my garden

At the top -my garden today and below my garden the week after the fires. It is my little bit of sanity between an unformed future and a past that moved over night into an unreachable former reality .

The earth moves

30.1.2010
Big changes. This week the huge earth moving equipment arrived and began to scrape away the soil to prepare a site for our new domestic buildings. Dust rose in clouds but they moved the earth with amazing speed. I was expecting that I would hate the new scar on the land but to my surprise it just looks like a ploughed paddock. I think this is because they have levelled out lumps and bumps and the profile is smoother and flatter.

Luckily Al and family are back from holiday so Al was available to explain his plans to the men with the excavators. Whilst we were doing this all the grand children escaped and went for a swim, which was fine, but they took Arden’s dog with them, which was not. Luckily they did not do any damage. I think at this stage it is a good thing that school starts again next week.

It will be a big year for education. My daughter-in-law starts a degree course at Latrobe. Bo’s second son, Ollie, starts school for the first time and Al’s kids Ti and India both change to new (different) schools. Edd has signed on to work full time in term two when the other science teacher goes on leave. Josh has now reached Perth and begun his masters’ degree course at the university of Western Australia.

He was out of mobile range when he drove across the Nullabor but phoned us on Thursday morning as he approached Perth. Our neighbour, Craig, had set him up with temporary accommodation with his sister who lives near the university so at least he had somewhere to go. Once again I am cleaning out his donga so that we have a spare room if anyone wants to stay. It is 37 degrees in our donga at the moment but I actually find it quite pleasant. Give me heat before cold any day!

Josh leaves home

26.1.2010
The sun is dipping lower over Christmas hills but the image in my minds eye is of an earnest young man is a small white car driving westward. Josh’s shirt is still draped over the bench by the door and his towel hangs over the chair but this morning he loaded a few essentials into his car and set off on the long trek to Perth.

The last few days have been an emotional roller coaster whilst Josh prepared for the telephone interview that could offer him an escape from his present unsatisfactory existence. He really had to put himself on the line in front of all his family and friends and he gave it his all. The interview yesterday afternoon was not easy, but the university rang back and offered him a place. I cannot think why not. They charge an absolute fortune for the course and it was not full so what do they have to loose?

We are thrilled and scared for him but also feel terribly sad. It is such a long way away and I will miss him so much. I am also totally exhausted. And with all this emotional drama it has been hard to relax let alone sleep. I will still be worried until he has crossed the Nullarbor and arrives at his destination. I felt at a total loss over what to do with myself today but fortunately our friends Caroline and Mark arrived and we talked about other issues.

new year new start

20.1.2010

Well!! We survived the Xmas bit and our wonderful sons, plus granddaughter India, and Wayne’s partner, Delisa, all came and got the hay in. Thank goodness we had the shed roof up and could put it under cover. Our secret weapon is Wayne who is unbelievably strong. Al dosed himself up before we started but he still got pretty sick with hay fever. It was a really hot day, so we worked in the evening after the sun had gone down but things soon changed.

New years eve announced its self with mega thunderstorms, which continued for two days. No need for fire works, nature put on a totally spectacular display. Then it rained and all hell broke loose. Both bridges in Steels Creek were washed over by water. The bridge by the tennis court on the main track was blocked by piles of dead trees that had washed down from the forest and bull dozers were needed to clear up the mess.

All the roads were damaged and lots of people had the gravel from their drives washed away. Our toilet was flooded but as gumboots were needed to get there it really did not make much difference. The council was pretty good and sent up machinery to repair the roads surprisingly quickly. Nothing lasts for long and soon the temperatures began to soar again.

Luckily I had been gradually working away on the problem of how to get the swimming pool back into action. The vinyl liner around the top had melted away or sealed itself to the metal sides and the top rail and plastic joiners were burnt. It was full of algae, branches and burnt parts of the house. Despite the damage it was three quarters full of water so I guessed that there was not much damage below the water line.

I did not want to put in a new liner because that would mean dismantling the entire pool top a really difficult job after all the fire damage. My plan was to patch up the old liner as much as possible with out trying to move any of the structure. This was rather an unorthodox approach but it was the cheapest, quickest, fix for this year when all the men were busy with more important work.

I found a company on the net who posted me cans of totally amazing glue and much to the horror of the shop I brought a small pool liner to cut up for patches. Josh lent me his tiny pool pump, which slowly emptied most of the water, and when the weather heated up the rest obligingly evaporated. Getting in and scooping out all the rubbish was messy work, but possible, and afterwards the liner cleaned up remarkably well. My patchwork will not win any prizes, but we were able to fill the pool and when it got to 48 degrees in our donga I was very relieved to be able to swim slowly up and down in comfort.

