Sunday 19 May 2019

Easter, Down on the Farm, Part 2.

Easter Sunday

I'm not the best of sleepers. In my waking moments throughout the night, it was wonderful to hear the rain pattering on the iron roof. The morning dawned damp and overcast but I was not deterred from setting forth with my camera, to enjoy a peaceful morning here on the farm.

First cattle seen- a relaxed pair, chewing the cud.

Exiting the home paddock I looked west and was excited to see the full moon setting.





In the east, fog had settled in the valley.

A little hovered over Mt Cullen, where I had climbed the previous day.

It wasn't long before the 'curious cows' appeared over the brow of the ridge. Much calmer than yesterday, they were a joy to behold in the early morning light.





The clouds slowly parted on the horizon allowing the sun's rays to burst into the valley.




Raindrops and fungi now captured my attention.




Adding to the beauty of this dawn was the wondrous symphony of the birds. Turn your sound up.


Easter Monday

This is what I woke up to. Taken without leaving my bed.
From the window.
Of course any thoughts of luxuriating beneath the covers and reading my book, vanished immediately.

Not wanting to greet the cattle too early, I took a different route  to climb the hill. One gate wouldn't open so I had to climb over and ingloriously fell to the damp grass. 

Lesson to self "Remember, you are not as young as you think!"

This isn't the one I tumbled off, but similar.

Dawns golden glow.

In the west, the moon and my favourite muted pink and blue shades.





Playing with the camera.

There was more oohing and aahing over the mushrooms.




If only you could see the interior walls of the dairy which are filled with pencilled messages, reminders and information on the herd.


Over 100 years old, what stories this giant fig tree could share of the humorous, sad, busy, relaxed, drama filled and happy times on the farm. Its roots can be seen a good 30m from its trunk.




Mid afternoon, I reluctantly packed up the car and headed north again. There was no need of melancholy as the beauty of the farm followed me back over the border.  These cattle grazing, just 20 mins down the road, interrupted the journey for a good ten minutes.  

I take the Lions Road home. Built by Kyogle Lions Club, [my Grandfather and Uncles also worked on it] it winds its way along Gradys Creek, climbs through the dense rainforest of the Macpherson Range to the border and then drops down to Running Creek. Soooo many photo opportunites, but this was the last one - for Ben.


I would love to read your comment.

16 comments:

  1. Delightful-- as always. Misty mushrooms, misty cows, misty barbed wire... Really nice, Helen!

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  2. Wonderful rural morning shots and your rain speckled fungi are great too. That is a beautiful part of the world. I have heard of the Lions road but have not travelled it.

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    1. When next travelling to Brisbane, Joan, it is defnitely worthwhile making the detour. It is 1/2 hour shorter than the Mt Lindsey H'way.

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  3. Love your fog and moon photos! And sunrises are always special.

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    1. I was so surprised to see the moon with all the cloud to the east. A real treat.

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  4. Great post with wonderful pictures. The country life is so relaxing!
    The moon shots (and the others too) are priceless.

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    1. If you are in the country and don't have to worry about fickle weather, life in the country is very relaxing.

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  5. Lovely to see the mist and those beautiful skies! Love the moon shots too.

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    1. A little hillier than your neck of the woods, Lady Fi.

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  6. Wow, Helen, among all the fabulous series of photos you post, this is one of my favourites. Such a special atmosphere!
    Thank you for the gorgeous photos!
    Have a happy weekend!
    PS You have azaleas blooming in winter? How lovely is that! :)

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    1. So glad you enjoyed this post Sara. It was most certainly a very special few days for me.
      Most of your spring flowers are at their best in winter here. Vegetables producing in the garden too.

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  7. The fog lends such a beautiful mystery to so many of the photos. I absolutely love the droplets on the toadstools. They look like jewelry.

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  8. Kim, I guess you can imagine how many photos were taken and how difficult it was to not overload the blog with them.
    On the farming side, my photos helped solve a problem for Robert's sister who runs cattle on the property. They had done a muster a couple of weeks prior and a number were missing. Their green ear tags showed up in the photos, so they knew they were OK and only hiding.

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  9. A very atmospheric series of pictures, Helen. Well done. The pictures of fungi made me think back to my two visits to Australia, and I can barely remember having seen much at all. I probably just didn't pay attention, my eyes being focused on birds!

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  10. Those sunrise photos are amazing as are those perfect mushrooms

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