Rock delivery 8 tonne

As we decided to start building our house this year (plans almost finalised with Webb & Brown Neaves) we had to relocate the creek line to move it closer to the left boundary.  We had John dig the new creek with his backhoe and then decided we should make it more formal by lining it with coffee rock.

First we had a double load delivered (14 tonne) - the pile of rocks looked absolutely massive when it was delivered at the top of driveway and we thought it would take us weeks to move.  Cliff started moving it with Richie (our tractor) and taking it bucket load at a time to the edge of the creek.  He started laying on the dam overflow.  After a couple of days I started helping and it was much easier with the two of us loading and tipping out the bucket loads of rock and then jumping into the dug out creek and slotting the rocks in place like a random jigsaw.  It was tough

Richie digs in

going as there were many large, heavy rocks but although it was back breaking, sweaty work it was also very rewarding.

In no time we had depleted the first delivery and had a second load (8 tonne) delivered in a small truck.  We decided to move the whole lot, a bucket at a time, down along the edge of the creek and then spent 2 days laying all the rocks.  So by the end of 1 week we had done from the dam down to the fence line… about half way in to the job.

We had a 3rd load delivered (8 tonne) but got the delivery put down the back to reduce the amount of travelling for the tractor and to speed things up.  Cliff is covered in bruises on his arms and legs from rocks and a bruise on his ankle from me (accidental rock thrown that hit him!).

Flat out exhausted

The overflow

We are both too tired to continue this week and as it turned out the rain came.  We’ll probably continue this coming weekend and each weekend until we are done as we need to finish before the rain sets in and the dam starts overflowing.

Our new creek

When Guy died earlier in January, Larry plummeted into a life of quiet aloneness.  He stopped making guinea pig noises and would sit for hours totally still.  I guess considering he spend almost every day of his 5 years with his buddy Guy, losing him would have been earth shattering to the poor little dude.

P also had a lone guinea, Rusty, whose own friend died about a year ago.  So there seemed an easy solution and when TnT came over for dinner last Wednesday night they brought a little box with holes in it that contained Rusty.  Cliff put Rusty into Larry’s cage and they quickly introduced each other.

It has now been almost a week and both are very happy.  They eat together, sleep together and are both making all the proper guinea pig noises again.  Today is Australia Day 2010 and the boys are enjoying their daily feast of freshly picked grass, lettuce, carrot, cucumber and a bowl of rabbit mueslie!

Cliff and I have been living at the farm for the past 3 weeks while Sheldon & Caitlin are at their mothers.  Shimi absolutely loves the property and runs around the paddocks and quickly discovered the dam.  She has been going in for a swim several times a day and more when it is hot.  Sometimes she just stands in the water with a stupid look on her face but other times she swims laps backwards and forwards across the remaining muddy water.  She gets out wet, soggy, muddy and looking very pleased with herself.

Then, she sneaks back inside and sits on her bed - still wet, soggy, and sandy!

Richie

Today, after many, many years of procrastinating we took the plunge and bought a tractor!  Richie is a Shimbaura Tractor that was originally used in Japan and has been imported as a 2nd hand machine.  They get a good looking over and service to make sure all is ok before they are sold.  Richie has only done 298 hours work to now.  It seems crazy that Japan only allows cars and other vehicles (and obviously tractors) to have a short working life before off loading them to elsewhere in the world (I guess to spread the polution!).

Anyway…… we found Tractorama after speaking to our Piesse Brook neighbour who had bought a very handsome tractor there some months prior.  We’d previously looked at bobcats (way too expensive), dingos (too small and light for the work we need done), articulated vehicles (very expensive) and tractors before (usually ones leaking oil and in bad repair).  The tractors we saw all looked almost new but had not had paint touch ups or anything.  We narrowed it down to 3 we liked that were in our price range and that Cliff could sit in without his knees painfully banging against metal as he drove it.

Richie (named so as Shimbaura is similar to “Richie Sambora” of Bon Jovi fame….. don’t know why that came to mind but it did at the time and I can accept that Cliff thinks it’s totally stupid and a name not befitting a tractor any way) will be delivered to his new home in two weeks time.  We are looking forward to many years of happy sand moving, stump pulling out, rock shuffling, trench digging and diggin in of reticulation!  It’s gotta beat doing all that by hand as we’ve done for the last 6 1/2 years! or hiring machines.

Left side looking up the hill

As it was the (Queen’s birthday)

Looking down to the backLooking down to the back

long weekend we decided to head up to the “farm” to do some maintenance.  We’d stayed there the weekend before and had taken up bedding, towels and other essentials which meant all we needed to take was clothes and some food.

Every time I stay there for the night… window open, fresh air blowing in, dark night sky, stars and silence (other than the dulcet tones of varioius species of frogs) I am reminded at just how magical this place is and how much I have missed it in the past 18 months I haven’t lived there.

Saturday morning Cliff jumped on our newly serviced lawnmower to mow the main grass area while the blades were brand new (before I got my hands on them!).  I decided to use the mattock to get out a few rocks (that are large enough to ruin mower blades)

A momentus occasion - Mitch whipper snipping

that were firmly embedded in the

Cliff on the whipper snipper

grass so they were impossible to see when mowing.  I then took on the task of digging up the roots and chopping out the two stagnent mango trees.  The first only a metre tall has not grown in the 6 1/2 years we’ve had the block.  I chopped a branch to test the wood and found it very soft.  I only had to dig around the root ball and down a foot to be able to chop through enough of the main roots I could push the tree over and remove it.  The second tree was about 7 foot tall but had never fruited or look anything much.  Due to its size it was much harder to dig out but I managed to use the mattock to clear beside each of the big roots and was able to chop through them and after pushing the tree in each direction snapped through enough roots to remove the tree also.

Kookaburra - and spot the two willy wagtails

At midday Cliff & I headed down to

Peaceful place

M&D Smiths to watch the footy grandfinal between Geelong and St Kilda.  We both wanted St Kilda to win but sadly they never rose to the occasion and Geelong were the better side on the day and took the cup.  St Kilda ended the season with only 2 losses all year and about 12 points clear of the 2nd side (Geelong).  After the game we headed back up to Piesse Brook to continue on the mowing.

On Sunday Cliff started the whipper snipping.  Mitchell met us up the farm (after driving himself there for the first time) and did a spot of whipper snipping.  I thought I’d take a photo to commemorate the momentus occasion that one of our children actually picked up a gardening implement and used it (even if it was just for 1/2 hour)… not one whinge was even had (a double miracle).

Mahli exhausted after a long weekend

I mowed the bottom grass area and then started ont he left paddock.  Our friendly kookaburras headed over and perched on low branches for a good view of any mice or large insects we may have been disturbing.  They have become so tame they are not the least bit scared of us.  They sit in the tree and allow us to get to only a foot or two away to take a photo and they just look at us and cock their heads blinking.  They swoop down in front of the mower or whipper snipper with seemingly no fear we are going to hit them.  They are not the least bit concerned about Mahli either!

On Monday we decided to sleep in and read for a while before heading out to finish off the bottom paddock before cleaning off the mower and putting everything back in our superbly clean shed (cleaned last weekend!).

Next Saturday we have the tree Fritz coming over to quote on trimming the dead wood off the willows and trimming a couple of the branches off the trees on the verge which Western Power have been flagging for years!