Shaping up to be another great day.

G'day. It's 7.45am on Friday the 1st of April. Hubby got me "Pinch and Punch"this morning as I was too slow in remembering the first day of another month. Yes, I can hear what your thinking, and yes, we are big kids and yes, it is always fun to see which of us is the quickest to get the "pinch, punch, first of the month", thing in. Hubby has won the last few months, but I will make a determined effort not to be outdone next time. I did  have a bit of revenge by getting him first in April Fool. Nothing too serious, just a bit of lighthearted  "Watch out, don't sit down, there's a spider on your chair" Now we are so used to spiders here, after all we live in the country, surrounded by trees etc, live on a huge farm and see spiders all the time, nothing out of the ordinary for one to be in the house, but, still hubby jumped, only a little bit mind you, but I saw it. Neither of us are worried or frightened by these sometimes hairy creatures, we have seen all shapes and sizes, but sometimes when something is said in a certain tone of voice, or a voice which has the edge of alarm to it, even the bravest of the brave can still be edgy. Needless to say hubby is still talking to me and had a bit of a laugh and I felt a bit victorious by getting him at something, though the morning is early yet and there is still time for him to plan revenge, but, I will be on the lookout.. I can look out of my window as I am typing this and the sky is a beautiful blue already, not a cloud in sight. It is shaping up to be a wonderful day. I am getting stuck into some gardening this morning, usually my Friday off work is my sewing day once the housework is done, but today is just 
 too lovely to be inside and as usual there is always something that needs tending in the flowerbeds. The pic is of part of the backyard, you can just make out a part of the roof of our house in among the green. Take care...

Back on line. Woo Hoo

G'day. Well, I have my computer back. It chucked a wobbly on Saturday morning so I raced into town and dropped it off at the repair shop and the guy said it should be ready on Monday, but, it wasn't and when I came home from work yesterday and there was no computer sitting there waiting for me, I felt lost, still I did manage to get some housework done and a bit of sewing. It's amazing how much we rely on these gadgets of modern technology. I have resorted to using my iPhone for emails and checking on my favourite blogs, just so that I didn't miss anything, but, there is great joy now that I have this treasured toy back in it's rightful place. My other good news is that it really does appear that our property is sold. Agent rang me yesterday afternoon with the good news that the buyer said all is going well and her deposit should be in the bank either later this week or on Monday of next week. So it looks like we will be starting to pack soon now, that in itself is a scary thought as we have acquired so much here, but no doubt we will get it done and live to tell the tale. The pic is of part of our back yard not far from the back door, it is one of our favourite sitting areas, we sometimes have our meals out on the seat when the weather is nice, matter of fact we may eat our dinner out there tonight as it's been a glorious day here and the sun is still shining and it's still rather warm. Oh well, I had better go, so many things to catch up on with my lovely computer. Yes, I know, I need to get a life!!!! Take care...

Her name was Molly. She was a good old chook.

