We have............. a toilet!

The impossible has happened, we finally have a toilet.

And like all impossible things, it actually turned out to be quite easy.
I think Aidan's sudden need to have a toilet has to do with a potential camping date he's organised with another family next weekend, but I am not complaining, being the only one in our family who doesn't stand to relieve themselves I think it's long overdue!
It was always going to have to be a composting toilet, we don't have water connected to it and we can't have a septic tank, so essentially we have a thunder box. It's a wooden box with a toilet seat over a bucket.  Sitting beside it is a metal bucket which will be filled with sawdust to scatter a scoop over what ever gets deposited in the bucket. It may sound primitive, and possibly horrifying to some people, but when we've been without a toilet all this time, it is the ultimate luxury.
From all accounts they don't smell, which we believe, despite the fact it is a short distance from the container.  Like all things at Mia Mia, where it was put had a lot to do with the ground.  While we didn't have to dig, our first choice was directly behind the container, but the uneven ground in between might have been too dangerous for a late night visit.
We (the royal we, mainly Aidan) laid a slab, then he and his dad put together a kit shed which Aidan dynabolted to the slab.  It looks like a council toilet, but we think it's fantastic.
It turns out the hardest part about assembling the toilet is finding sawdust.  Which we are yet to do...  There are no convenient saw mills near by, and the hardware/garden supply places we've visited don't have it.
There are alternatives which we can use, like shredded paper, pine needles, dry grass clippings etc.  It is exactly like the compost bin, needing to have an even mix of wet and dry materials, but sawdust is best because the bucket won't fill up too quickly. 
Also with the kind help of Tony, Aidan's dad, we finally turned the cubby around 180 degrees so we can see they boys playing from the container.  It was amazing to watch the two of them poke poles under it and lever it around, and thank goodness it's done.  It has been on the to do list for far too long.  Now we have to put up a shade sale and a proper sandpit, so the boys stop trying to dig up the crusher dust with their diggers.
2 huge jobs were accomplished, and with the cutting of the grass it looks like a completely different property. I just looked back to another blog entry a couple of months back to see how green everything was, you would not believe the difference.  Then again in Winter it will be back to the same lush green we saw when we first bought it.  What an amazing place.

Beating the grass and our echidna

We're slowly winning the battle with the grass.
After speaking to the local CFA, it turns out the grass was still too green to burn at the cut off date for burning.  Luckily though, Anthony the fire chief had a spare hundred or so sheep to come and eat it   .  Now instead of looking at the sheep through the fence they're running around our property and pulling out my agapanthas by the roots.

We've also been attacking the grass front, prior to the sheep coming, with the old mow it then round up it combination.  Everything has suddenly dried out anyway with the recent heat wave, and the sheep are doing their own combination of eat it/trample it flat.  The problem with having sheep is that we only have 3 fences, so they are also grazing on the two properties next door.  We went for a walk the other night to herd them back to our end, I didn't realise how many sheep there actually were.  Now we can see the ground it is possible to walk anywhere without battling the long wild grass. Seeing the ground has revealed we have a real life echidna living with us.  It was very exciting, I don't think I've ever seen one in the wild, though Aidan had seen them squished on the side of the road, and it was huge.  The size of a big bike helmet!  It was a shame the boys were in bed, but luckily we have a video taken on Aidan's phone... Check it out here
We also have to cut fire breaks, and for the first time ever I was easily able to use the lawn mower because it was clear enough to see where the rocks and holes were.  Hooray for the sheep!

We've had a couple of single days out at Mia Mia in the past few weekends.  It's never as good to go out just for the day.  It helps to go out the night before so we have time to sit around the fire and unwind before getting to work.
No actual building has gone on since our last posts but miraculously the veggie garden and fruit trees are going strong.  I expected to go out and see a dry patch of dirt and bare sticks that resemble our trees.  Instead the constant rain means that everything is thriving.  The potato plants are big and bushy, the celery has been eaten by some sort of pest, but we only really planted it because it was limping along in a pot at home, who needs that much celery anyway? The peas are going great guns, and there are even a couple of little carrot tops poking out the top.  The fruit trees are covered in blossom and thanks to the lend of a wheel burrow the second 'plot' is filled. and we've planted all the rosemary I'd grown from cuttings.  I'm starting to feel a bit more like a green thumb, it's very exciting.  Now we just need to grow some actual food.  It's the first step to our sustainable life out there.
My dad, aka Grandpa Alan gave the boys a swing set for their birthdays which has gone up.  Oscar and Aidan built it together.  It probably doesn't sound as amazing to everyone else, but I sat there watching Oscar taking initiative in the assembly and do things like pick the frame up from one corner on his own to take the wrapping plastic off it while Aidan did something else.  It is what the whole experience is about, the boys learning how to create things on their own and become independent human beings.
The rain and thriving plants also means thriving grass.  It just never ends.  We cut the grass around the container after a warning from Mary over the road that a brown snake had been spotted on our driveway, but a week later it looks like it has never even been mown.  We've decided to go with drastic measures and I've contacted the local CFA about burning it, we're just waiting to hear.  It will mean we're not a fire hazard, there will be nowhere for the snakes to hide. Eek! Just like in Alice in Wonderland, we'll "Burn the monster out!"
The warmer weather is also starting to change the dynamics out there.  The boys were so hot and sweaty last time we went out.  It reminded me of picking grapes in the heat on the block when I was a kid.
The plan of attack is to get water delivered and to get some shade happening.  The roof on the container is still happening, but we're going to take a big market umbrella.

