Cut fences problem

28.3.2020

Cases of Covid19 are doubling every day and just about everyone is coping with complete disruption in their lives.   Al has a worse situation than most.  His two-year-old son has chicken pox.  If the new baby arrives soon, they have a serious quarantine problem. His wife will be in danger from the virus after going to hospital and the new baby will be in danger from the chicken pox.  Bo has offered to have the sick son at her place, she has three teenagers at home who have to be supervised so she should not leave them to go and help at Al’s place.

Edd and I feel it would be worse for Pe to be in the office shut out from his parents and family home than it would be for him if he was right out of the way with cousins at Bo’s place.  Anyway, all we can do is offer but it is for Al’s family to decide.  Bo has her family cooking this weekend. They brought a sack of good flour and made pizzas last night, which they all loved.  They have been experimenting with what they can make from goat’s cheese and other farm produce. Even Ol is happy about making himself food.

I have been busy once again in the vegetable garden.  The summer crops of beans, zucchinis, cucumbers and such have come to an abrupt close.  We have lots of lettuce seedlings and the tomatoes, capsicums and egg plants are still yielding but our recent spell of glorious, sunny, warm weather has slowed the silver beat seedling down and stressed the pumpkins.  

The goats escaped again yesterday; we are not sure how.  I walked up the hill and checked the fence line and top gate this morning, but it was not obvious where they got out.  The last time they got out Edd went up the fence line and found that all seven wires in the fence had been cut by someone.  We think deer hunters might have been the culprits.  The adjoining property has just been sold and Edd talked to our new neighbours today.  They said that they have found other fences cut in the same way.  Luckily, they are wanting to preserve the natural environment and on first meeting seem to be the right sort of new neighbours.  This is a big relief.

Ben was here today and has started to move some of their off-grid settlement to the new owner’s place. They have been paid half the money as a deposit which we are all happy about. They will get a nest egg each to help them start new lives.   I am sad that they have not stayed together and built a life here but apparently that was not to be.