On the night before the fires, which was equally hot I had a long swim and told my self to enjoy it as it was probably the last time I could. I am rather surprised that I am back swimming again in under a year. I did not expect it. We had a terrible night when none of us could get cool enough to sleep but a mid night swim helped a lot.

We are now waiting for the excavation to be done for the house site. It was due to start last week but didn’t. Edd and a new helper, Tristan, constructed a pen for the goats in the new shed and took down the old fences that are no longer needed. We have moved all the animals out of the construction area. The horses are enjoying the freedom of the large hill paddock but the goats are confined to barracks until the electric fence is moved.

The big task of the week has been helping Josh who is trying to get a place at university to do a masters degree in Audiology. It is a bit late to apply so he has had to put in a real effort. We are now just living on tenterhooks wondering if he has done enough. It is sad that even after studying hard for a first degree that the chances of getting a job are so low. It is heart breaking to watch someone being rejected for job after job and very demoralising for the person involved. When I was young it was so easy to get suitable work and one felt needed by society.

Josh is worn out by working night duty continually for months. He is as thin as a rake and has tooth and mouth ulcers. The rain flooded his donga and it is pretty rough to sleep in there during the hot days. He has been so good and is always willing to give us a hand. He never complains about his living conditions. I think the conditions are wearing us all down. I know that many of my Aboriginal friends have lived in much worse conditions all their lives but it is also a fact that they do not live very long!

Another accident

27.12.2009

Xmas had an unexpected surprise for us! On Wednesday 23rd Edd went off with the ute and trailer to pick up the last of the round balers we had ordered. I was busy in the donga writing the last of the Xmas letters when the phone rang. Edd had been knocked off the back of his ute by a round bale and was injured .

I jumped into my car and drove straight to the paddock. He was in a lot of pain and his friend who was working with him had phoned the ambulance. He had landed on his shoulder, which was visably damaged, but his back was also immovable. I drove the car down to Maroondah hospital where the ambulance had delivered Edd and were then involved in hours of X-rays and other tests.

Bo and Josh joined us and Josh found me something to eat. Edd was not allowed anything in case he needed surgery but he was given enough pain killers to make him very woozie. The doctors discovered that he had dislocated a joint in his shoulder and damaged all the soft tissue so that his collar bone was sticking right up . He would need to have his left arm strapped up for about a month so it could try and heal. At this stage he was unable to stand, probably because of all the painkillers, so I left him in the hospital for the night and came home alone.

Next day after I had milked the goats I rang the hospital and found out that he was ready to come home. He was still in a lot of pain but at least he could walk. I stopped at the shops to buy shirts and trousers that could be dealt with one handed. Needless to say all the plans I had made for getting ready for Xmas were totally stuffed up.

Luckily I was not doing the Xmas meal my daughter in law had volunteered to cook for all the family this year. I was not quite sure how she would do this. They only moved into their new house on Wednesday and the kitchen had not yet been completed! She tells me that the day was complicated further because her friend who lived next door went into labour and gave birth to a son in a pool on the lawn just by their front door!

However, amazingly, when we all turned up for lunch on Xmas day the house was sorted out and a fantastic middle eastern style feast prepared. It was exactly what we needed. We were all having problems staying awake and were not in any state for heavy food. Bo had prepared a trifle , home made ice cream and Summer pudding to complete the meal. The trifle was made of real egg custard and we quizzed Bo to find out how she had got it so perfect. She astounded us by declaring that she had lost her recipe so had made it like packet stuff but added whipped eggs instead of the powder!

All the family including Bella's father and his wife had come and we had all agreed on a new approach to presents where by everyone got designated one other person or couple to buy for. Only the kids got presents from everyone. No one was upset by this and it saved everyone shopping effort and expense.

sheep shearing

17.12.2009
36 degrees in here again yesterday. I went Xmas shopping which is as good an excuse as any to retreat to an air-conditioned shopping centre for the day. It was too hot for much sleep last night but at least that meant we were all up and ready when Bill arrived to shear the sheep at 6 am.

We had locked the sheep in one of the temporary goat pens the night before and rigged up tarps to keep off any rain that might obey forecast instructions. We cleared the new dairy so we could shear in the goat milking room and Bill had the brilliant suggestion of fetching the sheep from the holding pen by wheelbarrow.

There are only 7 sheep and 3 lambs now so this worked really well. Josh stayed out of bed when he got home from night shift so that he could help us and everything went very smoothly. The next job was to get the sheep to the gravel pit paddock with the cows. After a few arguments we agreed to drive them there in the old Toyota. The biggest task here was clearing the Toyota back out to fit passengers in.

