It's a veritable frenzy of activity over the road today - sheets being washed, horse being fed - there is no end to the industry...... Lawn not mown however, and I refuse to consider the state of the inside of the house - not my problem.

I toddled over with the wheelbarrow to muck out, but as the horse is busy eating her dinner I simply picked up around the paddock, parked the wheelbarrow in a place it won't cause the horse problems, and left.

It was a lovely day today, but the forecast for Thursday seems to be spiralling downward at an alarming rate. I will definitely need to get the chainsaw out tomorrow to prepare - and will take a cloth bag on the dog walk to pick up kindling and lighter wood to get it started. I have three cottages to do tomorrow so I expect that will be the extent of my activity then.

Today was spent in town, but not before a surprise start to the day when a neighbour across the street turned up with two hares prepared for the pot at 7:30! A very pleasant surprise indeed! They have been cut in half so they fit into freezer bags and popped into the freezer pending the arrival of a bottle of red or three. While I was in Hobart i called into Boks factory outlet and bought a kilo of bacon offcuts - did you know they do streaky bacon? I didn't. So I now have their fridge magnet so I can call ahead and order some to be cut when next I am in town.

Dog food and a few items at the hardware were the main incentives for the trip. Both of which have now been met. At the hardware I wanted one of those coir blocks for the worm farm. Mine has been sadly neglected over the years and lives in twilight in the spare bedroom (cum toolshed). The worm population has expanded enormously, so I have filled another tray with the coir, put the food on top, and am hoping the majority of the worms will migrate into the new medium. I am assuming that if I leave it that way for a week or three, then I can removed the lowest tray, distribute its contents into the garden and any spare worms that emerge during the process will be popped into the beds where there is horse poo so they have a chance of survival. Perhaps by then I will have rebuilt the compost heaps and they can live in there.

Also acquired a full-face visor for using while whipper-snippering to protect my 'delicate complexion' lol.

Next stop was Northgate where I opted to get a new phone when I realised the 'reduction' in my phone bill would only be ten dollars a month. Better to get a new one and just re-load my apps than bother mucking about. It has much the same plan and only costs $2.00 a month more, so is affordable. It is a Samsung Mini which, unlike the one I have at present, will fit comfortably into a shirt pocket and allow me to do it up. Now all I have to do is find a cover on ebay and i am away (this evening will be spent downloading apps and games once more).

It does mean I have to play my way through numerous very simple levels of the games i have to get up to the level I am at presently, but it will fill in spare moments to do so.

Sitting here summoning the energy to go for a walk with the dogs as they have been stuck indoors all day. We will head off shortly.

My concern about the horse got the better of me, so I went next door yesterday afternoon and mentioned mildly that the tack had been used and perhaps they might have somewhere secure they could store it till Judy got back. 'He' smiled benignly and said he had given permission for the 13 year old to go over, tack up and just put some weight in each stirrup. He then went on to say she was very inexperienced and prone to over-estimate her capabilities. I mildly suggested that, in that instance it might have been sensible to ensure she was supervised while she did it, in case of accidents..... Only two more sleeps and she is home which will be a huge relief. This afternoon the same 13 year old decided to give the mare a bath when she got home from school. Last I saw she was damp and unrugged, with the temperature heading down to four overnight. It seems the child has suddenly remembered her responsibilities and is spending the evenings with Judy's dog, so at least Mickey has some company.

Did some whipper snippering today - going over old ground and getting into the base of the grass tussocks in an effort to make the surface suitable for mowing. At present, the toughness of the tussock bases regularly stalls the mower so the entire exercise is a lot more tiring than it should be. If I can get them reduced to a suitable height I will be able to mow some of the more even areas rather than whipper-snippering all the time. I have concluded I need a full-face helmet while i am doing it, however, as I have now copped two sharp things in the face, both of which have drawn blood - that's what you get from a more powerful tool.

I am heading to town tomorrow, so when I call into the hardware I will check out these visor things and see what I can get.

It will be a huge relief to me when Judy gets back! Someone has been riding her horse today. Her rug is off, the brand new, never been used saddle was thrown roughly over a gate (exposed to horse nibbles, rain etc), the bridle has been hung roughly back in place with the bit covered in chaff.... Remember this is a horse that has not been ridden for over 12 months, who has suffered an injury in the past and will need very careful riding for some time before she is ready for more exciting stuff. And from the evidence it looks like a teenager has been at work. And none of the teenagers next door have the first clue how to treat a horse. And clearly they knew they should not have been doing it as they had ridden her up the road, not down the lane to the recreation ground.

I have put the saddle back on its rack and covered it with a fleecy sweater I found lying around. The door to the stall had also once again been closed, but since it seems it has been blown shut I have tied it back to the post to ensure it doesn't cause any injury or prevent the mare from entering her stall. It will be seven tonight and 20 tomorrow so the rug is not such an issue as it might have been.

Since the door had clearly been closed all night, there was no waste in the stall, but quite a bit elsewhere in the paddock, so I took the barrow around and cleaned that up, putting the results into the raised bed whose soil I am building up.

I was not able to start the chainsaw today which was annoying as I had planned to be cutting up the remainder of the woodpile that I have not yet stacked. Still it is all to one side, so the next load (due this coming week) can be delivered with out impediment.

The washing was put out early but was still not quite dry when I had to bring it in because of afternoon showers. This is mainly because it was cool, damp and overcast for most of the day. But still, most of it is done and I have some clean clothes once more.

Seb and I went for a walk this afternoon and on our way back checked if the saddle was still where it had been left (which it was) and so called in to sort that out. I left Seb to play with Micky and this time they actually engaged with each other, playing chasings, which is a good thing. Micky was stuck indoors as the door had swung shut (someone is using the washing machine to do several loads), so I popped the footscraper in the way so it would not close and leave him stuck outside in the rain.

