Pearl was born at home in the water still sleeping inside her amniotic sac.
She made the easy transition into the loving arms of the oceans and waterholes of the NSW North Coast.
Our children have been blessed to spend the first few years of their lives amongst the rainforest's of the nsw Byron Bay hinterland. Water fell from the sky (sometimes continuously), it came from the earth in springs and it roared lovingly from the oceans.
There , the water is ABUNDANT.
Of course sometimes too abundant.
We spent summers wading around waterholes under gargantuan foliage, breastfeeding in the bath, dipping our bed sheet into water and laying it across our bodies only to have it evaporate too quickly.
And now......
We are now living in the Goldfields of Central Victoria in a land bled dry by the Goldrush. Where this beautiful,strong and creative community has experienced 10 years of drought.
The rains have returned briefly, leaving 150 year old glorious oak trees to fall down in complete shock.
Our children have had to learn about conservation in a way they never have before. Water was a way of life (swimming,bathing, playing, growing with and consuming) and now we have to quench our thirst in other ways.
It's been a time of transition,instead of living in a land of ancient lush volcanic soil that constantly gave to US,we are now in an environment where the relationship must be more of a passionate symbiotic tango.
We have a relationship with this weary garden of ours.
She's tired and needs lots of lovin'
I'm blessed to have a partner that's a Green Man, a "Permie"(a permaculturilist)a lover of the Earth.
He knows good stuff about bio-dynamics and garden lore.
Over Summer the earth cracked and opened up, when the rain came in dribbles our garden was full of found vessels collecting the preciousness, to then feed to our little veggie seedlings.
In our adventures beyond our new town we have found some water for playing in.
The mineral springs of Daylesford, Hepburn and Vaughn and Glenluce are our favourites.
As the tree's start to hold on to their chlorophyll and drop golden leaves , we head into the unfamiliar realms of winter.
It seems they spent most of their early life in the sub-tropics naked in our garden. Our first winter here last year was a daily dose of "Nude on Ice".
Possibly denial... or maybe because of children's amazing adaptability, Pearl and Oli were passionate advocates of....well...being nude amongst the icy garden.
I wonder if there will be clothes this winter?
