Wednesday, October 1, 2014

tropical exhale

IMG_1449
Each year we try to take a few weeks off between the cold, quiet months of winter and the start of the spring growing season. Each year we try to go somewhere far away from our farm. To have a proper break from the everyday chores, the ever growing to-do lists, the routines and the expectations.

The further we go, the more perspective we can get on things back home. The more the landscape changes, the more the flora and fauna and day to day life differ, the more we can really see our lives on the farm. And the longer we are away, the more decisions and changes and plans we can make and put in place.

IMG_1380
It's amazing what early morning walks on the beach, tropical fruit breakfasts, sea breezes, slow uninterrupted chunks of time, clear blue skies, the sound of the waves, bare feet, afternoon siestas, and beach salty skin can do to refresh and revive our visions.

IMG_1488
We've done our seed order, I've read Looking for Alaska and Crazy Rich Asians, Farmer Bren has been doing an online ukulele course and has spent hours perfecting his strum and accompanying Indi's singing.

IMG_1481
I've cast off another pair of socks, I've walked/jogged 7,000 steps before breakfast, we've spent a good chunk of time with family and bumped into friends and we've hardly ever driven anywhere, which is always the best sign of a holiday for me.

(Jazzy's socks ravelled here).

IMG_1494
We've eaten too much, we've thought more about next year's adventure, we've swum, we've been constantly amazed by the crazy beautiful tropical wild and bird life, and we've talked about life at home on our farm. We've felt alive and exhilarated and refreshed.

IMG_1398 We've breathed in  enormous gulps of holiday air and we've felt grateful beyond measure.

And in the weeks and months to come when life builds up and speeds up and piles up, we'll have these few weeks away to remember and ground us. Hopefully we'll be able to hold on to and recall the pillowy feeling of the the warm wind as it swirls around us, the fizzy tingle of the waves that have just crashed over us and the sweetest tastes of pineapple and passion fruit and strawberries in our mouths.


I wonder if you have a warm and sweet place to go to in your heart when things get too crazy on the ground? I wonder if yours is tropical and laid back like mine, or in the middle of the hustle and bustle somewhere exotic? I wonder what bird songs you can hear, what the market food tastes like and how tall the mountains on the range are?

I hope you can go there.

Big love

xx


16 comments:

  1. Looks & sounds just perfect Kate. I often think of the holiday we took to King Island, this time last year, when things get crazy. The deserted beaches, endless shells & our rustic shack. Sigh. Happy spring growing season to you x

    ReplyDelete
  2. "slow, uninterrupted chunks of time" - that's all I need from a holiday. As a busy mother of three, trying to do anything without interruptions is impossible!
    If I waited for uninterrupted time, nothing would ever get done!
    As our world seems to get faster and lives get busier with more demands on our time and attention, it is even more important to take regular time out for thinking and musing. I wonder whether more problems would be solved if more people took time to withdraw from the daily routine for thinking time, like you have done. You are giving your children valuable lessons in living a balanced life.
    Thank you for highlighting the importance and value of regular breaks. I am glad I am not the only one who thinks so. Enjoy your time away.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks, and sounds like a wonderful time away. We live in the tropics, so the ideal holidays for us are someplace cold where we can enjoy quiet time in front of the fire and brisk walks wrapped in hand-knitted garments.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am fortunate in that my "escape to place" is right here in my home, depending on the season it is either the greenhouse or the crafting room. When I am in WA it is Kings Park, my favourite place in the world.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Sounds like a wonderful time off! :-) Looking for Alaska waits on my book shelf to be read... Did you read The fault in our stars? Wonderful sad and uplifting novel!

    Take care
    Anne
    http://crochetbetweentwoworlds.blogspot.de

    ReplyDelete
  6. so beautiful Kate, precious time. this is something we (desperately) need, a little getaway to re-focus and to completely relax..maybe christmas time, fingers crossed..x

    ReplyDelete
  7. It's great to be able to get away and re-charge your batteries. I'm just back from a lovely 2 week holiday. One week was spent on the Isle of Skye. I love this place where everything is so calm and peaceful and you can hear cuckoos.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Sounds perfect! I love a good escape - in fact I'm sure we are overdue one here too :) I rather fancy camping by the beach in the coromandel ...

    ReplyDelete
  9. It is a good idea to get away and get a perspective and excitement to return home. We have a cabin where we live simply to get away from normal to-do lists and it is the only place I can really relax. Jo x

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love going to the beach and I try to go to the seaside every summer. The beach in Greece where we usually go is my favourite place in the whole world. Althrough it's far from where I live (northern Romania) it's totally worth the 16 hours drive to get there. I read Looking for Alaska a few months back, it's a great book. I also loved Paper Towns by the same author.

    ReplyDelete
  11. It sounds wonderful Kate, like a refresher just before the busyness. It is cold here in Melbourne at the moment so I hope your enjoying your warm weather and the waves. Jazzy's socks look scrumptious in that yarn too.

    ReplyDelete
  12. aaaahhhhh...what a delicious holiday!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. wow. I could just live vicariously through your holiday joy. We just had a week driving into, around and away from the Flinders Ranges. The opposite of tropical but no less beautiful. All that space and big sky and stillness and sweet clean air and water....

    And I'm right there with you on the sock front. My aim is to knit socks until we all have enough to survive in over winter...I'd better get cracking!

    xx

    ReplyDelete
  14. Looks amazing and very relaxing Kate. Beautiful photos, especially the first of Jazzy...love her freckles. We just spent some time on Fraser Island and it was such an adventure, so relaxing and picturesque. Perfect timing after winter to get away! x

    ReplyDelete

Thanks so much for stopping by...

I do read every single comment you leave and appreciate it very much, but I should let you know that I can be a wee bit on the useless side when replying to comments, that's just me, everyday life sometimes gets in the way....so I'll apologise now, just in case.

Kate XX

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Visit my other blog.