Thursday, April 30, 2009

a few pics in the sunshine

From trek phase 4


From trek phase 4


From trek phase 4


From trek phase 4


From trek phase 4


From trek phase 4


From trek phase 4

life is tough

This was the view from our verandah at 7 am this morning as we had our first coffee of the day. A fantastic misty morning but already warm and sunny.

From trek phase 4

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

mind your own business

I could not put it off any longer, so yesterday was the day when I faced the horror that is the MYOB small business accounting software package. With much needed help from the lovely F, vet's wife, bookkeeper and generally good egg, I started on sales and invoicing. Not too bad so far, but today we start on inputting figures which is not good news for the borderline innumerate.

Ness is still madly washing, scrubbing and cleansing the cottage next door between guests. We have updated the tv and home entertainment facilities , ditched the VCR and dusty old videotapes, revamped the library and are having satellite tv installed next week. The tv reception here despite very tall and unsightly aerials is restricted to 2 almost watchable channels and a lot of snow, distorted images and frequent white outs.

The 2 chickens we inherited are the poultry of Satan. Poor Snowflake the comedy silky that we introduced has spent a week huddled in a corner of the chook pen, and every day there are more white feathers strewn liberally around the place. Beelzebub 1 has not laid a single egg, and her chum Beelzebub 2 must have some oviduct issues because she produces eggs that are not in any way , shape or form egg-shaped. Will not look good in our proposed free range breakfast packages.

Meanwhile the guests have continued to be charming and delighted with the surroundings and accommodation. Many hours of video footage have been taken by guests of the numerous kangaroos, the tennis court has been well used, and wood fires are chugging away in all 3 dwellings.

Monday, April 27, 2009

project protea phase 1

Ness has been very restrained and has managed to last a whole week without embarking on the daunting task of the gardens, but cracked yesterday and made a start. We have collected our first trailer load of horse poo from the stables at Mudgee race track, and the first task was relocation of the compost heap and wood pile. Plans are to revamp the chook pens and get our first shed for the wood- buying sheds is a very Australian thing to do.

From trek phase 4


From trek phase 4
The second shed will be the obligatory potting shed.

From trek phase 4


From trek phase 4


From trek phase 4
I was demoted to the role of photographer after crushing my finger in a dramatic fashion while using a fence post remover. It really is tempting fate to announce 'you could do yourself some serious damage with this thing'. No tennis this week.

It is wintery here now, anticipating our first frost very soon. James dog is more than happy with the new living arrangements.

From trek phase 4

Saturday, April 25, 2009

mice

It has been a very good year in NSW for mice, with plagues in Gulgong and the surrounding areas, and they seem extremely fond of the Protea Farm dwellings. They have managed to access the janitorial cupboards and are nibbling the contents. Their staple diet appears to be tea bags and bars of soap.

So, we have extremely clean vermin turbo-charged on caffeine.

the management

As a tourist one of my pet hates is the overuse of officious laminated signs from 'The Management' in accommodation establishments. Caravan parks are the worst, with signs berating you for minor infringements that you may be about to contemplate, such as leaving the lights on, not flushing the toilets, breathing noisily after 10 pm etc

The problem is that these days everybody has access to a printer and a laminator so these signs breed and increase in numbers- you can imagine an aggrieved establishment owner bashing the keys after a bad day and creating another printed admonishment. There are also the utterly pointless signs, such as 'light switch' next to the light switch. What is the point of those?

BED- PLEASE PLACE HEAD ON LUMPY THINGS AT THIS END.

We are trying to be 'management signs' free. I am sure that they spawn through negativity and petty mindedness.

DUE TO THE LACK OF CONSIDERATION FROM PREVIOUS GUESTS WE ARE NO LONGER ABLE TO BE PLEASANT OR COURTEOUS. WE APOLOGISE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE.


In fact I rather like the idea of having a series of completely surreal signage instead.


THIS CUPBOARD MUST NOT BE USED FOR DAMASK TURTLES
AS THEY MAY IMPLODE.



