Death of a Cackleberry Farmer?

As I write this I find myself lying prostrate in bed, a pillow under my lumbar, trying to ease the pain in my lower back. I have to admit that even though I exercise and try to keep fit, I am not as young as I used to be. There, I said it! The pain is the result of lifting and moving furniture from our home of six years "The Cackleberry Farm" to our new home in a town called Murgon.

The most recent addition to our family, adopted stray kitten Nike (so named because of the black tick on his nose), is trying to get my attention by first sitting on my chest so that I can't see to write. With some difficulty I turn onto my side, and he sits on the notebook. I also need to change position to relieve the sharp daggers stabbing into my spine and hip. If it wasn't so late I would much prefer to be sitting at my desk to write (cat free) but it is almost midnight here.

I am feeling guilty because I really needed to spend the day filling the trailer with some of our goods and shackles and relocating them to our new home. Instead I have been just sitting or lying around trying to rest my back. At least I have managed to catch up on a little reading but I still think the day was largely wasted. I should change my perspective and say it is Sunday, the Sabbath, a day of rest. There, that makes me feel a little better.

For the last few weeks I have been looking for the inspiration to write some flash fiction or a short story, but my search has so far been in vain. My muse won't hear of it - she keeps directing me to write poetry, or the occasional essay. Maybe it's her way of saying "You are not a good story or fiction writer, John. Don't waste your time and that of your readers, concentrate on your poems, or "The Cackleberry Farmer" series."

A lot of people seem to be writing about writer's block. That seems to be an oxymoron to me. If you can't think of anything else to write about, write about writer's block. Well, maybe there is something in the air, although I am not sure I believe in "writer's block" per se. From my experience I only have to pick up a pen and paper or open a Word document and I can write something. Whether or not it is suitable or good enough to let others read could be a matter for conjecture - but, so be it.

Actually, this is one of "those" pieces of writing, starting out with no real direction except my desire to get something down on paper ... other than poetry... and go wherever my pen leads me. Well, it seems that very pen may not even see this essay to a conclusion because the ink is beginning to run out and it is missing every second or third letter.

.. Excuse me while I find another pen.

OK, I am back, new pen in hand courtesy of 'Australia Post' and with the slogan "We Love Delivering" (the "Love" being a heart). I hope it is an omen for me to deliver some writing others love to read. The quality of this new pen, however, is also questionable. It seems little better than the one I replaced.

Perhaps there is something wrong with the paper. Has anyone else found that sometimes the paper in notebooks is faulty or hard to write on? In fact, does anyone else still write there rough/first draft in notebooks or just directly into the computer? Maybe I am a bit of a dinosaur in this technological age.

As Monty Python would say, "And now for something completely different." It was only a month ago that I wrote how dry the land was and that we seemed to be on the verge of another drought. Well, I have to eat those words. Last night we had 120 millimetres (almost five inches) of rain. That is the highest 24 hour rainfall that we have had for as long as I have been recording it.

Great stuff! Our water tanks are full and overflowing. The only downside is that we will be moving into town in two weeks so can't reap the benefits. It also means the grass will grow faster and longer and I will have to mow probably twice before we leave (all two acres of it.)

Eureka! An idea just hit me as I write this, so at least one purpose has been served. Even though I am leaving this property I don't want to discontinue "The Diary of a Cackleberry Farmer" series as it is popular with my followers. I could, and probably will continue on from the last chapter "On the Road With the Cackleberry Farmer," but after I move to town I won't really be able to legitimately call myself a farmer, will I?

Our new address will be 38 Lamb Street, so maybe I could change the name of the main series to "The Lamb Street Chronicals." I think it has a certain ring to it. What do you think? It may lack the initial appeal of "The Cackleberry Farm" but it will be a truer representation of my new situation. "The Urban Cackleberry Farmer" just doesn't do it for me.

Wow, look at the word count on this article! 923 words and counting. By the time I finish I should have cracked 1000. I have amazed myself. this is another exercise in just taking pen in hand and writing anything that jumps into your mind. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, and a lot of this won't mean anything to anyone other than my regular readers, but it works for me.

I hope it serves as an example for those of you who feel they are suffering from writer's block, and shows how it can be overcome. Pick up your pen and write. Just Do It! Let's give writer's block the chop.