‘The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow if I can
Pursuing it with eager feet
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.
The Fellowship of the Ring.
JRR. Tolkein
‘Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert’.
Isaiah 43:19
And so, we have come to the place we never expected to be. The road went on and on through open fields and winding mountain paths with many an adventure in between. Countless beautiful sights and precious memories found. We were not expecting the journey to end so soon, but the paths and errands have met, as the poem says!
We went to Capella for a few weeks of work. We came to Theresa Creek for a three-day rest. That was two months ago. We made other plans, we tried to leave several times and each time, some set of circumstances outside our control has prevented it. Then while we waited a door opened. A door we didn’t even know was there and so of course we weren’t looking for it.
The road we travelled and explored and adventured upon has taken us to a little town on the central highlands of Queensland. Ironically, I commented when we first drove into town, that I would never choose to live here! Famous last words. In truth we were quite content with our plan to continue travelling for a few more months and then return home to the Sunshine Coast. It all still seems a bit surreal. I have to pinch myself… are we really doing this?
And yet here we are. We have just moved into a little quaint hundred-year-old converted schoolhouse. I am busy settling in, making plans for garden beds, compost bays and shovelling trailer loads of manure and mulch, while hubby has gone back to the coast to organise the shipment of our belongings.
It is a new season. The road ahead is somewhat unknown. Undoubtedly there will be hurdles and detours and difficulties. Such is life. But life is full of choices. Do you stick with the familiar and normal well-trodden path, or do you take a risk and follow the call? Whatever that call is for you.
We have met new like-minded friends with a similar vision. A chance to do something that has been on our hearts to do for many years. To work using regenerative agriculture practices to grow our own food and hopefully expand to become income producing. To work together as a family.
To teach the children age old traditions that are slowly being lost in our modern fast paced, everything-at-my-fingertips lifestyle. To live in a more self-sufficient way. To foster community. For the children to have the opportunity to grow up learning to love and steward the land well. To have hours to play and learn outdoors unfettered by screens and concrete and all the vices therein. Of course, you can do all this without moving to central Queensland, that is not my point. For us, the path has led very clearly to this place.
We dipped our toes in the water three years ago, but the timing wasn’t right. Then sickness visited our household. Everything else went on hold while we concentrated on getting Mike better. As it happened, that wasn’t our work to do at all, and we were given a miracle. Since then, we have sat on the sidelines waiting, reading, watching, learning, and dreaming of the day when we could start that journey. Now suddenly, when we weren’t looking for it, here it is! When we were least expecting it, the door has opened.
So, I will attempt, however imperfectly, to record our adventure into small scale farming, here in this space. The ups, the downs, the learnings along the way and hopefully the bountiful harvest that will eventuate.
First posted September 22, 2021
Leave a Reply