Today it is six years since I moved away from Napier to live on my own in a rented cottage on a cattle and sheep farm in Hawkes Bay. I keep remembering that first night after my parents and friend Marg dropped me off here with my three cats fresh out of the cattery where they had boarded for the eight and a half months it took me to find a home. First there was the dreadful smell of a house that had been shut up for six months and not cleaned for even longer. Then there was the silence of the countryside later broken by the anguished bellows of the cows who had just been seperated from their calves. My cats mewed and complained all night from their safe haven underneath my bed while I cried myself to sleep. After such a dark night of the soul it could only be up from then on!
In six years I have learned to cope with dirty water or no water for four days once when my landlord was enjoying a warm mid-winter break in Nuie. I have had cows in the garden, a goat in the kitchen, endured dog attacks on my chickens, my dog and myself, learned to plan ahead with grocery shopping or else go without. It has been a tough learning curve but an important one in making me a more self sufficient individual.I love the country life despite its hardships. It breeds strength and independence of spirit. So Happy Anniversary and lets see what happens next.