27.12.2009
Xmas had an unexpected surprise for us! On Wednesday 23rd Edd went off with the ute and trailer to pick up the last of the round balers we had ordered. I was busy in the donga writing the last of the Xmas letters when the phone rang. Edd had been knocked off the back of his ute by a round bale and was injured .
I jumped into my car and drove straight to the paddock. He was in a lot of pain and his friend who was working with him had phoned the ambulance. He had landed on his shoulder, which was visably damaged, but his back was also immovable. I drove the car down to Maroondah hospital where the ambulance had delivered Edd and were then involved in hours of X-rays and other tests.
Bo and Josh joined us and Josh found me something to eat. Edd was not allowed anything in case he needed surgery but he was given enough pain killers to make him very woozie. The doctors discovered that he had dislocated a joint in his shoulder and damaged all the soft tissue so that his collar bone was sticking right up . He would need to have his left arm strapped up for about a month so it could try and heal. At this stage he was unable to stand, probably because of all the painkillers, so I left him in the hospital for the night and came home alone.
Next day after I had milked the goats I rang the hospital and found out that he was ready to come home. He was still in a lot of pain but at least he could walk. I stopped at the shops to buy shirts and trousers that could be dealt with one handed. Needless to say all the plans I had made for getting ready for Xmas were totally stuffed up.
Luckily I was not doing the Xmas meal my daughter in law had volunteered to cook for all the family this year. I was not quite sure how she would do this. They only moved into their new house on Wednesday and the kitchen had not yet been completed! She tells me that the day was complicated further because her friend who lived next door went into labour and gave birth to a son in a pool on the lawn just by their front door!
However, amazingly, when we all turned up for lunch on Xmas day the house was sorted out and a fantastic middle eastern style feast prepared. It was exactly what we needed. We were all having problems staying awake and were not in any state for heavy food. Bo had prepared a trifle , home made ice cream and Summer pudding to complete the meal. The trifle was made of real egg custard and we quizzed Bo to find out how she had got it so perfect. She astounded us by declaring that she had lost her recipe so had made it like packet stuff but added whipped eggs instead of the powder!
All the family including Bella's father and his wife had come and we had all agreed on a new approach to presents where by everyone got designated one other person or couple to buy for. Only the kids got presents from everyone. No one was upset by this and it saved everyone shopping effort and expense.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
sheep shearing
17.12.2009
36 degrees in here again yesterday. I went Xmas shopping which is as good an excuse as any to retreat to an air-conditioned shopping centre for the day. It was too hot for much sleep last night but at least that meant we were all up and ready when Bill arrived to shear the sheep at 6 am.
We had locked the sheep in one of the temporary goat pens the night before and rigged up tarps to keep off any rain that might obey forecast instructions. We cleared the new dairy so we could shear in the goat milking room and Bill had the brilliant suggestion of fetching the sheep from the holding pen by wheelbarrow.
There are only 7 sheep and 3 lambs now so this worked really well. Josh stayed out of bed when he got home from night shift so that he could help us and everything went very smoothly. The next job was to get the sheep to the gravel pit paddock with the cows. After a few arguments we agreed to drive them there in the old Toyota. The biggest task here was clearing the Toyota back out to fit passengers in.
It is a great relief to see shorn, wormed, sheep in a paddock of good grass. Much to my surprise they were quite fat under their wool and some wool was good enough to spin. We were lucky that they were shorn a few weeks before the fires. They had a little wool to protect them from radiant heat but not enough to trap embers. Our neighbour had not shorn her animals and the ones that survived were injured and put down.
The builders have finished for Xmas but we have had Mike here this week sorting out drains and other large earth moving issues. The extra steel supports for the shed arrived early yesterday so he used his digger to unload them. Edd was kept safely on the ground this time. Between them Mike and David H did a fantastic job of moving the burnt tree trunks and other rubbish from the side of the old drive where the new chook run is to go.
Dave P and I are still gardening. Dave has sorted out the first half of the veggie patch and I have now got grass growing fully surrounded by the new broken brick paths. Dave’s work is the most useful because we have had a good supply of food from his efforts. Mine work is aimed at keeping spirits up by giving us at least one place we can bring friends and family that is a bit relaxing.
I am worried about Xmas. I am usually flat out at this time preparing for a house full of guests and the Xmas eve feast. When we migrated here 30 years ago Xmas was always the worst time. Everyone else went off with their own families (for better or worse) and I was left with trying to make a jolly time for three young children who had opened all the available gifts at around 6am.
Over the years I avoided the loneliness by filling our home with enough people to keep us all too flat out to think. Some years paying guest or wwoofers join our family and other years we found enough friends with no better offers. On Xmas eve we lay out trestle tables in a long line and dress them for the big feast. I try and plan a different colour scheme every year but the feast is a biodynamic turkey with my old pewter platters heaped high with vegetables.
My old pewter platters melted in the fire so that part of our tradition is over for now. My daughter in law has invited us all over to have a meal at her place on Xmas day but the rest of the time is pretty empty. Perhaps we will enjoy having a rest. We are all so tired we certainly need one.
36 degrees in here again yesterday. I went Xmas shopping which is as good an excuse as any to retreat to an air-conditioned shopping centre for the day. It was too hot for much sleep last night but at least that meant we were all up and ready when Bill arrived to shear the sheep at 6 am.
We had locked the sheep in one of the temporary goat pens the night before and rigged up tarps to keep off any rain that might obey forecast instructions. We cleared the new dairy so we could shear in the goat milking room and Bill had the brilliant suggestion of fetching the sheep from the holding pen by wheelbarrow.
There are only 7 sheep and 3 lambs now so this worked really well. Josh stayed out of bed when he got home from night shift so that he could help us and everything went very smoothly. The next job was to get the sheep to the gravel pit paddock with the cows. After a few arguments we agreed to drive them there in the old Toyota. The biggest task here was clearing the Toyota back out to fit passengers in.
It is a great relief to see shorn, wormed, sheep in a paddock of good grass. Much to my surprise they were quite fat under their wool and some wool was good enough to spin. We were lucky that they were shorn a few weeks before the fires. They had a little wool to protect them from radiant heat but not enough to trap embers. Our neighbour had not shorn her animals and the ones that survived were injured and put down.
The builders have finished for Xmas but we have had Mike here this week sorting out drains and other large earth moving issues. The extra steel supports for the shed arrived early yesterday so he used his digger to unload them. Edd was kept safely on the ground this time. Between them Mike and David H did a fantastic job of moving the burnt tree trunks and other rubbish from the side of the old drive where the new chook run is to go.
Dave P and I are still gardening. Dave has sorted out the first half of the veggie patch and I have now got grass growing fully surrounded by the new broken brick paths. Dave’s work is the most useful because we have had a good supply of food from his efforts. Mine work is aimed at keeping spirits up by giving us at least one place we can bring friends and family that is a bit relaxing.
I am worried about Xmas. I am usually flat out at this time preparing for a house full of guests and the Xmas eve feast. When we migrated here 30 years ago Xmas was always the worst time. Everyone else went off with their own families (for better or worse) and I was left with trying to make a jolly time for three young children who had opened all the available gifts at around 6am.
Over the years I avoided the loneliness by filling our home with enough people to keep us all too flat out to think. Some years paying guest or wwoofers join our family and other years we found enough friends with no better offers. On Xmas eve we lay out trestle tables in a long line and dress them for the big feast. I try and plan a different colour scheme every year but the feast is a biodynamic turkey with my old pewter platters heaped high with vegetables.
My old pewter platters melted in the fire so that part of our tradition is over for now. My daughter in law has invited us all over to have a meal at her place on Xmas day but the rest of the time is pretty empty. Perhaps we will enjoy having a rest. We are all so tired we certainly need one.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Things start moving fast
2.12.2009
Yesterday was humongous! The council gave us a planning permit after only having the house plans for 24 hours! Edd rang Woodsie who did the excavations for our old house and he agreed to come up and look at the new job. This means we are now committed into the big adventure of building an earth covered home that runs on low energy. Our electrician also rang to say he was he was coming to do the work on the sheds next day. Everything is moving frighteningly fast.
The best bit for me was that David (from the Welsh choir) helped me move all the broken bricks that were left over from path building and take them away from the garden area. I did the last bit on the ring path round the grass area too. Now I only have to move the rubble, put down topsoil and plant out some grass. I never dreamt that we could get so far in one day, but David even managed to burn the branches from the tree that blew over as well.
Today three electricians, builders Steve Johno and Edd and a team from Telstra are all madly at work. There are new ditches everywhere and it all looks pretty confusing. I am worn out after yesterday so I have opted for a laundry day rather than physical labour. The great bit is that with the dairy going up I may soon be able to buy a washing machine to put in there and cut out all the driving to the Laundromat and back.
Dave P has achieved miracles in the vegetable garden. All the broad beans blew over in the storm but I have the beans blanched and stored in the freezer now. We eat every lettuce that is large enough and we have been eating zucchinis again. They are so welcome when they first come in but by the end of the season they usually get over grown because everyone gets sick of them.
We have red and green cabbages and the garlic is almost ready. The herbs are doing well. I have rescued old ones and lovely permaculture friends have donated new ones. Our loquat trees are producing delicious large fruit and we even have some raspberries. There have been other heartening surprises too. The orange rose has regrown and flowered and the wisteria that Bo gave Edd has shooted from the roots. My red cordeline has done the same but it looks pretty weak and delicate. Little bright blue lobelia flowers have self seeded everywhere and two brave paper daisies our flowering from beds of rubble. They can obviously handle lime!
30.11.09
Scandal in the goat shed! Imogen has given birth to a couple of sons who must have a brother for a father! I did not think that any of the goats were given the chance to get pregnant this season but some how she managed it. She gave birth earlier this year so I intended to let her have a year of resting and recovering but looks like that will have to happen next year now. They are a lovely couple of boys, beautiful colours, healthy and rearing well. Some people do this deliberately for line breeding.
Our local council have really come up trumps. Last week they sent over seas volunteers out with an experienced foreman to put up the rest of our boundary fences. What a relief. With so much building and planning we were not getting round to it ourselves. They all worked very hard despite the hot weather and even cleared dead trees all along the front where the fence had to go. I felt guilty asking for anything, but I really wanted to use the old gateposts for our new entrance. The fencers did extra work so hat we could do this. I am really pleased about this because to me it looks a lot better than skinny new treated pine gateposts.
Yesterday was humongous! The council gave us a planning permit after only having the house plans for 24 hours! Edd rang Woodsie who did the excavations for our old house and he agreed to come up and look at the new job. This means we are now committed into the big adventure of building an earth covered home that runs on low energy. Our electrician also rang to say he was he was coming to do the work on the sheds next day. Everything is moving frighteningly fast.
The best bit for me was that David (from the Welsh choir) helped me move all the broken bricks that were left over from path building and take them away from the garden area. I did the last bit on the ring path round the grass area too. Now I only have to move the rubble, put down topsoil and plant out some grass. I never dreamt that we could get so far in one day, but David even managed to burn the branches from the tree that blew over as well.
Today three electricians, builders Steve Johno and Edd and a team from Telstra are all madly at work. There are new ditches everywhere and it all looks pretty confusing. I am worn out after yesterday so I have opted for a laundry day rather than physical labour. The great bit is that with the dairy going up I may soon be able to buy a washing machine to put in there and cut out all the driving to the Laundromat and back.
Dave P has achieved miracles in the vegetable garden. All the broad beans blew over in the storm but I have the beans blanched and stored in the freezer now. We eat every lettuce that is large enough and we have been eating zucchinis again. They are so welcome when they first come in but by the end of the season they usually get over grown because everyone gets sick of them.
We have red and green cabbages and the garlic is almost ready. The herbs are doing well. I have rescued old ones and lovely permaculture friends have donated new ones. Our loquat trees are producing delicious large fruit and we even have some raspberries. There have been other heartening surprises too. The orange rose has regrown and flowered and the wisteria that Bo gave Edd has shooted from the roots. My red cordeline has done the same but it looks pretty weak and delicate. Little bright blue lobelia flowers have self seeded everywhere and two brave paper daisies our flowering from beds of rubble. They can obviously handle lime!
30.11.09
Scandal in the goat shed! Imogen has given birth to a couple of sons who must have a brother for a father! I did not think that any of the goats were given the chance to get pregnant this season but some how she managed it. She gave birth earlier this year so I intended to let her have a year of resting and recovering but looks like that will have to happen next year now. They are a lovely couple of boys, beautiful colours, healthy and rearing well. Some people do this deliberately for line breeding.
Our local council have really come up trumps. Last week they sent over seas volunteers out with an experienced foreman to put up the rest of our boundary fences. What a relief. With so much building and planning we were not getting round to it ourselves. They all worked very hard despite the hot weather and even cleared dead trees all along the front where the fence had to go. I felt guilty asking for anything, but I really wanted to use the old gateposts for our new entrance. The fencers did extra work so hat we could do this. I am really pleased about this because to me it looks a lot better than skinny new treated pine gateposts.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Shed roofs are up but no rain
14.11.2009
Oh dear! I should be more careful what I wish for. I put in a request for warm dry weather and we have got it in heaps. It has been 35 degrees C in this donga every afternoon this week! It is probably worse outside in the sun and Steve and Johno have spent most of the week up on the shed roofs. We all had a bit of a celebration when the last high roof was completed and had hamburgers with our salad lunch.
Now the guys are working on the framework for the walls. The idea is to put up frames and then cover them with insulation paper, wire and render so that in effect we have a ferocement structure. The windows I ordered are ready to pick up next week so all we need now is a method to do this. Most are OK but one is nearly five metres long, which is a problem.
Last week something wonderful happened. The Burns gave us a young brown buck to replace the one we lost. Carlo is a little beauty, deep chocolate brown and a lovely mild temperament. It was great to see the Burns again and exchange news but so sad that a mutual goat keeping friend perished in the fires.
Relationships are so precious. An Aboriginal friend is still on my mind. She was a relatively young woman and I thought I had time to get to know her better later so when I began work in another community I did not bother to keep in contact. Within a year I was at her funeral, and I missed out on a wonderful opportunity to spend more time with someone special.
Josh has been very sick and ended up having to take antibiotics. He is still working nights and it is not easy for him trying to sleep in his hot donga with builders banging a few feet away. He is looking very thin and stressed. Al came over with house plans and he looks Ok now that there new house is nearly completed. The new plans give us hope for the future and strength to endure the present conditions.
I am trying to get stuff to patch up the pool so we have a method of cooling our bodies down. I have ordered glue from NSW and brought a small pool liner to cut up. The damage is above the water level so might be possible to patch. I am not sure if the filter and pump are salvageable. I need to fix the top first and get the mosquito infected dirty water out.
I do not know how we will fill it again. We are already buying water at great expense, as our remaining tank is empty. We have gutters on the new shed roofs but they do not go into anything yet. I can see it is going to be a difficult year.
Oh dear! I should be more careful what I wish for. I put in a request for warm dry weather and we have got it in heaps. It has been 35 degrees C in this donga every afternoon this week! It is probably worse outside in the sun and Steve and Johno have spent most of the week up on the shed roofs. We all had a bit of a celebration when the last high roof was completed and had hamburgers with our salad lunch.
