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.