End of an Era

October 8 2013-10-08

This is the final chapter in my family story that covers the years after the 2009 bush fires. It is time to talk about the point we are now at and then move on. Edd and I are very happy with our new cave style home. It stays a very constant temperature and is small enough to be cosy and has spaces large enough for big parties. Edd is now making the internal doors from thick recycled Oregon. I have made the front hall into a workroom and am sewing the massive curtains for the windows. The idea is that they help damp down sound as well as provide privacy.

Josh has almost completed his intern year in Audiology in Albany. We phoned him a couple of weekends ago and he was quite thrown off balance because at that stage he was equal first in a new audiologist competition for Australia. Josh hates fuss and even refuses to celebrate his own birthday so he was horrified at the implications of winning anything. He never went to his own graduation ceremonies so you can see what he is like. On the other hand his boss was keen fort him to win and Josh was worried he would get stick if he failed to do well. It was better when he never knew that there was a competition!

Wayne has had a new romance but we fear it is not going well. We did get to meet the girl this time so this was a serious relationship. He has also had a problem moving house and got very depressed for a while. His job seems stable so at least that is a blessing. He even played football again and all his mates love him for that.

Bo is very busy at her restaurant which has a very good name and she is also writing and recording songs. This is her real passion. She seems to have regular singing engagements at weddings concerts and other events so altogether she is usually flat out. Her kids have moved to the Lutheran school and she is much happier about how their education is going now. Simon is keeping fit and even has a personal trainer. As far as we can make out the brewing business is going very well. Edd is off down there now to pick up more of the used barley to feed our stock.

Al has had a stormy year but he is now happier. His broken neck healed well and he is still working to make his tiny home more house like. The big news is that he and Pia are planning to get married next March, possibly at our farm so we have a big event to look forward to next year. India has nearly completed her training year up in the bush and will be back here at Xmas time. She visits us and phones regularly so we never feel out of touch.

Arden has turned a real corner and is working well at school.  His marks have sky rocketed and he is aiming to go on to university. Ti has had his first year at High school too. He is getting taller by the day and has just turned into a teenager. I took all the grandsons to a film in the school holidays but he sat with his own friends at one side of the cinema and the rest of us were in a group at the back.

On the farm we are really into spring. We have three lambs and the goat Mellissa looks about to kid any moment. Edd is putting out posts ready to be banged in for the next stay of refencing. The vegetables are growing at an amazing rate. We have lettuces galore, beetroot, broad beans, kale, silver beat, spinach and I planted out the first tomatoes today. The chooks are also laying well and Edd has returned to the market and did sold a lot of produce last week.

Our friend Beni is getting ready to move into the new house she has brought at the end of the month. A few weeks ago she seemed to be avoiding us but she later told me she was getting her head around the thought of living alone and away from other people. I was worried I had offended her! She has been a great help this year and has always been willing to feed animals if we are stuck. We will really miss having her around.

September 23 2013

We have had a great weekend; lots of visitors and grandkids all in laughing mode. It is just what we needed.  The paulownias trees are in flower and look spectacular with the bight purple of the native mint and the blue rosemary bushes. The warm wet weather has been great for the vegetables and even the lettuces are ready to eat. Some tomatoes have self-seeded, but how do I know what variety they are? The cherry types usually grow like weeds but I would love some of the large peri form type that was so delicious last year.

worries about Mum

September 6 2013

I am upset about being cut off from contact with my mother now that she is in a nursing home. No one is reading the letters I write to her and phone access is difficult as there is a shared line available to residents that cuts out after a few minutes and is bugged by interruptions. When my mother was in her old house I phoned her for a long talk every weekend and wrote her a long letter with photos once a month. Liz would read her the letters and Olivier would read her extracts from my blog. I do not think Mum is seeing these people so much now. I have started a new blog just in case Olivia is willing to pass on news.

There is not much I can do to help my elderly relatives in the UK but they have all said that they enjoy my letters and blog and they beg me to keep on writing and excuse them for being unable to reply.  I am wondering if I could learn how to read my own letters onto a CD and send that over. Al is also frustrated with the restrictions in communication and he is planning to send over a jar of marmalade. I suppose we are all searching for ways to let my mother know that we have not forgotten her.