Now the guys are working on the framework for the walls. The idea is to put up frames and then cover them with insulation paper, wire and render so that in effect we have a ferocement structure. The windows I ordered are ready to pick up next week so all we need now is a method to do this. Most are OK but one is nearly five metres long, which is a problem.
Last week something wonderful happened. The Burns gave us a young brown buck to replace the one we lost. Carlo is a little beauty, deep chocolate brown and a lovely mild temperament. It was great to see the Burns again and exchange news but so sad that a mutual goat keeping friend perished in the fires.
Relationships are so precious. An Aboriginal friend is still on my mind. She was a relatively young woman and I thought I had time to get to know her better later so when I began work in another community I did not bother to keep in contact. Within a year I was at her funeral, and I missed out on a wonderful opportunity to spend more time with someone special.
Josh has been very sick and ended up having to take antibiotics. He is still working nights and it is not easy for him trying to sleep in his hot donga with builders banging a few feet away. He is looking very thin and stressed. Al came over with house plans and he looks Ok now that there new house is nearly completed. The new plans give us hope for the future and strength to endure the present conditions.
I am trying to get stuff to patch up the pool so we have a method of cooling our bodies down. I have ordered glue from NSW and brought a small pool liner to cut up. The damage is above the water level so might be possible to patch. I am not sure if the filter and pump are salvageable. I need to fix the top first and get the mosquito infected dirty water out.
I do not know how we will fill it again. We are already buying water at great expense, as our remaining tank is empty. We have gutters on the new shed roofs but they do not go into anything yet. I can see it is going to be a difficult year.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
back to the desert
3.11.2009
We are back home again very much refreshed from a few days away. It was in many ways more affective as a break than the usual type of holiday because we just re-entered the life we used to live in the Northern Territory. We had a totally separate life there with different jobs, different friends and of course we were working and living in Aboriginal land where we respected their culture and law.
Our friends gave us such a warm welcome home that with in a day we had forgotten about all the things we were struggling with down here. Marg had arranged for us to travel with her, and her partner, to Tilmouth bore on the Tanami Track We planned to spend Friday night there so that we had a good start in the morning and could arrive in time for the funeral in Yuendumu next day.
Rather to our surprise we had an extremely good dinner and had very adequate cabins to sleep in. The snag was that we had all brought wine for the meal and we could not take it any further up the track into alcohol free communities. We solved this problem by retiring to the dry creek bed, lighting a campfire and finishing off the bottles. I was so relaxed and comfortable I fell asleep in the warm sand. Edd had to wake me so we did not waste the money we had paid for the cabin!
It is several years since we last visited Yuendumu and the Government Intervention program had taken place in the interim period. I was glad of the chance to see how this had affected things first hand. Everyone we spoke to agreed that it had been a total disaster. Once again the Aboriginal people had been totally disempowered. Yuendumu was still full of rubbish and broken down buildings. If anything it looked worse than it did when we lived there. At that time there were still nice, shade trees around but someone decided that they were athel pines and noxious weeds so they cut them all down!
We arrived as people started to gather at the church. It was a very sad business. The lady who had passed away had been exceptional in many ways and was much loved and respected. She strongly supported the school as a teacher in the bi-lingual program and was also strong in her own culture. Her death is an enormous loss to everyone. Despite the sadness of the occasion I was glad we had made the effort to be there. It was a chance to once again join with the community and just be together in one mind.
We were a long time in the church because many of the letters her family had received were read out and everyone said goodbye personally over the coffin. The co-wife’s son played lovely soft music on a keyboard all the time, which softened things, a bit. At one stage a whirlwind hit the church and dust poured through the windows, which were quickly pulled shut, and it got very hot. After the service we all drove out into the bush so that she could be buried with relatives.
I was very upset to see her husband silently, expressing his grief with his body language. I have always known him as a strong character with a ready grin and great sense of humour. I longed to approach him and let him know we were there for him, but he was being well looked after by the men of his family and it was not the right time. One of the younger ladies of the family sang Amazing Grace, which was hauntingly beautiful.
When we returned to Yuendumu we had tea with Alex before starting the journey home. I have know Alex for nearly 20 years and it was great to see her back living in Yuendumu with a nice partner. Her mother was a great support to me when I first started working up North and I miss the whole family. We had brief conversations with many people who were there and it was surprising to see so many familiar faces. The trip back to Alice Springs was fast. We stopped to help one woman change a tyre but mostly we travelled at extraordinary speed, which was OK as the road conditions were good.
On Sunday we hired a car and drove very sedately with Patsy out to Glen Helen and Ormiston Gorge. The food at Glen Helen was disappointing but we had a restful afternoon sat by the large water hole in Ormiston Gorge. Patsy and I swapped stories about water places. She told me about one of the water holes were people have drowned and divers could never find the bottom or the body. I told her about the Strid in Yorkshire where I come from. I never tire of listening to Patsy’s stories. She has had the most amazing life and every moment I spend with her seems precious.
Saying goodbye again was hard. Yet another sad time. Luckily Marg had asked us to a party at her place the night before we flew home and that made a very cheerful note to leave on. We met several new people who were really interesting to talk to. I am worried about Marg. She is working too hard against impossible odds. Most of the white people who have struggled for social justice burn out after a few years but somehow Marg has managed to keep going. Once again, a person who I feel privileged to call a friend. I feel totally renewed for time spent with all these wonderful women.
21.10.2009 We are exhausted
It has been a very full on week. Ben and his helper have camped out in the polyhouse and worked for three days to pour the slab for the dairy. Steve and Johno called in extra help in the form of Sandy and have struggled with the shed roofs They have only succeeding in getting one side of iron on the tool shed. It is very high and the long sheets of iron are difficult to manoeuvre if there is any wind.
At least it is drying up a bit. The rain has helped the grass seed I sowed in the old house site sprout up and the flowers that I have rescued from all over the place and replanted in one garden continue to make a glorious display. I do not think there is any year I have enjoyed the flowers so much. Orange, hot pink, purple and yellow make a cheery sight what ever else is going on.
Edd and I are totally exhausted. The only thing keeping us going is the knowledge that tomorrow we set of to Alice Springs for our friend’s funeral. Marg has offered to give us a lift out to Yuendumu in her car and the thought of warm weather and the chance to see all our desert friends again is over whelming. It is very sad that someone has passed away but it gives us a really good excuse to get up and go!
All our workers are nice people and we eat together and chat but every single one of them is male. I often feel as if I cramp everyone’s style by joining them. They have not yet developed the technique of ignoring my female status. Most of my life seems to have been spent in the men’s camp but usually I get treated as a boy after a bit.
We are back home again very much refreshed from a few days away. It was in many ways more affective as a break than the usual type of holiday because we just re-entered the life we used to live in the Northern Territory. We had a totally separate life there with different jobs, different friends and of course we were working and living in Aboriginal land where we respected their culture and law.
Our friends gave us such a warm welcome home that with in a day we had forgotten about all the things we were struggling with down here. Marg had arranged for us to travel with her, and her partner, to Tilmouth bore on the Tanami Track We planned to spend Friday night there so that we had a good start in the morning and could arrive in time for the funeral in Yuendumu next day.
Rather to our surprise we had an extremely good dinner and had very adequate cabins to sleep in. The snag was that we had all brought wine for the meal and we could not take it any further up the track into alcohol free communities. We solved this problem by retiring to the dry creek bed, lighting a campfire and finishing off the bottles. I was so relaxed and comfortable I fell asleep in the warm sand. Edd had to wake me so we did not waste the money we had paid for the cabin!
It is several years since we last visited Yuendumu and the Government Intervention program had taken place in the interim period. I was glad of the chance to see how this had affected things first hand. Everyone we spoke to agreed that it had been a total disaster. Once again the Aboriginal people had been totally disempowered. Yuendumu was still full of rubbish and broken down buildings. If anything it looked worse than it did when we lived there. At that time there were still nice, shade trees around but someone decided that they were athel pines and noxious weeds so they cut them all down!
We arrived as people started to gather at the church. It was a very sad business. The lady who had passed away had been exceptional in many ways and was much loved and respected. She strongly supported the school as a teacher in the bi-lingual program and was also strong in her own culture. Her death is an enormous loss to everyone. Despite the sadness of the occasion I was glad we had made the effort to be there. It was a chance to once again join with the community and just be together in one mind.
We were a long time in the church because many of the letters her family had received were read out and everyone said goodbye personally over the coffin. The co-wife’s son played lovely soft music on a keyboard all the time, which softened things, a bit. At one stage a whirlwind hit the church and dust poured through the windows, which were quickly pulled shut, and it got very hot. After the service we all drove out into the bush so that she could be buried with relatives.
I was very upset to see her husband silently, expressing his grief with his body language. I have always known him as a strong character with a ready grin and great sense of humour. I longed to approach him and let him know we were there for him, but he was being well looked after by the men of his family and it was not the right time. One of the younger ladies of the family sang Amazing Grace, which was hauntingly beautiful.
When we returned to Yuendumu we had tea with Alex before starting the journey home. I have know Alex for nearly 20 years and it was great to see her back living in Yuendumu with a nice partner. Her mother was a great support to me when I first started working up North and I miss the whole family. We had brief conversations with many people who were there and it was surprising to see so many familiar faces. The trip back to Alice Springs was fast. We stopped to help one woman change a tyre but mostly we travelled at extraordinary speed, which was OK as the road conditions were good.
On Sunday we hired a car and drove very sedately with Patsy out to Glen Helen and Ormiston Gorge. The food at Glen Helen was disappointing but we had a restful afternoon sat by the large water hole in Ormiston Gorge. Patsy and I swapped stories about water places. She told me about one of the water holes were people have drowned and divers could never find the bottom or the body. I told her about the Strid in Yorkshire where I come from. I never tire of listening to Patsy’s stories. She has had the most amazing life and every moment I spend with her seems precious.
Saying goodbye again was hard. Yet another sad time. Luckily Marg had asked us to a party at her place the night before we flew home and that made a very cheerful note to leave on. We met several new people who were really interesting to talk to. I am worried about Marg. She is working too hard against impossible odds. Most of the white people who have struggled for social justice burn out after a few years but somehow Marg has managed to keep going. Once again, a person who I feel privileged to call a friend. I feel totally renewed for time spent with all these wonderful women.
21.10.2009 We are exhausted
It has been a very full on week. Ben and his helper have camped out in the polyhouse and worked for three days to pour the slab for the dairy. Steve and Johno called in extra help in the form of Sandy and have struggled with the shed roofs They have only succeeding in getting one side of iron on the tool shed. It is very high and the long sheets of iron are difficult to manoeuvre if there is any wind.
At least it is drying up a bit. The rain has helped the grass seed I sowed in the old house site sprout up and the flowers that I have rescued from all over the place and replanted in one garden continue to make a glorious display. I do not think there is any year I have enjoyed the flowers so much. Orange, hot pink, purple and yellow make a cheery sight what ever else is going on.
Edd and I are totally exhausted. The only thing keeping us going is the knowledge that tomorrow we set of to Alice Springs for our friend’s funeral. Marg has offered to give us a lift out to Yuendumu in her car and the thought of warm weather and the chance to see all our desert friends again is over whelming. It is very sad that someone has passed away but it gives us a really good excuse to get up and go!
All our workers are nice people and we eat together and chat but every single one of them is male. I often feel as if I cramp everyone’s style by joining them. They have not yet developed the technique of ignoring my female status. Most of my life seems to have been spent in the men’s camp but usually I get treated as a boy after a bit.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
coping with bad weather
16.10.2009
The rain pours down. On the plus side even the big dam that was just a deep, nearly, empty hole is now full of water and wood duck families. Josh even saw a turtle swimming there on the one warm day we had. Perhaps it is feeding on Arden’s gold fish.
The appalling weather is no help with building. Johno, Steve and Edd have soldiered on against dreadful odds but the last few days have been impossible. Driving down Steels Creek it looks as if everyone is in the same position. Wood or steel structures frame the empty spaces that contain peoples’ hopes and dreams but the mud and hardships dominate our lives.
I try to find excuses to drive in my nice warm little car. On Monday I went for a long planning meeting with Al about the new buildings and their lay out. I had done my homework and was familiar with the contours and spaces. For the first time we got down to what seemed like hard bargaining. Avyn knows what is possible, where we would incur extra cost and has an idea about how he would like to see it all go together.
I have the knowledge of the work and practicalities of running a host farm whilst managing the upkeep of a large area. I also have some idea of Edd and my needs for future housing, what I could live with out and what I feel must be included. Our main difference is that although I believe that Al is right about aesthetics he glibly draws in gardens and treed areas that require more time to keep looking good than I have spare. We spend hours striving for a compromise until my head begins to spin and refuse to deal with more information. Al says he is not stressed and that this is the main function of his job.
Barry, Bella and the new Irish architect are working in the office but they all keep out of our debate. What on earth are they thinking? Do their clients usually argue this way? We all eat lunch together and Barry asks about chooks. He and the other guy have decided to get chooks for their back yard. I ask if the main aim is to get eggs or choose good-looking breeds that might look better but lay less. The idea that any one would have any other motives than egg production staggers them. I point out there are chook fanciers which causes more mirth. It all helps me to recover from the serious debate.
Yesterdays trip was to collect medicine from the vet. Edd’s horse has developed a nasal discharge that is worrying me by not clearing up. The vet came last week to give the puppy his injections, see the horse and start a treatment for the old buck, Rubicon’s, skin condition. I have found a new home for him if he gets a clean bill of health. He has produced such good kids that all the does we kept except two are his daughters, so we have no further use for him.
My friend, Beni had tipped me off that the libraries were giving free books to fire affected families. This proved to be true and I came home with two bags full. Josh was up for hours reading his novel and Edd was pleased with his book on Vincent Van Gogh. It is amazing how people are still coming up with treats to cheer us up. We certainly appreciate anything in this weather.
The rain pours down. On the plus side even the big dam that was just a deep, nearly, empty hole is now full of water and wood duck families. Josh even saw a turtle swimming there on the one warm day we had. Perhaps it is feeding on Arden’s gold fish.
The appalling weather is no help with building. Johno, Steve and Edd have soldiered on against dreadful odds but the last few days have been impossible. Driving down Steels Creek it looks as if everyone is in the same position. Wood or steel structures frame the empty spaces that contain peoples’ hopes and dreams but the mud and hardships dominate our lives.
I try to find excuses to drive in my nice warm little car. On Monday I went for a long planning meeting with Al about the new buildings and their lay out. I had done my homework and was familiar with the contours and spaces. For the first time we got down to what seemed like hard bargaining. Avyn knows what is possible, where we would incur extra cost and has an idea about how he would like to see it all go together.
I have the knowledge of the work and practicalities of running a host farm whilst managing the upkeep of a large area. I also have some idea of Edd and my needs for future housing, what I could live with out and what I feel must be included. Our main difference is that although I believe that Al is right about aesthetics he glibly draws in gardens and treed areas that require more time to keep looking good than I have spare. We spend hours striving for a compromise until my head begins to spin and refuse to deal with more information. Al says he is not stressed and that this is the main function of his job.
