Easter arrives

March 27 2016

Easter Sunday and we
are having a family gathering at Bo’s house.  She is working in her restaurant today so we are all
bringing food and Simon is going to do a BBQ.   Danni and Wayne are also coming and bringing up baby
Ella. We have not seen her for several weeks now so I expect she has changed a
lot.  Luckily her mum puts up
regular photos on face book so we sort of get to see what she looks like.

The second group of
school campers went home on Thursday afternoon.  The weather was a bit better for this lot, not so hot, no
big storm and yet warm enough to swim after work.  Over the two camps we have got a staggering amount of work
done.  The last of the three grow
beds on the old lawn is now full of compost and planted out.  One very young girl has tackled the
tool shed in the cellar, as it has never been tackled before.  It is now immaculate!

One teacher took his
group down to the gulley and they cleared the road that was blocked with fallen
trees and regrowth so that we can get the tractor across to the hill
paddock.  They brought back several
trailer loads of firewood so there was plenty to keep the pizza oven in
action.   The yards are now
painted and a small wall is built from the old pool wall to the wall of the
ruins.  Edd even has another wall
done in his shed and on the last day everyone picked up all the old wire and
tape that was lying on the ground waiting to cause an accident.

Actually the list of
things done is endless.   Thistles
have been dug up, trees weeded, chook sheds cleaned and star pickets reclaimed.
  It is quite unbelievable
that such young people should be so effective.  Edd and I arranged a surprise Easter egg chase for Thursday
morning because we were so happy with the help we had got.  All the eggs were gone very early in
the morning despite the teacher teasing them it might be some sort of poison we
had put down against pests!

On Friday a lovely
girl from a Melbourne restaurant came up and brought two panels of Indigo’s
honey.  She has introduced us to a
new word, Agricology, (I think,) anyway she feels it relates to what we are
doing.  You learn something every
day!

school camp week

March 18 2016

It is Friday and the
first group of school campers have gone home.  What a wonderful bunch of kids they are.   We have been helping with this
program for 4 years now so many of the kids have camped here regularly.    This time there were several
new faces but the others all helped them feel at home.  We have had kids experiment with music
before but this time jam sessions produced great results.   It was great to see kids spend
all their spare time together working on their own music.

Other kids are amazing
help with animal husbandry and tackle even the most challenging of situations
with enthusiasm.  All in all it is
a real privilege being involved with the Montessori program.  Most of the week was actually very
hot.   But last night a heavy thunderstorm
brought in a day of rain.   I
feel that I should gather everyone up and bring them into the warmth of the
house but the teachers want them learning how to cope.   Mostly this did happen but I
sneaked some inside for spinning practice.

At least the seedlings
we have in will appreciate the wet.  
They are still alive and are starting to grow.  We need these plants for our winter vegetable supply.  My rare plants that I ordered have
arrived today.  I have a tiny Neem
tree, a pepper vine and a vanilla orchid to share my house with.  My coffee tree is looking good but I
have not had much luck with tea bushes indoors or outdoors.  This is a shame because I drink tea not
coffee.

My aquaponics
experiment has developed problem one, a growth of green algae in the tank.  It is so long since we have kept fish
that I have forgotten what to do about this.  I have got all the clay beads in position but the instruction
on the net advise waiting five weeks before adding plants.   More thought needed here.

The goats have started
to come into season so we need to get the new buck, Turnbull tested for
disease.  He is still quite small
so I am worried that he may not be man enough to tackle the problem.  (Not that he sees it that way).  We have started to wean all the kids
this week and by next Friday they will be off milk entirely.  Once that happens I can start to dry
off selected goats ready for next year.

Four lambs went to a
new home this week. They were very lucky lambs.   Ads wethers they would normally end up as meat but
because they are bred for hand spinning and were a full set, one black one
brown and two white they have a much better fate as wool producers.    The school kids got them
all in from the paddock and loaded for their trip to their new home which was
good as they were heavier than they looked.

Hot dry march

March 11 2016

I am still struggling
to keep my blog working.  I do not
seem able to load photos any more which is a shame.  I think it might have something to do with my geriatric
computer.

It is tropical today.
Humid and hot. This is a change from the previous few weeks that have been very
hot, in the high thirties or above, and very dry.  We have had to buy water for the tanks.  The water costs are high because we pay
for the truck that picks it up and delivers it.  Until recently there was a stand pipe at the Yarra Glen end
of Steels Creek road and anyone could fill up containers on the back of a ute
free.  I think some one abused this
scheme so now we all suffer.

The day after the
water was delivered it rained.  
Oh well.   All rain is
very welcome and it has probably saved the trees we planted along the fence
line with the new neighbours.  
They have been growing really well and in a few years we will regain our
privacy.   I went out in the
rain last night and planted the vegetable seedlings that were waiting in
pots.   They will need careful
tending if they are to survive.

The zucchinis are
nearly finished but the second set of tomatoes are ripening and the pumpkins
are growing fast.  The cucumber
glut went to Bo’s restaurant and the Clever Polly restaurant because we had
swamped the local market.   We
are now eating a lot of round and runner beans and I have an autumn crop of
snow peas starting to climb the new terrace.  The raspberries have been fantastic and we still get a bowl
full each to have with our breakfast muesli.   I have harvested the quinces and we are juicing
oranges.   The orange tree
survived the fires so it is old enough to be very productive.

The paddocks are
mostly dust but the sheep have been shorn and are now ready to sell.   The lambs will be collected next
week by a lady who does hand spinning. There are two white one black and one
brown lamb so they make a perfect set. 
The goats are starting to come into season so we need to get the buck we
brought tested for disease and decide who we will mate this year.

All the family is well
and managing new schools.   
Bo is doing some university courses to learn more science.    I am told that chemistry is
proving quite a challenge.  Edd and
I are still doing work for the class action over the fire.  If and when we ever get any money it
will be far to late to help with all the stress.   At present all the fences need repairing where fallen trees
and erosion have rendered them useless.   The dam on the hill has a huge hole in the dam wall
too.

Next week and the week
after we have the Montessori school camp. I am just praying that the weather is
bearable.   We had a truck
load of pine bark delivered on Thursday to make a base for the slack rope that
we plan to put up for the kids to try walking on.   I have dug up any blackberries sprouting there and the
bark should make falls soft.