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!