Barry, Bella and the new Irish architect are working in the office but they all keep out of our debate. What on earth are they thinking? Do their clients usually argue this way? We all eat lunch together and Barry asks about chooks. He and the other guy have decided to get chooks for their back yard. I ask if the main aim is to get eggs or choose good-looking breeds that might look better but lay less. The idea that any one would have any other motives than egg production staggers them. I point out there are chook fanciers which causes more mirth. It all helps me to recover from the serious debate.
Yesterdays trip was to collect medicine from the vet. Edd’s horse has developed a nasal discharge that is worrying me by not clearing up. The vet came last week to give the puppy his injections, see the horse and start a treatment for the old buck, Rubicon’s, skin condition. I have found a new home for him if he gets a clean bill of health. He has produced such good kids that all the does we kept except two are his daughters, so we have no further use for him.
My friend, Beni had tipped me off that the libraries were giving free books to fire affected families. This proved to be true and I came home with two bags full. Josh was up for hours reading his novel and Edd was pleased with his book on Vincent Van Gogh. It is amazing how people are still coming up with treats to cheer us up. We certainly appreciate anything in this weather.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
things start to go up!
7.10.2009
This week has been too much. The hail yesterday was at totally the wrong time. Karl, the vet and I were trying to treat Edd’s horse who has a slight nasal discharge and Steve and Johno were struggling to set the scaffolding in place by the machinery shed frame. We have declared a day of recovery today and licked our wounds.
At the weekend Patsy rang us from Alice Springs to tell us that a lady who we first met at her out station in 1990 has died. She was one of the people that one feels privileged to have known and was our neighbour when we lived in Yuendumu. Edd and I have been feeling that it was time to visit our friends in The NT and this has given us a reason. Last night we booked air tickets we hope will get us there for the funeral. Now all we have to do is find someone willing to take over here.
5.10.2009
This is really scary stuff! Just out side of the donga there is an enormous crane lifting the massive steel skeletons of the sheds into position. Steve, Edd and Johno have the job of bolting them to their footings and then bracing them with wood so they stay upright. It seems to me an exercise where there is so much that could go wrong.
Firstly the bolts are set into the concrete footings so if they are even slightly out of place there is no way the rigid steel could fit on. Secondly they are all enormous and extremely heavy. Then, they also go up way above reaching height so even getting the chain of the crane unhooked is ghastly. I am being a total coward and have hidden in the donga with the dog.
My attempt to be useful consists of baking bread and pizzas but even this is challenging. It is the first time I have used my new equipment. I have lost all the old scoops and measures that I used for years and I have never cooked bread in a gas oven before. This is the big test. It is too hot to use a wood oven here in summer and Al tells me that electric ovens use too much power. Some how I have to adapt to gas or be totally unethical!
This week has been too much. The hail yesterday was at totally the wrong time. Karl, the vet and I were trying to treat Edd’s horse who has a slight nasal discharge and Steve and Johno were struggling to set the scaffolding in place by the machinery shed frame. We have declared a day of recovery today and licked our wounds.
At the weekend Patsy rang us from Alice Springs to tell us that a lady who we first met at her out station in 1990 has died. She was one of the people that one feels privileged to have known and was our neighbour when we lived in Yuendumu. Edd and I have been feeling that it was time to visit our friends in The NT and this has given us a reason. Last night we booked air tickets we hope will get us there for the funeral. Now all we have to do is find someone willing to take over here.
5.10.2009
This is really scary stuff! Just out side of the donga there is an enormous crane lifting the massive steel skeletons of the sheds into position. Steve, Edd and Johno have the job of bolting them to their footings and then bracing them with wood so they stay upright. It seems to me an exercise where there is so much that could go wrong.
Firstly the bolts are set into the concrete footings so if they are even slightly out of place there is no way the rigid steel could fit on. Secondly they are all enormous and extremely heavy. Then, they also go up way above reaching height so even getting the chain of the crane unhooked is ghastly. I am being a total coward and have hidden in the donga with the dog.
My attempt to be useful consists of baking bread and pizzas but even this is challenging. It is the first time I have used my new equipment. I have lost all the old scoops and measures that I used for years and I have never cooked bread in a gas oven before. This is the big test. It is too hot to use a wood oven here in summer and Al tells me that electric ovens use too much power. Some how I have to adapt to gas or be totally unethical!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Dot has babies
17.9.2009
Things are really happening now. Steve has arrived and marked out the sheds and Mike is digging out the footing trenches with one machine whilst his mate is making massive round holes for the big shed foundations with Craig’s digger. Apparently Edd’s friend Trevor and his son are coming down today to do the concreting.
I have my eldest grandson, Arden, staying this week because he has school holidays. Josh has let him sleep in his donga and Arden is putting up with Josh working nights and keeping funny hours. His main aim is to catch the huge gold fish he is sure are in the big dam. So far he just keeps loosing his bait. He thinks he has seen big black eels who are the suspected culprits here. This takes up a lot of his time but he has also done some helpful jobs in the garden and feeding animals.
We have three new babies. Dot had triplets last week; two does and one buck kid, all sable coloured. Fortunately they are all polls so we have no dehorning to do this year. Mum and kids are thriving well and have their own private pen in the polyhouse. The chooks are laying more eggs too. Someone must have told them spring is here.
The first days of the week were beautiful. Warm, calm, sunny, weather totally suitable for the enjoyment of garden work. Mike has transported some topsoil left over from the shed site to replenish the soil around the old house site. I also raked down the topsoil onto the excavation cut, as instructed by Mike who likes things to end up looking right.
29.9.2009
The happy spring weather did not last long. We have had about the worst time for the whole winter. It has been windy, cold and has poured down with day after day of rain. Any normal year I would be in my nice cosy home looking at all this water with joy but as there are no roofs to catch it, and no cosy home it is hard to be anything but miserable. The only thing stopping me feeling very sorry for myself is that our neighbours on the hill have the rain as well as the wind blowing through the shed they are living in. Luckily our dongas are dry so I have to admit that by comparison we are well off.
The poly house floor is now a black swamp. Luckily the goats have built up enough deep litter to be on a dry island but getting to them is a bad experience. I do the morning milking and at last Edd’s leg has healed enough so that he can do the evening feeds. At least this way we only face the horror once a day each. The other good thing is that Mike put the stone down on the new road so we can still drive close to the dongas .
The men all worked last week despite the rain. Ben and his father, Trevor, (Edd’s friend), poured the slab for the machinery shed last Friday in appalling conditions. The forecast suggested Friday would be the best day for the week but this was wrong and instead it was the worst day we have had for years. We decided to keep going because all the plastic and reinforcing was in place ready to go and the thought of it all filling with water was worse than a rough floor finish. Craig lent us a pump to pump the water out of the footings that had filled up. That worked OK. How would we manage without Craig? He is always willing to lend us the right piece of equipment to overcome our latest insurmountable hurdle. Ben is the sort of young man that one would rather like to keep. He seems capable of doing a brilliant job against all odds and at the same time, behaves charmingly. Up to now I have not found a concrete specialist who does not have to be avoided during and after work. Because of this I have had all my small concrete jobs done by Gary or Andrew from Merrie’s clan. It is not really their speciality but at least they are pleasant to have around. Gary seems capable of doing any practical job if one is really stuck
Saturday, September 5, 2009
2.9.2009
Spring has arrived bitter sweet this year. There are wattles in flower but usually at this time we have clouds of golden flowers. This year these yellow covered trees are few and far between. The plums are blooming. White blossom covers the trees before even leaves arrive. About half our plums have survived and there are still plum trees down the steels creek road but sadly so few. When my children were young we sent them out with the horse and cart to pick the small wild plums that lined the road. We used the abundant free fruit for jam before our own trees were old enough to produce enough.
But amid all the new blossom the silent bud less trees stand out. The oak by the house shows no sign of life now. The honey loquat trees we took thirty years to grow remain leafless skeletons. There is a terrible sadness in having to walk past these trees each day but we leave them just hoping a miracle might happen. Of the goats , only Dot is pregnant to give us young kids to join the three lambs. I am usually so busy at this time with the weakest babies in the house for extra care and so many births to supervise. This year we avoided pregnancies knowing that the conditions would be so tough .
Looking out over the surrounding hills the damage is all apparent. In some areas the gum trees have a green coating of leaves all over their trunks but in many places there are just bare blackened sticks. They stand out even more now all the dead leaves have blown away. Moss has colonized the ground beneath them and stands out as patches of vivid creamy green.
We are having problems with the vegetables. Hungry cockatoos have destroyed lots of young plants so Edd has tied red and white tape over head to try and frighten them away. The potatoes and even one tomato plant have survived the winter . Usually the winter frost has killed off all their leaves by now. It has definitely been a very different winter to the winters we have had for the last thirty years.
Not all is gloom. The Steel for the sheds was delivered today and we can now use the road past the dongas in all weathers since Mike put down the stone on it. The chooks have recovered from the flying shed episode and are laying more eggs than before. Josh has started working night shifts installing smart card machines in buses. At least he doesn’t have to get up before six and drive to Dandedong every day.Unfortunately , Edd hurt his leg unloading the shed steel and is finding walking hard now.
I have finally thought up a plan for a house we would like to live in. We have decided it is probably best to build our own home first and the guest accommodation afterwards when we see how much money we have left. We are really worried that we might start a project that goes over budget and be left in a situation we can’t get out of. We have an official appointment to talk to our eldest son, Al, in his new role as our architect.
28.8.2009
There were horrific winds yesterday. They blew right through our donga walls and took every bit of warmth the heaters could generate with them. I went to bed early to keep warm but as soon as I fell asleep I dreampt the donga had blown off its mountings and woke yelling for Edd to check he was OK! Actually the donga swayed a bit but stayed in place. The chook shed was less lucky and blew right over killing one poor chook. We struggled in the wet and dark to get it back upright and lashed it in place as best we could with ropes.
Things are not working well. For unknown reasons we are unable to get onto the internet. Even are supplier can’t get on! Also the computer key board has stopped working. This I could fix. In fact with the cold winds still blowing I was glad to drive into Melbourne and get a new one. Edd got some help from our neighbour , Brian , and worked on the fence lines. Brian has machinery that makes putting in the fence post a possible job.
It is hard to stay positive in these conditions but last week we had some wonderful sunny days and I was able to continue the work of clearing up in the garden. I am laying the broken bricks as paths around the flower beds. I am a bit disheartened about the vegetables. The cockatoos arrived one day and wrecked most of the work we have done so far. They don’t even eat the vegetables , they just break them off and leave them lying on the ground. I suppose they are hungry enough to try anything.
Edd went off on Sunday to visit his friend up at Dookie. A very generous farmer up there gave us a ton of oats so Edd had to collect them. He was also able to see the man who is making the iron frames for the sheds. It will be good when we can start to rebuild something here. There is now one, new, house being built in Steels Creek but the rest of us are still struggling to put up sheds and fences and clear up fallen trees.
The best news is that Simon is brewing beer again in his new brewery in Lilydale. There were a few teething problems but now the new equipment seems to be working well. Brewing has moved up to a bigger scale now and the large stainless steel vats look very impressive. Bo has struggled to keep her restaurant going. She has been trying all sorts of ideas. On Monday we went to her ‘industry night’. Beni and Graeme did a talk about their new wines and all the group shared a meal afterwards. It was great fun .
Spring has arrived bitter sweet this year. There are wattles in flower but usually at this time we have clouds of golden flowers. This year these yellow covered trees are few and far between. The plums are blooming. White blossom covers the trees before even leaves arrive. About half our plums have survived and there are still plum trees down the steels creek road but sadly so few. When my children were young we sent them out with the horse and cart to pick the small wild plums that lined the road. We used the abundant free fruit for jam before our own trees were old enough to produce enough.
But amid all the new blossom the silent bud less trees stand out. The oak by the house shows no sign of life now. The honey loquat trees we took thirty years to grow remain leafless skeletons. There is a terrible sadness in having to walk past these trees each day but we leave them just hoping a miracle might happen. Of the goats , only Dot is pregnant to give us young kids to join the three lambs. I am usually so busy at this time with the weakest babies in the house for extra care and so many births to supervise. This year we avoided pregnancies knowing that the conditions would be so tough .
Looking out over the surrounding hills the damage is all apparent. In some areas the gum trees have a green coating of leaves all over their trunks but in many places there are just bare blackened sticks. They stand out even more now all the dead leaves have blown away. Moss has colonized the ground beneath them and stands out as patches of vivid creamy green.
We are having problems with the vegetables. Hungry cockatoos have destroyed lots of young plants so Edd has tied red and white tape over head to try and frighten them away. The potatoes and even one tomato plant have survived the winter . Usually the winter frost has killed off all their leaves by now. It has definitely been a very different winter to the winters we have had for the last thirty years.
Not all is gloom. The Steel for the sheds was delivered today and we can now use the road past the dongas in all weathers since Mike put down the stone on it. The chooks have recovered from the flying shed episode and are laying more eggs than before. Josh has started working night shifts installing smart card machines in buses. At least he doesn’t have to get up before six and drive to Dandedong every day.Unfortunately , Edd hurt his leg unloading the shed steel and is finding walking hard now.
I have finally thought up a plan for a house we would like to live in. We have decided it is probably best to build our own home first and the guest accommodation afterwards when we see how much money we have left. We are really worried that we might start a project that goes over budget and be left in a situation we can’t get out of. We have an official appointment to talk to our eldest son, Al, in his new role as our architect.
28.8.2009
There were horrific winds yesterday. They blew right through our donga walls and took every bit of warmth the heaters could generate with them. I went to bed early to keep warm but as soon as I fell asleep I dreampt the donga had blown off its mountings and woke yelling for Edd to check he was OK! Actually the donga swayed a bit but stayed in place. The chook shed was less lucky and blew right over killing one poor chook. We struggled in the wet and dark to get it back upright and lashed it in place as best we could with ropes.
Things are not working well. For unknown reasons we are unable to get onto the internet. Even are supplier can’t get on! Also the computer key board has stopped working. This I could fix. In fact with the cold winds still blowing I was glad to drive into Melbourne and get a new one. Edd got some help from our neighbour , Brian , and worked on the fence lines. Brian has machinery that makes putting in the fence post a possible job.
It is hard to stay positive in these conditions but last week we had some wonderful sunny days and I was able to continue the work of clearing up in the garden. I am laying the broken bricks as paths around the flower beds. I am a bit disheartened about the vegetables. The cockatoos arrived one day and wrecked most of the work we have done so far. They don’t even eat the vegetables , they just break them off and leave them lying on the ground. I suppose they are hungry enough to try anything.
Edd went off on Sunday to visit his friend up at Dookie. A very generous farmer up there gave us a ton of oats so Edd had to collect them. He was also able to see the man who is making the iron frames for the sheds. It will be good when we can start to rebuild something here. There is now one, new, house being built in Steels Creek but the rest of us are still struggling to put up sheds and fences and clear up fallen trees.
