A whole year on....

Before I go any further I need to make mention of a very special date, on the 14th January we celebrated me living here for one whole year!  Where did that time go?  What an amazing year it has been, making some lovely new friends, having so many different and new experiences, so many things learnt and yet to learn, lots of fun. 

I still smile when I'm asked to 'sing out' if I need any help, it is so much nicer than 'giving a shout for help'. Can you imagine if anyone took this literally the shops would be even more alive with the sound of music, what fun!  I'm getting used to men and women wearing thongs on their feet but can't get used to calling puddings, deserts or sweets, sweets here by the way are lollies.  And I was very relieved to discover a 'floater' is a meat pie served in a pea soup, something which smells delicious and I'm told is delicious but I've yet to try, not to far removed from pie and liquor I guess.

Onwards then to the block......

Saturday Rick and I went down to the block, we have been visiting regularly to water the poor trees there and they have done really well considering the recent weather conditions.  The citrus trees did have a flush of new growth which was great to see but sadly didn't last long as the grasshoppers decided to have a munch. Favouring the lemon tree, followed by the Kaffir lime and the new growth on the Loquat, little blighters!  We couldn't believe it and after much thought, even though it goes against the grain decided to use an insecticide.

Four new eucalyptus trees have been planted and two new Banskia on the block, which of course involves more watering and we are fast running out of rain water.  With that in mind Rick has been hard at work putting in an irrigation system for the native plants which we can run off the bore water.  But first we needed to find where the pipe ran up the field.  With a trimmed down coat hanger, Deb and I had a go at divining and were in the end pretty close.  We dug quite a long trench which has now been used to site a stand pipe under the old stringy bark tree and eventually we found the bore water pipe with a bit of help from Pete (the shepherd).

First post is the bore water pipe, new standpipe has red cloth on top.

Rick striking water for the 2nd stand pipe.

Watering the trees will be so much easier now the impressive irrigation system has been created.

All good then, next task was to round Pete's sheep up, it was time for them to be taken back home and given a serious haircut.  I was beginning to wonder if rounding up sheep is now going to be happening every Saturday! The only time you see white sheep here is when they are new born or have just been shorn.

Now fairly experienced as human sheep dogs we work well as a team.... or so we thought.  Off we went gently herding the sheep towards the pen, Fred was removed from the area somewhere out of sight with Deb (that girl is strong) hanging on to him just by his collar.  We managed to get all the sheep rounded up nicely, and started moving them towards the trailer and suddenly all hell was let loose, there were sheep bolting everywhere and one little devil even vaulted the fence and then immediately tried to get back in with his mates.  It was comical and hard work.... after much chasing the sheep around they eventually all ended up on the trailer.

Back at the rented place, I've been busy with the garden, which is basically a raised bed and a five sleeper high retaining wall.  I've never before had to garden using a ladder to get to the bed and then be very aware of where the edge is so you don't mistakenly throw yourself into the backyard! The previous tenant on being instructed to weed the garden had actually removed all the plants in the backyard leaving a collection of very prickly pyracanthas.  On the plus side of course this means a blank canvas for me.... yippee... I've now prepared the soil and planted three tomato plants, basil, oregano, parsley, sweetcorn and lettuce, must of which are residing, due to the weather, under the Shade Cloth for protection.  For a long time I was convinced it was called Shay Cloth!

All doing well and coming along nicely.... deep joy.

What a week that was!

Our new home is on top of a hill, great for catching the breeze, and for views over the town, roof tops and surrounding trees.  We still have a few boxes to unpack and the contents to find homes for, I am convinced the place has shrunk!  There have been and still are quite a few things which need to be fixed up with the unit which I am sure to tell you about in the fullness of time but for now all said and done it really does feel like home and it is good to be here.

The first week here and I have experienced my first South Aussie heatwave.  Never in my life have I been so hot and I am in total awe of how the plants, animals, birds and humans have coped with it.  Adelaide at 47 c was officially the named hottest city on the planet! Naracoorte hit a maximum of 45.8 c, the hottest that has ever been recorded here.  As you could imagine nothing much moved during the hottest parts of the day.