Actually we did get a brief telephone conversation this week. It was difficult to hear anything but Mum said that at last a doctor has found a painkiller that has helped. She describes it as an epilepsy drug and on the Internet I have discovered that anti convulsant drugs can help stroke victims with pain and are relatively safe. She says now that she is in less pain she can sleep better and has more energy to try and sort out problems with her new life style. She wants me to ring Beatrix to check that the phone problem is being sorted. I am fighting an infection this week and have a fever and sore throat so I have not tackled this yet. I find my sister is very defensive and I have to be careful how I say things; I certainly don’t mean to sound unappreciative of her efforts.

Tomorrow we have an election and the general feeling is that the Abbott government will get in. I am sad about this because I think the Rudd government did a good job of managing the economy over difficult times. I will never forget that Howard committed this county into the war with Iraq without Parliament of the peoples backing. With the trouble in Syria very careful diplomacy is necessary. I fail to see how military intervention can help the people there be any safer.

On a happier not the rug we ordered in Turkey has arrived and it looks great in Edd’s room. I always worry when I have to guess the size and colour needed but in this case everything worked out OK.

LAST DAYS OF WINTER

Aug 29 2013

Last night we gathered at Bo’s place to celebrate Wayne’s birthday. The green-eyed monsters have changed a lot recently and were extremely civilised. Morgan played his ukulele and sang a song perfectly, which impressed us all. The boys are now at a new school and already Morgan is a different kid. Beth has him on a zero dairy and low gluten diet and she thinks that is really helping.

The sad thing was that Wayne looked so down. He has just helped his team get into the footy finals and is off on holiday next week but his life is bounding out of control again. He is cleaning out his last apartment but the guy he shared with will not come and move his stuff, his new house mate has an alcohol problem and his girl friend has reorganised his holiday into something he has no control over.

We just wish he would ask for help. Bo and I could have easily gone and cleaned out the old place for him. We all need help, but with a big group of us we usually cope.

Today Stevo came and helped Edd put up the doors Edd has made. It took ages because they are made of heavy recycled Oregon but they look great now they are up and replacing the cloth we had stapled up. 

There was a drying wind so I went out on the mower and cut down all the cape weed that takes over from grass at this time of year. If I keep it under control the grass grows and gets dominance soon.

I have also started cleaning up in the garden. It always amazes me how much dead and weedy growth there is to be moved every year.

Al engaged, Ollie 9

Aug 19 2013

It is pretty cold today, but not freezing. There has been enough rain now to fill all the dams to overflowing and the daffodils and jonquils are in full bloom. Edd and I make use of any dry days and work at cleaning up the builders’ mess by the front entrance. The idea is to get the new fences up and plant trees before summer arrives.

I think we have found a good retirement home for Dot. She is a large ginger coloured goat who is now about ten years old. So far she is holding her own in the herd and looking good but she would probably not cope with another winter under these conditions and certainly not if she got pregnant. I thought she was too old to re-home but a friend is happy to take her as an addition to her animals and provide the necessary level of pampering. This is a great relief. I do not feel justified in keeping unproductive animals but Dot has earner her place for so long that I would not feel good at just letting her be pushed aside by the younger, fitter herd members.

Edd has now completed the tree week’s full time relief teaching he agreed to do and starts work tomorrow doing one day a week maths coaching. His finger is still strapped up but he has been able to do a lot more on the farm recently. Today we brought second hand fencing panels so that we can use them to replace the gates that are currently being used for goat yards. We need the gates to put in the new paddocks as they get fenced off.

We are fencing off a corner by the road between us and our new neighbour in the James’ place. Then we can hopefully put up a screen of trees before he starts on building a house and maintain our own privacy. Also in the fenced off section I plan to plant stone pines. I have not found many for sale but I have some seeds that I am hoping I can grow trees from. There is so much to do that I have not started on this project yet.

Last week Ollie had his ninth Birthday celebration at Bo’s place and the family gathered to wish him well. Al was very sad that his two boys did not come but Pi made a special effort to drop in on her way back from work. The big news is that she and Al are now engaged but they have not made any wedding plans yet.

