Close to home – Kandy Shepherd

I love to travel but for various reasons (most to do with dollars or shortage thereof!) sadly no travel plans were made for this year. Most sadly, I didn’t get to the Romance Writers of America annual conference in Florida. It’s been a cold winter in my part of Down Under and I was looking enviously at peoples’ social media posts from the hot summer in Orlando and feeling sorry for myself.

But then I had to go spend some time in a town not too far from my home town in Sydney, Australia. My daughter was on a university placement at Lake Macquarie, near the city of Newcastle less than two hours drive away. We drove up and spent a few days with her. While it wasn’t a vacation, it was a lovely short break in a part of the world I hadn’t visited since I was a teenager. (And that's a long time ago!)

We loved the sea birds on the dock of our motel

We stayed in a family run motel right on the lake, which is more of an inland sea. Each morning we woke to a glorious view of the ever-changing sky and water. 

There's something about palm trees to give a vacation feel!

We went for walks on fabulous beaches that were practically deserted in winter.

There's something moody about a beach in winter!

 And we ate wonderful food at cafes and restaurants not far from our motel. 

This caramel stack was demolished in minutes!

It made me appreciate how sometimes the nicest places to visit can be not far from home.

Do you have a favorite place to visit or vacation that’s not too far from home?  I’d love to read your comments!

Kandy Shepherd’s most recent book Conveniently Wed to the Greek is a May 2017 release from Harlequin Romance in North America; Mills & Boon Cherish in the UK; and Mill & Boon ForeverRomance in Australia and New Zealand.

Kandy Shepherd is a multi-published, award-winning author of contemporary romance

and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com

Connect with Kandy on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram

We stayed at the Squid's Ink Motel at Belmont, NSW Australia.

The chickens and the eggs - Kandy Shepherd

One of the simple pleasures of my life is eating newly laid eggs from our little flock of chickens. There is nothing quite like the taste. And the enjoyment is even greater knowing our “girls” live a happy, mostly free range life.

Beautiful eggs courtesy of my chickens

 We didn’t set out to keep chickens. In fact, had never had anything to do with them. When we bought our little farm in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, Australia the lovely woman we bought it from had chickens in a secure, custom-built chicken coop known in our valley as “the chicken Hilton”. We gladly inherited them.

The girls enjoy scraps from the kitchen and the garden

 The girls are Isa Browns a French breed of hen. They’re friendly, smart and lay lots of eggs. At the moment we have nine. The number varies as free range comes with risk of predators such as foxes, eagles, and (shudder) snakes. We lost two recently to eagles which was very sad. Otherwise they live until they “drop off the perch” from old age.

They're friendly and curious

 Because the girls are so prolific we enjoy eggs cooked every way—my favorite being simple soft boiled. Quiche, egg custards and meringue are often on the menu. My doctor says not to worry about outdated cholesterol scares and enjoy the health benefits of eating protein rich eggs. We certainly do.

Determined to share Howard the horse's food

 I love all our animals but have a special fondness for our chickens for providing us with eggs. When I collect the eggs, I always thank the girls for their wonderful gifts.

I haven’t written a chicken-keeping heroine into a story yet, but who knows when I might. Have you ever had anything to do with chickens? Or done something you never expected you’d do? I’d love to read your comments!

My most recent book Conveniently Wed to the Greek is a May 2017 release from Harlequin Romance in North America; Mills & Boon Cherish in the UK; and Mills & Boon Forever Romance in Australia and New Zealand.

Kandy Shepherd is a multi-published, award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.

Visit Kandy at her website www.kandyshepherd.com

Connect with Kandy on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram

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Flowers to cheer - Kandy Shepherd

With some of the stuff going on in the world right now, there seem to be so many unpleasant things cluttering up my social media. I want to see something pleasant!

Autumn roses in my garden

So I thought I’d share some photos of my autumn/fall garden—Down Under in Australia that is! (I always find it a little difficult to get my head around the reversal of the seasons in the northern and southern hemispheres!)

Claret ash starting to colour

Our little farm has a lovely garden, planted by various people before us, dating back to 1928. We’ve added our own plantings over the years we’ve had the garden.

An abundance of camellias

Where we’re located in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, we have distinct seasons and a cold winter. Not cold like some of my northern hemisphere friend’s winters—we very rarely have snow although the frosts can be punishing. But it’s distinct from the sub-tropical climate that, say, Sydney enjoys where the winter is relatively mild.

Bees like the autumn garden

 Spring is my favorite time in this garden, thanks to the spring-flowering bulbs, blossoming fruit trees, roses and iris that thrive in this climate. But autumn is my next favorite when the leaves color and camellias are in bloom.

The shy charm of violets

It’s been a few weeks since I took these photos and frosts have wiped out some of the greenery. 

This rose is called Perfumed Perfection and it smells divine!

But there are still a few hardy roses and the sasanqua camellias are thriving. Soon the hellebores and jonquils of winter will be adding some color to the bare trees.

My cat Cindy likes her bed of autumn leaves

What’s your favorite season of the year? I’d love to read your comments!

Kandy’s most recent book Conveniently Wed to the Greek is a May 2017 release from

Harlequin Romance in North America; Mills & Boon Cherish in the UK; and Mill & Boon ForeverRomance in Australia and New Zealand.

Kandy Shepherd is a multi-published, award-winning author of contemporary romance and women’s fiction. She lives on a small farm in the Blue Mountains near Sydney, Australia, with her family and a menagerie of four-legged friends.

Visit Kandy at her website

www.kandyshepherd.com

Connect with Kandy on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram