Timelapse

Here is a link of a time lapse Aidan did last weekend.
It's amazing looking at the property and how it has a life of it's own.  Once it was all bush, then cleared for farming, then when we took over the bush is slowly starting to regrow.  The native trees are self seeding and the future picture will be affected of how much we clear and grow ourselves.

As for building advancements, Aidan's dad Tony helped him gutter the container roof so now when it rains we can finally catch our own water.  We also have our first solar panel, a tiny one to power the light in the toilet.  We are taking baby steps towards a sustainable life out there, but it is happening.

Camping Friends

This past weekend we have had another family come to stay.
Arran and Jodie bought 7 year old Ruben and 4 year old Ethan to pitch a tent and help finish the roof on the container.  Aidan and Arran met through work, but none of the rest of us knew each other before hand, I shouldn't have worried though, if Arran was relaxed enough to appreciate Aidan we weren't going to have any troubles!  (just kidding Aidy).
The four boys were really good together.   The Potter's bought bikes, including a balance bike that William firmly attached himself to, and we had plenty of new toys to keep everyone happy.
Thanks to the continuing progress by the sheep we have reached a new stage where our boys are big enough to explore, and the grass is short enough that they can actually walk though it. While Aidan and Arran hung out on the roof of the container doing manly, building things; we all went for a walk, starting with the 'forest', a group of self seeded gums near the back corner, across to see the billabong and to look at trees.  The forest was a huge hit, there was a number of times over the weekend that the four boys would all troupe over to the forest to 'chop' down trees with a plastic axe, borrowed from the prop bin thanks to a production of the Wizard of Oz a couple of years ago, and an assortment of shovels to use as makeshift axes.  Then they'd all come back usually with William in the rear pushing the bike because he was too short to straddle it.

The promise of seeing stars was thwarted by a very gray sky that night, followed by a huge downpour that lasted until mid Sunday morning.  Luckily the newly finished roof kept us all dry, and despite the wind, rain and sheep all having a go at the Potter's tent, it was still standing the next morning. 
It does however mean that Aidan has now promised Oscar that he will put our tent up next time we go out so he and Osc can sleep in one too.
Arran was a very enthusiastic worker and I will certainly be making a thorough list next time they come out.  Hopefully we will have clearer skies and more wild life if they come again.  The four boys entertained themselves pretty well which left Jodie and I to sit back and pretend we were looking after them.  I was a bit concerned about how I would feel not working, because that's what we do there, but I actually found it quite enjoyable.
The completion of the roof also marks the start of new phase for us, other than the guttering, we really don't have any more big or expensive jobs we have to do until we start on the house.  It will be now that we start to really learn how to enjoy what we have.  I'm sure we'll still find little projects that we want to work on, I definitely still want to keep working on the veggie patch, and there are small bits and pieces to do.  But we can do things like use the left over wood to make chairs and a sand pit, or I can keep chopping down saplings that need to go anyway, to make frames for my climbing fruits I'll be getting once the sheep are gone.  Who knows, we might even just read a book! 
The last thing to note, which I'm sure many of you are interested to know, the toilet is great.  It got a serious beating, with 8 people using it over the weekend and it didn't smell.  In fact, I'd go as far as saying it smells better than our toilet at home because there is no lingering smell if use it straight after someone else.  Granted I had a cold last week, but I'm sure I'm not the only one with the same view.
And thank you to Aidan and Arran for putting in vents, not necessarily to help with the non existent smell, but to let in light and air.
Thanks Jodie for the photos, you are all welcome back any time!

First Aid

Well, we've had our first major first aid incident.
Aidan was on top of the container, still plugging away at the roof.  Things were moving much faster now he had stopped pre-drilling holes and  making small holes in place with a nail and hammer instead.  He now also has a tool belt with all the screws in it, so my job had been reduced to handing up sheets of corrugated iron- which I did with bare hands.  I sliced my right hand quite badly across the palm, it was so deep that all the layers of skin were sliced neatly open and when I curled my hand it would lift up so I could see under the skin.  Luckily, Aidan had done a similar injury many years ago coming off a bike on a mountain and knew exactly what to do.
The outcome of the whole experience is that while we had an adequate first aid kit, we now have a much more extensive one, and now know that the nearest hospital is in Kyneton for future reference.
The night before we had been having a conversation about how good it was that if felt like there was no one around, but really if anything happened we knew we had 2 neighbors within very close proximity. 
It also raises the question of phone coverage, both our mobiles were with 3, but with the changeover, Aidan had been 'upgraded' to Vodaphone, which means now he has absolutely no phone coverage out there.  My own phone plan ends in a couple of weeks, but there is  no way we can be left out there without coverage.  What if something really serious happened and we couldn't call for help?
The moral of the story is:
-have a decent first aid kit
-know what to do with it
-know where the nearest hospital is (because an ambulance is a very long way away)
-make sure the phone is charged
-always wear gloves while handling tin