Amy comes to stay

July 31 2013-

Al and Pi came to tea here yesterday and spent the night hear so that they could leave early in the morning. We get to look after Amy, the great dane puppy, whilst they are away for a week in Alice Springs. I am envious of them. I have such happy memories of living and working in the desert. We have given them addresses for our aboriginal friends and hope they will get to see them. I worry because so many of the people I worked with have since died. It was very much third world conditions and life is often short.

I spent most of the morning trying to catch Amy who barked and ran away every time she saw me. Last week Al held her whilst I took the stitches out of her foot and I don’t think she has forgiven me yet. I failed to get anywhere near her but I have shut all the gates to our house site and if we can keep her enclosed here she should not come to any harm. The hardest bit is getting our dogs out past her.

Al and Pi left very early and Edd got off to work. I started the farm work about 8.30 and there was still thick frost on the ground, and thick mist. The sun came out ,the dam and the cows started to steam and the mist lifted making it a nice morning to work out side. We are really low on hay and it costs a fortune at this time of year. We will have to get some this week end what ever the cost because the animals need it to keep warm.

My job for the day was to buy the tiles I found last week. I bargained for them and reduced the price considerably. Now I have to get them out of my car from where we stacked them in the back. I should have enough to put a skirting on all the house walls that need one. I also got two more tiles for the toilet so I have enough for that job too.

Yesterday we ate brocholi and cabbage as vegetables. It will have to be rocket today I think. I brought a punnet of Pak choi seedlings and planted that out so that we have more greens coming on. So far the snow pea seedlings have escaped slug damage but I should throw a few coffee grounds round them to give them a helping hand.

July back on the farm

July 30m 2013-07-30

I am working on the accounts. There is quite a bit to do before they can go to the accountant, but I am gradually making headway. I cannot get restarted on my tiling work yet because I need either Edd or Steve to put up the doorframe and architrave so I can work up to an edge. Edd cannot do anything much with his bad hand and he is working full time teaching anyway. Steve has a first grandchild and that has kept him away. Or else he is waiting for Edd, either way my tiling is at a halt.

Today the new chooks started laying. I heard them cackling while I did the milking and when I looked there were eggs. The old chooks produce an occasional egg too, spring must be coming. The other signs are the buds swelling on the mulberry trees and the flowers on the wattle and tagasaste trees. The daffodils are close to opening too.

On the down side we are very low in hay. Edd and I drove towards Bacchus March and brought a ton of oats on Saturday. On Sunday Al came over and helped unload the oats into the old beer vats we use as bins and also got us in more fire wood, Edd picked up another load of off cuts at the bakery last week so we are well stocked in that regard. Yesterday with the sun shining it was mid twenties with out any fire in the house.

I found the latest power bill and was pleased to see that even in winter we are producing more than we use in electricity. The costs here are the rates and the insurance, which just keep going up. I am so glad we got this house built straight after the fires. The new council has got even more strict on building rules and now Craig and Eva find that they are stuck in the middle of a build unable to continue in a similar position to Brian and Lynne.

 It was really due to Al’s help that we got going so soon. We were as shell shocked as everyone else and would be in the same mess now without his help. I feel a bit of a failure over my efforts to get help for my neighbours last year. Down this road Craig and Eva, Brian and Lynn, Lyne James, Steve, Dave and Sally, Judy and Andrew, JB and Erin, the sharps and us lost houses and only the last three and us are now in proper houses. Lin died when her house burnt and the new people who brought the land have not rebuilt yet, two families left to live elsewhere and the Pierces and Montells did not loose their houses. Not really a good success rate for one road full of people.

July 26 2013

I have given up writing all our adventures when we were away because I need to record events here. We got safely back from our travels and found that Bo, Pi Al and Bennie had kept everything in very good order here. The animals were all fit, though the horses had lost some weight. All in all everything was great.

Edd put an end to the peace by getting a finger caught in a calf bucket and having to go to hospital for two days to have it fixed! He now has a small cast on the finger, which is pinned back together, and he is teaching full time at Healesville High School to fill in for a staff member who is away for three weeks. Time goes so fast he has done one week already!

