Holidays - the farm stay

On the way back from our holiday at the beach, we stayed one night at my cousin's farm. It was only one night, which is never long enough, but has always, we all had so much fun.

I'm in a bit of a 'move to the country' mood at the moment. This farm stay did not help.

Walking into her beautiful home, we were greeted by a huge bunch of home grown flowers, picked earlier that morning from her garden, her dining room sideboard was filled with home made lemon cordial, chutneys and quirky new op shop finds. The old kookaburra stove in the kitchen was covered with bowls of locally grown produce and baskets of fresh eggs. Just out of the oven, homemade hot cross buns sat on the stove top, scenting the air with cinnamon. Next to the buns, on the kitchen bench, sat an apple pie for dinner and a coffee ring cake for afternoon tea.

I walked out on to the back deck and looked across the house yard to the newly extended (huge) chicken house. The chicken house was already half covered with 2 different types of passionfruit. It was heavy with green fruit. A mulberry tree is growing nicely just outside the coop. In the foreground the chickens and roosters were free-ranging in the yard and beyond in the paddocks I could see her newly planted fruit trees (about 30), her 10 new sheep and the beginnings of her new vegetable plot. Three huge raised beds have been half made by her lovely husband. There are plans for tomatoes, potatoes, pumpkins, rhubarb, corn, carrots, etc.

After a simple lunch of egg and lettuce and ham and tomato sandwiches washed down with a lovely cup of tea, we went for a walk around the farm and I listened to further plans of banana trees, grevillea hedges, dams and ponies. Back to the house for afternoon tea and a chance for us to sit in the late afternoon sun, crafting and chatting. Karen crocheting and me embroidering. Just as it should be.



And for the kids, they....

Collected eggs, went for motorbike rides, collected macadamia nuts, went on trailer rides, fed the chickens, helped with farm jobs, rode bikes on the tennis court, enjoyed giant rainbows, played in the sandpit, played in the cubbie house, jumped on the trampoline, swung on the swings, dressed up, rode scooters, explored the farm and slept soundly.

Oh, I forgot to mention, the lots of yummy wine we drank on Saturday night. Like I said, we all had a lot of fun!

See it all for yourself on her beautiful blog, gooseberry jam.

Hee hee. I have just had a little chuckle to myself, if you are linking to gooseberry jam today, you will see that great minds think a like!