Roo

 It's been many weeks since we've been able to visit the block and get dirty for a cause. Very much due to Jill's selfless dedication and hard work towards her upcoming performance tour, which has been chewing up our weekends and covering our dining table in mountains of half finished costumes.
We're both in need of a Mia Mia excursion, Jill more so than I, as it's an amazing place to cut ourselves off from TV, road noise and the general cramped feeling of our apartment. Oscar asks to go to Mia Mia every Saturday as it was our ritual for quite a while. I think he will be just as excited to get back there as we are, William on the otherhand I think will just go with the flow like always.

Above is a picture of a kangaroo I took while Jill and I were shovelling gravel for our patio. He was about 5 and a half feet tall and eating grass with another couple of kangaroos including juvenile that was slightly bigger than a joey.
In the picture he's standing about 3 meter's to the right of where the back of our proposed house will be. Technically it's the front door but it's actually the back of the building and is right in the middle of our block.

This is the area that our block is located in:

View Larger Map

When Jill's tour is over we'll be able to start going back to Mia Mia but that's still 2 or 3 weeks away yet.
Until then I'll leave you with the roo bouncing away after I spooked them all.

Spring has Sprung and the Wood work is finished

Technically we're actually a few weeks off September, marking the start of Spring, but this weekend was the first whole weekend of glorious weather we've had at Mia Mia in a long time.  There are lots of baby lambs springing around along our fence in front of the cubby house, and it is finally time to start planting.  I didn't realise that lambs actually spring, I thought it was something they only did in Looney Toons cartoons.  They are so cute, groups of 5-8 of them keep gathering around a particular rock, climbing on one at a time and springing off like it's a great game.  They are like playful puppies.
We got out late Saturday afternoon to find 4 cubic meters of garden soil had been delivered and within 5 minutes the rest of the wood needed for the verandah rafters. 
I have now filled one of the garden beds in the 'pet cemetery' and planted the following:
-celery that was living in pots in our car park in Melbourne, but not thriving
-potatoes that we had at home, and another 5 potato plants that had started growing in the compost bin
-carrot seeds, which I had the will power not to plant all at once so we can (with luck) spread the harvest over a few weeks
-snow peas from seed
-2 pots of basil, one for Mia Mia and one for home
-pot of coriander
-The lemon tree we have had sitting in a pot out the back is now planted (but not the lime tree which was stolen.  Who steals a lime tree?!)
I also scattered some sunflower seeds around the place, hoping for some random looking growths of colour.  I don't know why I like sunflowers so much.  They aren't traditionally beautiful like a rose, but I used to really like them when I was a teenager, perhaps for their sunny dispositions.  I read somewhere they are also good to have near a veggie patch to encourage the right kind of insects that will keep away the bad ones.
I used the compost from our bin for the first time, it was full of worms working their magic.  The mandarin tree is looking a bit yellow, so I googled the problem.  How silly is it that we don't have connected power or water, but we have internet access on our phones!  Apparently yellow leaves means either over watering, under watering, over fertilizing or under fertilizing.  Helpful huh.  They hadn't been watered for 2 weeks, but there has been quite a bit of rain, and the ground was wet.  So much rain that even though it was sunny, there were little billabongs of water everywhere because the plates of rocks won't let the rain soak through.  But the rain must have  only just happened, so I have no idea if they are over watered or under watered.  I did put a bit of plant booster on it any way just to cover the fertilizer issue. 

Aidan had a very productive day too, he finished putting up the woodwork for the verandah off the edge of the container.  It has been a very long time coming.  It began with trying to dig holes for the support poles, which at Mia Mia is a night mare.  We bought a jack hammer and hired a generator to try and break through the rocks, but it was a couple of months of having nothing but holes.  Kay, Aidan's mum had the ingenious idea of putting in footings so the holes could be much smaller.  Then we had footings there for a while, then 2 poles, then a beam across them.  The purchase of a generator has moved everything ahead rapidly, who knew having power could be so useful?  So much got done on the weekend, I'm so happy with what has been done, and proud of Aidan for finishing the structure.  I almost don't want to put a roof on it, it looks so good, but the idea is that we need shelter and somewhere to catch rain.

I'm also very impressed with Aidan involving the boys.  Over a couple of wines around the fire, we discussed how Mia Mia needed to be something that involved the boys, not just something they had to endure.  I know how frustrating it can be when they boys want to help, particularly when they are more of a hindrance, and there is always the concern of them getting hurt; but Aidan, who has not always been known for his tolerance was great with them.  Oscar just wanted to wear the tape measure on his belt and wasn't prepared to share it, but Aidan took it in his stride.

