Nimmitabel: A Work in Progress: February 2015

Just Justin and myself this weekend. We arrived and had a late lunch, and then even had a "nanna nap" as we'd had a late night the night before at a wedding

We took the ute, as Alex had given us a bedside table (forgot to take a photo) which we brought with us

Saw that there was yet another leak from the water pipe on Storm Lane (I rang up Coliban Water and advised them). Steve said that the garbage truck had broken it - who knows

water leak on Storm Lane #1

water leak on Storm Lane #2

The weather was nice and warm, and the garden was dry again, still had remnants of green, but we had to water the plants.

I did this foolishly wearing thongs. Normally I wear closed shoes, as it's very dusty and I don't like gritty feet, but I thought I could just hose down my feet/stick my feet in the bucket if they were too dirty.

It was only the next day that I realised what a prickle mine field the back garden has become

bindi eyed thongs

As you can see my thongs are covered in prickles, not just wussy city prickles, but big country bindy eyes which have prickles in at least 3 different directions, and are like drawing pins

a bindi eye that I prised out of my thong

Anyway, apart from the gardening, we took it fairly easy on the Saturday. Denise and Steven came for a visit, and afterwards, we read the paper, and had a refreshing G & T before going out to dinner.

Saw a review about Graeme's book about his life at Passing Clouds

positive book review

We had a truly superb dinner at Terry's. He had invited us, and David & Arlene, and Chrissie & Mark around to discuss the format of the upcoming Music night in March. I didn't take any photos (as I thought that might have been a bit gauche), Started off with some lovely ripe cheeses, and then for entree Terry had made a terrific terrine :- ground up beef and pork with duck pieces, Ann & Phil's pistachios and wrapped in bacon. This looked like a lot of work to me. And it was delicious. For main we had beef with a savoury butter that Terry said had 25 ingredients (I think/hope he must have been joking about that one), duchess potatoes, ricotta wrapped zucchini cigars and I think a type of ratatouille, and home made herb bread rolls. Once again delicious. Dessert was creme caramel with blackberry sauce, and then more cheeses! It was very impressive, and I told him so, as I could imagine how many hours of preparation were involved.

The company and conversation was also good, not sure if we got to the bottom of how the music night will actually go, but I'm sure it will work out. Justin also told them how I still haven't really caught any yabbies (well just that one with Karen) and how disappointed my little face is each time I come back empty handed. David said that next time I go out, to come and see him, and hopefully we'll have better luck then.

There was also a bit of a surprise downpour, the clouds had looked a bit stormy, but no one really thought that it would actually rain. We must have got a bit, as there were puddles

I guess we finished around midnight or so, and I drove rather slowly home. Justin perhaps thought I could have driven faster, but we weren't in a hurry, and I got a bit of a fright when I saw a large kangaroo bounding along next to us on the side of the road. Luckily it went off into the bush, rather than onto the road and into us.

Sunday, and a slow start, we didn't really feel like doing any work today either, as Justin wanted to get back to Melbourne reasonably early. Had a leisurely breakfast outside in the garden

leisurely breakfast

And Justin had a bit of a solo jam - trying out some new songs for the next Kingower music night

Solo jam

Because we had a nice big breakfast, we weren't too bothered about lunch, and so didn't really have any, and left early afternoon. Stopped for a quick walk along the river bank at Bridgewater, as Justin hasn't been along there before.

not really thinking of diving in #1

Given that it was good and hot there were quite a few people swimming and sunning themselves on the decking. I'd certainly like to have a go at swimming there

On the way home, the clouds over Mt Macedon looked rather strange as they were very solid looking and of a uniform height behind the mountain. From a distance I wasn't sure if they were smoke or clouds. Unfortunately the photos from my mobile taken in a moving car don't really do them justice

Clouds over Mt Macedon #1

Clouds over Mt Macedon #2

Clouds over Mt Macedon #3

Clouds over Mt Macedon #4

Clouds over Mt Macedon #5

To mix it up a bit - Justin driving

Clouds over Mt Macedon #6

Clouds over Mt Macedon #7

It's green again! Or at least partly. We had 55 points one day the week before, and another 40 points on top of that. The ground now gives a little when you walk on it, there are puddles beside the road, and you can hear frogs. Lots of them.

greening of the orchard

greening of the "cricket pitch"

a barrowful of mulch and rainwater

And some bulbs that I had re-planted last year have flowered - naked ladies

naked lady

But possibly because of all of this rain - there are now lots of ant hills

ant hill

This time round it was me, Helen & her kids for a week. Mum didn't come as she had broken her arm (wrist) and wanted to stay in the comfort of her own home.

