Saturday, December 6, 2008

Reflections, December 2008



It has been a while since I've updated. There have been lots of things happening though. I've spent a lot more time inside (out of the sun) and getting my house organised.

Above is the picture of the junk corner I transformed recently. That's a photo of me in the background, slightly younger than my daughter is now. The hair isn't so much gold any more, but change inevitably brings experience.

The gorgeous rain of late has brought quite a big problem with it though. A jungle!! Yep, the bushland is greening up and the weeds are forging ahead. It's the first season we've experienced where we dread looking at the lawn mower now. Actually, the mower gets used very little - it's the brush cutter which works for hours on end. That can take days to finish our one acre.

So it's time to put our heads together again and think of new solutions.

It's funny though, how quickly life takes a detour when you were planning another direction. We have worked so hard to get our property to the stage it is now, that we forget it can't all be done so quickly. Pretty soon you see the weeds take over (hundreds of square metres of it) and you wonder how much you've really achieved?

We're just beginning to realise that it's time to slow down and use our heads. Not just for working smarter, but also for finding contentment. Remembering how we did overcome those initial challenges in the beginning is an achievement, but more importantly, a form of relaxation. It's so easy to look around and see the millions of jobs that still need doing and stress about it. But we're only two people and we've never really done this kind of thing before. Not on this scale at least.

So it's okay for the weeds to do what they do best - it doesn't mean their success is our failure. It's just a different pace for different things. Winter will be here before we know it and the weeds will die back again, giving us some physical respite this time.

So if you are battling your own jungle - inside the house or outside - don't be overwhelmed by the enormity of the task ahead. There is peace to be found, remembering that everything has it's place. Even the jungle!

3 comments:

  1. Wow, I needed this post. We're battling our own jungle of weeds (thankfully the garden and fruit trees are growing just as well!) and overgrown lawn here. The lawnmower will make it through (mostly), but it's backbreaking work. Like you, we're new to all this, so perhaps we need to cut ourselves some slack!

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  2. Chris what wise words. Yes many of us are growing jungles. Urban or country.
    The rains are brillant at the moment I have barely been watering at all! Have you been getting alot?
    Em

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  3. Thanks for both sharing your experiences too.

    You're right Em, country or urban, there are little jungles popping up everywhere. We have gotten consistent rain for most of the week. I haven't had any problems direct sowing seeds - they've all come up! The ground out here really needed this break in the weather - but turn your back and you'll be smothered in weeds.

    Rinelle, I was looking at your blog recently and wondered how your grass was growing with the recent rains too. My back sympathises.

    We've decided to get our walking tracks under control with gravel or forest mulch. That way we can always use the walkways no matter how thick the grass gets everywhere else. Then we'll just tackle the jungle when we have the energy too!

    Thanks for dropping by and leaving your comments.

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