G'day. My tale today is a sad one. Many years ago we bought four Isa Brown chickens, as there is only hubby and I, four eggs a day turned out to be too much really. I would give them to workmates, make egg and bacon pie, you name it, if it had an egg in it I made it. Over some years three had died of natural causes, which left one old girl, so feeling sorry for her on her own I bought two more young ones, just on the point of lay.Some time passed and the original old girl passed away leaving the two sweeties to keep up the egg production. I had named them  Molly and Tilly. Up until Wednesday they kept us in eggs and they were my pets. They would follow me around when I let them out of their run into the paddock and would let me pick them up and carry them if so desired. Wednesday afternoon I came home from work and went up to let them run free, I thought it strange they were not waiting at the door to their run, eager as always to come out. As I walked into the run a flapping and screeching shook me out of my daydreams, a rather large hawk was in there, it had it's talons caught in the bird netting that we put over the top of the 40'x 12' run. I saw that one chook was dead, it was ripped to pieces and it's head had been bitten off. I was not game to go too close to this hawk, but, needed to see where the other chook was,. I couldn't see her, she wasn't in sight and she wasn't in the chook house itself which the run connects to, so I just left the main door open in the hope the hawk would get untangled and fly out. After getting hubby we went back up to see what we could do and the bird thankfully had gone. Molly was the one that was dead and poor Tilly couldn't be found at first. Hubby heard this faint little noise and there she was, jammed up against the fence hiding amongst some branches of a Wormwood bush. This would not have protected her if I hadn't gone up to the chook house when I did. I think the attack had not long happened and the hawk would easily have gotten her as well. The hawk got into the run by tearing at the netting with it's beak and then once in it couldn't get back out through the hole it had made. Tilly is ok, though she is still terrified to come out of the house and I have kept her locked in there the last couple of days. Went back up yesterday morning to see how she was as I thought she may have died of fright through the night and would you believe it, the hawk was back in the run again, it had torn another hole in the netting and couldn't get back out again. Thank goodness I had locked Tilly in her house. Hubby came up with a straw broom, his overalls on and his motorbike helmet to try to get this nasty looking bird out. I do wish I had had my camera as hubby really did look a treat.Anyway after hubby threating it with the broom, it got the hint and  went through the door opening and flew off into a nearby tree. My neighbour was telling me yesterday that they lost a chook  a few days ago and it was in the same condition, so this hawk must be going between the two properties for the chooks.In all the years we have been here, we have never lost a chook to a fox, or a eagle and now this happens. I will have to find a good home for Tilly as it is too dangerous now to let her in the paddock and she will be lonely without her best mate. The photo is of the chook house and run with the white bird netting behing the bushes. The middle opening also housed a one cow dairy a long, long time ago. I was watching the two chooks only last Sunday evening as they were foraging in the paddock and I was thinking how great they looked and that I would miss them when we move as the new owner said she would like to have them. I buried Molly, hubby dug a hole, but I picked up what was left of her, because she was my chook and my responsibilty and I owed her that for the few years of pleasure she had given me and the lovely eggs that she faithfully gave us. Take care...

We are still celebrating

G'day. I guess that headings not quite right as we are only quietly optimistic that this time the sale will go ahead as planned. Just had a email from the agent saying that she had spoken to the buyer earlier this morning and everything is on track. So, still celebrating is not really right, but, we are still to some extent on a high. We are going into town late this afternoon to have a real good look at the home  that we have our hearts set on, but, hubby told me when I arrived home from work that the guy who owns the mower shop here in town is selling his house and has suggested to hubby that we might be interested in having a look through it at some stage. It's another option anyway and it won't hurt to have a look. The photo is of the SuperMoon, not a very good pic I admit and I know it doesn't look very super, but then again it was only taken with my poor little digital camera and if nothing else the roses and trees look nice!! I took this at about 7.30pm and the moon did look slightly bigger than normal and it was a lot brighter. I went out a few times before going to bed and took a few more pics of it, but this is my favourite. Take care...

We are off and running again.

G'day. Well, it looks like the champagne cork will be popping tonight after all. Contract on the sale of our property has been signed, offer was great, too good to refuse, so we are off and running again. Surely this has to be third time lucky. Still have two weeks to wait until her finance is cleared, but by all accounts there should be no problems and yes, we have heard that before and the sale has fallen through, but, our agent assures us that this is the one, so time will tell. We really are feeling very hopeful this time around. It's a long four month settlement, but that will be handy for us as we have a lot of things to clear here. So fingers crossed. The photo is in part of our backyard. The roses are beautiful and the climbing jasmine smells divine when you walk past it. The French lavender is my favourite of the lavenders and it grows extremly well here.Take care...

Maybe the champagne cork will pop tonight!!!

G'day. Thanks for all the birthday wishes I received from my friends in blog land. I do appreciate it. I did have a wonderful day. Have not long arrived back home because of the two inspections back to back we had here today. The agent told us via my mobile phone that the lady who has been interested has put in an offer and signed her part of the contract, but, the agent had to take the second couple to look at another property some distance away and is calling in to see us later this afternoon to discuss the offer/contract etc. So, we still are none the wiser as to what the offer is or if the champagne will be opened tonight. Because we have been there, done that twice now, the gloss has worn off a bit, but if it's a good offer, there is no reason why this sale won't go through. Agent also said that while they were walking around the dam closest to the house, they saw a three foot red bellied black snake, these are not as lethal as the brown snakes we get here, but all the same I wouldn't like to get bitten by one. I asked was Robyn (lady with offer) frightened and the good news is that she wasn't. I guess most Aussie's know that if you move from the city to the country areas that you have to expect snakes.They are a fact of life here in the summer months and we have been lucky, we haven't lost our dog or my chooks and hubby and I have never been bitten by a snake so that's something. The photo is looking down from part of our back yard towards the house. The different shades of green can be quite striking at times. Will be outside to see the SuperMoon tonight and it looks like the sky may remain cloudless which will be good. Take care....

