Where we live

Thankless vs. Thankful

Thankless vs. Thankful

We live on 4.5 acres of semi-rural land on Mitchells Island. Some of our property is tamed and most is not. Not that we haven’t been working on it on and off for the last nine years. It’s a big job trying to do bush regeneration.
Today, as I was cutting and poisoning lantana and blackberry bush, I was thinking how much more work there was to do compared with my current feeble efforts. […]

Natural Erosion?

Natural Erosion?

 
Our closest beach on Mitchells Island has lost about a half kilometre of its length in the last couple of years. That’s a big chunk.
The area concerned is at the mouth of the Manning River, but the dunes all along in a southerly direction, including Old Bar Beach, are seriously eroded, too.
The encroachment of the sea has devastated the little tern breeding ground. These tiny birds are very vulnerable and have been declared endangered. […]

Did You Have an Adventure Today?

Did You Have an Adventure Today?

We on the mid-north coast of New South Wales, the region that’s known as the Manning Valley, are incredibly privileged to live and in such a stunningly beautiful area.
Today I got to explore the coastal part of it that includes Khappinghat Nature Reserve and Creek, and Saltwater National Park.
Friends John and Julie took Daniel and me on an adventurous bike ride up and down dirt tracks and bush trails for 2.5 hours.
It was tough for me – not being a regular cyclist – and also, I was the only one in the group who’s sporting titanium/ceramic hips […]

The Goodness of Gardens

The Goodness of Gardens

I went to Trent, the hairdresser, in town today, and he gave me a pretty ‘do’. In my old life as a city girl, my hairdresser would say, ‘I hope your husband is taking you some place special for dinner tonight.’
Instead of a glamorous outing, in my current incarnation as a country girl, I took myself and my new hairdo home to work in the garden. Specifically to muck around in the compost, a job that’s needed doing for some time. […]

You Never Know, and That’s a Good Thing

You Never Know, and That’s a Good Thing

A news bulletin just appeared on my computer regarding a surfer who was knocked unconscious by a whale today. He had been in a group surfing at Bondi Beach when a whale (‘big as a bus’) showed up. […]

We Lucky Aussies

We Lucky Aussies

I’m a 37-year resident and naturalised citizen of Australia and I still never cease to be amazed by the long, sweeping and inviting beaches that often remain completely empty.
It’s the height of the school holidays here and still, as you can see, Kylie’s beach (above) was deserted today. I might add that it has been a weather-perfect day, windless and 22 degrees.
I’m not complaining. […]

Yoga in A Good 'Ole Aussie Shed

Yoga in A Good 'Ole Aussie Shed

For any of you non-native Australian people out there, a Shed (with a capital “S”) is an Aussie institution. In the country, Sheds act as primary residences for people until they can afford the time, energy and money to build a house. If all of those things don’t fall in place, living in a shed might be a long-term proposition.
More often than not, the Shed is the place that a bloke can get away from his missus and the kids for a bit of peace and mind. […]

Good Yoga Practice: Time Out for Renewal

Good Yoga Practice: Time Out for Renewal

One of the beautiful things about living in the country and being ‘semi-retired’ is that I have ample time to connect with people.
Sitting down with a cuppa to chat with a friend and not having time constraints – the conversation can go in unexpected directions. Instead of handling business or talking about what one of you needs from the other, you can just let content emerge organically, if you will.
Tomorrow I’m flying to South Australia, then to magnificent Kangaroo Island, to meet up with six dear women friends. […]

Should We Be Left to Our Devices?

Should We Be Left to Our Devices?

How  much is life passing us by because of our love affair with screens and devices? Probably more than we want to know, and it’s a question that Google can’t actually answer.
The classic cartoon above, created by Micheal Leunig with great prescience, sums up the situation. And it was published even before iPads and such were a glimmer in Apple’s eye.
Here’s an interesting statistic from this week’s SMH Good Weekend Magazine: On average a US household includes five internet-connected devices (smartphones, tablets, TVs, etc.). […]

Here Today, Maybe Not Tomorrow

Here Today, Maybe Not Tomorrow

I’m getting far too good at stopping and smelling the roses. That’s the price I pay to be semi-retired, living in the country. What does semi mean anyway?
I took a small detour on my way to yoga practice this morning to admire and photograph the heavy mists hanging all around our property.

And then, I found myself attracted to the tibouchina that was just bloomin’ its heart out.

Of course, the brugmansia stopped me in my tracks, too.

Finally, just when I thought I was going to get into the Yoga Shed, the butcher bird caught my attention. […]

How Did I Get Here?

How Did I Get Here?

 
I had some time this morning – quite a lot of it, actually – to wander around Bondi Junction, my old stomping grounds. Here’s a photo of the entrance to the Australian School of Yoga on Oxford Street.
I was mentally winding back the clock  to 1979 when I had my first experience of Iyengar Yoga taught by this man:

 
It’s fair to say that Martyn Jackson, Iyengar Yoga and the time I spent at the Australian School of Yoga changed the course of my life. […]

The Big Wet

The Big Wet

“If, from time to time, you give up expectation, you will be able to perceive what it is you are getting.”
― Idries Shah, Reflections
Australia is a crazy place to reside climate-wise. We live between drought and flood, cyclone and dust storms, biting arctic winds in the extreme south and near-equatorial heat in the far north.
Our household on Mitchells Island has been under a heavy blanket of rain over the last few days. […]

Don’t Blink – You Might Miss It

Don’t Blink – You Might Miss It

Sometimes you have to wake yourself up so that you realise you are living your Dream.
When I lived in fast-paced Sydney, I was too busy to get out into Nature because of running a city yoga centre. I desperately wanted to be living at the beach, to walk on it every day, to be surprised by what washed up from the surf or down from the river.
Here I am and there are truly wondrous sights at our mid-north coast beaches.
Today at low tide at Old Bar, there were these boys and their construction. […]

A Sutra a Day: IV-2 – A Theory of Yoga Evolution

A Sutra a Day: IV-2 – A Theory of Yoga Evolution

 

Since we hit our antipodean warm weather in early December, our vegetable garden has gone berserk.
First there were the zucchinis, hidden from view under their giant leaves, which, unattended, ballooned into green torpedo-shapes. Then came the cherry tomatoes. Well, they are still coming, and coming, and our freezer is totally packed out with them. Lately, the cucumbers have been vying with the zukes for quantity and size. […]

South Island, N.Z., Here We Come

South Island, N.Z., Here We Come

It might seem like piking out.
I’ve been diligently presenting Patanjali’s Sutra in these posts for many months. And, I still have more to go – three Sutra from Chapter III and all of Chapter IV to offer you.
But neighbouring New Zealand beckons to us for a well-deserved holiday, and so I’ll put a bookmark in my six or seven Patanjali commentaries. […]

A Sutra a Day: III-50 – There’s Freedom in Letting Go

Source: lovelavieboheme.tumblr.com via Melissa on Pinterest

 
We had a little party today chez Scotts Road, Mitchells Island. It was a celebration of Rick’s and my birthdays and Mike and Judy’s homecoming, all rolled into one.
I looked around at all the attendees and felt an overwhelming sense of love and affection for the people we’ve gathered around us in the 3 years of living in the country. […]

A Sutra a Day: III-47 – Uncommon Senses

A Sutra a Day: III-47 – Uncommon Senses

I live in a part of the world where a “sense feast” is presented to me every day. And since I am semi-retired, I mostly have time to linger over this repast.
I wake up to the sweet bell-like song of eastern rosellas and look across green meadows to see cattle grazing. These summer mornings are humid and languorous, with earthy odours rising from the vegetable patches. […]

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