We kept the backyard and our potted plants cool by watering the ground a few times a day.  And ourselves cool with the windows and doors shut, curtains almost closed and air-conditioning unit on during the day.  At night time we threw open the doors and windows, turned off the air-con and used portable fan in the bedroom. I have to say it is quite a challenge getting a good nights sleep when the temperatures are 30 c plus at night.

The radio played soothing cooling tunes, anything mentioning rain, water and lack of heat, tips were offered on best ways to stay cool.  The presenters did fun things like trying to melt marshmallows into a soup which apparently happens at 45 c!  Every time a bush-fire was reported to the CFS (Country Fire Service), programmes were interrupted, the radio kept us unformed letting people know when they needed to put their bush-fire plans into action, which roads were closed and how the fire fighting was going.  At one point their control room was receiving a call every 2 minutes!  The CFS is run mainly by volunteers and 700 of these chaps worked tirelessly trying to control the numerous fires around the State.  Some brave souls stayed to fight for their homes and the CFS worked along side them. All of this was not helped by a lightening storm igniting the very dry scrub and bush-land around.  It must have been terrifying for them all.

The sense of community was fantastic, people looked out for their neighbours.  The S.A. Red Cross Service set up a help line for the elderly and less mobile, once registered with them their volunteers rang you 3 times a day to check all was okay or if any help was needed.  On the first day out of the 570 people registered 20 were taken to hospital for treatment for heat exhaustion.

For a UK lass who has in the past only experienced endless rain and floods I found this all a wee bit worrying.  We sat outside on the Thursday night having dinner watching the ever darkening sky.  In my naivety I was convinced they were rain clouds but no, instead of rain we had a shower of ash from the bush fires which were blazing about 50 km away.

Dark clouds gathering from the surrounding bush-fires 50 km away.

Slowly the fires were brought under control and the next day the skies were clearer, there was a very strong smell of wood smoke eucalyptus being the dominating smell.  The announcements of new fires from the radio became less frequent and the poor people who had lost their homes were offered help.

By the weekend we were being promised a cool front... by that time a cool anything would have been welcomed with open arms.  The temperatures that night dropped 30 degrees down to 13 c and we finally slept soundly.

Making friends with Lilo Lil and other adventures

I have forgotten just how many times we traveled between Adelaide and Naracoorte between 23rd Dec and 10th Jan, we got a bit dizzy!  One way takes about 4 1/2 hours, so you do need the occasional break and we got to know the characters in the roadside cafes very well.  On our last trip back down here we walked in to one and were greeted with 'One black tea and one weak long black is it?' I think they are going to miss our regular custom.

On to our sleeping arrangements..... Rick was very lucky in that he had his swag.  For all the uninitiated, swags are like a one man tent mated with a sleeping bag and a thick pad/mattress to lay on, all in one, very easy to erect and fold away.  They are very neat, water proof and can also have mozzi nets fitted.  I have to say I will be getting one just as soon as I have saved up enough dollars.  

In total contrast I had a lilo or as they are referred to here an air mattress.  I decided to call her LiloLil in an attempt to make friends with it.  I have to mention she looks pretty innocent, is single (very slim) but not long enough for me so goodness knows how Rick would have slept on her!  Every night was an adventure, I never knew where I would wake up.  We slept one night on the lounge floor, trying to escape the smell of the freshly painted bedroom.  Heads towards the fire place, enough of a ridge we thought to hopefully stop me on my not so magic lilo moving around too much. I woke up with my head in the fire place.... lucky I did or I may well have ended up in the cooling unit!  It was really funny and after many nights of sleep interrupted trying to get comfortable it really does make you appreciate a real bed even more than normal.

After lots of gardening, cleaning and decorating the house looked like new so it was worth the effort.  We took some time off for a quick visit to the CBD and we found this 

Very large cockroach in Rundle Mall

We are still a little puzzled as to why, though it is a very clever piece of art.