It is a great relief to see shorn, wormed, sheep in a paddock of good grass. Much to my surprise they were quite fat under their wool and some wool was good enough to spin. We were lucky that they were shorn a few weeks before the fires. They had a little wool to protect them from radiant heat but not enough to trap embers. Our neighbour had not shorn her animals and the ones that survived were injured and put down.

The builders have finished for Xmas but we have had Mike here this week sorting out drains and other large earth moving issues. The extra steel supports for the shed arrived early yesterday so he used his digger to unload them. Edd was kept safely on the ground this time. Between them Mike and David H did a fantastic job of moving the burnt tree trunks and other rubbish from the side of the old drive where the new chook run is to go.

Dave P and I are still gardening. Dave has sorted out the first half of the veggie patch and I have now got grass growing fully surrounded by the new broken brick paths. Dave’s work is the most useful because we have had a good supply of food from his efforts. Mine work is aimed at keeping spirits up by giving us at least one place we can bring friends and family that is a bit relaxing.

I am worried about Xmas. I am usually flat out at this time preparing for a house full of guests and the Xmas eve feast. When we migrated here 30 years ago Xmas was always the worst time. Everyone else went off with their own families (for better or worse) and I was left with trying to make a jolly time for three young children who had opened all the available gifts at around 6am.

Over the years I avoided the loneliness by filling our home with enough people to keep us all too flat out to think. Some years paying guest or wwoofers join our family and other years we found enough friends with no better offers. On Xmas eve we lay out trestle tables in a long line and dress them for the big feast. I try and plan a different colour scheme every year but the feast is a biodynamic turkey with my old pewter platters heaped high with vegetables.

My old pewter platters melted in the fire so that part of our tradition is over for now. My daughter in law has invited us all over to have a meal at her place on Xmas day but the rest of the time is pretty empty. Perhaps we will enjoy having a rest. We are all so tired we certainly need one.

Things start moving fast

2.12.2009
Yesterday was humongous! The council gave us a planning permit after only having the house plans for 24 hours! Edd rang Woodsie who did the excavations for our old house and he agreed to come up and look at the new job. This means we are now committed into the big adventure of building an earth covered home that runs on low energy. Our electrician also rang to say he was he was coming to do the work on the sheds next day. Everything is moving frighteningly fast.

The best bit for me was that David (from the Welsh choir) helped me move all the broken bricks that were left over from path building and take them away from the garden area. I did the last bit on the ring path round the grass area too. Now I only have to move the rubble, put down topsoil and plant out some grass. I never dreamt that we could get so far in one day, but David even managed to burn the branches from the tree that blew over as well.

Today three electricians, builders Steve Johno and Edd and a team from Telstra are all madly at work. There are new ditches everywhere and it all looks pretty confusing. I am worn out after yesterday so I have opted for a laundry day rather than physical labour. The great bit is that with the dairy going up I may soon be able to buy a washing machine to put in there and cut out all the driving to the Laundromat and back.

Dave P has achieved miracles in the vegetable garden. All the broad beans blew over in the storm but I have the beans blanched and stored in the freezer now. We eat every lettuce that is large enough and we have been eating zucchinis again. They are so welcome when they first come in but by the end of the season they usually get over grown because everyone gets sick of them.

We have red and green cabbages and the garlic is almost ready. The herbs are doing well. I have rescued old ones and lovely permaculture friends have donated new ones. Our loquat trees are producing delicious large fruit and we even have some raspberries. There have been other heartening surprises too. The orange rose has regrown and flowered and the wisteria that Bo gave Edd has shooted from the roots. My red cordeline has done the same but it looks pretty weak and delicate. Little bright blue lobelia flowers have self seeded everywhere and two brave paper daisies our flowering from beds of rubble. They can obviously handle lime!

30.11.09
Scandal in the goat shed! Imogen has given birth to a couple of sons who must have a brother for a father! I did not think that any of the goats were given the chance to get pregnant this season but some how she managed it. She gave birth earlier this year so I intended to let her have a year of resting and recovering but looks like that will have to happen next year now. They are a lovely couple of boys, beautiful colours, healthy and rearing well. Some people do this deliberately for line breeding.

Our local council have really come up trumps. Last week they sent over seas volunteers out with an experienced foreman to put up the rest of our boundary fences. What a relief. With so much building and planning we were not getting round to it ourselves. They all worked very hard despite the hot weather and even cleared dead trees all along the front where the fence had to go. I felt guilty asking for anything, but I really wanted to use the old gateposts for our new entrance. The fencers did extra work so hat we could do this. I am really pleased about this because to me it looks a lot better than skinny new treated pine gateposts.