The best news is that Simon is brewing beer again in his new brewery in Lilydale. There were a few teething problems but now the new equipment seems to be working well. Brewing has moved up to a bigger scale now and the large stainless steel vats look very impressive. Bo has struggled to keep her restaurant going. She has been trying all sorts of ideas. On Monday we went to her ‘industry night’. Beni and Graeme did a talk about their new wines and all the group shared a meal afterwards. It was great fun .
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Community get togethers bust winter blues
7.8.2009
Heavy showers, high winds and the return of mud. Not a recipe for easy living. Mike has still not put stones on our new drive, so we continue to wade across the mud flats every time we want to get to the cars, our animals or the toilet. Edd has replaced some of the fencing round the chooks and vegetable garden but it has been too wet to get gear up to the boundary fence on the hill and complete the work there. Today we stayed indoors and worked on the endless paper work that is needed for trying to reclaim as much as possible.
Yesterday was more interesting. The Governor of Victoria came to visit the community centre where I go to do art one afternoon a week. We provided rather better food than we usually do for afternoon tea and various community members joined us to do the greeting bit. As far as I could make out it all went without a hitch. We did not get much art done, but the stitchers who joined us got me up to date with all their family news. We have past connections with most long-term residents here because our children all went to school together once upon a time. I always feel embarrassed because there are so many names that I should remember but never can.
The general dreariness of the season was relieved last weekend when all the locals at our end of the valley were invited to Erin and JB’s donga for a party. Their house and vineyards were totally destroyed by the fires so friends and neighbours joined them that day for a working B on the remaining vines. In the evening tables and chairs were set up in the donga and fabulous food appeared along with wine and even candles. Everyone chipped in to make a great community party. It reminded us long-term residents how years ago we all lived in sheds and make shift places, all getting together and laughing.
We are so lucky that all these younger people have been able to move into the valley, and that they want to stay here despite the horrors of last year. There is now a new house being built by the Steel’s Creek road on the way into Yarra Glen. Someone told me about two thirds of the houses were lost in the fire so it is good to see that someone has started to replace them. It is a worry that it is going to be a wood frame house on stumps , but perhaps they will add fire proofing features later.
A third lamb has been born. A tiny ewe for the Finn sheep. We now have three lambs, Lance, Alberto and Paris! I am rather hoping that the last two ewes are not pregnant. They are a little young to have lambs but we had no chance to separate them from the rams after the fires. The sheep are still in the paddock with the big dam. It is pretty well grazed but at least they have room to move around and seek sheltered corners when the weather is bad.
The swales Mike made across the paddock channel excess run off into the big dam which has started to fill up a bit. The idea is that light rainwater stays in the channels and slowly soaks into the land. This does seem to have started to happen but it is too soon to assess the results yet.
Heavy showers, high winds and the return of mud. Not a recipe for easy living. Mike has still not put stones on our new drive, so we continue to wade across the mud flats every time we want to get to the cars, our animals or the toilet. Edd has replaced some of the fencing round the chooks and vegetable garden but it has been too wet to get gear up to the boundary fence on the hill and complete the work there. Today we stayed indoors and worked on the endless paper work that is needed for trying to reclaim as much as possible.
Yesterday was more interesting. The Governor of Victoria came to visit the community centre where I go to do art one afternoon a week. We provided rather better food than we usually do for afternoon tea and various community members joined us to do the greeting bit. As far as I could make out it all went without a hitch. We did not get much art done, but the stitchers who joined us got me up to date with all their family news. We have past connections with most long-term residents here because our children all went to school together once upon a time. I always feel embarrassed because there are so many names that I should remember but never can.
The general dreariness of the season was relieved last weekend when all the locals at our end of the valley were invited to Erin and JB’s donga for a party. Their house and vineyards were totally destroyed by the fires so friends and neighbours joined them that day for a working B on the remaining vines. In the evening tables and chairs were set up in the donga and fabulous food appeared along with wine and even candles. Everyone chipped in to make a great community party. It reminded us long-term residents how years ago we all lived in sheds and make shift places, all getting together and laughing.
We are so lucky that all these younger people have been able to move into the valley, and that they want to stay here despite the horrors of last year. There is now a new house being built by the Steel’s Creek road on the way into Yarra Glen. Someone told me about two thirds of the houses were lost in the fire so it is good to see that someone has started to replace them. It is a worry that it is going to be a wood frame house on stumps , but perhaps they will add fire proofing features later.
A third lamb has been born. A tiny ewe for the Finn sheep. We now have three lambs, Lance, Alberto and Paris! I am rather hoping that the last two ewes are not pregnant. They are a little young to have lambs but we had no chance to separate them from the rams after the fires. The sheep are still in the paddock with the big dam. It is pretty well grazed but at least they have room to move around and seek sheltered corners when the weather is bad.
The swales Mike made across the paddock channel excess run off into the big dam which has started to fill up a bit. The idea is that light rainwater stays in the channels and slowly soaks into the land. This does seem to have started to happen but it is too soon to assess the results yet.
Friday, July 24, 2009
25.7.2009
Al’s birthday today so we are off to his place this afternoon. We caught up with Al at the talks given by Michael Reynolds (the garbage warrior). This guy has arrived from America on a crusade to promote the building of “Earthships”. These are totally sustainable living structures that produce their own energy, deal with waste productively and harvest water and food. A man after my own heart. He can build these things using mostly recycled products just about anywhere.
He even wants someone to put one up in Australia so we people can visit and check it out. This offcourse was exactly what we intended to do anyway Suddenly I am feeling very blessed. I have land, money from my insurance, and an established tourist business. My eldest son, Al, is an architect who specialises in sustainable buildings and we have already got the skills to grow and process our own food.
Our old house had many alternate systems. Our toilets could be flushed with dam water down a gravity feed line. The farm buildings collected plenty of water that was stored in tanks at various heights to make as best use possible of gravity and we had solar / wood water heating. But, the house was built 30 years ago and many things have moved on. We now feel that it is more or less essential to be at least partly underground because of fires as well as temperature considerations.
My mind is now spinning with possibilities.
I enjoyed having a car for a day but then I gave it up to Josh who’s car is will not be repaired until next week. He and I did two days getting up early and driving to Lilydale station so he could get to Dandenong on the train but one day he was late for work and people are getting the sack for that sort of offence at his place. Also the Townsville friend actually did come. I had thought that any suitably self preserving young lady would have avoided staying in a mud surrounded Donga in sub zero temperatures that lacked both a shower and toilet. I was wrong. This lady turned up and has stuck it out for three days already! I am rather glad I bothered with the flowers.
Chris came yesterday and tackled some of the dead and dangerous trees. He has moved the ones likely to fall across the power line and trimmed the thick dead branches from the garden gum tree. It is sad to see its new, reduced form. A ray of hope is that it has new buds forming off the main trunk so there is still a possibility it could return to its former glory. The other gums had self seeded and have driven me mad for years by acting as ladders for possums intent on committing suicide by shorting out our power supply. We had two such episodes in one week once. Of course they short out the whole valley, as well as us, so I don’t think they will be greatly missed.
It looks terribly bare at present but I see it as a blank canvas. My paint consists of all the lovely trees and plants I have waiting in pots. We are going to have a garden to die for once we get sorted.
22.7.2009
I now have a car! Not quite as up market as my poor x-trail who perished in the fires, but still what I hope will be a perfectly adequate way of getting myself around. My new chariot is a small, old, white hatch back of the Toyota family. It was very clean when I picked it up today. How on earth do detailers get cars that clean? For that matter how do most Australians keep their eskies so clean? It is not that I don’t try for similar results. I do, and I fail.
My first stop was at Chirnside to buy bedding for youngest son, Josh. He has a friend from Uni days who might visit this week and suddenly decided that a total make over of his donga was required. Ha! I have been hoping he would become a bit more aware of the need to make an effort on the domestic front. Actually, he has been working such long hours and under such stress that I have been ignoring the growing chaos in his donga.
The free shop set up by the community for fire victims is still open in Yarra Glen and I was lucky enough to find a double and single bed and a futon in there together with two nice blankets and two very flash bed spreads. All totally free. This shop has been fantastic. You can get just about anything there from wheelbarrows to socks. You just look around and walk out with anything you need. The good bit is that it means you can choose things in colours you like or things that remind you of lost possessions. No one makes you feel as if you are a charity case who should be happy with anything they choose to give you.
The people who work there also give out information, often better than our caseworkers, and they listen if you want a good whinge. I may be a migrant with a grubby esky but Yarra Glen people make me feel really proud to be Australian.
Back to the Josh clean up. Last night when he asked me to buy him bedding his only request was that it would be flower free. Why do most cheap doona covers have flowers on? Or things that a suspicious mind could interpret as flower like? Getting a single doona cover and double doona cover to match presented another degree of challenge.
I hate shopping but I can be very persistent, so I hope he will like what I have chosen. No flowers any way, and everything from bed spreads to blankets co-ordinates satisfyingly. His floor is washed and I have installed real flowers and a nicely scented plant to do something about the unwashed sock smell. When all this work was completed I shut the donga door with more than my usual enthusiasm, and horror of horrors it actually shut properly and stuck! Normally it rests in a half shut position so this was quite alarming. It would be awful if after all my efforts Josh, (and possible friend), were shut out for the night! Once again I decided not to be defeated did battle with a crow bar until the wretched door gave in and opened.
Meanwhile, back at the farm Mick and mate are still shuffling vast amounts of soil round in circles. Our new loop road starts at the old brewery entrance gate, goes past the donga complex, through the middle of the land excavated for sheds and curves under the big blue gum to end at the ménage gate. The idea is that it will pass through the ménage and then loop back to meet up with its self just before crossing the swale that steers water along the top of the sheds and heads it towards the dam. Mick has put a large pipe under the road for the run off to travel in. However he did not have time to put the rock we had delivered on the road so with tonight’s rain we are back surrounded by the sea of mud.
20.7.2009
Wow ! It is so windy. With no leafy trees to moderate things we are regularly attacked by quite worrying winds. I have decided to have a blitz on dead and dangerous trees around the area where we are living as a precaution against accidents.
Actually things are gradually looking much better. Today Mick and his machinery are back. (At least the wind has dried out the land rapidly), and all the old fence posts have been pulled out and carefully put aside for reuse. It does look better with them gone and less clutter around.
The other big improvement is in the vegetable garden. Heather, Andrew, Graeme, Bo, Edd and I all put in a mornings work and achieved miracles. Bo and I had started to evict the weeds but with the extra help and the fact that Graeme brought the better half of a vegetable garden in pots ready to put in things progressed fast. The celery has survived and Heather even found a bit of parsley. This pleased me enormously because we have grown that parsley from its own seed for about 15 years now. Finding it was like discovering that an old friend we thought was dead had actually survived!
Bo did comment that Graeme, s lettuces looked ready to eat now but she settled for taking home potatoes and silverbeat.
One odd thing is that the potatoes and one tomato plant are still alive. Most years the frosts have killed them off by this stage.
The first sheep has lambed. One of the moorit ewes, called Pellaton, has given birth to a little white son, who is now called Lance. We do not usually give sheep names but with so few left it is almost unavoidable. I tended to keep the ones I had bottle reared and they had names so we had better name the rest to make things fair. The sheep are now in the paddock with the big dam but I would prefer them to be on fresher ground. We let them in to the land around the big polyhouse on dry days so they can eat the fresher grass there.
Al and family were over on Sunday and we have begun to talk seriously about the new domestic buildings. We are definitely going for an earth covered building by the big dam and are looking at some fairly radical designs. I can see no point in putting back buildings unless we are happy that defending them in fire events is possible.
Al’s birthday today so we are off to his place this afternoon. We caught up with Al at the talks given by Michael Reynolds (the garbage warrior). This guy has arrived from America on a crusade to promote the building of “Earthships”. These are totally sustainable living structures that produce their own energy, deal with waste productively and harvest water and food. A man after my own heart. He can build these things using mostly recycled products just about anywhere.
He even wants someone to put one up in Australia so we people can visit and check it out. This offcourse was exactly what we intended to do anyway Suddenly I am feeling very blessed. I have land, money from my insurance, and an established tourist business. My eldest son, Al, is an architect who specialises in sustainable buildings and we have already got the skills to grow and process our own food.
Our old house had many alternate systems. Our toilets could be flushed with dam water down a gravity feed line. The farm buildings collected plenty of water that was stored in tanks at various heights to make as best use possible of gravity and we had solar / wood water heating. But, the house was built 30 years ago and many things have moved on. We now feel that it is more or less essential to be at least partly underground because of fires as well as temperature considerations.
My mind is now spinning with possibilities.
I enjoyed having a car for a day but then I gave it up to Josh who’s car is will not be repaired until next week. He and I did two days getting up early and driving to Lilydale station so he could get to Dandenong on the train but one day he was late for work and people are getting the sack for that sort of offence at his place. Also the Townsville friend actually did come. I had thought that any suitably self preserving young lady would have avoided staying in a mud surrounded Donga in sub zero temperatures that lacked both a shower and toilet. I was wrong. This lady turned up and has stuck it out for three days already! I am rather glad I bothered with the flowers.
Chris came yesterday and tackled some of the dead and dangerous trees. He has moved the ones likely to fall across the power line and trimmed the thick dead branches from the garden gum tree. It is sad to see its new, reduced form. A ray of hope is that it has new buds forming off the main trunk so there is still a possibility it could return to its former glory. The other gums had self seeded and have driven me mad for years by acting as ladders for possums intent on committing suicide by shorting out our power supply. We had two such episodes in one week once. Of course they short out the whole valley, as well as us, so I don’t think they will be greatly missed.
It looks terribly bare at present but I see it as a blank canvas. My paint consists of all the lovely trees and plants I have waiting in pots. We are going to have a garden to die for once we get sorted.
22.7.2009
I now have a car! Not quite as up market as my poor x-trail who perished in the fires, but still what I hope will be a perfectly adequate way of getting myself around. My new chariot is a small, old, white hatch back of the Toyota family. It was very clean when I picked it up today. How on earth do detailers get cars that clean? For that matter how do most Australians keep their eskies so clean? It is not that I don’t try for similar results. I do, and I fail.
My first stop was at Chirnside to buy bedding for youngest son, Josh. He has a friend from Uni days who might visit this week and suddenly decided that a total make over of his donga was required. Ha! I have been hoping he would become a bit more aware of the need to make an effort on the domestic front. Actually, he has been working such long hours and under such stress that I have been ignoring the growing chaos in his donga.
The free shop set up by the community for fire victims is still open in Yarra Glen and I was lucky enough to find a double and single bed and a futon in there together with two nice blankets and two very flash bed spreads. All totally free. This shop has been fantastic. You can get just about anything there from wheelbarrows to socks. You just look around and walk out with anything you need. The good bit is that it means you can choose things in colours you like or things that remind you of lost possessions. No one makes you feel as if you are a charity case who should be happy with anything they choose to give you.
The people who work there also give out information, often better than our caseworkers, and they listen if you want a good whinge. I may be a migrant with a grubby esky but Yarra Glen people make me feel really proud to be Australian.
Back to the Josh clean up. Last night when he asked me to buy him bedding his only request was that it would be flower free. Why do most cheap doona covers have flowers on? Or things that a suspicious mind could interpret as flower like? Getting a single doona cover and double doona cover to match presented another degree of challenge.
