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.