It is a bit too warm indoors at present as I lit the fire when the day showed no sign of getting warmer, and then it did, to spite me, lol. But i am letting it burn slowly as I expect it will be needed when the sun goes down.

well I phoned her over the road last night, once i had her number and we chatted for a bit before i asked her who was looking after the animals. From there we went on and it was agreed I was perfectly OK to go about what I was doing, and it was  greatly appreciated and so on and so forth, and I told her in future to just leave the animals in my care. Apparently there are three people responsible, which may be contributing to the problem, as perhaps one is assuming the other two are doing it and so forth. But I doubt it, as this morning when him next door went over there, he was at pains to secure the side gate on his way home.

When I popped over this afternoon (taking Seb with me as they have also stopped leaving their dog in with Judy's dog to keep him company during the day), the stable door was closed (thus preventing the sun's access to dry and sterilise the area), the feed bin was outside on the ground, the gate to the feed store was tied shut and various other actions had been taken that were fairly 'keep out' in their nature.

Naturally I ignored the lot, mucked out the stall, collected the poo from the ground outside as that too seems to have been neglected for several days if the dungbeetle activity levels are anything to go by, and gave her some hay. I have also found out what mix of additional feed the horse is supposed to be getting, and we agreed it would not hurt her to give her a bit extra (as long as I skip the grain, which I would have done anyway).

Tomorrow I will get the washing done at mine, take Seb over for a play (well, actually all they do is follow each other around, and Seb goes into the stall to eat horse poo at any opportunity), cut some more grass (ie find the base of another fruit tree so I have somewhere to put the next lot of stable waste), and generally catch up with myself. Since her next door now has my phone number I will expect her to call me if she wants me to do her job for her, but tomorrow I am afraid the answer will be No. If she is too lazy, then Brad can do it for himself since it is the weekend.

Bit of a seriously chilly one today. I think it staggered up to 9 degrees in passing, but mainly hovered around the six degree mark - with rain. Not sure whether the sun bothered to get up today, to be frank.

The fire has been going flat out all day, with occasional hiccups due to unscheduled absences. First, a request I clean a cottage on short notice (today is not one of my days) as the request, on short notice, was all too much for her next door who seems to be finding life a bit of a struggle right now. Having once cleaned the cottage I headed home and called over the road to see to the horse.

Mucking out was, once again, a breeze, but produced a bit more than yesterday as I assume she was spending more time under a roof than she had the day before. The hay net was out on the ground as the hook it was hung on seems to have fallen out of the wall - I will fix that tomorrow when it is warmer. The water bucket was as bone dry as a bucket can get when it is raining constantly, so I tracked down the hose and filled it back up again, gave the horse some more hay (she has been stealing it from under the door of the shed it is stored in), and came away wondering how to get in touch with her owner. Eventually I called next door and asked if they had her number and am assured that once they have checked with her, they will give it to me. Fair enough. I would not want them giving my number away with gay abandon.

Was just settling down when the phone rang and it was my friend who was passing through town on her way home from Devonport. So we met up at the Pancake Parlour and I had a big hot chocolate with a cinnamon scroll which may tide me over to dinner time (I am famished!).

Threw another log on the fire, and now the dogs and I are planning to spend the rest of the evening indoors apart from emergency loo trips.

This morning dawned dark and drear with rain falling in quantities (well, 12 mm in all). As a consequence i overslept by quite a bit, and barely had time to walk the dogs, feed myself and get in to clean the two cottages I thought I had to deal with. It was only as I was putting out the envelope for incoming guests that I realised that the cottage with its curtains drawn, and no key in the box, was in fact the one tonight's guests were checking into. So I headed to the Roxy for some sustenance to keep me going and some toilet paper (as we had run out of that in two of the cottages) and set to work once more.

The incoming guests had phoned ahead requesting an early check in but had been told not to bother turning up before 2 as it would not be ready for them. Good thing too as the outgoing guests had left a bombsite. Unfortunately the incoming guests felt they were entitled to check in (even though checkin is not until two) and turned up at about quarter to the hour, telling me they were checking in.

I politely explained that as I was still cleaning the cottage (I was standing in front of a pile of soiled linen that had yet to be bagged), I would appreciate it if they returned at two, as previously advised. They then asked how they were to check in. I explained that i had left an envelope with instructions at 'reception'. They said they had that, but the key was not there. I explained that this was because the cottage was not ready for occupation, as I was still cleaning it...... They went off looking most disgruntled so I let the boss know in case of repercussions.

Having finally cleaned the cottage I then went to Roberts' for a bale of hay, since with all the rain, all thought of cutting any off my place was completely out of the question. Got home with it, and took the barrow (and my pitchfork, which I find easier to use than the specially designed pooper scooper Judy has) over the road, and mucked out the stall. I have to wonder just how long it had been since it was last done as yesterday I collected two heaped barrow-loads, and today's was less than a barrow. Spread an extra bale of straw around (I have found the stash!), then took the load back to my place, put it around the tree I had cleared around last time i was slashing, and then took the bale of lucerne hay back over the road.

I had suspected the horse was hungry as she was muscling in on me to access the straw as I spread it around. She was given two sandwiches of hay in the hay net and then I headed home to my lot.

Despite the overcast and rain, it is not as cold indoors as one would expect. Nevertheless I have the fire going at a low burn, and am enjoying listening to the rain on the roof once more.

No idea what happened to the formatting on that last post but please cope as well as you can. I have given up trying to sort it out.

I have had a bitsy day today - turns out i had misread my roster and had only one cottage to clean, and one envelope to put out. Not to worry - it meant getting it over and done with - that and stacking the linen that had been delivered. I headed home with the chainsaw (finally serviced) in the back of the ute and decided to cut some wood in anticipation of two cold days from tomorrow. But first I needed my wheelbarrow, which you will recall I left over the road almost a fortnight ago. When I arrived it was to find her next door busy weeding the garden. I explained my errand and was told cheerfully that i might like to take the manure from the stable when I left as Judy has headed off once more unanounced and left them in charge once more (God knows why!).