I hate shopping but I can be very persistent, so I hope he will like what I have chosen. No flowers any way, and everything from bed spreads to blankets co-ordinates satisfyingly. His floor is washed and I have installed real flowers and a nicely scented plant to do something about the unwashed sock smell. When all this work was completed I shut the donga door with more than my usual enthusiasm, and horror of horrors it actually shut properly and stuck! Normally it rests in a half shut position so this was quite alarming. It would be awful if after all my efforts Josh, (and possible friend), were shut out for the night! Once again I decided not to be defeated did battle with a crow bar until the wretched door gave in and opened.
Meanwhile, back at the farm Mick and mate are still shuffling vast amounts of soil round in circles. Our new loop road starts at the old brewery entrance gate, goes past the donga complex, through the middle of the land excavated for sheds and curves under the big blue gum to end at the ménage gate. The idea is that it will pass through the ménage and then loop back to meet up with its self just before crossing the swale that steers water along the top of the sheds and heads it towards the dam. Mick has put a large pipe under the road for the run off to travel in. However he did not have time to put the rock we had delivered on the road so with tonight’s rain we are back surrounded by the sea of mud.
20.7.2009
Wow ! It is so windy. With no leafy trees to moderate things we are regularly attacked by quite worrying winds. I have decided to have a blitz on dead and dangerous trees around the area where we are living as a precaution against accidents.
Actually things are gradually looking much better. Today Mick and his machinery are back. (At least the wind has dried out the land rapidly), and all the old fence posts have been pulled out and carefully put aside for reuse. It does look better with them gone and less clutter around.
The other big improvement is in the vegetable garden. Heather, Andrew, Graeme, Bo, Edd and I all put in a mornings work and achieved miracles. Bo and I had started to evict the weeds but with the extra help and the fact that Graeme brought the better half of a vegetable garden in pots ready to put in things progressed fast. The celery has survived and Heather even found a bit of parsley. This pleased me enormously because we have grown that parsley from its own seed for about 15 years now. Finding it was like discovering that an old friend we thought was dead had actually survived!
Bo did comment that Graeme, s lettuces looked ready to eat now but she settled for taking home potatoes and silverbeat.
One odd thing is that the potatoes and one tomato plant are still alive. Most years the frosts have killed them off by this stage.
The first sheep has lambed. One of the moorit ewes, called Pellaton, has given birth to a little white son, who is now called Lance. We do not usually give sheep names but with so few left it is almost unavoidable. I tended to keep the ones I had bottle reared and they had names so we had better name the rest to make things fair. The sheep are now in the paddock with the big dam but I would prefer them to be on fresher ground. We let them in to the land around the big polyhouse on dry days so they can eat the fresher grass there.
Al and family were over on Sunday and we have begun to talk seriously about the new domestic buildings. We are definitely going for an earth covered building by the big dam and are looking at some fairly radical designs. I can see no point in putting back buildings unless we are happy that defending them in fire events is possible.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Winter sun shines over the sea of mud
7.7.2009
At last the sun is shining again. We have just endured a week of cold wet misery that has resulted in us being surrounded on all sides by vast seas of yellow clay mud. Thank goodness for all the volunteers who cleaned bricks and helped us lay paths between our dongas. I wish I had a path all the way to the toilet. A trip to the loo now involves gumboots and a good sense of balance!
We are still getting lots of booking requests . This is heartening, but sad, as we have not even got the plans for rebuilding started yet. We are still trying to organise sheds. We need the roofs to catch water. All this latest rain has annoyingly avoided the dam and run off in the already eroded gullies. The dam is still very low. This is a huge problem because not having enough water to keep things green around the house was one of the factors that has increased our vunerability to bush fire .
The first few years of drought were OK because on threatening days everything could be hosed down as an early precaution. As the drought continued and the stored water decreased this was not a sustainable practice. The new policies for dams make it very difficult to get permission to dam anywhere that could possibly catch water efficiently so we are stuck with a big problem. What it really means is we have to design a house that is defensible with out much water because the drought could well continue.
Another plan is to reorganise our land a bit so that run off lines channel water away from the house , sheds and gully towards the dam. Looking at the old house site this would be difficult but as we have not started replanting yet it would be still a possibility. I would need to make an artificial creel bed across the old visitors garden and break down the wall of the sump pond at the base of the water fall so the water could reverse it’s course.
The news we are hearing from The Royal commission about the fires is not reassuring. What we would like is to be told that in future years the warning systems would be reliable. Radio warnings on the ABC would be good enough. In past years they used a siron to alert people if there might be any danger in their region and this worked fine. With satellites, fire towers and modern communications this would obviously be possible.
25.6.2009 It is still so mild, and dry. Our case worker has just informed me that the bush fire season officially starts again in just a few weeks. Well, we are now going passed the low point of the light. The sun has officially been through it’s three day death and it is now starting to rise again , setting a tiny bit later each day and moving west as it does so. It is not noticeable yet but the jonquils are flowering again with their wonderful scent. I wonder what will happen to the wattle. I know the next season as yellow time because it is dominated by wattle and daffodils. The wattles on our property were killed by the fires and although young seedlings are shooting up they will not be old enough to flower this year.
A very sad event happened today. A young ewe died. It is the first death we have had of an animal since the fires. We have found new homes for most of our stock but have kept a few sheep and goats to breed from. Edd has worked really hard and completed the fencing of two paddocks and we were able to move stock out of the pens yesterday . It was just too late for this girl who was pregnant and had stopped eating. We thought she was getting better because she could stand up and had started to nibble straw but she died suddenly when Edd went to treat her this morning. Living under these conditions with out grazing has been very stressful to all the animals.
I have tried to place as many as possible away from here in new homes but sometimes they do worse away than they do here. We have some happy stories from goats that have settled well and are loved by their new owners and this in turn makes us happy.
At last the sun is shining again. We have just endured a week of cold wet misery that has resulted in us being surrounded on all sides by vast seas of yellow clay mud. Thank goodness for all the volunteers who cleaned bricks and helped us lay paths between our dongas. I wish I had a path all the way to the toilet. A trip to the loo now involves gumboots and a good sense of balance!
We are still getting lots of booking requests . This is heartening, but sad, as we have not even got the plans for rebuilding started yet. We are still trying to organise sheds. We need the roofs to catch water. All this latest rain has annoyingly avoided the dam and run off in the already eroded gullies. The dam is still very low. This is a huge problem because not having enough water to keep things green around the house was one of the factors that has increased our vunerability to bush fire .
The first few years of drought were OK because on threatening days everything could be hosed down as an early precaution. As the drought continued and the stored water decreased this was not a sustainable practice. The new policies for dams make it very difficult to get permission to dam anywhere that could possibly catch water efficiently so we are stuck with a big problem. What it really means is we have to design a house that is defensible with out much water because the drought could well continue.
Another plan is to reorganise our land a bit so that run off lines channel water away from the house , sheds and gully towards the dam. Looking at the old house site this would be difficult but as we have not started replanting yet it would be still a possibility. I would need to make an artificial creel bed across the old visitors garden and break down the wall of the sump pond at the base of the water fall so the water could reverse it’s course.
The news we are hearing from The Royal commission about the fires is not reassuring. What we would like is to be told that in future years the warning systems would be reliable. Radio warnings on the ABC would be good enough. In past years they used a siron to alert people if there might be any danger in their region and this worked fine. With satellites, fire towers and modern communications this would obviously be possible.
25.6.2009 It is still so mild, and dry. Our case worker has just informed me that the bush fire season officially starts again in just a few weeks. Well, we are now going passed the low point of the light. The sun has officially been through it’s three day death and it is now starting to rise again , setting a tiny bit later each day and moving west as it does so. It is not noticeable yet but the jonquils are flowering again with their wonderful scent. I wonder what will happen to the wattle. I know the next season as yellow time because it is dominated by wattle and daffodils. The wattles on our property were killed by the fires and although young seedlings are shooting up they will not be old enough to flower this year.
A very sad event happened today. A young ewe died. It is the first death we have had of an animal since the fires. We have found new homes for most of our stock but have kept a few sheep and goats to breed from. Edd has worked really hard and completed the fencing of two paddocks and we were able to move stock out of the pens yesterday . It was just too late for this girl who was pregnant and had stopped eating. We thought she was getting better because she could stand up and had started to nibble straw but she died suddenly when Edd went to treat her this morning. Living under these conditions with out grazing has been very stressful to all the animals.
I have tried to place as many as possible away from here in new homes but sometimes they do worse away than they do here. We have some happy stories from goats that have settled well and are loved by their new owners and this in turn makes us happy.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
out of the safety zone
In all probability I had already changed into an old woman before the fires but I was too busy to notice it happening. I feel as if age snuck up on me when I was distracted by all the drama. Just at the minute it does not make any difference. Some how I have to deal with each days problems and see the funny side as often as possible.
Last week we had enormous help from all directions. Sharron brought out a whole team of able bodied and enthusiastic workers from her work and Rod brought out a busload of equally willing people from Luther collage. Edd’s good friend, Trevor and his mate Chas even stayed two nights and with all this help miracles have been achieved.
It became clear that I was going to have "spare time", that long lost commodity I have not seen for years. Not to worry. I have always wanted to do more art and had already brought suitable materials from the two-dollar shop. However there was one big snag. I could think of absolutely nothing I wanted to paint or draw.
It was tempting to do a dot painting, as a way to start, but borrowing someone else’s voice seemed to be missing the point. In the end I just got a canvas and painted it black. At least I had made a start, and as my friend Merv used to tell us, the muse can only reach you if you are in the studio waiting for her call.
I looked hopefully at the black canvas but still no inspiration emerged. My youngest son Josh once wrote for a school exercise that for him, “ black represents the peaceful tranquillity of a non threatening void”. Maybe I am stuck in the black. My past all wiped out by the fire and my future unformed. May be it is peaceful and non-threatening at this point. Perhaps I will have to work at dragging myself back into life.
I set myself socialisation targets. On Wednesday we had a Permaculture meeting at Nola’s house. I think I stuffed that one up. Luckily Nola has the most intelligence in people skills of anyone I have ever dealt with. On Thursday I dragged my black canvas and paints off to the Steels creek art club. There were only three people there because someone had died this week. This was bad but good for me as there were less people to react with. I actually enjoyed several hours trying to interact with the black canvas and I don’t think I really irritated anyone.
My art has always been too controlled, too left-brain and safe, so I am forcing myself out of my comfort zone in art as well as life. I want to use our loss as a catalyst for personal growth. This all sounds very brave on paper but putting it into practice will be more of a challenge.
Luckily Edd is being far more practical and has almost completed enough fencing to allow us to release all the animals from their pens. My socialisation has given it's first results in that I now have flu. It may or may not be swine flu, which has already reached our valley, but it is not too bad.
Last week we had enormous help from all directions. Sharron brought out a whole team of able bodied and enthusiastic workers from her work and Rod brought out a busload of equally willing people from Luther collage. Edd’s good friend, Trevor and his mate Chas even stayed two nights and with all this help miracles have been achieved.
It became clear that I was going to have "spare time", that long lost commodity I have not seen for years. Not to worry. I have always wanted to do more art and had already brought suitable materials from the two-dollar shop. However there was one big snag. I could think of absolutely nothing I wanted to paint or draw.
It was tempting to do a dot painting, as a way to start, but borrowing someone else’s voice seemed to be missing the point. In the end I just got a canvas and painted it black. At least I had made a start, and as my friend Merv used to tell us, the muse can only reach you if you are in the studio waiting for her call.
I looked hopefully at the black canvas but still no inspiration emerged. My youngest son Josh once wrote for a school exercise that for him, “ black represents the peaceful tranquillity of a non threatening void”. Maybe I am stuck in the black. My past all wiped out by the fire and my future unformed. May be it is peaceful and non-threatening at this point. Perhaps I will have to work at dragging myself back into life.
I set myself socialisation targets. On Wednesday we had a Permaculture meeting at Nola’s house. I think I stuffed that one up. Luckily Nola has the most intelligence in people skills of anyone I have ever dealt with. On Thursday I dragged my black canvas and paints off to the Steels creek art club. There were only three people there because someone had died this week. This was bad but good for me as there were less people to react with. I actually enjoyed several hours trying to interact with the black canvas and I don’t think I really irritated anyone.
My art has always been too controlled, too left-brain and safe, so I am forcing myself out of my comfort zone in art as well as life. I want to use our loss as a catalyst for personal growth. This all sounds very brave on paper but putting it into practice will be more of a challenge.
Luckily Edd is being far more practical and has almost completed enough fencing to allow us to release all the animals from their pens. My socialisation has given it's first results in that I now have flu. It may or may not be swine flu, which has already reached our valley, but it is not too bad.
Friday, June 12, 2009
A difficult journey
Yesterday I rashly agreed to collect a wood stove that Al is having repaired in Seymour. I had ulterior motives. Seymour has a craft shop that sells baby wool in lots of exciting colours and also I could find out if there was any chance that I could salvage my old Aga. I was hoping Edd would be able to come and that we could have a day out but this was not to be. Edd was needed to work with Mike on the shed excavations and do fencing.
No worries, I would go on my own. The men must have been better informed than I was because the drive was horrific. All the way to Yea pipe-laying trucks had taken over the road. It was drizzling too, so the road was a wash with greasy mud that the numerous trucks threw all over the windscreen. That, plus all the waits at traffic lights whilst large loads were manoeuvred out of small holes made driving hell.
It was not even possible to enjoy the scenery. Burnt trees and muddy excavations are depressing viewing. Also there is the big question about how sensible it is to be building this North-south pipeline. My personal thoughts were not much better. I felt as if someone had stolen my identity. Last year I was a businesswoman with my own business. I had a great little X-trail to drive and really “me” clothes that I had carefully collected over years.
Now I have no job, I am wearing hand-me-down clothes and here I was sat in a Ute that smelt of dog and had the front side all melted. Strangely, or maybe not so strangely, my friends seem to have changed too. People I shared with a lot are off doing other things and of course I am not meeting all the people associated with my work either. I am not upset about all this, but I am also not sure who I will become next. This is a sort of limbo period between the past and a still vague future.
Logic tells me that although we have the house insurance, the sheds, fences and farm equipment were not insured so somewhere along the line we will have to do with out something we had before. The charity we are receiving helps a lot here, but it will not be enough to breach the gap. So… what can we not have? A worse problem is that my job was going to be our only income when Edd retired. Now it has gone and Edd does not feel capable of going back to teaching. He was about to retire before but I had it all planned. How am I to sort this out now?
There is no immediate crisis because I have invested the insurance money and it will provide an income in the short term. The snag is that as we replace houses and sheds it will obviously diminish. There is just so much to rethink and so little time. Also just what has happened to the climate? Was this one exceptional year never to be repeated or is it the start of a dramatic climate shift? How can I plan for such uncertainty?
On the bright side there is no shortage of old Agas. I have a bag of bright coloured baby wool offering limitless opportunities and Al’s stove was unloaded with out drama. My eldest Grand daughter, India, had cooked us all an evening meal and sat around the table with my family my identity re-established itself quickly.
