visiters from Hong Kong

8.3.2011 YES. INTERNET BACK WORKING AT LAST

BUILDING NEWS

The brick laying crew are going flat strap and the back wall is growing faster than the weeds. Today the lower half of the back wall was filled with concrete slurry and the next lot of iron bars secured into position. Various conduits for electricity and water pipes had to be put in at that stage which was challenging. I avoided the building site and gave the men a free go at expressing the necessary emotions and made cheese with my friend Lucy from Hong Kong.

5.3.20011 BUILDING NEWS

The bricklayers arrived yesterday at the usual unmentionable hour and started building walls! Edd worked with them to put in the special water proofing material and keep the slab edge clean. By the end of the day quite a large section of the back retaining wall was in place, Edd and I wrapped the top of the bricks with polythene to try and keep rain off the water proofing material. We had some help from Ollie who fetched clothes pegs to hold the plastic in place.

The drains behind the slab are taking a lot of work because they got filled with rain and we realised that the levels did not work too well. We have just about got them right now and just need to do some fine adjustment before the drains go in. We are totally exhausted.

OTHER NEWS

Today the sun has returned. The grey skies we have been having are so depressing it is a treat to be back with a normal autumn day. It was really cold when I left to go to market but now the sun is up and everything looks so much better.
The little goats have found a way to get out of their new paddock the dogs were a help getting them back in. I am surprised at Flynn who has shown an unexpected aptitude for stock work. Edd is now cleaning the fence line with a whipper snipper in the hope that once free of weeds the electricity will deter the kids from escaping.

In the garden I have been cutting out plants that have died and cleaning up the edges. Everything needs a big sort out now the weather is cooler. We have been too busy in the trenches to tackle the fence issue. This is a shame because we are not getting the winter vegetables planted, as we should be doing.

I have found some dead rabbits and suspect that myxo is around again. Our neighbour Andrew says the wet summer has encouraged mosquitoes and that has helped spread the disease. It sounds a good theory, lets hope he is right as we certainly need more rabbit control. The council helps, but not unless a group of neighbours all agree to work together and a whole section can be treated. Everyone is just swamped with other issues up our way so I do not want to add to their burdon.

3.3.2011 BUILDING NEWS.

The bricklayers did come today but only to check things out and leave equipment for an early start tomorrow. (Well, maybe). Edd was actually OK about this because he still has work to do on the drains. Today he is digging away the earth to the concrete slab and then knocking off the edge to the slit that John cut so that the slab has a perfect smooth edge to fix waterproofing onto.

We are waiting for Martin, a water proofing man who is due to look at things this afternoon. He knows about the use of the sealing materials and it would be really good to talk to him before we start the block work. The Internet has been off now over24 hours, which makes everything harder. We had a power surge yesterday morning and it has not worked since then.

OTHER NEWS

There were not enough tools or space to allow me to work with Edd in the trenches so I have been at work in the garden. The first pumpkins are ready to harvest and the agapanthas need deadheading. The biggest job was tackling the weeds. I had to cut back blackberries and thistles that have started on the bank with hand tools. I have the blisters to prove it!
At least we still have lots of food coming in. The cucumbers are fantastic on the bank and the basil seems to thrive in the wicking bed.


2.3.2011 BUILDING NEWS

No builders today. Edd and I worked in the trenches again. We dug them deeper at the end and gradually the muddy water drained out. At least we know now that they really do go down hill! Edd did an awful lot of digging to achieve this. I got totally covered in mud trying to clean out behind Edd until the water flowed. How could we manage with out gumboots?

Once the drainage trenches were fixed Edd got on Skiddy, (the mini digger) and relocated piles of earth and gravel so that the truck could dump the sand we had delivered up close to the slab. In theory the brick layers come and start work tomorrow, so none of this could wait.
As the sun went down we were both back in the trenches with a water jet borrowed from neighbours cleaning off the ledge the blocks are to be built on. It was caked with mud and other debris but it cleaned off reasonably easily.

OTHER NEWS

Whilst Edd worked on Skiddy I got on the ride on mower (known as the yellow peril) and got the grass under control. It is worth doing this because it limits the area where blackberries, thistles and other weeds can take over. Unfortunately we left some of the fire debris in piles and wherever we did this we have nightmare thickets springing up that are impossible to manage.

It is not even possible to let the goats in and get some help from them because the relevant fences are still not replaced. This year we with the continuous rain there is more grass than our stock can eat. I have not even had time to walk through our bush areas and see what is happening there. The saplings are over two meters high already so there will be lots of changes.

With the sudden drop in temperature and all the wet weather the milk yield has taken a dive. It is a good thing the kids will come off milk at the end of the month. Time is going so fast, the hour will change soon too and we will be back into dark evenings. Bo and family chose a good week to be away. They arrived home yesterday having had a sunny beach holiday in Byron bay. They did ask if I wanted to go with them but I don’t want to leave Edd alone with all this work.

As dark was falling we arrived back at the sheds to discover that the young goats had managed to pull down a large number of hay bales into their bedroom. In fact they were very lucky not to be trapped under the pile. There was no way Edd or I had any energy left to restack the hay so the little goats had top be moved into the front area with their mothers. They get a separate room there but they have forced us into starting their entry into the herd sooner than we hoped.