It was a lovely sunny but fairly 'fresh' day today - ideal gardening weather. So since our volunteer had arranged to come two days this week, and today was the designated day, I headed into the community garden with the whipper snipper and set to work clearing weeds - it is astounding how much more efficient it is. I know I keep on banging on about it, but it really does a fantastic job - even the weeds growing between the paving stones were whipped out and destroyed without any worries (apart from having to replace the cord fairly frequently). We also pulled the tomato plants and hung them in the shed - we have now had three frosts so they are clearly not long for this world.

We cleaned up the shed and all the spare corrugated iron and alsinite was loaded into the ute for delivery to a friend who makes dog kennels. He also makes some lovely blanket boxes and has offered one as a donation for our next raffle in exchange for the iron. Such a lovely man.

And i am now planning to spend the rest of the evening in front of the fire as it is cooling down once more.

The cooler, wetter weather today provided the perfect opportunity to do nothing at all. So that is what I did. Had a nice sleep in, then breakfasted, walked the dogs a few times, read a book, cut a bit of extra wood since it will be zero tonight, and put on the casserole i have been trying to cook for some time. I suspect i got a little diverse with the flavourings, so it remains to be seen how tasty it is.

woke at five this morning which was a pity as I had planned on a sleepin after yesterday's exertions. But since i was awake I got stuck into a couple of loads of washing which went on the line between bouts with the whipper snipper. Trimmed up along the hedge and down into the orchard and was on a roll, when the neighbour came over and asked me if I would mind doing the cottages today as Annie was unwell. Apparently Annie only realised this at 11:30 (we start work at 11:00 at the latest if we want to get the cottages sorted before check-in time of two).

while I was less than impressed I figured that it was worth the effort so headed into town and cleaned all three cottages. And made all six beds as the guests in the main house decided to spread out a bit.

Naturally, while i was doing this the wind picked up so I came back to find my washing strewn across the newly cut grass and the pile of stable waste that is covering up the rhubarb crowns. Apparently it did not occur to her next door to bring it in for me, despite the fact I was doing her job for her.

Oh well. I am, as a result, rather weary tonight and very glad I don't have a bank to clean, and do have a pizza in the freezer to nourish myself with (this is one of the fresh pizzas they are making at the local supermarket - and a vegetarian one to boot, so actually quite a healthy option). The dogs did not get their long walk today as I was so tired I could barely stagger around the oval.

Today's working bee was rather successful. We managed to flatten the entire acre and remove all the weeds and rubbish while another team worked on rubbing back paint, repairing windows and generally smartening things up. It seems the plan is to get the place looking nice and then sell it, as it is too difficult for her to manage the payments with her husband gone. So a good day's work - if a tiring one.

Food was laid on as was a ready supply of beautiful coffee, but frankly I would have preferred some iced water from time to time as it is dry work slashing weeds around buildings (she has three rather wonderful sheds in the back yard) and finding strange objects (discarded thongs, bits of brick etc) as you go along. It would make a good buy if you were handy, though the house needs some work. It is an acre of land in the middle of Oatlands with the house set off to one side, permitting subdivision of the rear if you felt so inclined, without feeling you were crowded by the new residence since the three sheds are between the potential building site and the house. Ah daydreams.

So I am home, and the dogs walked and the fire lit about an hour ago as it was starting to get a bit chilly, though is now a little too warm - sigh.

I will be heading to bed in the not too distant future, to save up some energy to tackle a  bit more of my own back yard and get the washing done if the weather permits tomorrow.

The morning's chores included a trip into the community garden. Fortunately not for the entire day as Syche's clan has increased by one and she had grandparently responsibilities to attend to. I got home and headed over the road to discover that they had just mucked out the stable and had two barrow loads of horsey straw to get rid of. So they came home and were tucked around the rhubarb plants, and the neat poo went onto the last of the bed i have been filling up.

I have driven in a star picket to support one of the apple trees that had fallen over. As the soil is moist at present it was a simple job to ease it upright once more without damaging too many roots, and to tie it into place. Now if the stake doesn't fall over, the tree has a good chance of growing upright once more. I will prune off some of the side branches while it is dormant and hollow out its middle, then weight the branches down so it doesn't get too tall. It is on dwarfing rootstock which should help.

Then I swapped around the head on the trimmer preparatory for tomorrow's working bee (assuming it goes ahead), but did not get any more trimming done here as it decided to rain. I did manage to cut a bit more firewood up and the fire is lit once more as it has been a day of cool winds, and only broken sun. Since it will be heading down to one degree tonight I will be grateful to come home to a warm house when I have done the bank tonight.

Tomorrow I think I will do some trimming at my place before heading into the working bee as I still have no idea what time it is scheduled to start. Since I do not, as yet, have any cottages scheduled I will be able to fit both activities in without wearing myself out.

Only five mm today but it has been showery on and off all day. They promised us 20 degrees, but i am pretty sure they got that wrong! And the wind! Bits of trees flying around with gay abandon - so no long walkies today for the dogs. they can stay inside in front of the fire and be grateful! lol. Fortunately the load of wood I have been stacking for the last few days yielded enough short wood to keep me going till tomorrow as it has been too damp to set up the electric drop saw, and the chainsaw is still in being serviced. Still, I had the perfect excuse to do nothing much at all, thanks to the weather.

One cottage to clean, but I forgot to leave out check-in instructions for the in-coming guests. I popped back in to do just that but it was redundant as both parties arrived as I was getting that sorted out. One lot arrived on a motorbike (brr) and a place had to be found for that where it could remain out of the wind and rain (it is on the verandah) and the other party wanted me to check they had sufficient salt and pepper and cooking oil. S&P I could supply - the cooking oil is not part of the package. I am very glad I am not cleaning up tomorrow though, as four young asian guests having a fry-up has the potential to cause considerable culinary chaos!

Bangers and mash for dinner tonight as it is cool enough to enjoy them. They are cooking on top of the wood stove as we speak!