No worries, I would go on my own. The men must have been better informed than I was because the drive was horrific. All the way to Yea pipe-laying trucks had taken over the road. It was drizzling too, so the road was a wash with greasy mud that the numerous trucks threw all over the windscreen. That, plus all the waits at traffic lights whilst large loads were manoeuvred out of small holes made driving hell.
It was not even possible to enjoy the scenery. Burnt trees and muddy excavations are depressing viewing. Also there is the big question about how sensible it is to be building this North-south pipeline. My personal thoughts were not much better. I felt as if someone had stolen my identity. Last year I was a businesswoman with my own business. I had a great little X-trail to drive and really “me” clothes that I had carefully collected over years.
Now I have no job, I am wearing hand-me-down clothes and here I was sat in a Ute that smelt of dog and had the front side all melted. Strangely, or maybe not so strangely, my friends seem to have changed too. People I shared with a lot are off doing other things and of course I am not meeting all the people associated with my work either. I am not upset about all this, but I am also not sure who I will become next. This is a sort of limbo period between the past and a still vague future.
Logic tells me that although we have the house insurance, the sheds, fences and farm equipment were not insured so somewhere along the line we will have to do with out something we had before. The charity we are receiving helps a lot here, but it will not be enough to breach the gap. So… what can we not have? A worse problem is that my job was going to be our only income when Edd retired. Now it has gone and Edd does not feel capable of going back to teaching. He was about to retire before but I had it all planned. How am I to sort this out now?
There is no immediate crisis because I have invested the insurance money and it will provide an income in the short term. The snag is that as we replace houses and sheds it will obviously diminish. There is just so much to rethink and so little time. Also just what has happened to the climate? Was this one exceptional year never to be repeated or is it the start of a dramatic climate shift? How can I plan for such uncertainty?
On the bright side there is no shortage of old Agas. I have a bag of bright coloured baby wool offering limitless opportunities and Al’s stove was unloaded with out drama. My eldest Grand daughter, India, had cooked us all an evening meal and sat around the table with my family my identity re-established itself quickly.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
1.6.2009
The Permaculture people who helped yesterday did a wonderful job at the old house site. I now have neat stacks of cleaned bricks and most of the dead plants are gone. I did love my home. We started life here as shell-shocked migrants, living in pioneering conditions as we tried to make a good life for our family. Our house sheltered us as we built it and gradually moulded its self around us as the kids grew up.
It was a first home for my second Grand kid and a refuge for family members in trouble. All my children returned to live here as adults when their lives hit rough patches. It was a cool haven in the summer heat, and a cosy warm space when winter set in. Twice a year, at Xmas and at Mid-winter we would cook turkeys in the Aga, set up a very long table in front of the Inglenook, and sit down with family and friends for a feast. Each time this happened I took a minute amongst the rush of work to reflect on how lucky I was to have all my children and their children gathered together.
Now, the house is just a ruin, but I want to clean it up and convert it to something beautiful as a show of respect for all the good times past. Perhaps it should be a sort of spiritual space as well as a space for parties. I would like to put up pillars made of the old bricks and some roofs for shade in a square shape leaving a central courtyard open to the sky. I liked the temples at Angkor Watt, and would love to create a mini version.
The old chimney could still be used and the roofs could help collect water. It could well be possible to get the underground water pipes going again so the water could take the old route to the big concrete tank. All ideas. Meanwhile we are struggling to get up some relatively simple sheds. Al suggested that we have the sheds with steeper than average slopes to the roofs so that they are right for solar panels and look more pleasing. This means special construction, but I do agree that if we just put up a huddle of off the peg standard shed it would look pretty soulless.
Mike has almost finished bulldozing a flat area to put the sheds on. We are lucky that it has stayed dry, as an enormous tonnage of soil has had to be shifted. It is lucky too that it is just a little bit damp because if we had tried to do this earlier in the year we would have been over whelmed with dust. We are probably getting things done at the right pace but some days it all feels too chaotic to cope with.
Last week Antonia, the big white goat who allowed all our visitors learnt to milk, has gone to a new home at an animal shelter in Healesville that needs goats milk. She was one of the oldest goats and I was worried about her being too stressed in the conditions here. We are still without fences and the animals are restricted to yards that get in a worse state daily. I cut greens for the goats from the weeds in the vegetable gardens but it is not enough to compensate for the lack of grazing. I just hope the animals we have sent away are better off than they were here. I would like to sell the calves but we have no yards, so no way of loading them into a truck.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Edd gets a puppy and Josh breaks his arm
27.5.2009 The weather has changed. It is definitely damp and there has been a little of that rare stuff …rain. We should be jumping for joy. I am sure all the plant are, but with the wet comes mud and we have started excavating shed sites so I expect a lot of mud. I have no right to complain with so much of the country up north having such bad floods.
On Sunday Edd’s new dog arrived. Delivered to our door by his breeders who have very kindly given him to us. He was pretty frightened when he arrived and had been sick in the car but he has settled down fast. The people who stayed here the weekend of the fires found him for us and arranged everything. Edd has called him Jana (rhyming with Banner), which apparently is a Cornish way of saying John! He is a black and tan kelpie and a very solid little chap with a very long tail.
Edd says he often sees ghosts of our dogs that died in the fires who work around the place with him. I have seen no ghosts and still miss the dogs terribly. I do not feel ready for a new dog myself yet but it is good that Edd does because he is working on the farm every day now and has time to spend putting the work in that a puppy needs. I have been quite surprised so far at Jana, who behaves well over night and is trying hard to fit in.
My main task this week has been catching up with our accounts and getting in Tax statements. We have endless bits of paper that have to be sorted in to some form of order. It is quite horrific having to spend so much on new household things. We lost everything from sauce pans to furniture so are continually discovering new bits we can’t function with out. Friends have been very good; Jane even brought me over a thimble this week in a bag of other sewing goodies. I discovered I needed one when I had to sew up the baby clothes I have been knitting.
I have also brought tools to tile the shower room. Edd has lined the donga porch with cement sheet around the shower unit so it is ready for finishing now. We have hung up a small bathroom cupboard and will make a tiny shelf for the men to put a mug of hot water for shaving on. We have to use the kitchen sink as a basin as space is tight.
Down at the old house site I have begun working on my destroyed garden beds. They look so much better when the soil is raked of rubbish and dug over. I am laying broken bricks as a cobbled path round the drainage ponds at the back of the toilet. I fancy covering the old swimming pool with ferro cement. It would repair the damaged liner and burnt walls back to a useful condition and make a stronger pool in the long term.
I am studying ferro cement construction on the Internet every time I get a spare moment and am intrigued with the possibilities. I do wish I was younger and stronger but perhaps it is just a matter of working out an approach.
Our latest problem is that Josh fell off a ladder at work and broke his right arm. He spent most of Friday sat in Dandedong hospital waiting for attention and we picked him up in the evening after he had been given an anaesthetic and had the arm set. He is pretty fed up about things but is really not feeling well enough even to try going back to work yet. He even found walking round the super market hard yesterday. I am taking him for a check up tomorrow and if all is well he is going to visit his friends in Townesville and spend a few days somewhere easier to live while he recovers. He left Townesville in a very depressed state and I hope it will be good for him to put old issues to rest. He has now got his degree and has got over his broken heart so he may see it differently.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Steels Creek was one of the areas badly affected by the bush fires. Even now, three months on, many areas show no signs of recovery. Bare, burnt, tree trunks stand silent on grey ground devoid of any visible life. The social structure of our community is in turmoil slowly groping towards a new pattern. Individuals show their stress in the loudness or intensity of their speech whenever the fire is discussed.
For Edd, Josh and I most of our immediate problems have been dealt with and it is time to look back and learn from our experiences. We have had enormous help from everyone to reach this point and send a special thank you to all our Permaculture friends who have given us such wonderful help and support.
With time to reflect I can now see that our land also continued to support us. We had a fire plan that was part of a larger disaster plan and although we lost our buildings the essence of the disaster plan worked well. I can see now that a fire plan needs to be in two parts. Firstly there is the part we all know which is about preparing the property, and being ready to shelter and then put out spot fires.
The second part is the one you need if the conditions make saving buildings impossible and it is your life you need to protect. The particular weather conditions that produce killer fires can now be identified and we need a warning system so that those with no fire safe place can leave in safety. I have friends and neighbours who died because they knew their properties were well set up and that it was possible to defend them. Our dogs died taking shelter for a short time in the house.
We lost all our buildings but luckily had a plan B for survival that worked fine.
We had seven paying guests staying that Saturday,
We were very worried that when they did get them leave they had left it too late. They all survived, but by the time we had looked after them the roar of the fire drowned everything as it poured down the hillside in a sheer cliff face of flames. We just had time to call the animals to a safe area, start the fire pump and get a few items to the safety of the cellar.
At the base of the forest covered hills the fire split. The first flame front to reach us used the road reserve and attacked from the South. It was so fast and intense that the gas cylinders at the cottage exploded sending shrapnel in all directions and the steel brewery and concrete cottage were blown apart. Neighbours said the fire sucked the oxygen from their fire pumps, rendering them useless. Ours worked well until the fuel ran out. There was an underground pipeline from the dam that remained serviceable.
Unfortunately our house was large and two stories high. With just two people it was not possible to extinguish all the firebombs and with in a short time we realized that we had lost that battle. The fire walls had protected us from most of the radiant heat but when the main front passed we withdrew to the bare paddock with our animals, which the flames had already crossed.
Now here is the good bit. In the cellar we had all our camping equipment, a store of tinned food, orange juice and water and our most important documents for insurance purposes. We had beds in there but as a polyhouse had survived we used that to camp in for the next few days. I had some spare clothes and coats in the cellar but in future I will also have spare boots. The soles burnt off the pair I was wearing.
In the polyhouse we had tomatoes and capsicums. There were still potatoes in the vegetable garden and some zucchinis that were protected by the corrugated garden fence. The apple orchard survived well, chooks had cleared down to bare earth around the trees and some still had fruit even though their leaves had been scorched off. It is now possible to see that most of the fruit trees survived. . Our larger olives and citrus trees are showing signs of recovery; trunk size seems the main factor.
By saving the animals we still had fresh milk. Once help arrived we gave away or sold about half our animals because we had too many to feed and too many to fit into the yards we had built from salvaged materials. I can see that if a different sort of disaster had resulted in no help arriving we could have eaten the excess animals. As it was we had a high meat diet in the following days because it was easier to prepare and eat without facilities to wash anything. We spent five years working in the desert with the Warlpiri people and we used what we had learnt from them to avoid health problems.
Three months on, rocket, lettuces, mustards, Chinese vegetables and silver beet have self-seeded. Underground crops like spuds, garlic and asparagus are still Ok and many of the common herbs have come back. We have now got a very serviceable kitchen set up and can move gratefully back to a European diet.
Some chickens found a safe place and have now started laying. We have too many roosters but I expect we will eat them at some stage. There is an abundance of firewood and we have some water left in tanks. The concrete tank that was not partially underground was damaged and leaks but the large one seems fine.
It is extremely reassuring to know that despite the devastation of the whole area we had enough resources to keep our selves alive on our own property if no help had arrived. This is surely part of what Permaculture is really about.
A summary of survival strategies.
It seems that chance and local geography govern individual cases of property survival. Wood sheds and our polyhouse survived when solidly built mud brick home did not. But the following facts seem important where the fire hit worst.
1 You need somewhere at least partially underground. Or a group of people and a building surrounded by bare earth with no vegetation anywhere near.
2 Gas systems are a problem. In bad conditions they can cause solidly built houses ,even mud brick ,to explode.
3 Do not rely on pumps of any kind.
4 Store food, water, clothes, shoes, camping gear etc. in a cellar or dug out close but separate from the house with important documents.
5 If you can last three months you can have time to grow new food crops.
6 Prepare for fire attack from all directions, there is no safe side.
7 Mulching trees does not reduce their survival chances.
8 Find out how much your house would cost to rebuild and insure for that amount. Do not take the insurance companies estimate as a guide. It takes a huge fight to get them to pay out but it can be won.
9 A house in a bushfire has better chance of survival if enough sensible adults work to defend it. A house in a fire storm may not survive what ever is done.
10 Skylights are likely to let fire into a house.
11 We must have a new category of fire above the total fire day that can be used when the conditions for killer fires are expected. This should signal immediate action of fire plans and force non –residents to leave the area.
12 If a fire is approaching sirens should be sounded in all possible ways. At this point no one should attempt to leave unless it is to a close by safer property.
13 Owning animals and having ways to maximise their survival ensures ones own chance of surviving total disaster. I had worked out that whatever disaster happened from terrorist attack to weather events the chances of the forest igniting were pretty high. We always have the paddock around the large dam grazed right down for this purpose. On other occasions when we have had more warning we put all the vehicles in the bare paddock as well as stock.
Sunday, May 3, 2009
things get better
3.May 2009
A beautiful sunny day after a frosty night. Thank goodness we are now living in the double donga classroom. We have quite a comfortable little home that feels spacious and light. Next week the plumber is coming and we are having the gas stove , shower , kitchen sink and hot water connected up. Last week Gary , Edd and Josh worked hard and completed the building of a veranda deck . They put in a new entry door from the deck and got a water tank organised on a stand with new gutters going into it all ready for rain . ( if we ever get any).
The new door has no gaps round it and the indoor fly population has decreased fantastically. Well, it is either that or the cold weather that has brought about the change. It was pretty awful before so that each night we swatted for several hours before we could relax.
Today people from Permaculture Melborne groups have come for a working B and we are getting lots of much needed help. People are so wonderful. Three people from another accommodation business came and picked up all the broken glass at the brewery site which was an dreadful job.
Today the men are concentrating on the vineyard. Before we can let animals in there to graze we have to move all the wires which is a long trying task. We have not even got the boundary fences repaired yet so all the animals are still being hand fed in pens. We had to build a new pen for the sheep as their first pen had got too muddy.
Plants continue to appear. Old friends regenerating and suspicious new things that have sprung from who knows where. The pumpkins and zuchinnis took a bit of a hit from the frost this week but the silverbeat and asparagus are growing strongly now. Strangely the flowers that came on the apple trees have developed into tiny apples and great joy, my mulberry trees are recovering. I greave for the big oak by the drive and my honey loccut trees, they still look very dead.
I am still struggling with he insurance. This can take up hours each week and is very stressful. Basically we have to prove that our house cost us the money we paid insurance for. The independent estimation we got is not enough for them. It would not surprise me if when this is all over people unite for a class action against they companies for the stress and hours of work and delays they have caused. I am so worried about my daughter and her husband. They lost the brewery and their income in the fires but their house was OK. If the insurance company holds them up too long they could loose their house now to the banks !
We had a really reassuring meeting with our local council who at this stage seem all out to be helpful. They are happy with our plans to build in the centre of the paddock and to put up shed roofs first to harvest rain. Al is preparing plans for the sheds and the council says they can be passed in as little as two weeks. We must collect rain incase the drought continues next year.
It is so lucky that our son Al is an architect and has worked on sustainable buildings with the council before. I have often wished my sons were plumbers or electrictions but now I realise that given the right circumstances an architect is probably better ! We have worked out that if Edd and I join Al and family and watch his sons play soccer on Saturdays we can kill to birds at the same time by combining it with a planning meeting.