First up we raided the mulberry tree, as the birds had still left us some ripe fruit

Helen searching for mulberries

Here's a ripe one

the kids with mulberry stained fingers

and mulberry stained tongues

I was also pleased to see that both pomegranate trees had sprouted some more flowers, hopefully to eventuate into actual fruit

more pomegranate flowers

And this time I covered them both with old curtains. We'll see if that makes a difference.

Covered pomegranate #1

Covered pomegranate #2

I cut back the vegie garden

before cutting back

And I forgot to take an after shot. Oh well

And also tidied up around the front with the kids helping

getting some assistance

On Thursday we went to "Coffee club" at the butchers again. We had missed out last time, as Thursday was New Years Day

coffee and cake #1

coffee and cake #2

Xavier brought his hobby horse, and Jim brought him some grass to eat

food for everyone #1

food for everyone #2

Karen came later in the afternoon, and stayed til Sunday. Clancy and Julie came a bit later in the afternoon after having had lunch at the Bridgewater Hotel

Afternoon Tea on the veranda

We also played a bit of boules across the road at the Town Hall green

Town Hall Boules #1

Town Hall Boules #2

And Xavier went and had his first professional haircut at Michelle's. Came back rather pleased with his new "mohawk" complete with coloured hair mascara

cool haircut

and now the profile

and the 2 of them

another close up

another profile

Clancy also assisted by re-fixing that piece of wood to the little room's window frame, as Justin was concerned that it might blow in if there was a strong wind. We didn't have the right size nails, so went to David's shop to see if he could assist. He didn't have any for sale, but did have some odd ones out the back which he gave to us - which was very nice of him.

Clancy - taking some nails out

Xavier watching raptly

Clancy affixing the piece

Karen, Helen, Julie & Michaela were in the little house while Clancy Xavier and I were up attending to the window

chatter down below

Another activity was rollerskating, as Helen had bought Michaela some skates at the op shop. And Kerry (from the Royal) had dropped off some knee pads, wrist guards etc which was very nice of her

rollergirl

Roller girl stands

And, of course, given the rain, I had to try my luck at yabbying again. First tried the reservoir. Nothing. Then tried the dam that Elise had caught all those yabbies in some years ago. Nothing. And lastly tried Web Dam again up near Kingower. One yabby! I let it go. But was thrilled that I had caught one

unsuccessful yabby expedition

huge ant/termite mound near yabbying spot

going for a walk while yabbying

pointing at my one yabby

Karen and I went for a nice long walk one evening - up to and around the reservoir. The frogs were very loud here, and there was also lots of frog spawn.

the blobs that look like froth are frog spawn

And saw interesting Spanish moss type creepers along the road on the way back

Inglewood Spanish Moss

On the Friday we invited David and Maile around for dinner

Karen preparing for dinner

pre dinner drinks and nibbles #1

pre dinner drinks and nibbles #2

We started off in the garden with prosecco and nibbles, and proceeded to the dining room for main course (Inglewood pork) and vegies. Once again an excellent night.

Mark came and joined us on Saturday and brought up a trailer of mulch and a chainsaw. Xavier was his attentive shadow while he worked in the garden

Mark - already with his shadow

Trimmed back vegie garden with Mark & Xavier #1

Trimmed back vegie garden with Mark & Xavier adding mulch #1

Trimmed back vegie garden with Mark & Xavier adding mulch #2

taking back the trailer with a stowaway #1

taking back the trailer with a stowaway #2

taking back the trailer with a stowaway #3

taking back the trailer with a stowaway #4

Cleaning out the trailer for Mark #1

Cleaning out the trailer for Mark #2

he also brought some agapanthus plants
(the orange flowers have nothing to do with them)

I planted them afterwards between the yuccas

and Mark picked a very large bucket of plums

Saturday was very social. The Op Shop ladies came by at 2pm for my 2nd annual afternoon tea. It was unfortunate that mum wasn't there, we'll have another impromptu one when Mum's arm has healed. Helen made her famous tuna/corn/mayo sandwiches, Karen made a ricotta cake in her air fryer. (She had also previously made the kids some hot chips in the fryer (using only a teaspoon of oil).

