Sunday March 14
The plays went very well. A large and loud audience who gave plenty of laughs. Good fun had by all. The venue was an old church, converted into a groovy meeting pace and restaurant. Our play "Last Tango in Little Grimley" was a riot. Not only that but the Bulldogs had a big win over the Saints so the family were all thrilled with that. Popped up the hill to visit my good mate Mark and fill him in on my plans for 2010. Was good to see him and have a cuppa.
Collected heaps of gum nuts from a few of the different gum trees on the fence line to try to grow some seedlings.
Was hard to finally drag myself away from the place but finally pushed off about 3pm for the drive back to Melbourne, luckily I remembered to turn off the tap draining into the dam or I would have run the bottom tank empty. Mark suggested I empty half into the dam and leave plenty of room for the next rain to refill the tank.
Saturday March 13th
Built myself a big ladder out of lengths of timber so I could finish painting the high ends of the house. Had to double the uprights as she was a little too wobbly when i tried her out but she worked fine and I was able to get up high to reach the bits I had not been able to reach last week. A job that should have been done a couple of years ago. Spent a bit of time in the hammock going over the lines for the play tonight. We are taking our little comedies on the road to Violet Town. Disappointed to be missing out on the Bulldogs night final tonight but thems the breaks.
Friday March 12th
Headed up this afternoon. A lovely sunny drive. I spent some time fiddling with the hose and length of pipe and ran some water from the tank down to the dam for an hour or so. Spotted an eagle flying along the ridge. Later on there were the usual three. A little later four ! Haven't seen 4 together for years. That must be a new young one joining the parents and the older sibling. Great news.
Had a fun night in watching The Fellowship of the Ring.
Wednesday March 10
A quick trip up the highway for play practice tonight, getting ready for our show in Violet Town this Saturday. Arrived about 4pm to find the little pond 2/3 full and about 6 inches of water in the dam. Last weekend's storm had dumped heaps of water up here. A sight for sore eyes. The overflow from the tank had made a mess of the driveway, carving gullies down the hill as the water poured away. Found a bit of time to sit in the hammock and go over my lines. Play practice went well. We should be fine. Stayed the night and headed back about midday Thursday.
Wednesday March 3rd
We arrived at the block at 4.30pm, a warm but pleasant drive up from Melbourne. Play practice tonight in town. After a bit of a wander around it was time for a cuppa and read in the hammock. About 6.30 I heard the pad of a creature somewhere behind me and figured a knagaroo was about and heading to the dam for a drink. Turned out to be our quiet friend, the black wallaby who lives up in the forest. He regularly moves around on the hill by the house but is generally shy and won't hang around if disturbed. Anyway, he seemed happy enough to hop across the driveway and nibble the grass in the paddock heading down to the dam. Digger barked at him from the verandah but he wasn't put off by that and hung around. Finally I had to jump in the car and head off about 10 past 7, so drove slowly down the hill. He hopped off a little way but was still hanging about when I got to the bottom of the hill.
Headed back to Melbourne Thursday morning after watering the trees. Will be back up next Wednesday.
March 1st 2010
Digger and I headed up to the farm last Friday afternoon as I had a house warming to go to in Benalla Saturday night. It was good to get out of the city though the drive up the highway seemed long. Popped into school for a beer at the end of the day and to tell my mates about my new job. Got some supplies in town and headed out to the block. Put the kettle on and settled in the hammock on the porch. Clouds and blue sky over the ridge. Two Wedge tailed eagles were cruising along. As dusk approached I spotted a kangaroo approach the dam. There were 4 of them, 2 adults and two young ones. Very carefully they looked around before heading down for a drink. Twenty minutes later another three large roos, including two males followed them. Ten minutes later, the three large ones took flight when Maggie the horse snorted and approached. I watched the planes heading north to Sydney cross the blue sky above. Something caught my eye on the hill behind the shed. A fox. Medium size with a big bushy tail with a white tip. It slowly made its way through the grass, unaware of Digger and I. At night the nearly full moon made star-gazing difficult. Watched the Bulldogs beat the hawks on TV. They looked great and Barry Hall kicked 6. Very promising for 2010.
Saturday morning. Thunder and cloud in the morning then some rain. The tanks were full so I got soaked as I bucketed the overflow into the old bath to use to water the trees. It was fun though. The shower didnt last too long but a little flowed from the house roof down to the dam.
About midday spotted an echidna at the dam. Went down for a look. He was among the reeds and dug himself into the soft mud as I approached. The dam continues to get lower and lower. Only about 2 feet deep at the deepest spot now. The high water mark is about 10 feet above the current water level. I remember how beautiful it was when it was full 4 years ago. You couldnt touch the bottom when you went for a swim. Small gum trees are now growing on the bank that used to be under the water. Spent the afternoon painting the back of the house listening to some music. Spotted two eagles perched up the hill.
Sunday Digger and I went for a walk. Climbed the hill and watched the view for a bit. A big eagle was about and perched up the ridge then flew off fast across the valley without flapping his wings at all.
Digger was poking around then barked at something. BLOODY HELL - a big fat brown snake was lying only 15 feet from where I had been sitting. It held its head up as I called Digger away and we headed back. After losing my last Jack Russell to a brown snake bite 5 years ago, I have been careful to keep Digger tied up in Summer but as it was coolish today I thought he'd be ok running around. Luckily he wasn't bitten and didn't seem all that interested in the snake. A close call. We packed up and headed back to Melbourne about 1pm after a relaxing couple of days in the peace and quiet of the north-east. Heading back up on Wednesday for play practice.