A beautiful sunny day after a frosty night. Thank goodness we are now living in the double donga classroom. We have quite a comfortable little home that feels spacious and light. Next week the plumber is coming and we are having the gas stove , shower , kitchen sink and hot water connected up. Last week Gary , Edd and Josh worked hard and completed the building of a veranda deck . They put in a new entry door from the deck and got a water tank organised on a stand with new gutters going into it all ready for rain . ( if we ever get any).
The new door has no gaps round it and the indoor fly population has decreased fantastically. Well, it is either that or the cold weather that has brought about the change. It was pretty awful before so that each night we swatted for several hours before we could relax.
Today people from Permaculture Melborne groups have come for a working B and we are getting lots of much needed help. People are so wonderful. Three people from another accommodation business came and picked up all the broken glass at the brewery site which was an dreadful job.
Today the men are concentrating on the vineyard. Before we can let animals in there to graze we have to move all the wires which is a long trying task. We have not even got the boundary fences repaired yet so all the animals are still being hand fed in pens. We had to build a new pen for the sheep as their first pen had got too muddy.
Plants continue to appear. Old friends regenerating and suspicious new things that have sprung from who knows where. The pumpkins and zuchinnis took a bit of a hit from the frost this week but the silverbeat and asparagus are growing strongly now. Strangely the flowers that came on the apple trees have developed into tiny apples and great joy, my mulberry trees are recovering. I greave for the big oak by the drive and my honey loccut trees, they still look very dead.
I am still struggling with he insurance. This can take up hours each week and is very stressful. Basically we have to prove that our house cost us the money we paid insurance for. The independent estimation we got is not enough for them. It would not surprise me if when this is all over people unite for a class action against they companies for the stress and hours of work and delays they have caused. I am so worried about my daughter and her husband. They lost the brewery and their income in the fires but their house was OK. If the insurance company holds them up too long they could loose their house now to the banks !
We had a really reassuring meeting with our local council who at this stage seem all out to be helpful. They are happy with our plans to build in the centre of the paddock and to put up shed roofs first to harvest rain. Al is preparing plans for the sheds and the council says they can be passed in as little as two weeks. We must collect rain incase the drought continues next year.
It is so lucky that our son Al is an architect and has worked on sustainable buildings with the council before. I have often wished my sons were plumbers or electrictions but now I realise that given the right circumstances an architect is probably better ! We have worked out that if Edd and I join Al and family and watch his sons play soccer on Saturdays we can kill to birds at the same time by combining it with a planning meeting.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
farm news
It is once again goat mating season. The old buck, Rubicon, is making himself as smelly as possible and the girls are calling out to him day and night. Most of them are his daughters so he only has three potential wives this year. It is probably enough now we have no sheds or milking machine. Imogen’s two boys are growing slowly and also taking an interest in the girls. We will probably try and sell the black one next week and keep the brown boy as a replacement for his dad who died in the fires.
It is still extremely dry and plants that survived the fires are now struggling for lack of water. We have a big job ahead replacing all the fences. With help from volunteers we have now cleared away some of the old fencing but in places trees have grown up in the fence line and it is all a bit of a challenge.
We are slowly getting more eggs but there are too many roosters in the pen and we will need to start eating some to stop the chooks getting too much humbug. It is wonderful to have a breakfast of gorgeous golden yellow eggs again.
The silverbeat is almost large enough to start eating and we have still got zuchinis . A few pumpkins have restarted themselves and are growing fruit and all the mustards have self seeded. We still have some small but tasty apples on the trees and the
people power
17.4.09
A new story is emerging as we discuss the fires. At first everyone focussed on such things as house siting, design and closeness to native forest as factors in which houses survived the fires intact. Now a new factor seems to be more important than all these and it is unexpectedly reassuring. People saved houses. The more people there were at each house the better chance it stood.
In some cases a group of neighbours ended up at one place as a result of a list of accidents and when ever a group worked together they usually succeeded in beating the fires. This makes a lot of sense to me because with only Edd and I working here there was just too much fire for us to deal with especially as it was on all four sides of the house. We felt if reinforcements had come we could have saved everything but offcourse the roads were all blocked, the emergency services overloaded.
I am not sure how one can factor in this when designing a new place. Edd and I want to build a semi underground home and it would obviously help if it only had one or two sides .
The other great thing about people power is that individual effort has made all the difference for people like us who lost everything. Help has mostly come from private individuals who have worked out what they could do and just done it. Caroline and her friends turned up to help every weekend and did what ever we needed. Also everyone one round here will be eternally grateful to the men who brought the classrooms for us to live in.
We are now living in the double donga classroom and it is very homely. The little bedrooms are cosy and clean and I am eagerly waiting for some kitchen cabinets that are coming next week. With lots of wonderful free help from our lawyer, Tom, our insurance company has finally parted with some money so we can set ourselves up with a kitchen and bathroom.
We are still negotiating over the amount we will get for our big house because they are arguing that we were over insured. I don’t think anyone can win. They refuse to pay the full amount for people who are under insured and if they consider you over insured they only want to pay a percentage of the amount you insured for as well. How on earth can anyone get it right? We have sent them costings for other houses built nearby to prove that we have insured for realistic rebuilding costs but they don’t like that either! Next time I insure a house I will refuse to insure with anyone unless they agree to a payout price when we first make the contract.
Incidentally all the promised Government money has failed to show up anywhere yet. I have been told that there is still money left over from funds collected for the victims of Cyclone Tracy ( in the 70’s) so I am not getting my hopes up too high at the moment. Once again, people are more effective with out leaders and committees if they just believe in themselves.
A new story is emerging as we discuss the fires. At first everyone focussed on such things as house siting, design and closeness to native forest as factors in which houses survived the fires intact. Now a new factor seems to be more important than all these and it is unexpectedly reassuring. People saved houses. The more people there were at each house the better chance it stood.
In some cases a group of neighbours ended up at one place as a result of a list of accidents and when ever a group worked together they usually succeeded in beating the fires. This makes a lot of sense to me because with only Edd and I working here there was just too much fire for us to deal with especially as it was on all four sides of the house. We felt if reinforcements had come we could have saved everything but offcourse the roads were all blocked, the emergency services overloaded.
I am not sure how one can factor in this when designing a new place. Edd and I want to build a semi underground home and it would obviously help if it only had one or two sides .
The other great thing about people power is that individual effort has made all the difference for people like us who lost everything. Help has mostly come from private individuals who have worked out what they could do and just done it. Caroline and her friends turned up to help every weekend and did what ever we needed. Also everyone one round here will be eternally grateful to the men who brought the classrooms for us to live in.
We are now living in the double donga classroom and it is very homely. The little bedrooms are cosy and clean and I am eagerly waiting for some kitchen cabinets that are coming next week. With lots of wonderful free help from our lawyer, Tom, our insurance company has finally parted with some money so we can set ourselves up with a kitchen and bathroom.
We are still negotiating over the amount we will get for our big house because they are arguing that we were over insured. I don’t think anyone can win. They refuse to pay the full amount for people who are under insured and if they consider you over insured they only want to pay a percentage of the amount you insured for as well. How on earth can anyone get it right? We have sent them costings for other houses built nearby to prove that we have insured for realistic rebuilding costs but they don’t like that either! Next time I insure a house I will refuse to insure with anyone unless they agree to a payout price when we first make the contract.
Incidentally all the promised Government money has failed to show up anywhere yet. I have been told that there is still money left over from funds collected for the victims of Cyclone Tracy ( in the 70’s) so I am not getting my hopes up too high at the moment. Once again, people are more effective with out leaders and committees if they just believe in themselves.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Summer ends
7.4.2009
Winter has arrived. The weather has changed dramatically from hot and dry to cold and wet. Some has of my garden survived the fire and the drought and some plants like the zucchinis have made heroic efforts and are producing fresh food for us. The goats are warm and dry in their poly house and the chickens have produced a few eggs.
Most of the surrounding bush looks very dead. On the old convict road up to Kinglake the tree ferns have started to grow new fronds but everything else looks devastated. Now the ground cover has gone it is possible to see the mullock heaps of the old gold mines and the tracks that probably serviced them. I have ridden along this road many times and never suspected their presence.
Last week we had wonderful help from friends. Steve and Johno fitted out the double donga with internal walls, all plastered and with doors that work. Caroline’s mob cleared up the terrible mess of wire and fallen trees at the old front gate and of course Gary put the roof on the toilet.
It was my birthday on Saturday and my family and friends joined me for lunch at the Toolangi Tavern where there is marvellous value at the moment. I am so lucky to still have all my kids and Grand kids around me. Al came back to the farm with us and we began to talk about rebuilding. The upsetting part was that he brought information he had received from our insurance company.
He had sent them a plan of our homestead but they had sent a different plan to a building assessor who costed the fictitious house at much less than we are insured for. It was all total lies. For instance they omitted the staircase and swapped cavity wall brick for brick veneer. We found it quite devastating to know the devious means they go to to try and avoid paying out claims.
I spent Sunday on the net finding out the real cost of items like stoves and wood heaters so I could gather evidence to help our cause. Everything is so very expensive it is frightening. Yesterday we went shopping . We need to set up our new house with a kitchen so we can cook proper meals again. We brought a large fridge with a freezer lower half but we also looked at horse gear. We would like to have saddles and bridles so we can ride our horses but they have become disastrously expensive.
It was all very depressing but it was Dave’s last day here. He finished building steps into the double donga and we all met up in the Indian restaurant in Healesville for a farewell do. The food was good and we forgot our woes for a while but last night I kept waking with nightmares. We are starting to feel ill with all the stress.
Winter has arrived. The weather has changed dramatically from hot and dry to cold and wet. Some has of my garden survived the fire and the drought and some plants like the zucchinis have made heroic efforts and are producing fresh food for us. The goats are warm and dry in their poly house and the chickens have produced a few eggs.
Most of the surrounding bush looks very dead. On the old convict road up to Kinglake the tree ferns have started to grow new fronds but everything else looks devastated. Now the ground cover has gone it is possible to see the mullock heaps of the old gold mines and the tracks that probably serviced them. I have ridden along this road many times and never suspected their presence.
Last week we had wonderful help from friends. Steve and Johno fitted out the double donga with internal walls, all plastered and with doors that work. Caroline’s mob cleared up the terrible mess of wire and fallen trees at the old front gate and of course Gary put the roof on the toilet.
It was my birthday on Saturday and my family and friends joined me for lunch at the Toolangi Tavern where there is marvellous value at the moment. I am so lucky to still have all my kids and Grand kids around me. Al came back to the farm with us and we began to talk about rebuilding. The upsetting part was that he brought information he had received from our insurance company.
He had sent them a plan of our homestead but they had sent a different plan to a building assessor who costed the fictitious house at much less than we are insured for. It was all total lies. For instance they omitted the staircase and swapped cavity wall brick for brick veneer. We found it quite devastating to know the devious means they go to to try and avoid paying out claims.
I spent Sunday on the net finding out the real cost of items like stoves and wood heaters so I could gather evidence to help our cause. Everything is so very expensive it is frightening. Yesterday we went shopping . We need to set up our new house with a kitchen so we can cook proper meals again. We brought a large fridge with a freezer lower half but we also looked at horse gear. We would like to have saddles and bridles so we can ride our horses but they have become disastrously expensive.
It was all very depressing but it was Dave’s last day here. He finished building steps into the double donga and we all met up in the Indian restaurant in Healesville for a farewell do. The food was good and we forgot our woes for a while but last night I kept waking with nightmares. We are starting to feel ill with all the stress.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Insurance war begins
31.3.2009
We now have a roof on the toilet and steps into the double donga! Simon has picked up his new brewing gear and relocated it into his future brewery in Lilydale and Edd and I have brought all the plasterboard , wood and insulation needed to fit out our Winter quarters.
On a more important note we have begun the battle with the insurance company. I was being fobbed off if I phoned and could not get all the equipment I needed into action enough to get any action happening. I had written a claim letter but it seemed to me that the details of the small print were not at all clear. Yesterday I drove to Al’s office in Warburton and started work with help from Al and all the resources of their Architects office.
I could not contact the man who is helping Steels Creek people directly but I sent him an E-mail and I did manage to talk to Tom who has offered us legal aid on a pro bono basis. He was very helpful but he thought he could write a better letter than mine. He did this but meanwhile the insurance company phoned my son, Al, and offered about $200,000 less than Tom thought we should claim. I told Tom and he was not impressed by this offhand verbal contact and sent off his claim letter in response. I feel I am in the midst of a battle but there is a time clause in our policy and I was getting extremely worried that the insurance company was just playing for time.
It is very stressful to have this sort of a fight after everything else but at least I expected it. Insurance people are always very willing to let you pay but rarely just give you what you insured for with out a fight.
On a bright note we had different food today. Our last B&B guests who stayed here the day of the fire visited us on Sunday and brought all kinds of good and useful food. We have a delicious cake bursting with fruit and zucchini slice. All stuff we can eat with out incurring plates to wash up. We are pretty low on water again as the 1000 litres we got from the council is almost gone.
Edd and I called into the relief station today for more information about grants. Apparently our case worker is meant to be telling us about things but josh had a letter this morning saying she was sick and no longer available. Looks like we have lost our case worker as well as everything else.
We now have a roof on the toilet and steps into the double donga! Simon has picked up his new brewing gear and relocated it into his future brewery in Lilydale and Edd and I have brought all the plasterboard , wood and insulation needed to fit out our Winter quarters.
On a more important note we have begun the battle with the insurance company. I was being fobbed off if I phoned and could not get all the equipment I needed into action enough to get any action happening. I had written a claim letter but it seemed to me that the details of the small print were not at all clear. Yesterday I drove to Al’s office in Warburton and started work with help from Al and all the resources of their Architects office.
I could not contact the man who is helping Steels Creek people directly but I sent him an E-mail and I did manage to talk to Tom who has offered us legal aid on a pro bono basis. He was very helpful but he thought he could write a better letter than mine. He did this but meanwhile the insurance company phoned my son, Al, and offered about $200,000 less than Tom thought we should claim. I told Tom and he was not impressed by this offhand verbal contact and sent off his claim letter in response. I feel I am in the midst of a battle but there is a time clause in our policy and I was getting extremely worried that the insurance company was just playing for time.
It is very stressful to have this sort of a fight after everything else but at least I expected it. Insurance people are always very willing to let you pay but rarely just give you what you insured for with out a fight.
On a bright note we had different food today. Our last B&B guests who stayed here the day of the fire visited us on Sunday and brought all kinds of good and useful food. We have a delicious cake bursting with fruit and zucchini slice. All stuff we can eat with out incurring plates to wash up. We are pretty low on water again as the 1000 litres we got from the council is almost gone.
Edd and I called into the relief station today for more information about grants. Apparently our case worker is meant to be telling us about things but josh had a letter this morning saying she was sick and no longer available. Looks like we have lost our case worker as well as everything else.
