Be careful what you wish for.

Well. This blog is about to get a massive injection of posts.
We are finally in the financial position to start building our home down on our empty block.
And you thought it would never happen!
We have engaged a building designer/contractor person and are in the preliminary design phase. We're hoping to have a contract signed and dated before 30th June 2015 to take advantage of a First Home Builders government boost which ends this financial year. Plans through council soon after and hopefully building by October.
It's absolutely incredible to think that this time next year we may (fingers crossed) be actually LIVING at our place.
There are so many things we're unsure of. Like what are we actually going to do with 32 acres? Beyond our own self sufficiency it'll have to earn it's keep. Geoff will continue travelling with his TV work for the time being. But I have basically retired from all that and am still unsure what direction my life will take other than South.
We have been staying with my parents in Wagga since our daughter was about about 4 months old. We had to make the decision whether or not I returned to my job at Channel 9. I decided I was done and unfortunately Sydney is not really the town for a single income family saving to move to Tassie.

My Massive Distraction at about 5 days old.

My Massive Distraction this week at 17 1/2 months.

In the meantime I will just write about my experience on here. I really enjoy reading about other people's experiences in the whole lifestyle change sphere. So maybe someone will stumble across this and learn something from us.
It certainly is a scary thought. Be careful what you wish for because you just may get it - then what are you going to do?

I'll huff and I'll puff and I'll.... Rebuild your shed.

The shed that was not meant to be...

So the storage shed Farmer Geoff worked so hard to put up in January blew down in an unseasonal gale in May. This is the shed that took three times longer than expected to arrive from the mainland meaning that we couldn't take our time putting it up over our Christmas holidays. Instead, Geoff and a mate had to hastily erect it in one afternoon before heading back to Hobart to work on a cricket match. It'll be fine until June we said, which was when we were due back for a visit, "We can brace it then". And it should've been... A phone message from our neighbour hinted at the devastation... "Ahh, hi Emily and Geoff... It's Paul. Ahh, it's about your shed. Yeah...We've had a bit of wind down here. Give us a call back". We rang him back and he confirmed our fears - they had had terrible winds down there (quite a lot worse than normal) and our shed had not survived. Thankfully, Paul had taken the 'softer' stuff up to his place for storage (camping gear and the like) and left the garden tools and wheelbarrow holding down the flattened sheets of metal from the effects of further unexpected turbulence.
When we arrived in June this is what the shed looked like;

Shed carnage... And there was a big bit halfway down the hill.

Anyway. Onwards and upwards.

Shed 2.0

Our relaxing, rejuvenating trip in June (which was going to be a lovely 2 week Cygnet holiday for Geoff and me before a certain life-changing event in October...) alas, was not to be. It was now a trip with a purpose. We will rebuild. Geoff and my Dad (happily commissioned into the project as revered elder and general handyman expert) had spent considerable brain matter pondering and engineering the replacement. Shed 2.0. This shed would be the last word in garden sheds. This shed would stand up to hurricanes. This shed would stand for millennia. This shed would be a shining beacon on the hilltop, a tool-time mecca for home handymen and bored retirees.

I just wanted somewhere dry to keep the camp chairs.

Here is their story told in pictures...

Geoff starting on the foundations before the arrival of
His Majesty the King of home-engineering....Dad.

More foundationing.

The cavalry arrives.

Shed with a view.

Yep. She's level.

Careful Dad! It's not crossed braced and 'noggined' yet.

Winter is coming... (nod to GoT).

The morning Dad left. Very disappointed he didn't get to finish.

Just got to hang the door!

"Helloooo!"

Inside the palace.

Bit of trouble levelling the door.
It came good in the end... after a bit of "persuasion".

Looking resplendent in the sunshine.

Finished!! Could've made it a bit "prettier" but we like the "rustic" feel!

Well deserved leaving-day breakfast for Farmer Geoff at the Red Velvet Lounge.

Now for the farmhouse, boys...