Last weekend we had a party here for Pi, Al and Bo, who all have July birthdays. Bo suggested a bonfire and BBQ, which was a bit dicy given the weather. Rather to my surprise it stayed fine on Sunday night and all this was possible. There seemed a lot of new faces. Pia introduced us to friends, aunts and uncles as well as bringing her parents, and India brought Woolangarra friends.

Wayne came with is new girl friend Danielle, so that was another new face. Bo only showed up at the end, which was sad as she missed her birthday cake and my first ever water melon carving. Everyone ate a lot including almost a whole round of hard goats cheese. Despite this there was food left over and Edd and I have lived off left over’s all week.

India and Erik took the horses up the track into the forest for a few days camping. Again she was lucky with the weather and at least the first and last days were sunny.

polluted seas

This time the sat nav decided to take us down a mountain side. This was marginally better than climbing up one but this time the road was only wide enough for one car and we seemed likely to end up in someone’s olive grove. At the base of the hill was the hotel and mercifully this one had lifts and our room had a balcony we cold use to dry clothes on. All this was good as we had a three day stop here to have a rest.

That evening we walked down to the beach but it was a big disappointment. The sand was perfect, the sea was warm but the pollution completely spoilt everything. People were at work trying to keep the beach clean but more plastic rubbish washed in with every wave and the task was impossible. We booked to go out on a boat to the Tremiti Islands next day which were far enough from the coast to avoid the problem.

san Marino to gargano

San Marino

I was now starting to worry but I got even more worried when we saw a sign labelled ”cable car”, I had not bargained on anything like that. Luckily before I totally lost the plot we saw a board with an arrow and the hotel name on it. Just in time too. The cable car was the next step on the climb!

The hotel was in an old building perched at the side of a cobbled square. The mountainside was so steep that the square was divided into two levels but it still left room for some cars to park. The hotel had a sort of added on dining room at the entrance made with glass doors that could be rolled back to make a more outdoor space. In side an old door led to a stone staircase, and more lugging of heavy cases.

Our room looked out onto the square through one window and the town clock through the other. The clock chimed ever quarter hour but luckily someone had the sense to turn it off at night. There was even a bar made who spoke English and a cellar dining room carved deep into the rock. The inner dining room had massive old beaams holding up a low ceiling and we chose to eat there.

By this time we had learnt that we were not actually in Italy any more but in the tiny republic of San Marino. The sat nav had actually tried briefly to suggest this too us but we had ignored it on the grounds it was being stupid! We all live and learn. Anyway the food and the wine was delicious and the Republic turned out a very good choice of places to be.

I woke early next morning and went for a walk up the tiny cobbled streets. There were already men out sweeping the streets with ordinary house hold brushes and there were pots of flowers everywhere so it looked totally charming. I was amused to se that the zebra crossing was made with white and black cobble stones to contrast with the usual grey ones.

Edd woke for a brief breakfast and we were back on the road again. Today we were to head for the Gargano peninsula where we had booked a beach side hotel. Luckily the firther we went south the lighter the traffic got and driving became much less nerve wracking. It also got warmer and we were now settled in summer mode.

Travelling down Italy

Travelling around Italy

On Monday we had to go to the airport and find the car we had booked over the internet. Rather to our surprise it was all waiting for us with no drama at all. It even had a built in satnav which we decided was an essential if we wanted to avoid the sort of problem we had on entering Lyon.

Getting into the car was easy but we had to launch straight off onto the Italian Autobarns, and we had already had one experience of Italian driving to make us wary. Luckily Edd quite likes this sort of challenge. It certainly prevents you worrying about anything other than the moment at hand!

We had booked for the night at a place Edd found called San Marino so we had about four hours driving to get through. The traffic was heavy but our car was young and strong. After a bit I could relax enough to look at the scenery. The sat nav had no instructions with it so the first few days we just had to experiment until we had worked it out.

Mostly I noticed the oleanda. Everywhere down the sides of the roads it was planted in endless banks of all shades of pink. Beyond it we could see land being lived in and farmed but there were no ox carts in sight now-a-days. Modern machinery seemed to have totally taken over and there was almost no-one to be seen working the land.

