Busy times

Last weekend was fun. The permaculture class that stayed here were all fairly young adults and great company.  Cooking the evening meal for 24, was a bit of a marathon because as usual we had varied diet styles to cater for.  I made a meat and vegetable pie from the various odd bits of lamb and goat from the freezer, we had black beans for the vegans and lots of vegetables and salad.  For dessert I made a crumble from the fruit that was going out of date in the freezer and we brought a watermelon for a lighter option. Everyone seemed happy.

Edd met the class in Yarra Glen on Saturday morning and pointed out various valley features on the way o the farm.  This gave me time to finish off doing the animals and prepare morning tea.  Bo cooked lovely cakes and we had our cheeses, hummus and a choice of carrot sticks or cheese biscuits.  We then conducted a tour of the house and gardens before eating lunch. The weather was great, so we sat outside for meals and enjoyed the view.

After lunch everyone left to visit another property in the neighbouring valley and then returned for an evening meal and the night. Edd cooked breakfast before everyone left to spend Sunday with our friend Graeme, who runs the course.  It all made for a very busy weekend.  This week we have been cleaning everything up in preparation for the first school camp on Monday.

We took Tuesday morning off to go to Shifty’s funeral at the hunt club. Just about everyone we knew in the valley was there and many of our friends from trail riding days.  Shifty does up vintage cars and many were driven up and parked next to the club house. They all did a lap round the grounds with the hearse, (also Vintage), led out by a hunt club member on a horse with hounds.  It made an amazing picture against the view of the mountains. What a way to go.

My flu has mostly gone but everyone is worried about the new Corona virus. There not many cases in Australia yet but we have huge trade with China that has been affected. Luckily, we had not planned to ravel anywhere.  I felt very sorry for people stuck on the cruise ship.  

Al has made his own problems by taking the roof off his house, His plan is the raise the ceiling height which is annoyingly low.  Taking everything down made an awful mess but the latest pictures show the new trusses up and the floor cleared of waste material. Pip is due to have the baby in just under four weeks so they will need to work fast!

The best news of the week is that Bo’s eldest son has found himself a position at the local airport learning plane mechanics.  He loves the work and they seem very happy and have given him full time work and training.  We are collectively holding our breath and hoping all continues to go well.

Flu and death

17th February. 2020

I think for the most part summer is over and the worry about bush fires over.   I have never felt glad when summer ended before, but I am not alone in these feelings this year.  Our garden is yielding its summer crops and I am storing excess fruit, corn and beans in the freezer.  A big problem is that rats have invaded the garden again.  We have had them before, but they were dealt with when our feral cat joined us.  Small rabbits eliminated too. I really miss that cat.

I did not get much done last week because I went down with flu.  I have no idea who I caught it from, but I have not been sick for years and had quite forgotten what it felt like.

This week I think I am on the mend and I am able to do more each day.  This is fortunate because we have a Permaculture group of 27 staying this weekend.  Then we have a week to get ready for the first of the school camps.  March is going to be very busy. Al and Pip are due to have their next baby at the end of the month too.  (At least I could complete all the knitting whilst I was sick).

We had the sad news yesterday hat our friend Shifty passed away.  His family made a superb effort so that he could come home and were all with him till the end.  I think this was an amazing thing for them to do.  We know the family from the 80’s when we all used to go trail riding in the mountains after Xmas.  Lots of local families all got together and planned, 

(or failed to plan) a route so that we could have water for the horses where we camped at night and a safe place to rest on new years eve.  There were no mobile phones then, so we learnt to rely on each other and deal with everything that happened from gas cylinders catching on fire to accidents. 

Our friend Bennie (who we have Takeaway Indian with on Friday nights) was also one of our horse tribe.  We still feel a huge connection with those people although most of us adults have given up riding now.  I am just glad that we had all those adventures whilst we were up to it and our kids learnt so much too. We all got up early to feed and water the horses and then rode all day.  There were no concessions made for anyone, if you came you had to cope. and caring for your horse was the top priority.  Kids now are so precious and have so many rights.  The odd thing is that they are no so happy. I have beautiful memories of the girls riding through the forest weaving wildflowers into their hair and singing.

A different section of our community came together this week for a wake for Merrie’s brother who died in the fires.  I did not go. I did not think it would help anyone if I passed on my infection but Edd went.  It was a huge do and they hired out a big room at an hotel in Healesville.  I did not realise that Merrie and I both had younger brothers born in the same year.  My brother died just before we migrated to Australia over 40 years ago. They were both the only boy in the family too.

A busy week

It is back to work time. Schools are back in action beginning a new year and changes are afoot.  Our valley is still full of smoke though recent rain has eased the bush fire crisis.  The toll taken by this seasons fire is horrendous.  We feel so sorry for those who have lost homes and businesses because we know only too well the struggles that lie ahead for them. On Friday we had channel 9 up here filming all day and talking to Alvyn and Edd about building more fireproof homes.  We are very happy with our new underground style of living and the least we can do is let other people know it is an option.

I am amazed at how hard these TV crews work.  The lady in charge had spent a week asking questions on the phone and Email and when she got here with a camera man and a presenter, they all worked flat out for 5 hours in the heat and smoky air.  We had as short break for lunch but even then the conversation was mostly on topic. They even took pictures of the goats who fortunately look very healthy in their shiny summer coats. All this is in aid of a very short section in a property show.

In the evening Edd’s friends came and joined us for an evening meal.  They spent the night in the donga and got up at some ungodly hour to go balloon riding.  I was exhausted and found it difficult to function as an efficient hostess as the evening went on.  I just let everyone else do the talking.

The day before that we had the Montessori school here for an orientation day. There were 52 kids and 5 teachers, and the older kids organised a day of activities to introduce the new kids to the farm.  It all went surprisingly well and was a lot less stressful than last year.  We did a lot of work tidying up the property and getting everything clean and ready.  I mopped the floors in the ruins but the red mud from the dust storm is sort of sticky and does not come off easily.  We will have to live with it for some time yet.  Our neighbours have also got their water polluted and have various responses from buying water in bottles to just ignoring the problem and hoping for the best.

Yesterday was another marathon. Bo came over and we all helped Indi move her stuff out of her settlement and into the new house she is renting in Healesville.  She and Ben have separated but he still came and helped in the afternoon with his mother and Grandmother.  Al’s Ex-wife cleaned and put away kitchen stuff as we carried it from the cars up the steps into the house.  When it was all done Indi was organised enough to have beer and snacks for everyone. It could have been a disaster with many reasons for conflict but instead we all worked as a team and focussed on trying to set up a possible life for Indi and her baby.

Bo did not go home to harmony. Morg and his mates evacuated to the farm and spent the night camping here. They are in that stage between adulthood and childhood when maximum friction can occur with their families as they all try to find a balance between rights and responsibilities.