Rooster Bend on Wattle Grove Road

So, down here people have chickens. And no roosters. Well, maybe one or two roosters to keep the girls in line. And to make little chickens. Cute little fluffy, cheepy chics. Awww. Then some of them grow into roosters. That nobody wants. Some people sell them, some people put them in the pot and some people dump them in the bush. All over Tasmania you come across the common sight of one or two roosters bachelor padding it in the relatively low risk, low predator Tassie bush. On the way up to our house there is a bend in the road that contains the biggest rooster bachelor pad I have seen to date. 12 roosters and counting. They aren't multiplying, as Farmer Geoff says, they're "recruiting". A gang of rough and tough, spur-ladden roosters hanging out on the side of the road. People chuck them food from their cars (roosters don't eat chips people!) and one or two kind-hearted (and I'm guessing, vegetarian) neighbours supply them with bowls of water and some grain. The native hens (or turbo-chooks as commonly known) hang around also and I wonder if a cross breed is inevitable...

Movement at the Station

Power’s on, plants are in the ground. We have siphon irrigation from the dam. Our block no longer looks unloved. 

Our brand new electricity meter

Farmer Geoff has been very busy with the brushcutter (borrowed from our lovely neighbours) slashing the grass and clearing the area for our fledgling olive grove. While Geoff was sweating it out at the block I was driving around sourcing plants and buying tools, mulch, stakes, and irrigation hose. Many an unplanned trip was made down the hill to the local Mitre 10 (or Mitre 9 as it is called by one of the neighbours - not quite a 10).

Once the area was cleared we tried to dig...

                                                                 ...and dig...

                                                                                ...into solid dry ground. 

Oh. God.

This is going to be tough.

Farmer Geoff dropped the shovel and pulled out the mattock and finally broke ground. Once through the tough top layer of grass, it was slightly easier going underneath. Lots of small rocks in the soil though. Geoff chose the toughest spot to start though with the rest of the holes dug quite easily. We have been assured though that the soil is gold once some organic matter is added.

After carting water 70+ metres from the dam (thanks Ma) to the olive grove we decided to see if a siphon would work. We thought we may be a little uphill from the dam. This proved to be the case with the siphon only getting to within 20 metres of the grove. Much better than the trek to the dam though.

Geoff's siphon

The varieties we planted were Manzanillo x 3 and one each of Barouni, Paragon, Mission and Flemings Jumbo. I think I have a good mix of oil/fruit varieties and plenty of cross pollination. 

We finished the olives off with a chicken wire fence each to ward off any critters. I think they look fabulous and by the time we left they had been in for nearly two weeks and were looking good - fingers crossed.

Olive Grove

Olive Grove

While there we also planted a sweet chestnut tree (which had been nibbled by a hungry pademelon before we put the fence around it), a liquidamber and a silver birch grove. I’m not holding out much hope for the silver birches but they were cheap and you never know your luck.

Sweet Chestnut

Liquidamber

Dad helping Geoff with the fence for the Birch Grove

Silver Birch Grove

Mum and Dad camped at the block for nearly two weeks. They set themselves up quite comfortably with the caravan and ensuite (camping loo and shower) and took advantage of the power. We set up the tent and camped a couple of nights and my brother Michael came down from Melbourne for 5 nights after Christmas.

Our campsite

Christmas Lunch!

We had a lovely Christmas lunch at the block of baked salmon with corn and stone fruit salsa, ham, potato speck and lettuce salad, and mint, peas and broadbeans. The fish was from Huon Aquaculture and the ham from the Cygnet Butcher - free range and local. Both were absolutely delicious. We are big fans of Graham at the Cygnet Butcher. He smokes and cures his own meats. His bacon is the best I have ever tasted - no kidding!

Christmas Lunch!

We all went to the Taste Festival in Hobart on opening day which coincides with the arrival of the fastest yachts in the Sydney to Hobart race. We watched third place Lahana arrive from Constitution Dock then watched the next two come in from the Taste festival with a glass of wine and a plate of fabulous food. There were five of us (Me and Geoff, Mum and Dad and Michael) so we got to have a good go at the food. Buying a small plate and sharing meant that we were able to try more things. We had ocean trout gravlax, Bruny Island oysters (the best in the world - without a doubt), sausages and mash, tempura mushrooms, Spring Bay mussels, octopus, calamari, and chip on a stick (see my previous post). I’m sure there was more...