And then finally it was all done and we were at last here and unpacking, getting used to our new temporary home and all it's characteristics.

Quite a few 'things' need to be sorted out but it is very livable and very quickly it feels like home.  We have the benefit of living on top of a hill.  Though you have to try hard to remember it really is a benefit after a relaxing evening with Deb and Robert as the hill really does get steeper when you're walking home that relaxed.

Our first Saturday here and Deb suggested we may like to help round up some sheep for her brother-in-law to shear.  Well that sounded like fun so we duly turned up at Kakado's property (everyone here has a nickname) and soon discovered it was going to take some time finding the sheep.  The backyard turned out to be quite a few acres of bracken covered land, which was high enough for the sheep to hide in.  After a couple of action packed hours we had found most of the flock and got them into the shearing yard. 5 of the craftiest ones escaped, I'm sure they were sniggering as they ran for cover under the bracken.

Pete set too getting off their fleeces and Deb showed me how to skirt a fleece.  Skirting is pulling off the 'daggy bits' which reduce the price of the fleece, these bits need extra cleaning and are put in a different sack.  Once I'd mastered that she then tried very hard (her patience is amazing) to teach me how to gather a fleece after it had been removed from the sheep.  You have limited time to do that in as it is a bit of a conveyor belt in the shearing shed.  So you pull out the legs and gather the rest of fleece on top, making sure the rump is on the top, hold onto the 'back legs', scoop them under the rest of the fleece, pick the whole thing up.  Move (with speed) to the wool table and throw the whole thing (whilst still hanging on the the back legs) onto the table.  I mistakenly let go of it all and it almost ended up over the fence. It then needs to be skirted, put in a sack and before you know it you're on to the next one.

A bit of trivia - Shearing used to be an all man affair so if a female went into the shed for any reason the cry of 'Ducks on the water' was heard.  

In the growing heat we still needed to find the rest of the flock, which we eventually did.  It only took 7 people, two dogs and a UTE and lots of patience but boy was it funny.  I'm sure had the sheep realised they were going to be de-fleeced and more comfortable they might have given in more gracefully.

Sunday we headed off quite a few kilometers out of town to meet another of Deb and Roberts friends.  This chap lives in 86 acres surrounded by beautiful native flora and fauna.  He very generously showed us this little beauty

 A very rare orchid, only one of 200 actually flowering now.

After a delicious and very simple BBQ lunch, we went for a walk and came across this.

It might be man-made but it is very a very peaceful and tranquil creek.

Before we'd even blinked......

                     

 the Christmas celebrations began.  With the family assembled (I include Fred the dog in that statement) halls decked, the table and tree decorated and pressies under everything was ready.  Weather aside (a beautiful sunny day temps reaching 30c, very nice) I had actually started to feel Christmassy.

I had even managed to find all the pressies including a special bag for Fred. Fred was, as usual, very excited to see us, he was making a great fuss bouncing around, woofing, wagging his tail and trying to lick us at the same time as turning in circles.  Then suddenly he realised I was carrying a bag which (to Fred at least) smelt VERY delicious, he immediately stopped the greeting and buried his head in the bag!!  Needless to say that bag didn't go under the tree.  This is Fred proving he can be a very good boy and me giving him his pressie, some dried pigs ears and some Roo Jerky... he was a very happy woofer.

After a delicious brekkie of orange juice, coffee, buckwheat pancakes and a very yummy seasonal fruit salad.  Some wonderful pressies were handed around, opened and delighted over.  After a very leisurely afternoon we tucked into a huge Christmas dinner.  We feasted on the biggest ham I've ever seen, duck, roast tatties and freshly grown veggies followed by a massive amount of gluten free Christmas Cake smothered with Lactose Free cream.  Both Ivy and I had made GF cake, both of which were liberally steeped in sherry, the cakes that is not Ivy or I.  Oh it was good but moving at any speed for quite a while didn't seem like a good idea.

