night… and…
These cattle don’t really look like calves, do they? But they are – they were born in April and are a far cry from the really cute, little 30 or 40kg babies they were, when they were born! (For all the mums out there, aren’t you pleased your baby wasn’t that big?!) At the moment,…
This is how cattle yards should look! Standing quietly in the evening light, the only noise being a chain banging gently on the rails or a bird, who has perched himself on the loading ramp, singing. This is not how it was, today! Chaos I think would be a good word to describe it –…
Meet Dave. He’s our vet. Dave lives a varied, exciting life and has many stories to tell! Like the cat that turned feral and shot into the roof, through a very small hole. They spent the best part of an hour running around the ceiling to get it out! There are many more hysterical tales! Then there are the…
Farmers are funny creatures (me included!). Leading up to the break of the season we’re all bemoaning the fact it hasn’t rained and how much we need it. We scan the skies, the weather sites on the internet and listen intently when The Country Hour weather report is on. Finally it rains. The country starts…
There is a joke amongst farmers about ‘bank review time’ – the best time to show your bank manager around the farm! It’s usually around 4pm, when the sun has just started to sink. The light it throws is softer than harsh midday sun; it makes crops look thicker, greener and lusher than in the…
Tony Parsons is an amazing person. It seems he has always had a pen in his hand! If he hasn’t been writing bestselling novels, such and Call of the High Country and Return to the High Country, he has been penning articles for Agricultural magazines or books on how to train the most magnificent breed…
I’m guessing that many of you think that living on a farm is peaceful. Quiet. Well let me tell you otherwise! It was a gorgeous morning. We’d had a heavy shower the night before, which had netted us 8mm, so we were smiling! The trees and grass were weighted down with rain and everything was…
I met Margareta through writing. In fact writing has introduced to me to so many people. Although Margareta contacted me for help with her writing, we actually became firm friends after discovering we had a few interests the same! It was as I got to know her that I was really taken with her dedication…
Gill and Mandy are mates of mine. We share a love of food and wine, not to mention we are farmers’ wives. These two women haven’t let distance from town stop them opening a catering business – they prepare the most delicious food and are passionate about educating people to the benefits of home cooked…
I met Carolyn though my husband. Anthony was agisting cattle on her husbands property and I think (other than Anthony) she was one of the first people I met, when I arrived in Esperance as a “scared-but-never-going-to-admit-it, don’t-you-know-I’m-tough” nineteen year old! For that, I will be forever grateful! It didn’t take us long to become firm friends…
Victoria Brown is a local celeb. In fact, she’s probably the most famous person I know, in person! Vic and I share many things in common; we are farmers’ wives, love writing and reading, theatre, good wine and lots of laughs. Vic takes things one step further than I do – she acts in the…
So here we are, writing a third book! I’m not really sure I ever thought this was possible! As most of you know, I sort of fell into writing and never expected to have the response to my books that I have. Purple Roads, well, what to tell you? I’ve been writing as much as…
Thunderstorms are awesome things to watch – I love the power that comes with them, the electrifying excitement, the knowledge that there are some things that humans can’t control, that we just have roll with. They sometimes bring a great deal of rain and some times, inconvenience – or at least that’s the way we see…
It’s been pretty cold here lately! And it’s school holidays. As much as the kids like to help, sometimes our jobs involve things that they just can’t do, so when we arrived at the sheep yards at 6:15am and it was bitter and frosty, the kids took exception to being involved with our farming life! (As…
In my few travels around the country and around where I live, I am always amazed at the women who do incredible things. Most of these women don’t think they’re extraordinary, but I can assure you they are. I wanted to introduce you to some of the ones I’ve met – their stories are sometimes…
Fiona and I met about two years ago. Rachael Treasure actually put us in contact! I think Fee and I were slightly over-awed that one of our favourite authors knew enough about both of us to think that we could be a good support network to each other. And I think we have been. Being…
Anthony and I were shifting sheep from one farm to another when we came across these two foxes sitting in the middle of the road. As we all know, foxes aren’t native to Australia and cause immense amount of damage to our native fauna. They’re also a foe to new born lambs. They are instinctive…
Every Sunday morning, on ABC radio, Macca has a segment called, ‘Why I live where I live.’ Well I think I’ve talked about this last few blogs, so I’m just going to show you some photos of last evening. There was a partial eclipse then – Saturday the 27th June – which we watched over…
I guess it could be said that living this close to the sea we have the best of both worlds. The farming with its freedom of the outdoors and the beaches. There is something wild and solitary about our beaches that’s hard to describe. The evening I took this photo we were the only people on the beach. The…
The phone call came at lunch time: ‘Fleur, would you come and pick your child up, please? She’s had slight accident and needs to go to hospital.’ Enough to strike fear into the heart of any mother, let alone one that was about 10km away from her car, in a clapped out tractor, feeding out…