Belinda Moore

Here we are! The weather was kind to us and whilst it rained for much of March we were able to move between cloudbursts. It’s great to be here.
AT HOME: I’ll be happy not to see another box for a long while! There are still maybe half a dozen small boxes floating around the house, and another dozen or so in the shed, but the majority of our ’stuff’ has been unpacked. A good opportunity to declutter too, as we squeeze our eight selves into this smaller home.
AT WORK: I’ve had some good feedback about my feature article in the latest Education Choices magazine. All of the photos in that article are of, or taken by, my lovely family at Agnes Water. We’re getting excited about attending the conference next month. Looking forward to catching up with others in Brisbane.
My Autumn seasonal column appeared in Natural Parenting Magazine, and we all noticed a change in the weather here at home. Did you?

IN THE GARDEN: ON THE FARM: We harvested some watermelons and pumpkins before we left the rented house, and have enjoyed them. Here, we’ve been identifying fruit trees - planted in the house yard and ‘wild’ on the edges of the forest. We’ve also enjoyed harvesting macadamias - they are sooo sweet and moist when fresh! It seems like a very autumn-y thing to do, harvesting nuts.

We’ve put in some chokos, small clumping bamboo, ceylon spinach and pineapples for a start. We’ve also built the first chook house, and a flock of little free-ranging bantams will arrive tomorrow!

There was some initial confusion over where to keep the horses, but they have a good paddock now and seem to enjoy their newest home.
We’re already seeing changes here - the concreters are due ‘any day’ to pour a slab for an extra room to be closed in out the back. The pot belly stove has been ordered to keep us coasties warm this winter (and dry out the house in the drizzle). We’ve been busy with the slasher and chainsaw and can see past the weeds and fallen trees now. Lots to do yet!

HOME ED.: Did I say we’d settled into a routine? Argh! Packing, moving, cleaning and unpacking has sent that out the window. We’ve enjoyed a lot of learning materials this week which were hidden in boxes for a time. There’s a new area for our learning materials set up, and mostly it’s in order! I think we have some catching up to do after Easter. When the new room is ready, we’ll have to set up all over again!