The steady rain that started yesterday evening seems to have kept up for most of the night. There were 8 mm in the gauge this morning! And this morning was so dark and overcast it looked like it would be going all today too. So I left the pump of the hot water system turned off (if I leave it on during heavily overcast days the water cools down too much) and headed in to clean the two cottages. Naturally, the skies cleared, so I had to go home at lunchtime to turn the pump on, then return to the working bee that was supposedly happening today.

What no-one had bothered to let me know was that the working bee had been rained out and was not happening, even though the weather had improved. I was not terribly happy about this, but took advantage of the afternoon off to have a little sit down. Much needed as I was, once again, very weary today. Apparently there are some major solar flares happening at present and this is disrupting everyone's sleep and mood, so that could explain it.

It rained again this afternoon - I took Judy up on her offer to bring Seb over for a play date with her dog, but got there just as she was going out again. It is hard to know if this is all due to her being rattled, or is some sort of code for taking back the various offers she has made.  Anyway, she went out and rather than leave Seb unsupervised with two other dogs he has only previously met on a leash, I stayed in the yard to keep an eye on things. And then it started to rain. Quite a bit. So I left him there and came home for a waterproof then headed back. Meanwhile he had gone into the house and the other two dogs had ganged up on him to some extent, so Seb had to be rescued from the hallway and taken outside. Where we stood, in the rain, and got rather wet. He is a bit of a cat in many ways so when we came home and he was indoors once more, he started licking his coat to dry himself. A quick towel down sorted out his problem and now he is unconscious on the floor.

I had taken him for a very long walk before we went over so he was not over-excited, and all in all I think it went well. It is a chance for him to get off leash at least, and once the other two dogs get over their clubbiness, he will be fine. He is actually surprisingly timid with them, and definitely willing to submit to instructions which I guess helps.

Tonight there is a bank to clean, but first I will need to put on some dry clothes as my jeans are sticking to me rather badly right now.

This morning was at least five degrees warmer than yesterday but felt bloody freezing. So the fire was lit, with a view to letting it go out when things warmed up. Still waiting.

Despite this tonight's temperature will only go down to 14, so it will be a rather cosy night and no doubt I will not sleep at all well.

Our plans for the day were disrupted when Judy felt she needed to go to Hobart to sort out some more of the inevitable business that occurs following a death. So Seb is  full of energy and really needs a walk. But it is raining - not heavily, but persistently - and that is simply not going to happen any time soon (unless it lets up before dark).

I popped into town and collected the whipper snipper and changed the line for the blade. Wow! Last time I used a blade it simply bounced off the clumps of grass that grow down the back, but this baby cut right through them. So a barrow load of 'hay' was wheeled across the road and left under the willow tree to stop it getting wet. I would have put it in the shed, but the horse was very interested in it, and I wanted Judy to approve it before the horse got to eat it. I picked out the rough stuff (stems of woody weeds and thistles), so it should be fine. But i try to avoid feeding anything to someone else's horse until they have had a chance to clear it (well, ok, the odd handful of green grass...). The horses next door nearly bent the fence down trying to get at it as I wheeled it past - they get concentrates, but nothing that fills their bellies so the poor things feel starved even if they are well-nourished.

More of the cuttings are heaped into two piles in anticipation of me reaching a fruit tree in the near future, and being able to use it for mulch. The lower end of the paddock does not have such high grass - mainly twitch - so I will not be getting as much mulch out of it as I am at present. The yard is starting to resume its former appearance which is encouraging. I will be happier still when I get some fencing around the orchard so I can put some muscovies in to keep it mown neatly for me.

Tonight I am having a really disgusting meal - a pork loin chop (not so disgusting) with potato gems (that's the disgusting bit) as I really can't be bothered doing anything special. Would rather loaf in front of the fire as the dogs and cats are doing.

The threatened frost arrived this morning instead, just to confuse me. Fortunately I had a great night's sleep last night due to the temperature being more suitable for sleeping, and was up in time to administer water to the susceptible plants.

I thought i had badly upset the applecart yesterday evening as Pewter disappeared from the yard amid considerable whinnying and stirring about. But it turns out Judy had decided to reclaim her horse for lawn mowing duties and to ease the light scouring that all the horses are suffering from at present (too much concentrate and not enough roughage as they have bare dirt only in their yards now).

After I had put out the washing I popped over to see if there was a real upset and ended up staying for much of the day as they were clearing out the shed. Came home with a huge haul as a consequence. Several stackable sturdy trays that will allow me to sort out the spare room/toolshed, two large dog beds, brand new, the set of super-sophisticated chainsaw sharpening tools that John had offered to me then forgotten as the cancer affected his thought processes, a set of 'acorns' to adorn the top of fence posts when and if I ever get around to building a front fence, and a bag of horse poo. We have agreed that as I slash the back yard I will supply hay until I run out, and that a bag of horse poo each day will be available for my use (until Judy gets back to herself and resumes gardening).

Her yard is larger than mine, and presently subdivided into three spaces, in addition to the space around the house. She was planning to pull out the row of star pickets that create the third space, but i suggested she keep it and add fencing wire so she can rotate the mare around the place and retain her turf. She is not thinking clearly, poor woman, so is giving away a lot of stuff at present that she will need in the future, so I am claiming that also, with a view to returning it when the need arises.

Tomorrow both Seb and I will go over, as her yard is fully fenced, and Seb can play with her dog. They know each other, and if I leave Seb in one of the yards till he gets over the excitement of being offleash, they will have a good day together.

Meanwhile I have a bank to clean this evening so will be heading in there in about an hour's time to do so. I will lay the fire before leaving in case it is cool when I get home, but at present it is not at all necessary.

Today I was even more weary than before having failed to get to sleep until 4 this morning. Good thing I had no jobs to attend to. I did manage to stack around 2.5 of the three tonnes of firewood, discovering smaller bits as I went and piling them into the wheelbarrow for tonight's fire.

Luckily the threatened frost failed to eventuate  as the sun was well over the horizon by the time i emerged, with a good four hours of sleep to keep me propped up.

