It’s a while since my last blog. I’d love to tell you it’s because I’ve been outside enjoying the weather (inbetween downpours). Spring is that time of the year which beckons me outdoors, particularly before the real heat of summer begins; and the weather guru’s are expecting a hot one this year. Despite my  inclination to be out and about on the property I’ve been indoors at the computer trying to gather the ends together of my third novel. At least I don’t feel too guilty about my ‘day job’. Two rather substantial weather changes have kept things fairly soggy here of late with 20mm hitting the main homestead again on friday night. It was wild storms all around with an amazing display of fork lightening out in the west and a rather horrific wind which fortunately didn’t cause too much damage. So here I am relegated to the computer and a cast of wily characters all doing their best to get my attention. My self-imposed deadline is November 1st. Harvest may well begin then (although the weather will probably delay it a little as we need some hot days to bring the crop in). Harvest and writing really don’t mix. The first time I tried ‘multi-tasking’ my two worlds was in 2004. I was studying (on-line) via Central Queensland University and doing final edits on a non-fiction work. A helpful soul borrowed my vehicle and left the door open. ‘Yep,’ that would be my ms blowing over the wheat field!

I’ve had my laptop in one of the station toyota’s in hopes of a spare moment to write – it never happens and I’ve done the ‘trying to read the near completed manuscript’ while loading trucks or moving mother bins and it doesn’t really work either. A notebook seemed a good idea for when inspiration struck. So I carried one around with me in 2010. Now you would think such a simple non-electronic device would be perfect. This particular notebook ended up on the dash of one of the crew’s vehicles at a campdraft in QLD and apparently was pretty useful for scoring. Don’t ask. 

I’ve tried the notebook approach (Coopers) quite a few times over the years and my brief scrawls of inspiration are interspersed with stock numbers, crop chemical recommendations and a variety of wheel bearing sizes for everything from cattle trucks and sowing rig air carts to tip trucks. So if my day job ever fails me I can always go work for John Deere, Bourgault, Caterpillar ot Toyota.

So here I am hopeful of a 1 November completion, which probably wont happen however it’s a nice thought. In the meantime I’ve managed a date and walnut slice and an almond and apple pie over the weekend and I’ve watched an excellent movie called ‘The Missing’ with Cate Blanchet starring. (Considering I don’t bake you can see my impressive attempts at writer’s procrastination. (Let me know if you would like the recipes). My repertoire usually only extends to scones, pikelets, rock cakes and merangues.

Finally thank you to every one who contacted me about my pup. For those of you who don’t know he was bitten by a brown snake while we were out doing our usual near dusk walk on saturday. If I’d had a pocket knife I could have cut his ear and bled him which does work if done immediately however we were three kms from the house. I stayed with him holding his head hoping it would at least be a speedy demise. The stoic little bugger however got up and followed me home, instead of waiting for me to come back and get him in the toyota. At six months he’s a hefty dog so there was no way I could carry him the distance. A call to my Dad and the vet in Goondiwindi (David was playing cricket) resulted in the same conclusion; it was too late to do anything for him. The fact he was still alive by the time we reached home did mean that he had a 50/50 chance of survival. Unfortunately we had to put him down this morning. So little pup, RIP x.