settling in for winter

May 21, 2019

This week we have had some lovely days. Cool nights and clear fresh sunny days.  Edd is fencing in gravel pit paddock and I lit the burning piles when I was not needed to help him.  The piles of tree branches and old wire have been there for about ten years after our neighbour bulldozed the fence line to clear the way for its replacement. If we can burn enough of the wood the wire will become accessible and we can remove it.  Quite a lot of the wood burnt but we will need to get rid of more before extracting the old fence wire.

Today we have been paid for all the school events and camps we have run so far this year. Payment was so late that we were beginning to think we might not get anything, so it is a big relief to finally have the money in the bank.  The first thing to do is replace the computer. It is ten years old and I have difficulties building up on problems.  I actually hate changing computers. It is like getting a new artificial limb , and not quite knowing how to use it.  This old apple has actually been marvellous, and I will be very lucky if I get another one as good.

Now that the seasons work commitments are over I have started storing stuff away and looking at what other work I have been too busy to do. Accounts, loom large, but this week I have tackled the back log of laundry, most of which is now ironed and put away.  Cupboards need sorting and excess stuff taken to the charity shop.  I am also working on knitting which I have promised to family members.  Knitting is my effort towards family diplomacy.

If I have a target this winter it will be to set up a system to make sourdough bread.  I have everything I need but skill.  I have made ordinary bread for years, but we prefer the taste of sour dough and it is more sustainable because you don’t have to buy dried yeast. The soap we made is very nice to use so I need to make more.  I should really tackle it, but I have found a book that I love and ordered more by the same author which I find much more enthusiasm for than bread and soap.

Another new baby

May 11, 2019

Winter has arrived with the usual sudden change. After months of dry heat, we now have non-stop rain and chilly winds.  The good thing is that the water tanks and dams are filling fast.  We were getting dangerously low with our water supplies, but that problem is over.  We were lucky and got the goat shed cleaned out whilst the paddocks were dry enough to drive over with the truck carrying the deep litter. The restored ramps between the goat shed and milking room are now doing their job and keeping the goats feet out of the mud.

I have planted more vegetable seedlings, but we have had a setback. A kangaroo has discovered the garden and eaten all the straw berry plants.  I am really worried it will start on the vegetables next.  Edd and I blocked the openings into the ruins, but we need a whole extra fence to protect the garden on all sides. It has been such a bad time for plant growth that everyone is finding their garden has been under attack.  A friend down the road even had the leaves of her rhubarb plants eaten!

The really big event has been the birth of our next grandchild.  Bo, Sylkie and I drove down to Melbourne to greet her on Monday evening a few hours after she was born. She looked very peaceful and has lots of dark hair and her dad’s eyes.  Indi  , Ben and their baby came to lunch today when Al came with Pele to see me with mother’s  day flowers. Al was very thoughtful and brought Indi flowers too.  Arden, who is staying in the donga, also joined us so we had a big family gathering.  I was not sure how many were coming so I made a big pan of soup and a plate of cheese. Al brought bread, olives and meat so there was plenty to go around.  

Indi’s baby has a little knobbly chin, but Wayne’s baby has the family chin dent.  This is the wrong way around, because it is Indi’s baby we are genetically related to and not Wayne’s! Pele, who is one year old,  is the uncle of Indi’s baby so we are getting a family web rather than a family tree structure.  In the end it is just wonderful that all  the babies are healthy and have arrived safely. 

A much better week

May 5, 2019

We have made it through a week that could have been disastrous and come out triumphant.  Our first Great Grandchild , a little girl as yet un-named, arrived safely on Friday evening.   Indi started labour on Friday morning when we still had twenty students here.  Luckily, the fence posts in gravel pit paddock were laid out and put in on Thursday, so work had finished around Indi’s house. Another lucky thing was that the weather was perfect so that a blow-up birthing bath could be set up on the veranda. 

The weather had been fine and dry until Wednesday evening when we had a big Thunder storm and massive rain fall.  We all woke in the night with the loud thunder claps. I got up and put the house lights on in case any campers needed a refuge, but the kids stayed put and actually seemed to enjoy the storm.  They were even cheerful next Morning.   Most were able to continue their main tasks out-side, but I took my gardening group into the house and we dyed wool and made biscuits.  This time the dying was much more successful. The artificial dyes made the wool strong blue and light teal and the onion and avocado skins turned the wool a lovely gold colour.

This round of camps has been really good. Lots of work has been done cheerfully and willingly and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.  Last week the ramps in and out of the goat shed were taken up, cleaned out and relayed so that now the wet weather has arrived the goats can come and go without tramping through mud.  The big tank there was checked and found to have doubled the amount of stored drinking water we had.  That was just in time because stores of water were worryingly low.

Now we can relax a bit. The kids are weaned, the big goats are drying off, the trees and gardens are getting enough water without work, and baby number one has been born safely.  Things are not over yet because Wayne’s new daughter is also due.   So far, we have two boy babies with Pele and Pip’s nephew but now the girls are catching up.  It would be lovely if they could all grow up knowing each other and feeling a sense of belonging to a larger tribe.

We also still have some family issues, but everyone has been very careful and at the end of this week  I can see hope that wisdom and love will prevail.  I am very lucky to have such a kind and thoughtful family.