Them next door re-arranged the horses this morning for no apparent reason, putting the stallion into the yard that contains the exercise yard. This had two effects. Firstly, now all the mares have to be led through the stallions paddock to get into the exercise yard to be exercised, and secondly I have to go through the stallion's yard to get to the yard that houses her over the road's horse.

What with all the movements of mares through his yard, the carrying on of longeing activities in the yard within his yard - the regular removal of mares to go for a stroll around the oval on a daily basis, the poor, usually good-natured stallion is feeling a bit nippy. Unfortunately I discovered this only after I had moved the bags of manure under the electric fence with the intention of transferring them over the fence to the lane. The first bag I managed without incident, but by then he had come over for a look. So I had to take him by the halter and walk him around a bit in the hopes of discouraging him. But no. Eventually I had to swing a leg over the fence, while holding him off, then get the rest of me over (without getting hooked on barbed wire) without getting bitten. So the second  bag is still there and will remain there until tomorrow when I will haul it back into the mares paddock, having walked all the way around to their place to do the job I promised to do.

Speaking of which, they seem to have assumed I would be cleaning up all the paddocks as today he came over offering me more bags to use (I am recycling the ones I am using) and telling me which paddocks needed doing. I bit my tongue and politely explained I had only offered to clean Pewter's paddock, not the lot. While the response was polite, I have no doubt they are peeved and will think of some further way of making life harder for me to do what I promised her over the road. One can but try.

Today was marginally more relaxing. And a good thing too. I woke up feeling as if I had been through a wringer and it took till lunchtime before my energy re-emerged from where-ever it had been hiding. By that time i had stacked some wood and cleaned a cottage and got home laden with the food they left behind in the fridge. So tonight's dinner will probably involve putting the veges through the grater and adding a batter to make vege muffins or fritters as the spirit moves me.


Got home and noticed the neighbours had once again failed to clear up the horse poo in the paddocks (this despite having no further excuse as Judy's daughter has arrived and took her out for a drive today). So I popped over the fence and dealt with the paddock Judy's horse is in and left the rest for them to deal with, when and if they ever get around to it. Apparently they only do it if they have a cheer squad to motivate them. The resultant poo was piled into the bed that has the bramble berry in it, with a view to interring the berry entirely. That should give it a head start next Spring and keep it nice and snug over winter.

More wood was stacked though I still have a very long way to go, and some of the lighter pieces were sawn up for the fire that will be necessary tonight and tomorrow (one overnight, fourteen tomorrow).
Still feeling quite weary (had an energy drink to boost me a bit - not one of those cola things, but a relic of my Herbalife experiment), and will no doubt be climbing into bed early tonight - possibly with a painkiller to help my muscles relax a little. A hot bath is out of the question as I still have a curry leaf plant in there, awaiting collection.

Had a last minute request to clean cottages for her next door this morning. So they are now clean. Fortunately the volunteer who normally comes to the Community Garden called in sick this morning, so after dealing with an outbreak of mould in the polytunnel (removed all infected leaves etc), I was off to deal with the cottages.

On returning home I finally managed to catch Judy at home and conveyed my regrets. There is to be no funeral as he just wanted to be cremated without a fuss. Very sensible approach I reckon - please bear it in mind when it is my turn. Once over there I helped re-arrange furniture so his sick bed is no longer a feature of the living room and the new bedroom is set up and dressed, then back to the place next door to remove horse poo as Judy was concerned that her horse would be reinfested with the worms for which it has just been treated. Said horse poo was being deposited around the base of the walnut tree when the load of firewood was finally delivered. This is load one. I will be getting another at the beginning of next month since it is clearly going to be a cold winter, if this morning's frost is anything to go by.

Did some desultory wood-stacking, sorting through for some smaller pieces to keep me warm on Sunday when we are aiming for 14 with one overnight, then back into town to do a bit more in the garden (watering etc) before going to clean the bank. So much for retirement being all about sitting around relaxing!

My new toy is still at the garage as Andrew had a very busy day today, but I have arranged to call in tomorrow on the off-chance it will be ready to rock and roll. If not there is always 3 tonne of firewood to stack which should stop me fretting too badly (and two cottages to clean).

Judy's prolonged absence has been explained. Sadly her husband died this morning. He has been battling cancer for some time now, and today he played the end game. Sad times as he has been a real character since he and Judy moved into the town. Always dropping by with a helping hand, suggestions and ideas about how to do things for one-self. I am hoping someone lets me know the funeral arrangements, but I expect I will have to buy the Muckery tomorrow and find out for myself.

Meanwhile I played with my new toy some more. It is frustrating I was only allowed two tanks of fuel before it has to go back in for a service. But I did manage to fight my way into the walnut tree, which is now surrounded by a high donut of dry cut grass in anticipation of the next horse poo delivery. The idea, suggested to me by a friend, is that I thickly mulch all the fruit trees with a mix of hay and horsepoo so that they do not require watering and therefore survive summers better. Of course since it is necessary to keep the mulch away from the trunk it is not a complete pile, but a ring.

Today was coolish, but has now cooled down quite a bit - so much so my next venture outdoors will require a coat over the windcheater I am already wearing. So the fire has been lit to ensure the one degree forecast for overnight does not freeze us all to pieces. Meanwhile it has just started raining here - the first of the scattered showers forecast for the day.

Only one cottage today and the couple who were so insistent on getting in early at least had the decency to check out early too. So it is nice and tidy and ready for tonight's guests, who had not yet arrived by the time i left (and a good thing too!).



I am supposed to be going to a meeting about establishing a Bendigo Bank in Oatlands which I think is a good idea. But it will also be the death knell of the Commonwealth Bank Agency here, and therefore of my job, so my feelings are mixed.

This morning, her over the road failed to put in an appearance and as a result, nothing was done with the horses at all. No manure collection, no handling. Sigh. Still from my point of view this was not entirely unfortuitous as I had three cottages to clean and have yet to do the bank.

