friday 13

September 13 2013

I have just worked out that it is Friday the thirteenth of a thirteen year! So far things have been OK. I am mostly over the virus that made life hard last week and I have moved rubbish and broken bricks into the base we are building for the new chook shed. We will concrete over the rubble and then put up the shed with out worries that a fox could dig in. There are still piles of rubbish left from the fires four years ago but most of it can be reused in some form. I got rid of some treated pine pole ends this time by fitting them between the bricks.

Now I am back in the house clearing up after Steve and Edd put up doors and curtain rails last week. The work meant we had to dig into the lime render, and once you do that it leaves a mess everywhere. We have friends from the UK coming to visit us later in the year and it will be so nice if we have curtains and doors for privacy. I will just deal with the mess as part of a spring-cleaning effort.  I do have to sew the curtains, which I am not very enthusiastic about.

The sheep look heavy in lamb so we are bringing them in to a small croft by the shed at night. The foxes are less likely to trouble them if they are up close to the dogs. Years ago we lost every lamb to foxes when we tried leaving them in their paddock over night. The foxes just killed them and left them lying there which was doubly annoying.

The sheep have to share their night space with Banjo the white buck goat. My friend came in after dark one night and found all the sheep in a circle round Banjo staring at him. I expect they thought he was one of them who had been shorn and they were trying to work out which of them he was!  Sheep are not very bright and have trouble recognising their own mother after shearing.

September 6 2013

Tomorrow we have an election and the general feeling is that the Abbott government will get in. I am sad about this because I think the Rudd government did a good job of managing the economy over difficult times. I will never forget that Howard committed this county into the war with Iraq without Parliament of the peoples backing. With the trouble in Syria very careful diplomacy is necessary. I fail to see how military intervention can help the people there be any safer.

On a happier not the rug we ordered in Turkey has arrived and it looks great in Edd’s room. I always worry when I have to guess the size and colour needed but in this case everything worked out OK.

spring has sprung

September 3 2013

The early morning mist cleared and the sun set all the dew on the fresh growth sparking. My poor husband has to teach maths today at the local high school but I got to stay here. Even the goats were in a relaxed mood and milking them was a pleasure. Most of the adult goats are pregnant but we get enough from them to feed ourselves and the two calves. Milking is a peaceful occupation at this time of year because we do it by hand. The milking machine takes a lot of cleaning after use and it is quicker not to bother with it when the goats are not in full production.

Our new chooks are laying well and the vegetables and grass grow noticeably  over night. We are eating rocket, silver beet, celery. spinach, parsley, and stored pumpkins. The broad beans are in flower and there the snow peas have started to climb their poles. I need to get the potatoes into the ground and start some summer crops off indoors.

It is also orchid flowering time. My youngest son has left me in charge of his native orchids that have tiny pretty blooms. I was given an orchid buy a guest last year that had a perfect magenta flower. It lasted so well for so long that I actually checked just incase it was an artificial after a couple of months! Now that  I discovered that I can  actually have orchids around with out killing them I have treated myself to something quite spectacular, which has even better flowers. It is now the star of my indoor jungle.

There are no plants  outside  by our new house because I do not want the work needed to prevent it becoming a fire hazard. Instead I have a rock garden between the house and the big dam. The view of the hills and the bush beyond the dam gives us a picture window outlook from the house with out any additions at all. the vegetables and fruit trees are have stayed round the ruins of our old house were there they can be watered from the dam water tank. The old brick floor that we had in our old house is now a patio area, and we have put up a roof to provide shelter from the sun and rain. It provides a wonderful venue for parties and tour groups.

We are still putting the final touches to our new house. This week my husband has had help from Steve to put up the doors he has been making. they are made from thick recycled wood and look very solid. At the moment there is no privacy here at all , which has not really mattered because we have no houses or roads that can see in. We have been pinning up fabric over the bedroom door openings when we have visitors but the wooden doors are a big improvement. We have even got curtain rails ready to put up. Once they are up I will have to sew curtains and I am not looking forward to that job.