Kelly The Wonderous WWOOFER

What an amazing week we had while hosting Kelly here.
She came to us unknown, joined us in doing all kinds of tasks here at the farm.  Never once did she balk at a task set for her.  In fact it was quite hard to make her stop work when it was time to relax.
During Kelly's time here, she took on mulching, planting, digging, weeding, pushing a heavily laden barrow and a lot  of other tasks besides.
The impression she made on my quirky little family will be long lasting and I must say the joy she brought to the three of us will be treasured always. 
Quite often, I found Kelly and my two grown sons, playing rambo games with toy dart guns, laughter filling the air and bringing a smile to my face each time. She fed our chooks,  was surprised by the way Elvis our rooster growls like a dog, walked up the road to see the goats (which didn't oblige us by being close enough on the day). 
We all went to the local Fauna Park in town, where Kelly had a cockatoo snuggle up to her, while another screached loudly like a siren.  She met Wacker the talking cocky, who sounds like he's saying something else that rhymes with his name.  We had cappucino at Ferhat's Kebab Cafe, meeting locals while sitting at the alfresco tables.  We shared many wonderful conversations at the meal table, learning about each other along the way.
A lady I will remember and keep in my heart always.  

October Rains

The rains in October have been both a blessing and a curse in many areas of the state.
At our piece of paradise, we have 2 issues creating a problem for us.  The first is a water pipe that burst.  Not that it is leaking badly, but in a country that is prone to drought, I am always upset when water is wasted.
On top of being water logged from the leaking pipe, we are getting very heavy rain and now find the front half of our yard is under 6" of water.  Being in a zone that is basically flat, it isn't  running off so well and making it difficult to get work done on the pipe.

We just had contact with dear friends in Culcairn, they are now on high alert for flooding.  The hospital there is being evacuated by the local volunteer firefighters and many in the town have been moved to the local showground pavillions. I am told that the only bridge leading into town from the southern end has water lapping at the surface and that the water is expected to  peak at 4 mts tonight. Can only keep them all in my thoughts and prayers.

 It makes me realise how fortunate I am and how insignifigant my own situation is.

The beginnings.

My first WWOOFer has been and gone.  Sonita made a great impact during her time here and we managed a great deal of work together.
Some of the tasks we tackled together were, slashing the long grass with a scythe, raking it and barrowing the rubbish away.
We then began to lay thick papers and spread mulch over them to inhibit weed regrowth..a bit of a method in the madness here,  it means less mowing later on.
It will also provide me with a blank canvas to begin the design process for all the garden beds, boxes and tubs.
My son Luke, Sonita and I had a trip to the Fauna Park in town and spent a few hours rambling around and enjoying the moment.  We finished the day with a beautiful cappucino in their cafe and headed home for a rest and nice dinner.