I left early to go to the service station to talk about whipper snippers and call in at the Community Garden in case I ran into the teacher who goes over there two days a week. Turns out he is not (as Eleanor assured me) willing to take on all sorts of odd jobs, but is happy working up the bed he is working on at present (which he is busy digging manure and compost and other goodies into while the student waters it all in an attempt to overcome the water-repellant nature of the soil. This is the bed the teacher was using last year, but she did no soil preparation whatsoever - simply handing the kids seedlings to shove in any which way and hope for the best. This one is showing the kid all about soil preparation as well as growing stuff which will be great.

Then off to the cottages where I ran into my boss who was there to do some maintenance work. Of course the guests in the cottage that was to be occupied this evening were late checking out. So late I was beginning to wonder if they were still alive. And of course the new guests arrived well before the previous ones had shown signs of life so I sent them off to amuse themselves, asking them to return at 2. They stayed away for an hour, but at least that was long enough to prep the cottage for them, though the mattress was still warm from the last lot.

The other two cottages were relatively stress-free, so by the time i got back to the service station I was rather hoping to be able to pick up my new whipper snipper, but poor Andrew had had a bad day (their dog died this morning and he had to go home to cope with that) and was so far behind that he was still working on the job that was supposed to be finished by ten this morning.

Anyway, I now have a new whipper snipper and I think I am in love. It is a straight shaft EFCO machine (Italian manufacture) which takes either the cord or a steel cutting blade like a brush cutter, so is good for all contingencies I am likely to face. I am supposed to use two tanks of fuel to run it in then take it back in. I used one tank this afternoon playing with it. It also has an easy-load function for the cord. You just thread it through the head, then wind the head around to wind it on. And it takes up to 8.5 metres of line at a time so no mucking about running out of line in mid-job.

And it cuts like a dream, leaving a smooth finish to the ground and just chops through the thick bases of the tussocky grass that is the curse of my place. I could pretty well throw out the lawnmower with this baby, and may well have to sell it to recoup some of the cost as it was not cheap. But, the way I reason it, I have had to pay someone to come in at the beginning of the fire season every year to hack the back yard into shape, and now I will not have to. So it should pay for itself in two years time. Since it has a five year warranty it's all sweet!

Three bags of manure started my day off well. I like this incremental delivery as it does not overwhelm me, so I am making great progress in the garden. Pity it is the wrong end of the year for this sort of thing but it will give me a good start next Spring. This lot went into what I had expected to be an empty bed. I had not planted anything there, and the bramble berry had given every indication of dying (this is down the back where the hose does not reach that easily and I had decided not to bother with it given how dry the beginning of summer was). But no, on pulling out the all too willing twitch, I discovered new growth on the bramble hiding underneath. So I have pruned off all the dead canes, re-inserted the climbing frame and am hoping for the best. Also a raspberry seems to have survived several years of neglect and that too is poking out new growth. All of this is being buried under the manure which is a little fresh for the purpose but I suspect brambles are well up to it. The three bags went into that bed, and more of the undergrowth was mowed. Since I had the secateurs out with me, I also cut back the celery (that is the green thing in the corner of the bed in the photo). Cutting through the thickest stem I was surprised to discover an entire colony of earwigs boiling out of the large hole in the middle. I often wondered where earwigs come from and now I know, lol, they grow in celery plants!

The fennel and one of the currant bushes also got some attention, and then I got the whipper snipper out.

First I could not undo the knob that gives access to load the cable. So I took it over the road to see if John could manage it. He is clearly very very ill at present, so it was lucky there was an electrician there who happily sorted it out for me. I set to with a will and a new lot of cable, and got some edges trimmed. But when it came time to turn it off to re-load additional cable, it would not go off, no matter what I did. It just kept on running. Eventually I managed to get it to stop by switching on the choke and revving it till it flooded itself. No idea what is going on there.

This morning as I was collecting the manure, two of the horses were led down the lane and out onto the oval for some exercise and the chance to learn to lead. On their way back I invited them to stop for a bit of a graze on my place which they greatly appreciated, leaving further offerings to add to the garden. If they can get over the resentment that I am profitting from their waste, we may yet get something resembling a relationship going, one hopes.

The weather gods seem to be taking autumn a lot more seriously than they did Summer. Yes we had some hot weather, but all in all it was rather coolish over-all. Tonight it will be four degrees and later in the week we are heading to one degree overnight. Days hovering between 17 and 20 for the rest of the week.

I headed into town this morning with the express intention of obtaining fuel for the whipper snipper and lawnmower. I thought that, while I was in there, I could also pop in some seeds at the community garden and get some basic groceries. Well the last two jobs got done, but I forgot the fuel.

After collecting today's manure contribution I spread it on the bed I am filling up, and have sown some green mulch seeds into it (beans, grains of various sorts, etc) and watered them in. I have to be amused that when I collected today's lot I was chatting to them about how I would be able to get rid of it for them by rotating it around the fruit trees, when it suddenly occurred to them that they were giving away something that they too could be using. Bear in mind I have been suggesting for some months now that their children should be collecting and bagging it to sell for pocket money. But it is only after seeing my example of how welcome it is to a gardener that it has occurred to them that it has some value. And of course, now they have decided that they will be planting an espalier of fruit trees and of course, using the manure themselves... I guess some people are better at receiving than at giving......

Anyway, here is the bed in question - filled almost to the brim with horse poo, and getting ready for the Spring crops, I hope.

I also put away a bit of the washing that was done yesterday. As I went about it, I opened the door of the linen cupboard and found out where Esther had gotten to. I did think she had been being a bit quiet.

After another trip into town to get the fuel, I did some more mowing and am now down past the raised beds near the septic tank. At this rate I should get the orchard cleared enough to be able to deposit any more manure with little difficulty.

Came in from doing that to find a text from one of my old Ag College mates telling me he and his wife would be arriving in Oatlands in an hour. According to FB it had been sent 'about an hour ago', so I responded, piled into the ute and headed back into town for the third time. Unfortunately they had left about 15 minutes earlier, so I missed them. Oh well - next time.