What a great day.

G'day. I have had a great morning at work, even though I usually never work of a Friday, but it was required today. At the stroke of midday I was out of there and making my way to a great little cafe here in town for my birthday lunch with a few good friends. After some yummy food and good conversation I made my way home to do a few things around here and then get orgainzed to go out again for dinner tonight. Just hubby and I tonight, my son, daughter and their respective partners were to come and join us and stay the night, but due to the fact that we have two inspections happening here tomorrow, it was deemed that we make it next weekend where hopefully we will be celebrating the sale (again) of our property. I had a email from the agent before telling me that the lady who is interested will put in an offer provided that she thinks it will be suitable for her to ride her horses around here. She has been here before and checked all that out, but, wants to go through it all over again. Well, hello, we have something like four and a half thousand acreas and the other property that borders ours has well over two thousand acreas, if she can't ride a horse in that, what is wrong with her? But, we have our fingers crossed, sometimes there is just no pleasing people. Anyway I am not going to worry about it and just get on and enjoy the rest of my birthday. The photo is a wider view to the one I put on the blog a few days ago. You can also see the jolly gravel that gives me grief with the weeds that seem to like to grow in it and has me out there on a regular basis with the weed spray and that is only a small portion of the drive to boot. But I know that one day I won't have to worry about it and that I should be still enjoying it all while we are here. Take care...

Things are looking up.

G'day. Thank you to my friends in blog land who have commented on my last post and have inquired as to why I was not well yesterday. I had a small bout of gastric trouble, must have been something I had eaten and the only thing I can think of was a chicken sandwich at lunch time. I have also taken today off work as a precaution. But will be back on deck tomorrow. Have to be well tomorrow in any case as it is my birthday and some of my work colleague's are taking me out for lunch. There is another reason things are looking up. The estate agent rang me earlier to say the lady who missed out on the property due to a higher bid from the couple  we signed a contract with and then had finance trouble a few weeks ago, is still very much interested and has put in a tentative offer subject to coming back here on Saturday to have another look and to do a bit of measuring for furniture etc. The agent wouldn't tell me the offer as she was in the process of typing it all up and emailing it back to this lady. Also there is someone else coming Saturday afternoon for a look and is also interested, so you never know we may sell yet. The photo is part of the middle section of our back yard. When I took this pic I didn't notice the tractor, I was too busy looking at the flowers and trying to get a good shot of them. All of the pics that I have added to this blog were taken when we put the property up for sale, they are a reminder to us of how beautiful it is here and of all the work we have done. So I was a bit surprised to see the tractor sitting there as it didn't make an impression at the time, but I think it adds to the picture. The aerial on the machinery shed is for hubby to watch the TV that he put in there some years ago, funny thing is when he is in there doing something he very rarely watches it, that's not to say he doesn't have it on as he does, usually if there's a motorbike race or car racing on, you can bet the telly will be on but when I've asked "Who's in front?" he will often say "I don't know I've been too busy to watch!!! He also has a wood heater in there, but usually it will go out as he forgets to put wood in it, because he's so busy, that's his story anyway... The machinery shed is not my concern and I usually only venture there to get the quad bike out or to take him a cuppa or a sandwich etc. He will miss all these little extras but the place that we hope to move to has a four car garage and lots of room in there for him to muck around, though the lovely pics of our property will be replaced with pics of a nice but small garden which should be covered in the first few posts I publish. Oh dear, if that's all I have to worry about I'm laughing aren't I? Take care...