Watching the Sydney to Hobart yachts
arrive from the Taste Festival

While Michael was down we also foraged for mussels and Oysters at Drip Beach. I cooked the mussels in a tomato, white wine and garlic sauce over the camp fire at our block and they were awesome. 

Dad, Michael and Me looking for Oysters at Petcheys Bay

Oysters Kilpatrick

Mussels from Drip Beach

My goodness we’ve had a good trip this time! Only down side is we were waiting for a shed to arrive from the mainland. It didn’t turn up - it’s somewhere between Albury, NSW and Huonville, Tas. It didn’t dampen the spirits though with our lovely neighbours Paul and Ally keeping our stuff (tent, tools etc.) in their shed. Geoff will be back at the end of January for work and will stay on an extra day or two to put it up.

On Christmas day we tried to rescue a sick little pademelon and get it to a carer but the poor thing died on the way. We rang Bonorong Wildlife Park who have a 24 hour emergency line (which I suspect just goes straight to Park Director and all-round good guy Greg’s mobile). They were very helpful even though it was Christmas day. The little cutie died about 10 minutes away from the volunteer carer’s house in Kingston. Fiona and Greg were very supportive of our efforts which was nice. I was surprised at my reaction - I thought a bleeding heart like mine would have been devastated. But I was very calm and philosophical about it. We tried our best and you can’t do more than that. My clothes still smell like eucalyptusy pademelon wee. When I live down there I think it is inevitable that I will be a wildlife carer. 

A couple more positive things before I go - the hay was baled while we were there, I think I ate 50kgs of ripe and sweet cherries from local orchards and we had three neighbours give us things from their gardens; Ken a lovely bag of homegrown garlic bulbs, Paul and Ally a punnet of homegrown raspberries and Ian and Hannah a bag of ultra fresh broadbeans.   

What an exceptionally unforgettable time.

I cannot wait to live there.   

This little piggy...

So I saw something today that made me smile. Two girls walking the family pet - a small black pig. Restrained in his/her little harness he/she was quite content to go for a walk and smell the flowers and the grass and the newly sown topsoil in next door's new garden bed. The size of a medium dog the little piggy trotted around Artarmon with the air of a pure bred afghan, not seeming one bit out of place in this Northern Sydney suburb. I hope I see it again soon...!

NBN Co.

We recently had our first experience dealing with council planning applications. NBN Co wanted to put up a 45m tower just off our road opposite our neighbours' place. Suffice to say the residents in the vicinity were not happy and we all put in council submissions to have the application in its current form, refused. Happy to say that the system worked and NBN Co are working out another option.

Still not sure how the council would have gone though - NBN withdrew the application after receiving so many complaints from residents about the current proposal.

Similar tower to NBN proposal

I don't believe anybody is against the need for the tower and this is not a NIMBY issue. I'm happy for the tower to be build just not so close to the road. The proposal had the 45m tower in 25m from our pretty little country road. I've heard that they are looking at moving it further down into the block which should be fine.

The NBN will be of huge value to the area opening up lots of opportunities for business, health and education. Only the towns will be on fibre though. Most of the region will be high-speed wireless- hence the requirement for additional towers. Definitely no fibre coming up our street! But we are on top of a hill with line of site to Mt Wellington, so will have no problem getting a strong signal.

What an exciting piece of national infrastructure - particularly for regional Australia.    

The Daffodils

I wandered lonely as a cloud
   That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
   A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
   And twinkle on the Milky Way,
They stretched in never-ending line
   Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
   Out-did the sparkling waves in glee:
A Poet could not but be gay,
   In such a jocund company:
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
   In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
   Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils.

William Wordsworth

We have half an acre of daffodils at the bottom of our block...

Yes. That really is our place!