Picked some more tomatoes, broccoli and zucchini while i was in at the community Garden, so that's dinner sorted!

Judy has a plot running. She has decided the only way to get some action next door is to lead by example. So today, not only her horse, but all the other horses, got a grooming. And the younger ones were given some lead rope training. And all the poo was collected and bagged and dumped onto the lane for me to collect and deal with as I saw fit.

So I have used the first seven bags to top up the levels in a garden bed that has subsided somewhat over the years. I will add a couple more bags to ensure it is just over the top of the raised sides, and then water in a mix of green manure seeds to keep it going and weed-free over winter, before planting it up next Spring. Several dozen more bags will be put to similar uses in some of the other wicking beds that were not planted this summer due to lack of water. By next summer I should have some good soil to work with as the worms will do their bit as well as the green manure.

The continuous supply will be used to mulch around all of the fruit trees also, on the principle that it will be like painting the Sydney Harbour Bridge. By the time I get around the orchard, it will be time to top up the first ones, etc. I am told by someone who does this himself, that he never has to water his fruit trees because he has done this around all of them for some time.

Also on the cards today was mowing. I mowed till I ran out of fuel, and there is still quite a bit more to do. But it was a good start. I will refuel when I go into town tomorrow and get some for the whipper-snipper as well.

Three loads of washing was my lot for the day, and now the dogs and I are sitting back wondering if we have the energy to go for our long walk.

Ah what pleasure! It was cool enough last night to have the quilt as well as the doona! Since spare bedding gets piled on the other side of the bed and limits my capacity to stretch out, such moments are wonderful. I even got to have a more restful morning this morning with a bit of a sleep in and a relaxing start to the day.

It turns out the new horse is actually being agisted, not a permanent resident. It belongs to them over the road (who I would have thought had more sense than to leave any animal in the care of them next door, but they left all of them with them while they went away a few weeks back). She is an ex-polo pony who suffered an injury to her back, has had chiropracty and a year's rest and is now apparently fit to ride. She is remarkably tall for a polo pony being over 15 hh, but seems to have a nice nature, and be more human-oriented than the others. She comes over to the fence whenever she sees me. I cut up and apple to take to her. She took on piece politely, spat out the skin and declined further offerings, lol.

Three cottages, and luckily I had cleaned the smallest one first as those guests decided to avail themselves of an early check-in. Apart from that I have done very little other than take Seb on his long walk and debate with myself as to whether a fire is necessary. So far the jury is out on that one.

The chilly weather was boosted further by galeforce winds that howled around the house for much of the night. The power cut before bedtime, I managed. The one during the night of course foiled my alarm-setting and the clock was merrily flashing at me when I awoke to full daylight. The reason I had the alarm on was that I had planned to be up and about by six and with a nice cool night that was not a safe bet as I fell deeply asleep.

So the start of the day was a bit hurried, but i was only half an hour late into the garden and could have been there earlier if I had been willing to rush. We rebuilt the compost heap and harvested the rich deposit at the bottom of the bin, using it to fill up another garden bed ready for planting. This one will be some winter root veges. The harvest was mainly tomatoes today but there are some broccoli heads ready to pick so I plan to collect those tomorrow when I go to clean the cottages. I will make a nice broccoli and blue cheese flan for tomorrow night's dinner. I think I will also pinch off the flower heads that are still optimistically forming on the tomatoes, so that the already abundant crop gets the best growth opportunity, but when I am in there with Syche I find that I am not comfortable spending time on my own plants.

Home to witness the arrival of yet another horse next door (that makes five, including the mare who alleged to be pregnant but I suspect she isn't) who is settling in with no fuss in the paddock immediately adjacent the stallion. She seems a nice creature but looks more like a thoroughbred than a quarterhorse to me.

The dogs and cats have had their exercise for the day and Shadow is fast asleep on the floor beside me (Seb is on the bed). With a full moon tonight I suspect this will not last long.

BOM got the forecast right today. Blooming freezing. Fortunately the rain cleared early in the morning so I was able to give the chainsaw some exercise. It started first time this time - who knows what goes on with these machines?

It is even chillier now, and I am enjoying having the fire lit (and some wood to put on it). As a consequence I spent much of the day indoors, and had fun trolling my local member who, as usual, has responded to my quite reasonable questions first with the assertion it is a lie perpetrated by the Greens, then, when faced with evidence to support my position, to back around and to assure me (with a figurative pat on the head) that in no way would the person in question do anything to harm Australia. Since he has said much the same of their leader, and of a certain former Minister for Immigration, I remain unconvinced. Particularly when the person under discussion has used the excuse 'well if Labor did it, why can't I?'

That aside, Seb had his worming tablet today. It was the first time I have tried to give him a tablet so I was expecting a bit of a battle. Instead, he took great interest in the package being opened, so I tried offering it to him as a treat. He gobbled it straight down - even cleaning up the crumbs he spilled when I pointed them out to him on the floor. Several liver treats were provided to wash away any nasty lingering after taste.

Getting back to the chainsaw - it is amazing the difference a new file and the filing jig makes to its cutting power! Straight cuts (usually they are a bit curved as I have been filing the wrong way) and straight through the wood as if it were butter - this will make life much easier this winter!

Living near a level crossing, as I do, I become accustomed to having the odd journey interrupted by flashing red lights and a need to pause and wait for the train to go by. At dusk and night it can be more disconcerting as the trains have a light on the front that is visible for some distance. Sometimes the trains stop at the station to allow a southbound train to pass them. Tonight, on my way back from cleaning the bank (yes! I remembered!), I spotted a train light over by the station as I approached Parattah. The red lights were not flashing. Huge mental debate - is it stationary or moving? Decided it was stationary and to go across the crossing when I looked again and noticed it was quite alarmingly close. So I stopped, backed up behind the white line and had just got myself organised as the lights started flashing and the train passed. It was not a long wait between the two. I wonder if the train is supposed to get that close before the lights come on? Given the prevalence of boy racers who stall their hotrods in the middle of the road I am amazed we have not had an accident yet.