It was so good to stay put for a couple of days, relaxing but also unpacking the boxes we had already taken to our new home.  With an unloaded trailer and our tummies still very full we headed back to Adelaide.

The idea was to tidy the place up reload the big trailer and wave farewell to Adelaide.... like all great plans of mice and men it of course didn't quite turn out that way. 

We very quickly discovered we had seriously underestimated how much there was still to shift and rather than a quick was and brush up the 'old' place instead also needed some repairs.  

The damp around the shower needed further investigation so we called in our friendly plumber, Rob, who although was in the middle of his holiday still, very kindly, came to our aide.  After testing the water flow, much scratching of heads, a cuppa and a slice of homemade fruit cake (which was the best I've ever made, she types modestly) it was declared our shower had sprung a leak!  Once the old tiles were removed and the shower taps turned on the fountain of water from the failed joint was very impressive rivaling the fountains in Trafalgar Square!  It was a couple of hours work spread over a couple of days as the cement needed to set before new 'old' tiles could be put on.

Brian our friend, who happens to be a Master tiler, sourced some new 'old' tiles for us and offered to do the tiling once the repairs had been finished.

More adventures to follow shortly......

T'was a few nights (and days) before Christmas.....

and all through the house there were lots of things stirring, though I can't speak for the mouse!

With the build up to Xmas we did take a few hours off from packing the house up to do some Xmas shopping.  Trundling through Rundle Mall in the city centre I came across this amazing piece of work.   It was edible having been made entirely from sweets and it did smell good.  Most of the decorations here (well in Adelaide) are very low key as is the music, not all the stores play Xmas music, it's quite refreshing. 

The houses in the 'old' neighbourhood were (in the main) very tastefully decorated. Some of the Xmas decs were spilling out of the houses, into the front gardens and a wee bit beyond. In my humble opinion I thought this one won top prize for being quite beautiful both during the day and at night.

                                    

You might not be able to see the huge baubles hanging from the two trees on the grass verge.  They looked amazing when the sunlight caught the glittery ones and seemed to take on a life of their own.

And we also came across this.....

                                             

There had been very high winds during the week and sadly some of the trees around the neighbourhood lost their branches.  This one revealed an active bees nest, most of the bees had been removed so we broke a piece of the honey filled wax off and took it home.  I can see why Winnie The Pooh was so taken with the stuff.  It had a beautiful delicate flavour, and sucking the honey out of the wax does have a certain appeal, another first and a delicious treat.

We realised we needed to do some repairs to the Adelaide property so decided to 'camp out' there with the bare minimum of cooking things, food, bedding and clothes.  That sorted out and most of the boxes packed THE moving day arrived.  I'm still stunned and amazed not only did the two young removalists arrive early... yes earlier than 6.30 am!! They were singing and laughing, thankfully we had been up since 4.30 am so we were wide awake and dressed though I don't recall if we were singing.  They turned out to be a really good team and great fun to work with.  In just a couple of hours they had not only loaded what we had negotiated for them to take but also a whole load of other things we were struggling to fit into the trailer and into Dora.

Without much more ado they were off winging their way (still laughing) towards Naracoorte.  We followed on very soon after but didn't manage to catch them up, arriving about an hour later.  Luckily for us Deb had met them at our 'new' abode and they had almost finished unloading our furniture AND had out it all in the right places.

Deb and Robert had also, very kindly, invited us for dinner which was perfect.  So after fixing up our bed and unpacking as much as we could, we walked down the hill through the town, up the hill and through the park to Deb and Roberts.  

But before that happened we'd discovered our drinking water (which is via the rain water tank) was not only brackish but carried flies and other debris.  A quick investigation showed up just how much tree debris needs to be cleared from the roof and gutter.  This done, tank drained down and filled again hopefully the water might start to taste ok to drink.  The town water is not recommended to drink here and thankfully after 5 showers started smelling less sulphuric.

More adventures to come shortly but for now I couldn't resist finishing with this little fellow trying to hide in the gum tree.

Ooroo