Every country house seemed to have at least ten olive trees, all pruned back to low height and once I saw a grove of stone pines which interested me because I am planning to plant more on our farm. We found some unexpectedly good food for lunch at a motorway café or Auto grille as they are called and then the interesting bit came when we had to leave the autobarn and look for the hotel we had booked into.

It did not matter what we did the sat nav in the car would not accept the hotel address. This left us back to basics again but as San Marino was signed up we just followed the signs and kept going. The streets got progressively narrower and it started to rain but the signs kept coming and we kept going…mostly up as we had begun a mountain climb.

Milan

It did give us an extra day in Milan so we set off next morning to look for the cathedral. Trams looked too hard so we tried the under ground. This worked well but first we had to work out how to use the machines that sold tickets. Next we had to work out where to get off. Our first try was central station as it sounded right. It was a good mistake as central station has to be seen to be believed. It is pretty much a rival for most cathedrals I have seen except that the statues were of Romans or greek gods rather than holy images. Everything else was well in line. It was massively tall with a central room police cars and ambulances could drive through and it had other equally large sumptuous spaces.

We just stayed and gauped for ages but eventually we went outside. The building was just as impressive on the exterior but seemed to be located no where particular. We were obviously in the wrong place for anything except trains. Our next stop above ground got us to what was obviously the right place. A huge square was bordered by magnificent old buildings. We decided to explore the cathedral.

This turned out to be a good move. It was Sunday and services were running but anyone could walk around or join in. There was a choir and Bach on the organ so we were enthrawled. The music was magnificent and what with various church dignitaries in full robes it was quite a show. After the choir left we had a girl singing solo parts so we just settled down to a musical morning which we thoroughly enjoyed. Edd was thrilled that he coud be part of something so archaic.

When the show was over we drifted along with other tourist who were heading for the shops. We were not interesting in buying anything but it was interesting to look and we soon found a busker with a guitar singing one of Edd’s favourite songs so we joined his audience and had a musical afternoon too. We walked back to the hotel and got a good look at the city.

Lyon to Milan

Lyon to Milan

By next day we had found out how, and brought train tickets so we had to go back to the airport again as the trains left from there. We wished we had known this earlier! The train was a rather dodgy one and our seats did not appeal. We would have to sit backwards in a tiny space with no leg room as the people already in the train had comandeared any available space and then fallen asleep.

Luckily there were fold down seats in the joint between the carriages and we quickly decided that these looked a better option than those we had paid for. There were four seats and only one other person, a young middle eastern looking guy wanted one so that worked out OK. Our fellow traveller did not speak much English and I am not sure he had much French either. When the ticket inspector came round checking he had no tickets or paper work like a passport. This made the inspectors job harder. No one worries at all if you have a passport when going between France and Italy but you are expected to pay for a ticket. The train was well on it’s way by this time so the young man was left in peace eventually.

It occurred to me how suspicious we are in Australia. Here he would have immediately been classified as a suspected terrorist and all hell would have broken out. As it was he was more worried than anyone else except his four mates. At every stop they leapt off the train to try and quell their nerves with cigarretes!

After that all went well. The train wound between snow covered mountains and dived into short tunnels when there was no pass. Fast flowing rivers ran down passed us literally boiling with ice cold turquoise water. Eventually we went through a fairly long tunnel and came to a halt at a small station in Italy. This turned into a long halt, apparently the train had two engines and one had broken down in an unfixable way.

Our little team of potential terrorists needed a lot of smokes to cope with this one. We also became aware of another group of fellow travellers. This group consisted of twenty or so adults mostly our age and a younger very aggetated tour guide who were on a “worlds great train ride tour”. They had a connection to make to get to Venice and she could see the likelihood of this happening slipping away.

Luckily she spoke Italian so she became the messenger for our section of the train. Apparently phone calls had been made to authorities in Paris and the train had been told that it was not allowed to continue with just one engine. The delay continued but at least everyone got a great photo opportunity as we were surrounded by snow covered peaks having only just crossed over the water shed.