G'day. Well, I am home from work much earlier than normal, something seems to have upset my normally robost stomach. Anyway I didn't want to pass any bugs on to my workmates, so decided to hit the road and rest up at home. But, as usual as soon as I walked in the door I saw that I had things to do and I am the type that likes to get things out of the way before resting. I can't just lay on the couch and read a book if I know something need cleaning, fixing or whatever. It's always at the back of my mind that it's patiently waiting for my attention, so best to get it out of the way if I want any kind of peace. Hubby, bless his heart had traisped dirt and  mud onto the kitchen floor in his hurry to retrieve something he had left on the kitchen table. He explained he didn't have time to take off his boots and really didn't think he had made any mess at all, but he couldn't dally and ponder  his deed as a bull had gotten out of one of the paddocks. This of course all happened while I was at my work, so I was not impressed to have a clean up job awaiting me, crook tummy and all. But, it's done now and hubby did make a point of telling me that I need not worry about the bull as he too was safe and sound. I wonder why he thought I was worried about the jolly bull. Did I look concerned, did I ask was the bull ok, was I distressed about the fat lazy bull getting out? NO, no and no. As I said, this all happened while I was blissfully unaware of what the bull was up to. Mind you he is a nice bull, even if he is fat and lazy and I know he would have just trotted back in the paddock with hubby behind him on the quad bike. Anyway reading that book while reclining on the couch sounds very inviting and I may just make my way there in a minute. The photo is looking across one of our paddocks not far from the house. The old grey dead tree is simply stunning in it's own right. We have left it standing as sometimes we make a feature of it when we have a gathering of family and friends around. These huge get togethers are usually once a year around October and we hang lights from the tree and at night it is a sight to behold. Of course hubby has to climb to attatch the lights and the power cord is extremely long to reach to the old dairy which is the grey building on the left, this is also where my chook house is.I will miss these gatherings when we leave here, though we will still have them to some extent, but they will be on a very small scale. Take care...

Another beautiful day in paradise.

G'day. Well I can boast again about our beautiful weather conditions here, though in saying this I bear in mind that other parts of the world are not that fortunate. The terrible damage that Japan has suffered, the loss of life of which the toll keeps rising is simply heartbreaking and here I sit after finishing my workday in my lovely surroundings looking out onto the Cherry Tree Range that our property borders and I realise, not for the first time, how lucky we are and that really from one moment to the next we really don't know what life has in store for us, how suddenly everything can change. Yes, I do realise that there are things beyond our control and that we have had our share of disasters here in Australia over the years. The Black Saturday bushfires came very close to us here and at one stage we had to make the decision either to stay and fight the fire or go, thankfully the wind changed and all was well. One lot of friends lost five family members, three of which were very small children and other friends lost their home. I saw a saying in a book some years ago that was something along the lines of: No matter what happens, come the spring the daffodils will bloom again. They may not be the exact words, but, I think you know what I am getting at. The photo is looking from our back yard across the paddocks that are part of our property. A storm was approaching and it looked so beautiful that I just had to take a pic of it. Take care...

Another beautiful day

G'day. Well we have been blessed with another glorious day here, the whole long weekend has been great weather wise. The storm that passed through yesterday afternoon freshened everything up and it really looks a treat now. I have been out in the garden deadheading some roses and securing one of the climbing ones to the arch that it grows up. Sadly we lost the large standard daisy that was given to us as a present many years ago, it had slowly been dying over the last few weeks, despite giving it lots of water and some fertilizer thinking that that was all it might had needed, but no, when hubby pulled it out, the base of the trunk had all but fallen away. It was a shame as it was a lovely bush when it was in flower, but we have had many good years of pleasure from it. Strange though as daisies are usually the toughest of plants, not many of them lose the battle even in the harshest conditions. Hubby has gone for a ride on his motorbike, he has just about built this bike from scratch and it's his pride and joy at the moment. I've not been on this one yet and after having a mishap on a motorbike some time ago I am in no hurry to sit my bum on the pillion seat of this one just yet. We had a rather large dirt bike here a little while ago and to my utter amazement hubby suggested I take it for a ride down our rather long drive. Hubby never and I mean never lets anyone be in charge of any of the bikes he has had and there have been a few over the years. I think he must have been out in the sun a bit too long that day, it's the only reason I can think of that  would have prompted him to offer. Needless to say I said "thanks but no thanks, it's a bit big for me". I learn't to ride a motor bike many moons ago, but generally leave it to hubby to ferry me around if we go anywhere on one these days, though after the accident we had I struggle to get on one anyway. The only bike I am in charge of here at times is the quad bike which I  have to ride as a necessity to traverse some of our land and I am more than happy to leave it at that. The photo is of some of the camellia trees here in our garden, we have a number of these beautiful  trees dotted around and they sure look great when in flower. Take care...

