Returning Home

How nice to be back in our Tiwi home. It will never make the feature pages of a magazine but it suits us just fine. We spend so much time on the back veranda it is hard to imagine how we ever lived without one. Fortunately our dog Ali is still with us to share it. At 15 she is a lot slower these days and still drives us mad as she sheds her coat, leaving clusters like tumbleweeds to blow into the corners as the overhead fans turn endlessly. But she's family, so forgiven. She still loves to go for a drive in the car with her head out the window and to walk through the nearby coastal reserve with us as we amble along bird watching. 

The garden in particular needed quite a bit of work when we got back, but it felt good to be being so physical and at the end of each day we celebrated with a dip in the pool and enjoyed a sense of satisfaction at the progress we had made.

We were soon down in Victoria reconnecting with family. It was so good to be back in the same country even though they are all at the other end. It is still a long way but feels better. Victoria was beautiful, not yet too browned off and we loved how the hills framed every view, something you don't get in Darwin or Singapore.  

Back home we have established a new life rhythm, reverting from our more nocturnal lifestyle of five years in Singapore. We love waking to the early morning sounds of birds in the neighbourhood and going to bed at regular hours, though sometimes having to be roused from sleep in the lounge chairs if one of us has put in a particularly long physical day. One thing we both share an enduring love of is bird watching and we take every opportunity to get out and about when they are active as well as observing them at close range in the backyard. In doing so we get to see lots of the other wildlife too.

The first months of 2017 have flown by quickly. Accepting a teaching position for first term meant it was unexpectedly busy since I hadn't been planning that at all. It was exhausting as I over-planned and over-prepared as you do when you are not in your comfort zone. The farm lessons were a breeze but I found teaching science across the school required a lot more effort. The school leadership and staff were all tremendously helpful and it was certainly a benefit to learn all the students' names and a little about them through the classroom teaching. Lucky it was the wet season though or I might have been tempted to call in sick some days. The term concluded with student-lead conferences and I had more bookings from parents than was expected for a specialist teacher and they were all very positive interactions so I felt quite chuffed about that. (But I have to tell you I love being just farm manager now.) 

Meanwhile I left all the household chores to Eric who was a great support and he soon managed to get his kitchen just the way he wanted it, his home brewing kit underway and upgrade his golf clubs. He also stepped in as my farm manager a couple of mornings a week which paid for the clubs but did nothing to increase his interest in farming. 

Eric arranged for the installation of solar power at our house which my wages contributed towards as did the Territory Govt Grant for homeowners that we were able to successfully apply for. We are able to monitor its output on a daily basis with an app on our phones so it is with a smug expression that we enjoy all this sunshine now and not worry about power bills. 

The wet season interfered badly with his preparation for the golf tournament at Yarrawonga on the Murray River where he was joining other ex-Butterworth colleagues in February. Not to worry, he still thoroughly enjoyed himself. He's currently on the golf course working on his handicap which he hopes to get back to at least what it was 17 years ago. Good luck with that! 

So now the wettest wet season on record has passed and we are enjoying cooler nights and beautiful, clear blue-sky days. This is something we really missed in Singapore, that and the star strewn night skies. Soon we will roll out the swags and sleep under those stars just because we can. The dry season's arrival has also meant the veggies can get ahead in the garden as the caterpillars and flying insects disperse. It has been challenging both at home in the veggie plot and in the farm. I only have 4 plots, the farm has 11.

The start of the dry season also heralds the arrival of visitors. The first are John and Yve, expected next weekend as they are already on the road heading north from Adelaide. Coincidentally they were one of our first in Singapore too. They will stay here while we are away and look after our house, the dog and John will also take on my role as farm manager. I hope he enjoys it as much as I do. I just know Yve will not sit around waiting for him to come home, she is likely to find something useful to do as well to help out at the school or in the community. 

During our time away, many of our friends have moved down south. We are so lucky to have our family living so close by. It is nice to just relax and enjoy their company but also to be there if we can help and vice versa. It has meant we have been able to enjoy a few weekends away with Sandy at Mt Bundy Station, Mary River Retreat and Katherine because Ali can be looked after with little effort. 

Over the time in Singapore I posted almost weekly without fail to Serangoon Snippets. Tiwi Tattler will instead be an occasional update when the urge to write gets too much.