Under a hotter Sun; A diamond studded sky;

I like to stand in the darkness and gaze up into infinity, the stars so close I think I can touch them.
A velvety blackness dripping with silver fills the Southlands night sky. It spreads its glittering imperiousness to state its eternity. The stars enigmatic, following unwavering their path light years away, tiny scintillating dots which we will never reach. Also we try very hard to reach the silver. The moon sits in his corner tonight blown up, a smile on his benevolent face. They from down there have visited him. It was not very pleasant. They think they have achieved a lot, he very slightly sways let’s a fleecy cloud hide his smile; the radiance of the stars bathes the surroundings with a soft glow.

I look for the familiar Southern Cross; it tells me that I am here in this Southland walking on my head. The stars look rather small but the two brilliant pointers show the way to find it. The inky sky shows a very pronounced Milky Way like a silver ribbon.. The stars glitter and wink until they are all surrounded and lost in a crowd of sparkling constellations.
I have never seen a sky like that. It is one of the wonders, balsam that buries deep into one’s soul. It is a feeling profound and arch primal.
The next morning all is back to normal. The magic of the night sky hidden away. The sun, gold and silver, once more blazing and fiery.

The Christmas days have past. I am glad I can put it aside.
The days of the eventful 1974 that has brought so much change in our lives are waning. Peter and I are very positive and optimistic about our altered lifestyle and hope that we all will be happy and fulfilled in our new endeavours.
The whole process is still so new and raw. Everyday is packed with something new to learn and to absorb. The children take it in their stride which is fantastic. My brain works non stop to counter the challenge and to miss nothing. I am not yet relaxed in my everyday life. Peter seems quite relaxed. I think he is the first time really happy. He really loves the land and loves what he is doing, free and not bound by the everyday trudge of going to work, returning tired and not very inspired in the evening. He is 42 and I think he is one of the lucky ones to be able to change his workload. Normally he is not a relaxed person he is very highly strung and has a temper when things don't work out.

In February the children are starting at their new schools. Marie-Louise will start first form at Maclean High school. For her it will be really a challenge. I know she will cope she is a very clever girl. She is such a small, slim girl for her age.
Jacky and Lilli will be pupils at Tyndale Primary which is a one teacher school with pupils from 5 years to 12 years of age. There will be only about two handfuls of students. I hope they are OK. They are not scared, very optimistic and looking forward to their new schools. I am glad about this it makes it much easier.
Norma was very kind and told me all about the school clothes they would need, as they all wear school uniforms in Australia. Marie-Louise would need a tartan dress and white blouses, white socks, black shoes and for the cooler time of the Year a dark
green jacket or Jumper, all the clothes were available at McKelly's in Maclean. Norma offered to take me there and show me the ropes. Marie-Louise also needed a skirt and bloomers for PE short for physical education. These items were not available as finished products. I had to sew them myself. I bought the material and I went up to Norma to sew these garments on her sewing machine, as mine had not yet arrived.

For Jacky and Lilli I didn't have to buy a uniform. The teacher, Mr.McCann, advised against it. He said:" This small school will soon be closed and then Jacky and Lilli will have to go to Maclean's schools. It is not worthwhile to spend all this money for such a short time, as they would need different uniforms. This suited me and the girls didn't mind as they were anyway not used to wear uniforms.
By now we are also eager to get started with the building of our new home and we also need a Garage and a shed for the farm machinery.
The road we are using now is also in a bad shape with deep holes washed out by heavy rainstorms. It will be better to build a new road in a gentler curving way it will be less prone to be washed out by heavy rainfall, instead like the old road which went in one straight line down the hill.

The new Year will be busy until everything is settled.

A tiny, new arrival arrived at our place as well and made its way into our hearts. Jacky received a tabby kitten whose mother was not able to look after it anymore. It is a Manx cat where his tail should be is only a little flap. His mother was a Manx. I had never seen one. Reg brought it over and Tommy, the name Jacky gave him, started his life with us.

We also got Purscht from the dog pound. He was a beautiful looking cattle dog, but absolutely useless with the cattle. He would just run uselessly around and try to snap after every bird that flew past him. I don't know what happened to him that he had such an erratic behaviour. At the same time we also got Boy a cattle dog pup. A cute and very, very friendly dog. He should be trained as a cattle dog, but I doubt it that Peter will be able to do that, he has not enough patience to do that sort of thing.