A car for Josh and a new toilet
28.3.2009 Saturday morning.
It is cold today. Luckily I have a little blow heater that Josh’s friends mother sent over and it is really very effective at warming the site office. We have come a long way this week . Miracle of miracles we now have a toilet. Admittedly it has no roof or door but it does have a window , it does flush and strangely it is exactly where my toilet was before so it all feels familiar.
Gary and Andrew from my friend Merrie’s mob pulled down the remains of the fire damaged walls and used the better bricks to rebuild them in a stronger form so they will support a roof and create a sort of shower block. Gary is incredibly skillfull at creative building and we are so lucky he has been free to help us. The actual toilet was donated by a Healesville group and Edd connected a hose pipe to the pump on the dam water tank so it would all flush.
Now it probably seems very odd to have the toilet a main subject for writing about but for the past month I have been the only woman on a bushless work site with large numbers of men. Try it and you will see what I mean.
Yesterday I drove Josh to Burwood Vic roads office where we met Andrea who was donating him her mother’s old car. She heard about him from Jo when she worked up here to help the bush fire relief mob. Andrea is the MP for the South Metroplitan Region and on meeting her I got the feeling we should have a lot more women in poletics. She even made us feel that we were doing her a favour !
Josh did not grasp his freedom immediately. He phoned RACV from the car park and arranged insurance and then sedately followed me home through the traffic. His next call was to Jo’s place , but then he gathered up his things and left for the weekend muttering things about buying himself a CD player and no doubt dreaming of all the other things car owners can set them selves up with.
Miracles were not over for the day. On the way to Burwood I had been telling Josh that what I really needed now was help from Stevo to fit out the classroom. I knew he was still working near Newcastle so could not expect him for a month or so. You could imagine how I felt when who walked into camp that night but Stevo himself. I am afraid I pounced on him at once over framing advise and he said he would help me next week! Wow. Looks like we will have something like a home before the worst of Winter strikes .
Mean while I must mention Mike . He has now moved all the trashed building materials from the house and shed sites and had time to level a space outside Donga city so we can pave a path to the site office (donga) and classroom (double donga). Also more plants continue to revive. The Yucca type palms have sprouted new shoots at their bases and My orange and grapefruit trees have lovely green shoots. I fearful for the lime tree. It has shoots from the rootstock only. Also the big oak tree near the house shows no sign of life.
Further afield recovery is in full swing. The paddocks are greener every day and many gum trees appear to have green mossy lumps that on closer examination turn out o be new leaves sprouting in bunches from the blackened trunks. The fern trees in the gully have new fonds already and less welcome , the backen and blackberries are coming back as well. Superb blue wrens follow us around and cockatoos come on raiding parties but we miss so many old bird friends. The gorgeous little fire tails that hung around the big shed are gone and I can only hope that the swallows migrated early. Where are the humming birds and the rosellas, the King parrots that came down to be sprayed with cool water when I shower hot chooks and the rest?
It is cold today. Luckily I have a little blow heater that Josh’s friends mother sent over and it is really very effective at warming the site office. We have come a long way this week . Miracle of miracles we now have a toilet. Admittedly it has no roof or door but it does have a window , it does flush and strangely it is exactly where my toilet was before so it all feels familiar.
Gary and Andrew from my friend Merrie’s mob pulled down the remains of the fire damaged walls and used the better bricks to rebuild them in a stronger form so they will support a roof and create a sort of shower block. Gary is incredibly skillfull at creative building and we are so lucky he has been free to help us. The actual toilet was donated by a Healesville group and Edd connected a hose pipe to the pump on the dam water tank so it would all flush.
Now it probably seems very odd to have the toilet a main subject for writing about but for the past month I have been the only woman on a bushless work site with large numbers of men. Try it and you will see what I mean.
Yesterday I drove Josh to Burwood Vic roads office where we met Andrea who was donating him her mother’s old car. She heard about him from Jo when she worked up here to help the bush fire relief mob. Andrea is the MP for the South Metroplitan Region and on meeting her I got the feeling we should have a lot more women in poletics. She even made us feel that we were doing her a favour !
Josh did not grasp his freedom immediately. He phoned RACV from the car park and arranged insurance and then sedately followed me home through the traffic. His next call was to Jo’s place , but then he gathered up his things and left for the weekend muttering things about buying himself a CD player and no doubt dreaming of all the other things car owners can set them selves up with.
Miracles were not over for the day. On the way to Burwood I had been telling Josh that what I really needed now was help from Stevo to fit out the classroom. I knew he was still working near Newcastle so could not expect him for a month or so. You could imagine how I felt when who walked into camp that night but Stevo himself. I am afraid I pounced on him at once over framing advise and he said he would help me next week! Wow. Looks like we will have something like a home before the worst of Winter strikes .
Mean while I must mention Mike . He has now moved all the trashed building materials from the house and shed sites and had time to level a space outside Donga city so we can pave a path to the site office (donga) and classroom (double donga). Also more plants continue to revive. The Yucca type palms have sprouted new shoots at their bases and My orange and grapefruit trees have lovely green shoots. I fearful for the lime tree. It has shoots from the rootstock only. Also the big oak tree near the house shows no sign of life.
Further afield recovery is in full swing. The paddocks are greener every day and many gum trees appear to have green mossy lumps that on closer examination turn out o be new leaves sprouting in bunches from the blackened trunks. The fern trees in the gully have new fonds already and less welcome , the backen and blackberries are coming back as well. Superb blue wrens follow us around and cockatoos come on raiding parties but we miss so many old bird friends. The gorgeous little fire tails that hung around the big shed are gone and I can only hope that the swallows migrated early. Where are the humming birds and the rosellas, the King parrots that came down to be sprayed with cool water when I shower hot chooks and the rest?
Friday, March 27, 2009
Life improves
24.3.09 At last we are back on the internet, at least in some form. Dale from Telstra re-connected our second landline yesterday and it runs dial up slowly in much the same way it worked before the fires. There have been other big gains too. Last Wednesday a wonderful company donated old demountable classrooms for homeless people in Steels Creek . We got one delivered and installed next to the site office. This is truly fantastic and I am now having fun planning how I can set it up as our home for the year or so it takes us to rebuild.
At present we have a spiders web of cables trailing across the ground from the builders pole. Our electrician has been over to look and thinks he can put up a better form of temporary power next week. Gary and Andrew have been hard at work knocking down and rebuilding walls at the old house site. The idea is to set up a toilet that taps into the existing septic tank pipes.
The toilet issue has been an increasing problem for me as more and more men turn up each day to work on the property and all hope of a private corner is lost. The big battle last week was to try and get the tennis club to leave the women’s toilet unlocked. This turned out to be a big ask but as the Shire has set them up as our local relief centre they intervened and at present if I drive 4 km down there a toilet is available.
I am now sat down in front of my new apple computer. It is very glossy and a bit over whelming but not so different to the old one in basics. At least I know how to start. I have a printer too but I have not set it up yet. Josh is giving me lessons on the use of memory sticks and plug in card readers. He is so far ahead of me in computer use that I can hardly follow him. The big idea is that now I am able to write a letter to our insurance company who are obviously playing for time and setting themselves up for a fight.
Everyone tells us that the RACV have been wonderful to deal with and have offered money for alternate accommodation up front and even given out checks easily. Our company now has a reputation for being much tougher. A horrible man came down from NSW and tried to tell everyone that their houses were over valued. At least with so many of us affected in the same area we can compare notes and share helpful advise.
At present we have a spiders web of cables trailing across the ground from the builders pole. Our electrician has been over to look and thinks he can put up a better form of temporary power next week. Gary and Andrew have been hard at work knocking down and rebuilding walls at the old house site. The idea is to set up a toilet that taps into the existing septic tank pipes.
The toilet issue has been an increasing problem for me as more and more men turn up each day to work on the property and all hope of a private corner is lost. The big battle last week was to try and get the tennis club to leave the women’s toilet unlocked. This turned out to be a big ask but as the Shire has set them up as our local relief centre they intervened and at present if I drive 4 km down there a toilet is available.
I am now sat down in front of my new apple computer. It is very glossy and a bit over whelming but not so different to the old one in basics. At least I know how to start. I have a printer too but I have not set it up yet. Josh is giving me lessons on the use of memory sticks and plug in card readers. He is so far ahead of me in computer use that I can hardly follow him. The big idea is that now I am able to write a letter to our insurance company who are obviously playing for time and setting themselves up for a fight.
Everyone tells us that the RACV have been wonderful to deal with and have offered money for alternate accommodation up front and even given out checks easily. Our company now has a reputation for being much tougher. A horrible man came down from NSW and tried to tell everyone that their houses were over valued. At least with so many of us affected in the same area we can compare notes and share helpful advise.
Shelter and a new river
17.3.2009 Tuesday.
Once again I am awake early in the morning and dying for a cup of tea. I really must buy an electric kettle next time I get near a shop. There has been lots of progress here. On Sunday Caroline , Mark and their friends arrived again for a working B and by the time they left the back of the old house was cleared, the septic and drainage pipes were exposed so that the burnt bits could be mended and the goats were all warm and dry in their new quarters in the poly house.
The latter was an enormous relief because on the day before we had had a violent rain storm and all the animals were left shivering under an inadequate tarpaulin. About lunchtime on Saturday it had started to rain very heavily. With in moments water was flowing everywhere in streams down the paddocks. Something strange seemed to be happening in the bottom gully so Edd and I braved the storm and walked down to investigate.
The scene that met our eyes was beyond belief. We literally had a New River charging through our property. It was not like any river I have ever seen before because the swirling waves were black and oily with all the ash washed down from the forest. Several wombats had escaped their burrows and were wandering along the waters edge in confusion wondering why their homes had disapeared (I know the feeling). We took photos ( no one would ever believe this unless we had some proof) and walked down the property following our “river”. At some points it was 100 feet across and was in such spate that anyone who had fallen in would have been washed away in a moment. I imagined our river joining similar run offs all down the valley and flooding and polluting the Yarra River all the way to Melbourne!
This apparently did not happen. I have no idea where our river went but in a couple of hours it had disappeared and left a flat new landscape that we would never have recognised as being on the property where we have lived for thirty years. Even then the weather had not finished with us. When we had fed the animals and milked the goats the red of the sun set sky was almost obliterated by a deep purple cloud. Then once again we heard a roaring sound similar to the noise the firestorm made. Edd kept asking, “What is that” but I rather hoped it was a jet plane, or several jet planes one after another. We soon found out because we were hit by a massive wind that almost blew me off my feet.
At this point we decided enough was enough and drove off to Yarra Glen for dinner at Bo’s place. Things looked about normal by the time we reached Yarra Glen and I began to wonder if we were living in a separate reality zone. Bo says of course we are and it is called a disaster zone and any one with any common sense would move out and find somewhere else to live, safer.
After the dramatic weekend it was a real blessing to get up on Monday and milk happy warm goats in a dry place. The guy about the temporary housing arrived to inspect the sites where people need housing. He has old school classrooms and he is giving them away, which suits us well. It may even come on Wednesday this week! With this good news I went off in high spirits for a massage at a local spa that my friend Beni had given me a voucher for. It was wonderful and after two hours of treatment I came out feeling well oiled and relaxed.
Back at camp Edd and josh had moved the caravan yet again to a new position next to the site office. We needed to move it so that we can make an outdoor run for the goats to get exercise and later hopefully go out to graze. This is not so far off now. All down the Steels Creek valley the paddocks are turning green after the rain. Heavy machinery is at work everywhere flattening the ruins of houses and cleaning up and the council have workers along the roads moving dangerous trees and other debris.
There have been lots of meetings and tonight Simon has been invited to a cabinet meeting that the state Government is convening locally. Bo’s restaurant has been booked as a venue and I assume other local places as well. Really everyone is trying hard to put things right and there is help available. It is disappointing not being able to accept all the wonderful things that are being offered but as yet we have no where to store anything much. I tried to store stuff when we camped out here when we first brought the property but I have learnt by experience that things like washing machines and sewing machines do not survive outside houses.
Once again I am awake early in the morning and dying for a cup of tea. I really must buy an electric kettle next time I get near a shop. There has been lots of progress here. On Sunday Caroline , Mark and their friends arrived again for a working B and by the time they left the back of the old house was cleared, the septic and drainage pipes were exposed so that the burnt bits could be mended and the goats were all warm and dry in their new quarters in the poly house.
The latter was an enormous relief because on the day before we had had a violent rain storm and all the animals were left shivering under an inadequate tarpaulin. About lunchtime on Saturday it had started to rain very heavily. With in moments water was flowing everywhere in streams down the paddocks. Something strange seemed to be happening in the bottom gully so Edd and I braved the storm and walked down to investigate.
The scene that met our eyes was beyond belief. We literally had a New River charging through our property. It was not like any river I have ever seen before because the swirling waves were black and oily with all the ash washed down from the forest. Several wombats had escaped their burrows and were wandering along the waters edge in confusion wondering why their homes had disapeared (I know the feeling). We took photos ( no one would ever believe this unless we had some proof) and walked down the property following our “river”. At some points it was 100 feet across and was in such spate that anyone who had fallen in would have been washed away in a moment. I imagined our river joining similar run offs all down the valley and flooding and polluting the Yarra River all the way to Melbourne!
This apparently did not happen. I have no idea where our river went but in a couple of hours it had disappeared and left a flat new landscape that we would never have recognised as being on the property where we have lived for thirty years. Even then the weather had not finished with us. When we had fed the animals and milked the goats the red of the sun set sky was almost obliterated by a deep purple cloud. Then once again we heard a roaring sound similar to the noise the firestorm made. Edd kept asking, “What is that” but I rather hoped it was a jet plane, or several jet planes one after another. We soon found out because we were hit by a massive wind that almost blew me off my feet.
At this point we decided enough was enough and drove off to Yarra Glen for dinner at Bo’s place. Things looked about normal by the time we reached Yarra Glen and I began to wonder if we were living in a separate reality zone. Bo says of course we are and it is called a disaster zone and any one with any common sense would move out and find somewhere else to live, safer.
After the dramatic weekend it was a real blessing to get up on Monday and milk happy warm goats in a dry place. The guy about the temporary housing arrived to inspect the sites where people need housing. He has old school classrooms and he is giving them away, which suits us well. It may even come on Wednesday this week! With this good news I went off in high spirits for a massage at a local spa that my friend Beni had given me a voucher for. It was wonderful and after two hours of treatment I came out feeling well oiled and relaxed.
Back at camp Edd and josh had moved the caravan yet again to a new position next to the site office. We needed to move it so that we can make an outdoor run for the goats to get exercise and later hopefully go out to graze. This is not so far off now. All down the Steels Creek valley the paddocks are turning green after the rain. Heavy machinery is at work everywhere flattening the ruins of houses and cleaning up and the council have workers along the roads moving dangerous trees and other debris.
There have been lots of meetings and tonight Simon has been invited to a cabinet meeting that the state Government is convening locally. Bo’s restaurant has been booked as a venue and I assume other local places as well. Really everyone is trying hard to put things right and there is help available. It is disappointing not being able to accept all the wonderful things that are being offered but as yet we have no where to store anything much. I tried to store stuff when we camped out here when we first brought the property but I have learnt by experience that things like washing machines and sewing machines do not survive outside houses.
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