I am not sure how the matter was resolved but a decision was made and everyone ordered back aboard so that we could limp slowly down the mountain to Turin. Here the train came to rest and here it stayed. All the passengers were turfed out and directed over an obsticle course consisting of numerous sets of stairs, bridges, and other surfaces totally unsuitable for large suit cases. We were in a bad position because we had very heavy luggage. 20 + kilo in each large suitcase and hand luggage not much lighter! I was slightly better off than Edd because various Italian men took pity on me and helped me with my cases but Edd had to do it alone.

We were extremely relieved to see three large modern looking coaches waiting for us. The tour guide lady was less impressed. She found out that we were being taken to the station in Milan that we would have reached if the train had not broken down. This did not suit her group at all because their next train left from a totally different station and they no chance of getting to it unless they were taken straight there. No-one listened to her pleas so I do not know what happened to them but more on central station later.

The coach drivers gave us a rather worrying introduction to Italian driving. With in seconds of setting off our driver had ignored two stop signs, and every speed limit and was talking rapidly to some one on his mobile phone. At one point he had two phones operating which left him no hands on the wheel at all , but I suppose he used his knees!

It was not much fun being dumped in the middle of a busy street once again with heavy cases to lug about so we quickly decided on a taxi and were conveyed to the hotel we had arranged in relative ease. I just hope all the other passengers had a similar happy ending.

Once in the hotel we had time to get sorted. Josh’s computer was becoming extremely useful. We had discovered a web site called bookings.com where you could book ahead on line with car hire and hotels. The hotels now all have free wireless connection so we could get on line, check our mail and bank accounts and book ahead with absolute easy. In fact it all seemed a bit too easy and we began to wonder if it was too good to be true. We had booked a car to drive in Italy at a fraction of the cost we had hired the French one for. We did discover that we had been making one fundemental mistake. Josh’s computer showed the date and day in Australia, and we were in Italy and had not actually got to that day yet! On the plus side this meant we were a day ahead of schedule rather than a day behind so it did not really matter once we had worked it out.

We have been sleeping in far too long as we begin to relax after our long time away.

Yesterday Al came over to get himself firewood. (We have enough dead trees around to supply all the family for years, which is positive). It was Bo’s birthday so we went over to her house after dark and had a drink and chocolate cake with her family. Al had Til with him but Pia was working and Arden is doing his own thing. Bo’s kids were all there so we were quite a big group with out the rest.

Our plan is to have a joint birthday party for Al, Pia and Bo at our place next Sunday. We are trying to purswade Wayne to bring his new girl friend but he is not sure he is ready to do that yet. They are still together, which is something. I just wish Josh was living closer as well. I worry about him being isolated so far away.

England to France

Edd and I had a great journey home. We crossed the channel with Jennie and were met at Canns by Richard in the campervan. He drove us to the cottage they have made from an old barn. We stayed there for two days and they took us to local points of interest. There were two local chateaus a roman ampitheatre and various markets where we brought cheese, bread and other goodies to make picnics.

Luckily it stayed dry and mild so we could do this easily. I loved looking at the kitchen gardens, which were all very well maintained and full of food. One garden had apple trees pruned to make a low hedge, which is an idea I would like to copy here. We knew most of the crops and herbs but one plant defeated us all. I took a photo so I hope some one will tell me what it is.

Richard and Jennie had arranged to meet friends by the beach in the south of France so we travelled with them most of the way. We stopped the night near Chenonceau at a very small chateau where we could stay in a room and Jennie and Richard could be in their campervan just outside.

That evening we all had a meal together in the Chateau. It was absolutely fantastic. The food and the wine was all perfect as was the setting. In between courses we were brought plates of tiny treats and everything just flowed so that it made a very special evening. Next day we went round the chateau of Chenonceau. Here there were lots of other tourists but it did not matter because the place was so big.

The gardens were all very formal and manicured to an impossibly perfect degree. Inside the chateau things had mellowed. The patterened surface of the floor tiles had worn off but the clay underneath the glaze looked good as it was. The place had been restored and furnished so it was very easy to imagine living in the rooms. They were all very spacious but beautifully proportioned so that I think it would have been very comfortable to live there.

