Belinda Moore

Wow! It’s Spring! I’m so excited by the possibilities this new season brings us.

AT HOME: The entrance room is complete and looks fantastic. The wood stove isn’t fully installed because we have a few solutions to find before we can tackle that… But the colours look great and I’m excited about the rest of the house now. Colour really makes a difference (thanks for the paint, Dad)!

AT WORK: I finished another column for Natural Life magazine, which I really love writing. I have to catch up with a few of my regular columns so I’m not facing deadlines so often. They are a joy to write, because I’m sharing my passions with others, but finding quiet space is a bit of a problem. I should have bought a laptop…

I did a little editing work recently, which doesn’t come along often, but is always welcome. This time it was a catalogue. I’ve also edited articles, books, essays and websites. For a couple of years I was a section editor of a magazine, and found it interesting and challenging work.

Spiral Garden is ready for Spring with lots of new stock as everyone gears up for their Christmas shopping - already! I’m currently expanding the range of books on the site, and there are so many lovely titles to choose from.

I was recently elected as the new co-ordinator of our local LETS group. I’m not sure yet what this entails, but I have thoroughly enjoyed being part of a large LETS group in another area, and hope that we can revive and grow the local system. I’m very interested in relocalisation, alternative economy options and everything those have to offer my new community. Meeting people with similar interests is encouraging.
ON THE FARM: We have new chicks! There was one sad loss this past week with a hand-raised chick being taken in by a mother bantam, but later escaping and disappearing - I was really upset. Over a dozen more have hatched in the last couple of days though, to distract me from my sadness.

We have had ample eggs - sometimes up to 20 in a day! I think it’s time we started to sell some of our point-of-lay hens as they mature.

The duck pen is almost finished, complete with gate, iron and bathtub from the dump. I go to drop off the recycling, then beg my husband to go back and salvage all the ‘good’ stuff from the scrap metal pile (it’s more like a mountain than a pile!).

The guinea pigs (two girls) had a male visitor for most of August, so we’re looking forward to seeing what results from that, and finding ways to manage the herd-to-be! Actually, a lot of guinea pigs is simply called a “group”, not a herd. How boring, and what an understatement…

I’m having trouble with mice and bandicoots and toads disturbing my seeds and seedlings again, so it’s time to get inventive to protect them. I am annoyed that I’m behind with my planting now though, because of the damage caused already. With the New Moon, it’s perfect time for me to start again - just keep planting!

We have had some Dutch, then some English WWOOFers come during August to help us. We did weeding, planting, clearing and enjoyed their company and the sight-seeing immensely. The children just adore having them here each time.

HOME ED.: Alice in Wonderland is coming along okay, I think. It’s not long until their performances now. The children are mostly excited, and we’re looking forward to going to the theatre of course!

With our home ed group, ATHENS, we had a great day in the park doing some fabric painting, followed by a walk along Peterson Creek (and scary suspension bridge!). We also had a ‘cook out’ at Ravenshoe which went really well. The children are enjoying these days with other families. Right now, they’re counting down till the next camp, in October.

Our WWOOFers offer a lot of learning through conversation, which is really valuable. There’s also a lot more use of the atlas, Google Earth, and one of our favourite books, What the World Eats. Their presence also encourages us to get out and about in our local area and do some walks, see the sights, seek out wildlife to observe, and appreciate the beautiful place in which we live.

Everything else in our learning journey is going really well - days full of books and movies, outings and music, friends and games, art and animals, laughter and adventure. This is the life!