Enjoying some peace and quiet

Oh, it nice to have a relaxing weekend and to know that I still have another day to enjoy it. It's late Sunday afternoon here as I write this and we have just had a nice little storm roll through. It's cooled it down a bit at least and has given my garden a nice drink. It's been rather warm here the last two days, so this cool drop is welcome. Hubby as usual, is outside fiddling around, he has been on the tractor slashing a couple of paddocks that have been a bit overgrown and needed tidying up. I have been just plain old lazy and have managed to stay hidden inside the house, though I did do my bit yesterday and finally got the chook shed cleaned out, not much fun shovelling poop,  uneaten food pelletts and old straw out of a decent sized hen house in the heat, but, it's something I should have done some weeks ago. Hubby beat me yesterday to the ride on mower, he seems to have aquired a liking to doing it, funny that, as it's always been my job. I have a birthday coming up at the end of this week and am looking forward to that, not looking forward to getting older of course, but we are going out for dinner and my son and daughter and their partners etc are comimg up and staying the night with us. They both live a few hours away from me, so it's always a treat to catch up. I will be outside on the night of March 19 to have a stickbeak at the Super Moon that is going to make an appearance. There is a lot of debate as to the possibility that this will affect our weather or could possibly be responsible for the earthquakes that have been happening, anyway I am sure it will be worth seeing and I for one don't intend to miss it. The photo was taken standing up in part of our backyard looking down the drive that winds it's way to our front gate. This expanse of gravel widens out higher up from where I am standing and it's the bane of my life. Another job of mine is weed control and odd bits of grass and various weeds love to spring up in this gravel and I am often out with the weed killer and backpack trying to keep it under some sort of control. It does look nice when it's weed free. Hubby is not allowed anywhere near the weedkiller when it's needed  near or around the house. I figure if I accidently kill something I can only blame myself. Hubby is too gungho when using it.He does get to do the paddocks though, where he can't do any real harm, or if he does I don't know about it.Take care...

Starting again.

G'day from beautiful North Central Victoria. Australia. Well, we have recovered from the shock of another sale of the property going kaput. Hard to believe that this has now happened twice, it has taken the wind out of our sails to a certain extent, but we are keeping positive. The agent rang late yesterday afternoon to see how we were and to say once again how sorry she was. She too feels awfull, though it wasn't her fault, she was smart enough to see the interest these people showed in the first place, just a shame that when needing finance, the banks don't always play the game. The agent has assured us that there a few people that have showed interest recently and maybe they can be inticed to pay a visit. We will just have to be patient and wait and see. The house that we were interested in has been taken off the market, but, the guy who owns it has told Ian that he is thinking of relisting it as they have bought another place and have moved to another town, but, to pay his new mortage he needs to sell his former house and that if we want to pay some kind of rent each month, he will keep it off the market and when we finally sell here, the money paid will come off the total cost.It is something to think about. The pic is of Ian and I at my daughters birthday party. After I saw this photo, I decided that a weight loss campaign was in order and have now lost six kilos since early February. Some years ago I went to Weight Watchers and lost a grand total of thirty five kilos, but being a good eater and I really do love my food, I put ten kilo back on, so it was time to do something. Not easy when there is so much yummy food waiting to be eaten, but I know I feel and look better when I am a bit lighter. Take care.

Back to square one.

G'day. Well, sadly we have just heard that the sale of our property has fallen through, the people can't get finance even though we were assured that they wouldn't have any trouble. Hubby has not taken the news very well, but I have always believed that things happen for a reason and am trying to keep a positive attitude. So we start all over again. What a bugger, but that's the way it goes and I always know that there a people going through a lot in their lives, that in comparision this is nothing.I could try to be flippant and say, darn, I will have to make sure the house is always spick and span again and the garden always looking it's best, but, even though the good attitude is still there, it's been a blow to me as well. We have our health, a lovely property with a secure roof over our heads, so it's not all doom and gloom and hopefully at some stage I will be able to write again that we have sold. The pic is of our gorgeous little boy "Lucky" I bought him this bone on the first anniversary of us adopting him and he didn't quite know what to make of it as it was so large, he walked around and around it, until it got the better of him and he started to gnaw on it. It really was much too big, but he gave it a good try and tackled it off and on for a couple of days, but, then I ended up throwing it in the bin. I haven't bought him such a large bone since needless to say. Take care.