Helen preparing her tuna sandwiches

Jean, Merle & Essie

Afternoon Tea #1

Afternoon Tea #2

Michaela enjoying afternoon tea

Xavier enjoying afternoon tea

Mark & Xavier enjoying afternoon tea #1

Mark & Xavier enjoying afternoon tea #2

Lois at the organ #1

Lois at the organ #2

After the afternoon tea, Karen and the kids had a bit of a lie down in the hammock, while Helen and Mark chatted at the table

Karen & Xavier

Michaela standing guard

Helen & Mark

And in the evening we went to Kingower for the 1st movie night of the year. In order for Helen to come we had suggested that she bring the kids and that they sleep in the car. Karen advised that her car has fold down back seats, and they could sleep in that

We tested it out at home first

trying out the bed for size #1

trying out the bed for size #2

Arrived at Kingower around 7pm and set up our picnic table complete with flowers in a vase (from the afternoon tea) and tablecloth etc. Justin would have been proud.

Kingower pre movie picnic dinner #1

Kingower pre movie picnic dinner #2

Kingower pre movie picnic dinner #3

Graham from Passing Clouds came and joined us for a while. And more people came as the evening progressed,

waiting for the movie now

Terry setting up

Daniel in the background

The kids enjoyed playing around the lamp post and beyond

Hopes for Narnia?

Don't know how I got this effect

And Helen put them to bed around 7.30

nighty night #1

Nighty night #2

Nighty night #3

Nighty night #4

They were pretty good staying in the car all night.

Terry put the movie on as it got dark - French Kiss with Meg Ryan and Kevin Kline, a nice/feelgood movie

French Kiss dvd cover

Sunday, and I had volunteered to come and assist with the working bee at St Marys in Kingower. Helen and the kids came too. Firstly we had to get all of the furniture out of the church.

some of the removed furniture

and then dust them down

Helen dusting

And then Terry put me in charge of polyurethaning the 2 x church pews. I was quietly chuffed by this.

First off had to sand them. I did one, and Lee from the Kingower Post Office did the other, And then obviously had to get the sanding dust off them, and finally the painting on of the polyurethane. I had poured some into a small icecream container. But then Helen wanted to help. I said I didn't need any help, but she insisted. There was only one icecream container so she had to share mine. I told her off a little bit (too much of Justin's fussy influence) ie she dipped her brush in too far (should only use the ends). She made drips, didn't brush long and evenly etc. She got a bit sick of my haranguing, so I told her I was only half as bad/fussy as Justin. Anyway, we seemed to do a reasonable job.

me - posing for the shot. Of course I would look when actually painting on the polyurethane!

Meanwhile, some of the others were inside operating the wax polisher

waxing the floor

David and Maile brought their landcruiser to pick up the rubbish

old rolls of carpet and other rubbish

almost finished

I went off for a walk with Xavier behind the church

Xavier searching for treasure with a stick #1

Xavier searching for treasure with a stick #2

the scrub behind St Marys #1

the scrub behind St Marys #2

We then had to move the furniture back inside, and then most of us went back to Terry's for a coffee and cake - very nice

nicely dusted chairs

very nicely polyurethaned church pew

Back home for lunch after the coffee. Mark was still there, having wielded his mighty chainsaw and

cut down various dead trees/limbs etc

I then took out the mattock and made good my nickname - "Stumpy" that Mark had previously coined for me. Took out the small stump of the budleia tree near the side tank, took out the old apricot stump, the plum tree stump, and lastly the oleander that was under the hoop pine. I also removed an old vertical metal rod that had been stuck in the ground since we got there, and covered by an old metal pipe.

nuisance rod covering a metal pipe

the previously hidden metal pipe

and now it's out

budleia stumps hidden in the grass

very easy to get out

apricot tree stump

and now it's out

plum tree stump

lots of grubs?? when I moved a rock to get closer to the stump

hardest and biggest stump to remove - oleander

and it's out after quite a bit of work

the kids admiring my handiwork

Whilst trying to remove the oleander I found this unfortunately broken torpedo bottle. Still mostly intact though

torpedo bottle #1

torpedo bottle #2

And, given that I was mattock mad, I decided to have another go at the roots at the back of the house. The ones from the hoop pine that have cracked the walls

sawing away at the root now

and it's out

I was able to take out quite a bit, but there are lots of roots.....so still have more work to do there.

