I have to say I am not a great one for poetry but like most people I do have my favourites.
One of them is My Country by Dorothea Mackellar, the second stanza is the best know of the poem about Australia.
I love a sunburnt country,
A land of sweeping plains,
Of ragged mountain ranges,
Of droughts and flooding rains.
I love her far horizons,
I love her jewel-sea,
Her beauty and her terror -
The wide brown land for me!
As wonderful as Australia is the extremes are more than extreme.
Yesterday, here in New South Wales, one part of the state was and still is on fire, another had a snowfall, bizarre.
One thing that is almost country wide is drought. According to the NSW Department of Primary Industries, 61% of NSW is either in drought or intense drought, while nearly 39% is drought affected and the government can't get their priorities right. But I'm not going to get political here.
I live on the beautiful Central Coast and an amazing lady up here has set up a Facebook Group Coasties Drought Aid.
This group is to help struggling farmers in NSW by people on the Central Coast.
The current project is Christmas, either by donating food etc, money, or sponsoring a farmer, gifts can be included.
We've decided to sponsor a farmer, we'll make up a hamper for our nominated farmer and family.
We all know the joy of receiving a card, birthday, anniversary, just thinking of you, whatever but these families have more on their minds than going out and buying cards so my hampers are going to include card packs, I'm going to make a selection of different occasions so they have them on hand when needed.
Being part of the Stampin' Up! family I often get a card in the mail and its fantastic but the other day I received one so expectantly from someone who doesn't share what we do but shares the thought and I can't tell you how it made my day.
Please keep farmers and firefighter in your prayers.
Talk soon, take care
Sue x