The colours were lovely too. The building was made of light coloured stone and most of the floors were terracotta tiles so it was like our house. It differed in having all the walls adorned with massive tapestries or painted designs and the drapes on the four poster beds were fantastic. I suppose it was done for royalty so they got the best available!

We soon had to leave our friends and hire a car to drive to the train that leaves from Lyon. It was a bit scary starting off in a car we did not know on the other side of the road with out a map but Edd managed very well with me as pilot. The days drive was through quite hilly country and interesting but windy. I still feel car sick in these conditions so I was glad when we got to Lyon.

We wanted to buy a map of the town so we followed signs that told us where we could find tourist information. We soon worked out we were being sent round in circles so on the third lap having found no where to park we gave up and headed out of town up a steep hill. Once we had started this it was impossible to turn round so we were forced up and up. Eventual we reached a place called St.Just with a car park and at last we could get going on foot. Luckily a nearby shop sold maps and we had enough money on our mobile phone to book into a hotel for the night. It was in a strategic place just where two large rivers met too, so we could find it fairly easily. It was a great relief to know we had somewhere to sleep and get organised from.

Next day we took the car back to the hire people who were located at the airport and came back into lyon on a train. I was very impressed because the railway was through a lawn once the train got into town. In fact people seemed to walk across the lawn and train tracks if they felt the need. There were flowers and shrubs to border the Lawn too so it all made a garden for the blocks of flats at either side. Once the train got into town the grass was relaced with cobbles but it still looked very nice and easy to clean.

We spent the rest of the day exploring Lyon. The rivers give the town a look like London by the Thames but it is much cleaner lighter and spacious. The only jarring note was a rusty old ship moored to the bank that had a notice stating it was a genuine Australian bar! It had a plastic crocodile biting a plastic surf board to prove it and it looked as run down and dirty as a bar in an out back town. We did not go in and felt it rather let our side down!

We were more interested in two smartly dressed young girls with what I suppose must have been ferrets on leads. These creatures had not adapted well to being walked so were actually dragged along. The girls also had boxes like handbags that I think must be for scooping their pets into when they needed to make any forward progress.

Goats in season

April 8 2013

I start every morning by walking the dogs up through the east paddocks and taking feed to the cows. The dogs chase each other through the ti-tree thickets and swim in the dams, and I enjoy the view of the surrounding hills. Every morning is different. This week the fires lit to burn off undergrowth in the forests are making everything hazy, but as the sun shines through all sorts of unusual colours appear.

The eucalypts were affected by the very dry weather this year and through out the bush the rust coloured leaves of the dead ones can be seen. Many saplings sprouted after the fires and it is probably natural selection allowing only the toughest to survive. Dead trunks still dominate the far horizon but the closer hills once again have a canopy of leaves. The scenery is looking much less traumatised now.

Finally the first goats have come into season and there is a lot of complaining in the form of loud bleating when we do not take them straight to the buck. I like the goats mated every second year so that we always have milkers over winter and the goats get a chance to recover and pick up condition. The goats, obviously, have other ideas and spend all day to trying to work out how to thwart my plans.

It is pretty noisy around the shed anyway because this week Stevo and Chrisco are putting up the corrugated iron on the walls. Last week they made a wood frame to nail onto, and this week it all gets filled in. I hope the goats appreciate the extra protection they will get from the wind and weather this year. It is still fine and warm enough to dry barley outside on a tarp but it could change soon.

Edd has gone off with the ute to fetch a ton of oats to use as winter goat feed and I have had a permaculture group here for a property tour. This time there were only four students, which was great. They were a lovely bunch of ladies and we had a really fun morning. Some great stories came out and they arrived with heaps of food for lunch. There was so much that we had enough for us, the builders and then some left over! It was really delicious food too.

At the weekend I employed Ti, who was over on a visit, to cut off all the dead heads on the agapanthus that were going to seed. I love their big blue flowers. They cope and look good in the hardest of conditions, but they are officially a weed, so we need to make sure that they do not spread, especially if we have permaculture groups coming!