Also moved a heavy metal plate into the dining room - Mark had suggested that it would reflect the heat back quite well - like a plough disc. Couldn't quite fit it in. Would have to reorient it - so will wait for some assistance (or telling off) by Justin.

metal plate - heat reflector #1

metal plate - heat reflector #2

Unlike our visit last January when it was so horrendously hot, this January has been reasonably mild, and the house has remained cool. We went to the pool a couple of times. the first day it was lovely and sunny, but the water was a bit on the cool side, and Helen didn't come in. In fact, I took quite a while to fully submerse myself. The next time it was a warmer day, but a bit overcast, water was more inviting though

Michaela modelling her mermaid towel

looking a bit cold

still a bit oold

On our 2nd last day - we decided to have a special lunch. Helen went and bought some smoked salmon, and we had that with some bubbles for lunch. Very nice

Helen about to open the bottle

almost there

After lunch we went to Mt Koorong for "an adventure" as Xavier would say. Michaela was a little nervous walking the steep slopes, and wanted to come down

Mt Koorong

a nice smile

looking pretty dry #1

looking pretty dry #2

relaxing steeply #1

relaxing steeply #2

relaxing steeply #3

Xavier and I went for a walk by ourselves afterwards and found the fabled picnic area

that's a big rock

At the picnic ground

Thomas Mitchell plaque

nice patterns on the log

Xavier off to explore the big log #1

Xavier off to explore the big log #2

Xavier off to explore the big log #3

Xavier off to explore the big log #4

Xavier off to explore the big log #5

Xavier off to explore the big log #6

Exploring a new stump #1

Exploring a new stump #2

The tree that came from that stump #1

The tree that came from that stump #2

The tree that came from that stump #3

The tree that came from that stump #4

new elevated log

Back home, I also fixed up the scullery window - or more accurately I removed the broken flyscreen which had become a bit of an eyesore

eyesore fly screen

now removed

Helen blacked up the pizza oven

blacking up the pizza oven

and she also assisted with root removal

digging

more digging

toddler digging

Steve came and solved the mystery of the bell/drip like noise from the well/cistern. There was a rhythmic noise coming from the well - to me it sounded like a drip of water falling on metal. Helen thought it sounded like someone wanting help (not seriously). Steve came to investigate for us, and thought it was probably a frog, as it stopped when we started making noise up above

investigating

He'd brought a torch also - so we had a good look inside. Saw that there were 4 terracotta pipes leading into the cistern. Two with tree roots poking through them.

tree roots coming out of pipe into cistern

another pipe leading into the cistern

We assume they would have been connected up to the roof originally. Apart from that, the walls of the cistern seemed in pretty good order. Limed washed and no cracks. There was also a metal pipe that ran from the top down to the bottom - which presumably would have had a pump attached to it previously. During my previous mattock frenzy, I had also thought I'd get rid of the defunct water tap, and a random pipe poking up near the cistern. Dug around the tap, and got the hacksaw out to cut if off below ground level. This didn't turn out to be a brilliant idea - as water starting coming out once I had pierced the tap pipe. Must not have been disconnected after all. Had to fix it up with plumbers tape. Also then left the poking up pipe alone - which was a good thing, as this turned out to be the pipe that goes all the way down into the cistern and we could possibly attach a pump to.

digging around the tap

have now pierced the pipe

water coming out

all good now - and no leaks

Got the plastic drain pipe that Mark had disconnected a few weeks ago, and used it to measure the depth of the water - approx 1.4m, and the depth of the cistern was about 4m. It would be good to use it again

I'm pleased to say that the holes in the footpath out the front of the house were fixed up