WILL GUESTS PLEASE NOTE THAT SUCKING SHERBET LEMONS MAY
CAUSE DYSPEPSIA IN GIRAFFES.


All is well down on Protea Farm- no room at the inn and no complaints from the guests.
Yesterday J & G and the kids came over to christen the tennis court. The surface is somewhat erratic and needs a lot of watering and rolling to reduce the number of comedy bounces, and I am going to look into having it resurfaced in a sand/carpet combination. I expect it may be too costly but feel obligated to contact the company who specialises in them if only because they are called 'Kangaroo Courts'.

It was a very surreal moment when I was about to serve and had to wait until a huge Eastern Grey kangaroo passed behind the receiver. Tennis in the bush!

Friday, April 24, 2009

still moving in

Day 5 of the new venture and the guests are still rolling in. Ness is a whirlwind when it comes to stripping beds and making them up again, and I am becoming well versed with the contents of the janitorial cupboards.

'Back to backs'- when guests depart at 10 am and a new batch arrive at 2 pm- are keeping us pretty busy. We did have 1 cottage empty for 24 hours so managed a massive spring clean, and hope to do the same today with the second one. In between this we are slowly emptying Geoffrey and moving ourselves in. I think that the camping furniture looks very stylish indoors.

From trek phase 4

The office ( well, a small cubby hole ) is fully functional.

From trek phase 4

However the living room needs a little more work.

From trek phase 4

Ness caught doing the dishes at 6 am this morning.

From trek phase 4
Spiderman came and sprayed the 2 of the cottages and we spent the next day sweeping away an array of large spider corpses. We should however have got him to spray the car judging by the size of the huntsmen around here.

From trek phase 4

Monday, April 20, 2009

protea farm

Yesterday we finally took possession of the new venture. Guests were checking out as we tried to move in and C & B tried to pack up and move out, and guests were expected in the afternoon for both cottages, so the day went by in a blur of cleaning, bed making, taking delivery of fridge, washing machine etc and culminated in an evening spent ironing bed linen for the next batch of guests. The champagne remains in the shiny new fridge unopened.

Pics to follow when we get time to draw breath. Spiderman is coming today to blitz our house and all the outhouses and sheds before we dare venture inside, and terminate a few very active bull ant nests.

The biggest pleasure of our first night here was sole use of a flushing toilet. We are easily pleased.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

overcoming fears

Ness has decided to start riding lessons- she has ridden before but has a fear of horses up close and wants to overcome this and learn how to handle and control them......... enter Scott the horse-breaker, roo hunter, rodeo bronco and bull rider.

One may question the prudence of being taught horsemanship from a man who has suffered over 20 concussions and had more head CT scans than he can remember. Frankly how he can remember anything is a miracle.

From trek phase 4

He had the perfect horse for her to play with- Serena the ex racehorse who stands well over 17 hands and has been in a paddock unridden for the last 6 months. Not exactly my definition of calm!


From trek phase 4

After a bit of tricky grooming and bonding with said giant, there was just the problem of how to get on her back.


From trek phase 4

She did fantastically well, and once she was on board thoroughly enjoyed the first lesson.

From trek phase 4

Little Emily is a natural on Ruthie and yesterday was riding bareback unassisted.

From trek phase 4

Down on the farm J & G are now local celebrities after a great article about lifestyle change in Australia 'Country Style' magazine. The local butcher has launched their product as an exclusive range and is buying all they can supply. Last week was the busiest ever with several sows farrowing at the same time and over 60 piglets appearing within 36 hours.

Good old Dorothy the tame hand reared ginger sow had a great litter.

From trek phase 4


From trek phase 4

Counting down to our moving in date- now delayed until April 20th. Off there today to dig some fence posts and erect a gate wide enough to allow Geoffrey access to the property.

......and team 8 played our last match this week and came second out of 10 teams in the tennis tournament, so it has been a week of achievements.