Have I mentioned how cold it gets here? Well please remind me next time I complain about it. Good lord its 40 plus degrees here and I live in a tin shed! Worse still its going to be hotter tomorrow.
Now I understand we all have our weather extremes but at least in Sydney we were equiped for the heat. Two split system air conditioners and a 9 metre pool. Here even the dam has dried up (not that you would swim in it) and there is absolutely nothing except a couple of fans to cool us down. Still many before us have endured a lot worse without even refrigeration, so I should stop complaining, but that doesnt make me feel any cooler lol! And out come the snakes!
The grass has gone yellow and the lush green landscape has been replaced with the type of dry, brittle harshness that really is unique to the Australian countryside. From sunrise to sunset now you can hear the seed pods in the trees splitting and bursting in the heat. Still its paradise here .... If only I had a pool !
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Saturday, January 10, 2009
A New Year beginning
Wow its 2009 already ... Happy New Year to you.
The New Year has not bought the type of hot weather we may have experienced in Sydney but I am told its coming...we'll see but I am happy to not feel the heat. It is odd though to have 5 degree temps in the evening to us and even needing to light the fire! Good Lord imagine what winter is going to be like!!!
The mail arrived the other day and I find myself assulted with not one but two speeding fines! Jesus ! One was only 8 km over the limit and both on the same stretch of freeway! I don't really know what else to say, but I am inclined to justify my speed as there is still alot of Sydney Girl in me and, well yes, I still feel like a busy woman and rushing everywhere. I do admit to thinking how slow the Victorians drive here, and they do, especially the country folk. I am a city, lane switching, freeway peak hour driving expert compared, so need to change or risk my licence! Time to slow down and kick back more.
When we first arrived here Connor and I were in Melbourne for the afternoon and I was dashing about as you do in the city. He pulled on my handag and said "slow down you look silly"and sure enough, even the city Victorians don't rush and dash about as frantically as we do in Sydney. I am trying really hard now to walk slower and try to relax :)
A book I have been reading about an Englishman who moved to rural Spain has reminded me of my quest to live simply and more off the land. He mentions how he still found himself being enslaved to modernism and found himself still buying and wanting lots of things. I thought again about this and realised I am still living very much the same, working to afford the items we need or do we? Thus my quest begins...
Mum pulled some (what we thought were) shallots from the garden and left them by the side of the vege patch. I have since discovered these to realise they are garlic bulbs! In the spirit of my new quest I decided would no longer buy garlic but ultilise the fruits of my land and set about peeling half a bucket of garlic cloves with Cameron. My fingers ache and smell horrid but I now have a jar of frozen garlic cloves and a bottle of garlic oil in the fridge and feel much more like a farmer and saved us... mmmm probably a whole $2 or $3 ! Thinking I need to evaluate effort vs output principles a bit more lol!
Anyway lets hope 2009 brings Gippsland a drought and fire free Summer and a prosperous year ahead. The same to you where ever you are...
The New Year has not bought the type of hot weather we may have experienced in Sydney but I am told its coming...we'll see but I am happy to not feel the heat. It is odd though to have 5 degree temps in the evening to us and even needing to light the fire! Good Lord imagine what winter is going to be like!!!
The mail arrived the other day and I find myself assulted with not one but two speeding fines! Jesus ! One was only 8 km over the limit and both on the same stretch of freeway! I don't really know what else to say, but I am inclined to justify my speed as there is still alot of Sydney Girl in me and, well yes, I still feel like a busy woman and rushing everywhere. I do admit to thinking how slow the Victorians drive here, and they do, especially the country folk. I am a city, lane switching, freeway peak hour driving expert compared, so need to change or risk my licence! Time to slow down and kick back more.
When we first arrived here Connor and I were in Melbourne for the afternoon and I was dashing about as you do in the city. He pulled on my handag and said "slow down you look silly"and sure enough, even the city Victorians don't rush and dash about as frantically as we do in Sydney. I am trying really hard now to walk slower and try to relax :)
A book I have been reading about an Englishman who moved to rural Spain has reminded me of my quest to live simply and more off the land. He mentions how he still found himself being enslaved to modernism and found himself still buying and wanting lots of things. I thought again about this and realised I am still living very much the same, working to afford the items we need or do we? Thus my quest begins...
