stormy weather

November26

Amazing weather. Hot, overcast and lots of thunderstorms.  One poor young woman was killed by lightening near here this week!  On Friday we had the last student workshop for the year.  Luckily the rain held off and everything went OK.  We even got the last of the wood piles moved before everyone cooked pizzas for lunch.  This month has been pretty full on and we are now trying to remember what we were doing before all the school camps started.

November 22 2017

A week ago we had a school camp and it rained half the time.  It rained so much that one day we all retreated into the house, made bread and marmalade, saved seeds and did craft work.   As soon as the camp left the weather cleared up and this week we have been above 30 C most days.  Tonight the valley is full of smoke fumes from fires in Gembrook, but the CFA has planes, dozers and every imaginable vehicle dealing with them and they are not worried at this stage.  Even so, it is an early and ominous start to the bush fire season.

Despite the weather the students got a lot done. A mountain of firewood was collected and processed. Star pickets were put around the stone pines and replacement trees put in where the deer had killed the old ones.  Several were fenced with high wire and are hopefully now protected from further attack.  We would have fenced the lot if the weather had not been so bad.  The first two days of camp were too hot and it was lucky that Edd was able to work a miracle on the pool and get the water blue and inviting. Another group of students worked on the new orchard and took out the weeds along the fence lines.  I started to clean out under the trees and altogether it looks a lot more cared for now.

One of last year’s kids, Anna, had managed to break a leg and has been isolated in a pen to heal. She had only had the splint on for four weeks before she managed to get it off but I have not replaced it because she seemed to be managing.  We are up to week five now and she is using the leg but it is still slightly week.  I normally allow six weeks but I may have to keep her penned for longer this time. The goats are all going right up the hill to graze and coming back through the gravel pit paddock. This is a long days walking and probably Anna needs to be fitter to cope.