kopuaranga: We are selling our beautiful farm

Working most weekends for the past nine years, and we are ready to sell the farm. We have become avid gardeners, wine growers, and olive oil produces. We have made jams and jellies, salted olives.

Our vege garden is abundant with red and yellow tomatoes, raspberries and strawberries, lettuces, beans and carrots galore, potatoes and fabulous sage, tarragon, rosemary, thyme, oregano parsley and chives. While I love all of this, I am ready to let go and refocus, and write the book I've wanted to write since I was about 30.

I want to empty my being of all the complexities of being an olive and grape grower, home stay manager and farm minder to do this. Its time to think and write and not have a continual pull to be onto the 'next things'. David feels the pull too, more that the machinery is big and lots of the work tough and demanding, and time to put his feet up, paint, read, and focus on his business.

Our summer here has been the best. Eating our lovely fresh produce, swimming in the river each day, sitting out under the trees and reading. our holiday activities have included tucking and plucking the grapes reading the for the nexus (this weekend), pruning the olive trees, mowing everywhere, trimming hedges and dead heading roses. a funny kind of holiday but one we like very much.

I'm sad to leave the farm. I am delighted that where ever we look are gorgeous vignettes reflecting our hard work. When we came the farm had been abandoned and we have been good caretakers returning it to productivity, growth and abundance.