We are nearing the end of this most incredible year - a combination of wonderful and terrible and all the things in between.

It seems everyone is feeling the fatigue in different ways, and reflecting on how much has been achieved, and sacrificed, in a year that has changed the world.

We've been so very blessed here in Leeton.

We have banded together, helped one another, recognized and taken up opportunities, built beautiful things from scratch, nurtured herds and crops, built stadiums and new roads and world class tourism facilities and pools, and unlocked the creative heart of this little town in so many new and transformative ways.

I have been buoyed in recent days by the sight of headers harvesting wide golden paddocks of grain - the first time in years I have seen so many headers and augers and tractors at work.

And the flocks of fat sheep, sleek, plentiful cows, full fruit trees, vegetables, green fields and gold, are a true gift from Mother Nature.

Our Riverina agricultural bounty is reflected in the creative bounty of our town's very own writers' group.

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A rich harvest of beautiful ideas, stories, writing, friendships. Built and nurtured in the rich soil of trust and belonging.

The commitment of everyone involved to turn up, to open their hearts and share their ideas and their writing which is akin to baring their souls.

And in that act of generosity, giving one another permission to do the same - to open up, connect and have a voice. It is a beautiful thing to behold.

The more we find our voice, the more empowered we become, the more we have the confidence and courage to reach out to one another. To be true to ourselves. To live in a loving and giving way. To create new things together.

Though writers' group still has its skeptics, by and large I have had nothing but positivity, excitement, and engagement about what we have been doing this year.

And as we move forward, the connections we have with each other but also to the wider creative community is full of promise.

Great things lie ahead.

This week's column is dedicated to our farmers, our paramedics, our teachers and doctors, our construction workers and tradespeople and cleaners and carers - all the people in our town whose labour contributes so much.

The stories we are writing in writers' group are really the stories of all of us, and every one of the farmers harvesting right now has a story that they too might go home and write down at the end of a long day.

Looking ahead, the writers' group will be looking for local patrons who would like to help build our program: the workshops, retreats, weekly meetings, publications, public events, research and other side creative community projects, and indeed to maintain the residency program itself.

If you may be interested in being a patron of the arts, and would like to come along and ask the group about our experiences so far, you would be very welcome every Wednesday night from 6.30pm at The Freckled Duck.

On a final note this column, after months, and in fact years, of writing, and editing and reworking and finalizing and negotiating and waiting, I am proud to announce my own poetry anthology - Soldier Boy and the Rural Fundamentalists - is hot off the press.

Thank you to my publishers, Ginninderra Press - an outstanding supporter of Australian writing and writers. Thank you to the people who inspired this work, and to writers' group members for your support and encouragement.

We will be holding a gala launch event in the near future, as well as launching the writers' group beautiful chapbook. Stay tuned.

Don't forget. Even in the tough and uncertain times, amazing things happen. The sense of community. The work and the creativity and the building things. Together.