I love a sunburnt country...

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!

Dorothea Mackellar OBE

 

I feel privileged to live in the country that I do.  Its a land of great richness and natural beauty.  But it is also a land of stark contrast and the richness and beauty of the land comes at a price.  As Dorothea Mackellar penned so many years ago, so it is today, a land of droughts and flooding rains.  Here in Western Australia we are experiencing drought conditions and 9 homes have been lost to fire just south of where I used to live and grew up.  On the other side of the country, our fellow Australian's in Queensland are being devastated by torrential rains and flash flooding - flooding which is sweeping away everything in its path, cars, houses, livestock, crops and people.

The Australian crafting/sewing/blogging community is as always quick to react when our fellow countrymen are in need and now is no exception.  Make It Perfect are currently running an auction event starting on Monday 17th January with all monies being donated to the relief efforts in Queensland.  Are you able to donate something to the auction?  Maybe your talent is more with the purchasing of items?  Even if you can only spare a dollar or two I urge you from the bottom of my heart to donate to the Premier's Flood Relief Appeal (and if your donation is $5 or more pop over to Ric-Rac for the raffle she is setting up).

Australia, for all her beauty, richness and rewards, is a harsh and exacting mistress but we as Australians are stronger...