Easter with family

March 31 2013

Easter Sunday. We started the day with a family gathering. Bo’s kids ran round the new and old house sites searching for the Easter eggs that I had hidden before they came. Meanwhile we adults cooked a very sumptuous breakfast. Home made bread, fresh eggs, tomatoes, zucchinis and mushrooms from the market plus the luxury of bacon tasted really good. After the meal we all went for a walk round the farm.

Al had his new puppy, Amy, with him. She surprised us all when Ollie walked across a tree that we had placed over the gully and the puppy followed him. If I had not seen this I would not have believed it. Amy is a very young Great Dane and none of us guessed that she would have the intelligence or co-ordination for such a feat.

We pushed our way through the over grown gully at the lowest point on our land and walked up bone hill. Silkie seemed to take the climb in her stride and Al went to the place where he had planted iron bark trees before the fires. Amazingly, several trees have survived and some are now quite tall. From the top of the hill we could look down on our house site. The ruins are nearly hidden by the trees round them and even the new house seems to be settling in.

It is a strange year. The weather is now more normal for the time of year but the jacaranda is flowering and the goats have still not come into season. Yesterday I slashed the reeds and bracken in the hay paddock. I have a plan to plant a grove of stone pines in the triangle of land by the road and stage one is getting the site ready.

March 27 2013

This day might be a time of transition in many ways. It is probably Edd’s last day teaching at the living and learning centre and is rumoured to be the last hot day of summer. Last night an enormous full moon rose over Hargreaves Hill and today we have heat, high winds and fires again. We are waiting for the wind to change.

Stevo and Chrisco are now working on the shed walls. They are making up wooden frames that bolt on top of the block walls and go right up to the roof. The wind is not making this job any easier. I have the used barley from the brewery spread out on a tarp to dry but the tarp keeps getting blown into folds and I am worried that the barley will still be damp when the rain comes. It goes mouldy really fast if it is not completely dry.

Yesterday I skinned and froze all the large ripe tomatoes. They are now packed in glass jars in the freezer ready for winter soups. The great zucchini glut is now over but the silver beet is up and running. We have already eaten half the Bok choi but last week I planted parsley and rocket so more greens are coming. The sweet potatoes are growing lots of leaves but they do not look large enough to have produced much in the way of tubers yet. I have never grown them before so it is all a bit experimental

lots of action(0ld post)

10.3.2012

BUILDING NEWS

The massive spurt of activity has continued. The great ground guzzler got into gear and all the spare soil that was stored in heaps and below the dam is now in the mound covering the new house. This was not at all straightforward because various layers of drainage cell, geo-fabric and foam insulation had to be put in at the correct levels.

Al came to inspect the work because he wanted the finished mound to look right and echo the shapes in the surrounding hills. He has not seen the completed job so I am not sure how well we have done at achieving this. The earth moving gang have been superb. They kept up the enormous concentration needed to move heavy stuff in constricted places faultlessly. The only casualty is poor Skiddy who was used to do the levelling work on top of the roof and who now has a serious bearing issue. (Don’t ask me the details; I’m not mechanically minded).

The diggers also dug the ditches for all the services. Amazingly the telephone lineman arrived exactly on schedule and we now have working phone points in the new house! Today Charlie is down the ditches sorting out the electricity supply lines and we have the pipes here ready for the water. The idea is that everything goes in the same service trenches.

Gary arrived on Friday and is well into building the inglenook seats. Steve is doing a work of art in the shower room and we have measured up for the linen press cupboard. With so much going on I am often asked if I am excited. It is hard to explain why not.

I can only make a rough analogy of our mental state by comparing it to a person undergoing treatment for a terrible disease. The shock, when the disease happens is life changing, but the treatment is actually more wearing and painful. Towards the end of the treatment one is only cheered by the hope that the pain will end and a real healing can begin. You know that your former life, work and ambitions are changed but there is no way to know exactly what the future will be like.

We hope that all the suffering we are experiencing will mean that we will not have our life threatened by future fires. We are aware that there are no guarantees, but we have done everything we can think of to try and have a future free of worry. We are now totally at the end of our coping skills and just pray we have the fortitude and energy to last until the building process is complete. At this stage we both still feel that it is better not to pin too much hope onto what life will be like afterwards.