Week 32 (Aug. 6-12) Wide Open Spaces

Being born in the country on a sheep station on the Darling River, I grew up accustomed to wide open spaces.  For the first few years of my life my world was the bush, animals and adults - the only other child I knew was my older sister.  Animals were our playmates and neighbours were few - wide open spaces were all around us.

I have only a few clear memories of the station itself, but my parents often told stories of our life there and cherished time outdoors.  During his time at the station my father saw droughts and floods, and not long after I was born the homestead spent several months isolated by floodwater in 1971.

 Moving to a small town as a preschooler was a shock - who were all these small people and why were there so many houses surrounding us?

Even once we moved into town, there were still many wide open spaces around, with the Murray River only a few street away and bushland to roam in nearby.  Wide open spaces are a part of my childhood.