Early mornings are usually the hardest out there, when it is still freezing.  William whinged for about half an hour wanting 'coffee' while we tried to get the fire started and heat the billy.  Thank goodness the neighbours couldn't hear.  Imagine what they'd think of this city kid, who isn't even 2 cracking it over coffee!  What he really wanted was a hot chocolate, or more importantly something hot.  But as usual once everyone had had breaky all was calm again.  One of the joys of eating outside is not worrying about food and mess falling on the floor, which happens a lot when you have two boys  under 3 and a half.

After reading my last entry Aidan felt I should make a couple of additions, firstly I didn't introduce myself, I am Jill, a dance school owner and teacher, and the one trying to keep life functioning smoothly for the 3 boys in my family.  Secondly, Aidan felt I should have mentioned that he was a visionary for our dream.  It is true Aidan has been the one researching and planning for this building.  He started out wanting to build a log cabin, I think a mud brick house may have briefly entered the equation, there was definitely been a straw bale house idea at one point, but it is through his research that we've settled on a shipping container house.  The beginning inspiration for our design was from Adam Kalkin, an English architect who happens to be giving a talk at Melbourne University next week, and luckily for us David has got us tickets to.  Unfortunately Tuesday at 6.30 is the absolute worst time for me to go, but Aidan will be there with bells on.

To top our productive weekend off, just before we left Terry walked over the two fences between our properties with a tray containing a couple of strawberry plants and bell pepper seedlings, both items on our wish list for the garden. We will have to fill the other 'plot' to plant them next time...
Another thing Terry bought to our attention was the problem of rabbits eating everything.  I've noticed a few places around, including Terry's which have big netted areas, presumably to keep birds out, but having never seen any rabbits out there hadn't considered them.  If we put wire around it they will just dig under.  What to do?  

Living the Dream

It's hard to put into words what our little piece of country side means to us.  It is a place we try to get to most weekends, we have no running water, no toilet and only recently acquired a generator so power is limited, but going there fills us with the kind of bliss I didn't know we were missing.

'We' are my husband Aidan, animator and the general handyman on site, Oscar, our 3 year old son who likes to 'use' the tools and help Dad build things, and William, 20 months and is still a bit hit and miss about whether or not he's an outdoors man and can appreciate our permanent camping site.

We have a 3.5acre property in Mia Mia (pronounced My My by the locals) which currently contains a shipping container and a cubby house.  The last few months have seen the creation of a patio area which is really just boxed in crushed granite, and 5 poles with beams across them which will become a roof on the container, 2 stone wall garden beds that Aidan likens to a pet cemetery and as of yesterday 3 fruit trees.

We bought the property in 2007.  Between the time we put an offer in on the land, and the offer being accepted we discovered Oscar was on the way, hence the several year delay in being able to do anything with it, and then of course the arrival of William. The previous owners had done some sort of excavation, so we have 3 piles of huge rocks and a driveway cleared.  Rocks are a very relevant part of life at Mia Mia.  They are absolutely everywhere.  We took a sample to Aidan's Uncle Stephen (Gallagher) who is  a geologist, who informed us that approximately 100 thousand years ago a volcano exploded and spewed across our property, leaving volcanic rock everywhere.  Unfortunately it isn't the fertile kind that has broken down, it's only young volcanic rock and won't be useful in our lifetime. 

The big picture dream is to create our dream home.  We don't necessary plan on living there full time, but it will be our retreat, complete with offices so we can both work, and plenty of scope for play and entertaining.   The architect working on it is very conveniently my brother David (Lister), though when someone is designing a house for free, you fall on the back burner when real work gets busy.  We plan on building a house out of shipping containers, based on the idea of creating a home with as many recycled materials as we can, living as sustainably as possible and having a cutting edge, evolving work of art as our home. 

Mia Mia is a place for the boys to learn about building things, and making a fire and how to entertain themselves without a tv. They love going there, most probably because it is the one place we get to spend time as a family without work and other distractions readily available in our Melbourne flat.  We are all learning new skills out there.  We don't have Aidan's dad nearby, who would normally help us construct and fix things. My mum lives in Bendigo, half an hour away so if we get rained out we sometimes go there for breakfast, but we're meeting neighbors and everyone seems to be very supportive of a young family moving into the area.

We have two neighbors in our little street, Mary and her husband, and Terry.  After 5 loads of dirt and road base being delivered in two weekends I think we'd proved we're sticking around so Mary has started bringing us the local paper, the Bridge Connection when it comes out each month, and Terry pops by and offers his help.  The night we'd been shoveling 7 cubic meters of crushed granite we were sitting around our fire in the dark when he bought over a gas lantern.  It completely changed our evenings out there.  I can't believe we've been sitting in the dark for so long!  We went out and bought one the following week.

I'll try and update this each time we go out, so we can look back at the end and see how far we've come.  Wish us luck!

The cubby

Willis

Aidan and Osc

The view and reclining cows

Our container and set up