‘After suffering through another 40-plus degree day in Adelaide, a simple line drawing of an old cottage in the real-estate section of the paper catches my eye … When I arrive, the valley is encircled by dark hills, with a starry blanket over the top. A cool breeze rustles the leaves on the oak leaves. It smells of hay and honeysuckle and I think there will be dew on the lawn in the morning. I am besotted.’
After buying an old cottage in the Adelaide Hills, Georgie and her young family are transfixed with dreams of becoming hobby farmers. They long to tend chooks, sit by log fires, grow their own veggies and generally immerse themselves in the joys of nature. However, a stubborn cow named Ginger, acres of mud, a feral crop of artichokes, the coldest winter of the decade and a husband whose job means he is away from home most of the week with time only to repeatedly bog the tractor on the weekends does not make their introduction to rural living ideal. Surely things can only get better?
For anyone who has either made the escape from city living or dreams of doing so, here is an entertaining and humorous story about a tree change with more than a rocky start.
‘I love Georgie’s turn of phrase, “I’m only a little bit country and probably the wrong bit”. This says it all. I think the book is a delight!’ — Maggie Beer, AM, Australian cook, food author, restaurateur and food manufacturer
‘Humorous, refreshing and insightful … a good bible for anyone with young children contemplating — or beginning — a new life on the land! — Simone Kain, 2015 Women’s Agenda NAB Leadership Awards National Rural Entrepreneur of the Year, creator of George the Farmer