Mum pulled some (what we thought were) shallots from the garden and left them by the side of the vege patch. I have since discovered these to realise they are garlic bulbs! In the spirit of my new quest I decided would no longer buy garlic but ultilise the fruits of my land and set about peeling half a bucket of garlic cloves with Cameron. My fingers ache and smell horrid but I now have a jar of frozen garlic cloves and a bottle of garlic oil in the fridge and feel much more like a farmer and saved us... mmmm probably a whole $2 or $3 ! Thinking I need to evaluate effort vs output principles a bit more lol!
Anyway lets hope 2009 brings Gippsland a drought and fire free Summer and a prosperous year ahead. The same to you where ever you are...
Friday, December 26, 2008
Yep more snkes
How unlucky can a person be? Think my perfume must be some sort of snake attractant ! With 8 people living here I am starting to get a bit of a "why me"complex ...
We were lucky to have some friends from Sydney pop in for the afternoon 2 days before Christmas. Feeling very countryfied and brave, we went for a walk to show our friends our property. We went through lots of long grass, and at times I even took the lead (which is a bit scary with all the slimy creatures around). Not a snake to be seen even though a beautiful hot day.
On return Dylan calls out that there is a Tiger snake (second dealiest in the world) under my car. Of course we can not find it anywhere until our friend commented that they heard a "hiss"coming from my engine. You've probably can imagine where this is going and yes thats correct- it was curled up in my engine. Worse still it had come from the veranda of Mum's house and Dylan had almost trodden on it.
Greg, my hero forever, turned on and reversed the car and the snake slid itself out from underneath and took off into the garden (so not ever gardening again!).
Chrstmas eve we go to get some chooks from a farmer and he recalls to us many a scary story of tiger snakes and their dealiness. Of course then I can't sleep as my mind plays tricks on me imagining that there is a snake in the bed, but I try and stop myself from paranoia and eventually drift off for a few hours before dawn.
The boys have a rubber life sized snake that they have been known to leave on the grass to freak me out (gotta love boys don't ya!), and Christmas morning whilst talking on the phone I walk out the door and across the front of my shed and and here is the bloody rubber snake beside my foot. I stop to double check only to realise this one has a different colour belly and I once again absolutely crap myself (sorry for the graphic language but terrifying scene here) and scream holy murder and run like a ,no doubt very graceful and fast athelete back into the shed. My scream caused the snake to head towards me, which freaked me even more as I only had sandals on. I spent the rest of the day in gumboots, inside and out, and think I will forever.
I hope this is just a spot of bad luck but by the time Greg and Dylan came to look for it, it was long gone. However as it was right next to my shed, which has a hole at the bottom wich can lead to inside, I am now even more paranoid its in my bed! Do you think I can buy anti venom on ebay to keep here???
We were lucky to have some friends from Sydney pop in for the afternoon 2 days before Christmas. Feeling very countryfied and brave, we went for a walk to show our friends our property. We went through lots of long grass, and at times I even took the lead (which is a bit scary with all the slimy creatures around). Not a snake to be seen even though a beautiful hot day.
On return Dylan calls out that there is a Tiger snake (second dealiest in the world) under my car. Of course we can not find it anywhere until our friend commented that they heard a "hiss"coming from my engine. You've probably can imagine where this is going and yes thats correct- it was curled up in my engine. Worse still it had come from the veranda of Mum's house and Dylan had almost trodden on it.
Greg, my hero forever, turned on and reversed the car and the snake slid itself out from underneath and took off into the garden (so not ever gardening again!).
Chrstmas eve we go to get some chooks from a farmer and he recalls to us many a scary story of tiger snakes and their dealiness. Of course then I can't sleep as my mind plays tricks on me imagining that there is a snake in the bed, but I try and stop myself from paranoia and eventually drift off for a few hours before dawn.
The boys have a rubber life sized snake that they have been known to leave on the grass to freak me out (gotta love boys don't ya!), and Christmas morning whilst talking on the phone I walk out the door and across the front of my shed and and here is the bloody rubber snake beside my foot. I stop to double check only to realise this one has a different colour belly and I once again absolutely crap myself (sorry for the graphic language but terrifying scene here) and scream holy murder and run like a ,no doubt very graceful and fast athelete back into the shed. My scream caused the snake to head towards me, which freaked me even more as I only had sandals on. I spent the rest of the day in gumboots, inside and out, and think I will forever.
I hope this is just a spot of bad luck but by the time Greg and Dylan came to look for it, it was long gone. However as it was right next to my shed, which has a hole at the bottom wich can lead to inside, I am now even more paranoid its in my bed! Do you think I can buy anti venom on ebay to keep here???
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