Earthworks continued till 7:30 last night and were still going at 6:30 when I left to clean the bank this evening. No idea what would require two heavy earthmovers for three days over there. And I am dying of curiosity and have no means of getting a good look without being obvious - sigh.

I will have to arrange for Sebastian to take off along the railway line, lol.

I obtained a replacement file for the chainsaw today as well as a jig that helps me to ensure I am sharpening it in the right direction/angle. It comes with a video that I sat and watched, the contents of which were quite forgotten by the time I got the stuff out to play with it. The plan had been to cut some wood for tomorrow (when we are expecting 12 degrees), but I could not get the machine working and I think I flooded it. So I will have to hope the rain holds off until I can have another go tomorrow morning.

This whole 'cleaning the bank in the evenings' sucks. Last night I was so focussed on wondering when the back hoe next door would finish work (7:30) that I forgot I was supposed to be cleaning the bank. So come ten o'clock (an hour after my usual bedtime) when I decided to wend my way to bed at last, I had this sudden ghastly realisation that it was Monday and I had forgotten something. So I hied me to the bank and cleaned it (conscious all the while that there are people with small children renting the residence that is attached and the bedroom end is closest to the bank), and staggered home at 11, only to find I was a) hungry again) and b) did not feel in the least bit sleepy, so did not get to sleep until well after midnight.

Since I was heading into town this morning and had to be up at 6 to make my first scheduled stop, you can imagine how i am feeling right now. Let's just say no-one is getting a long walk tonight.

I had originally planned to leave at 8:30 but then realised that, as I was going to Kingston, I had to allow at least another half an hour. Then there were roadworks on the highway. And I concluded the Ute was not up  to the loooooong slow climb that is the Southern Outlet so went down the old road via Taroona, then I got lost and finally turned up at my friend's place at the latter end of the one hour window she had assigned for my arrival. This is one of my old class mates that I have resumed contact with of late, so we had a lot of catching up to do, including meeting her husband (who is 20 years her senior and not long for this world). He is a charming chap who used to design for Tiffany's of London and has an interesting outlook on life. I can see why she married him - they make a lovely couple. We took their 16 year old dog for a walk along some of the beach paths that are at Kingston, and I finally dragged myself away after a couple of hours, and decided on lunch at Sandy Bay Beach.

Found a place I have been to before and had a lovely Salade Nicoise (or Salad Nishwahs) as the girl pronounced it), then bumped into another class mate coming out of the toilet. She had been having lunch with yet another class mate who was on her way to the airport, so we had a hurried hello/goodbye before setting off into the distance.

From there I went to where I know there was once a solar hot water place but it is no longer there (I am checking out a replacement thingy that turns the pump on and off at appropriate times, which will be more useful than the manual approach I am presently adopting), then on to the Telstra Shop in the hopes they would sort out the problem with the phone. Naturally enough, the warranty on the phone expired three days after my previous trip and so they were no help at all, other than to suggest there might be something wrong with the battery (I am rather glad of this as their 'help' would have involved taking the phone off me for an unspecified length of time while they sorted out the problem), and directed me to Battery World just along the road a ways.

He opened the back of the phone and, on recovering the battery, expressed great surprise it was still working at all as apparently they usually die after six months. Sold me a replacement that has a 12 month warranty and told me to plug it in for 15 hours before using it. So I will not be placing any phone calls just yet. He also told me that I was quite correct in assuming that it might be a loose connection as this is apparently a common problem with my kind of phone (the things you get to hear from people who are not trying to sell you a phone), and that if the replacement battery does not do the trick they have a wireless charging platform that you just sit the phone on without having to worry about using the plug at all. So that may be the next trip to town - we will see.

Then to the vets to collect more prescription cat food (I thought I might as well since I was down there anyway) and home to take the dogs for a brisk walk around the oval and give them a feed. I will be having an early night tonight methinks, as I am absolutely shattered with exhaustion.

It didn't quite make it down to one degree last night, but came awfully close by morning. And today was not the balmy 21 they promised. It was, however, very pleasant gardening weather if you were out of the wind, and so I have finally managed  to get in my seedlings. I now have red and brown onions, spring onions and beetroot in the ground for a winter crop. I will be adding parsnip and carrots later in the week if the three days of rain actually eventuate. Though since one of those days is supposed to go down to 12 degrees, I am not sure how happy the seeds will be. Fingers crossed.

I also ordered a load of firewood to be delivered, which should arrive soonish (no definite delivery date provided), and have stashed the necessary cash away so I can pay for it. I will get another load at the end of next month.

I noticed that it is probably 2 years since I obtained my smart phone so the phone bill will presumably be going down soon, since the payment component will no longer apply. I am taking it to town tomorrow to complain as it does not recharge properly and the last 'fix' they did has not actually addressed the problem at all. Since I rely on it to be available when I am out and about, it is simply not acceptable and I will be telling them this. I will also be visiting a friend at Kingston, so it should be a nice day out!

The plan was that i would get the washing done first thing, but first thing it was cold, overcast and drizzly, so that was delayed somewhat. Since it was also hardly conducive to gardening I gave the beds a good soaking where I planned to put in seedlings, but that was as far as I got.

The washing was finally done and the bed remade, complete with electric blanket (remember I took it off to wash it), mattress topper and a pair of sheets that somehow never seem to get used. I suspect, if memory services, they are polycotton and they feel nasty, but I expect I will find out soon.

The tartes tatin were finally made, but as is my wont, the caramelising was more on the burnt side, so while they are edible, they are hardly worth mentioning. The remaining sheets of pastry (I just bought a 3-slice pack) were cut into circles, laid in a tray and then tiny toms were sliced in two and laid on top. A few pinches of shredded cheddar, sea salt and cracked pepper, plus a wipe with olive oil, and i have some nice little savoury flans for dinner.

With one degree forecast for overnight, I might whip out the frost cloth and pop it over the two beds that have tomatoes in them. But since the wind has just picked up, perhaps I won't.