what a difference a week makes

25.11.2012

  

The school kids all went home on Friday and the farm felt rather deserted.  In the evenings when I shut up the chickens I passed everyone sat round a campfire in the ruins telling stories and roasting marsh mallows. It was just wonderful to have all that young life around. The kids also did a fantastic job cleaning up the old patio beside our new shelter shed.  There was such a mass of weeds growing there that it was impossible to see the brick paths or even the ponds. Amazingly the two orange trees had survived and when they were rescued from the surrounding undergrowth they looked surprisingly healthy!

Now we are back again to doing all our own farm work. Edd really enjoyed the rest from taking the dogs for their walks and I appreciated the help with the milking. Today we worked back in the garden and set up the pumpkin bed. It is looking so good down there that we felt inspired to do more. The other two new beds are planted out with summer vegetables and the old raised bed is giving us a bumper crop of snow peas. Best of all the basil is growing well and I can look forward to pesto again.

The festive season has also started. Last night Erin and JB put on an enormous party for neighbours and friends as a thank you for help given when their house burnt down. They are now living in their new home and describe life as settling down to a new normal. They really put on a treat for everyone with lots of fantastic food and wine. It was great to catch up with everyone again. We have been so busy this last month that I don’t feel I have had time to talk to anyone.

On Friday evening we went to India’s school party at a winery in Seville. It all went off with out a hitch but the food supplied was pretty ordinary. I was so tired that I came home early to do all the animals and Bo gave Edd a lift home later on. This event rounded off India’s school days. She has done all the work and now she will get a job and wait until she gets her university applications results. She intends to work until she has independent status so that she can get a study allowance.

It cost a lot of money to get a university qualification now. The students can take out a loan to pay for the course expenses but they also have to fund living as well and it can be hard to get a job that gives enough income to do this and study at the same time. If India earns enough next year she will get a small study allowance that will make things easier. 

A big step forward

19.11.2012

It is a beautiful day with clear blue skies. The Montessori school kids have arrived and set up there camp around the ruins. The kids have been rescuing the tadpoles trapped in the swimming pool and learning to row a boat on the dam. So far it is all really relaxing and a big change from all the frantic work we did over the last two weeks to get the place ready.

Stevo came back and stayed in the donga with Chrisco who worked with him. They achieved miracles and we now have a fully functioning dog yard and shelter shed. The dogs have a very flash fully insulated kennel where they can shelter, but so far they seem to prefer the spot they have excavated for themselves underneath the kennel. It is so good to see them enjoying being free to dig and rest under trees rather than be shut up in the house all day.

David H helped me get the two new raised beds ready for planting out summer vegetables, and I cooked for everyone and cleared up after them. It took a huge effort from everyone but we got everything ready yesterday and were able to entertain our local permaculture group who came for a site visit to inspect the new fire safe building and the other structures we have spent the last four years putting in place.

The school camp is a big step for us because they are the first group we have had actually staying here since the fires. We did not feel at already but the date came around and we just had to rise to the occasion. Everything seems to have worked out well but we were very lucky with the weather that stayed dry all last week and made all the building possible.

I have saved an area on the bank beside the ruins that the kids can clean up as an exercise. At present they just seem to be enjoying looking at animals wild and domestic. Three large black yellow tail cockatoos obligingly came to visit us at lunchtime so the bird spotters amongst the group are off to a good start.

We are a bit worried about Josh who was possibly on the gold coast when the big storms struck this weekend. He had a conference up there and we are not sure when he was due to fly back to Perth. Earlier in the week he took time off and went up near Cairns to watch the solar eclipse. He said it was amazing. Indiga did the presentation for her school assignments this weekend and has now gone off for a job interview. We have her finally party next weekends and then her school days are formally over! My first grown up grandchild! How fast time goes.

life goes on

30.10.2012

We have had the first hot days of the summer this week. It is really, really, nice after months of grey skies. Edd has started to build a dog yard. We do not have a back garden that the dogs can play in safely so we need to make the equivalent of this for them. After weeks of arguing we have finally agreed on a site behind the donga. The dogs can see us from there when we do the milking or work in the farmyard and they can also see the front gate and the new house. The area has big established trees and bushes so it has lots of shade and shelter.

Luckily Skiddy is back so Edd could drive him and pick up piles of earth to fill in the water pipe trenches that run through the space. Next Edd took out all the old fencing and some big tree roots and now he is measuring up for the new fence. We have decided on black chain link because it is tall enough and looks good. The dogs cannot break through it either. At present we take the dogs through the paddocks for a run three times a day and they spend the rest of the time on the veranda of the donga. At night they sleep in the shower, which is not very convenient. We will build them an insulated kennel in the new yard so they have shelter when the weather is bad.

Whilst Edd is working on the dog yard I have been tackling the garden. I totally neglected it last year because I was too busy building. I am gradually moving all the weeds out of the beds and getting things under control. Today I planted two new kiwi fruit. I have one kiwi that is growing really well but I do not know if it is the male or the female plant! To be save I have planted another matched pair.

If we are lucky Steve will come back next week and help us with some of the things that need carpentry work. I want a shelter shed in the ruins and we need a frame building for the laundry area in the breezeway of the dairy. He might frame up a dog kennel too if I am lucky. The house inspectors are now giving us an occupancy certificate but we have to complete the shower in 90 days. This might be just the boost we need to tackle that problem. After the dog accommodation and shelter shed, that is.

Edd’s Uncle Percy has died in the UK. He was in his 80’s and had been ill for a long time so everyone was expecting him to leave. Edd spent a lot of his childhood helping Percy and learning about farm work so Edd has happy memories of him. Al has been busy designing a family tree on AutoCAD. It is absolutely massive, about three metres long if it was printed out but on the computer it appears really small and you have to zoom in to read the names. It goes back to 1500 and something and fits in all the family we know about.

Bo is recording some of the songs she has written this week. She now has a manager in the restaurant so she does not have to be there all the time and can spend evenings with Simon and the kids. This is a big improvement as she was doing far to many hours before. We had a party at her house on Sunday for Simon’s birthday. I took lots of goat’s cheese and Simons mother made the cake. Bo made beautiful salads but the nibbles were so good I was full up even before the main course.