Dry as a bone

Well into December and still soooooooooooooo dry.

About 50ml in the last couple of months.

The dam is getting low and no water in getting in from the creek.

This is how it looks today

All new watering system for the Citrus trees

This is our area of fruit trees - with automatic watering system in place - we are hoping that this will reduce the amount of time that it takes daily to keep water up to the trees here. - But notice the growth!!! In a couple of years we will be inundated with citrus!!!

A close up of the piping - it drips at 2 litres per hour - we are still monitoring to see if this is enough for them but we are able to modify if necessary.

Our temporary delivery system for the water - until the new irrigation lines are in place - gives us a chance to experiment with rates of delivery for the water.

Our babies with their new head wear - they are not much attached to this form of 'dressing up' and will be eternally grateful to us when we can take it off - this is Lyn and the kids in the trailer about to go watering down on the farm.

Security

Tom - being interested in electronics (with a passion) has developed his own security system here - cameras everywhere (motion sensitive) now with them directly recording on to the computer - got to keep being aware of exactly what I am running around in nowadays or there will be a little TOO much recorded for posterity!

Tom being Tom has also devised a system where we can view them from our tablets when we are away from the house - ie - in town.

On the puppy front..... both Layla and Casper have 'bells' around their heads at the moment. Casper has just had 'the unkindest cut of all' and Layla has had a grass seed infected in her paw so both have been to the vet again. Poor things are soooooo not impressed with the whole idea of it. Casper being Casper has already had his off once and both of them spend numerous hours during the day trying to devise some form of escape.

When we were out watering trees today they both stayed in the ute - finding a comfy spot and curling up to watch the activity from relative comfort.

Tom and I have been working on a new automatic watering system for the fruit trees - drippers set on a timer for maximum benefit -also done at night which also helps. We are still in the trial stage of it but all seems to work well at the moment.

The kids

Both the kids just back from the vet.
Laila has a sore foot and cannot lick it.
Casper has just had the little snip and he cannot lick what was once them.
Poor things.

Trees trees and more trees

On Sunday we planted a mix of mainly Australian native trees - all 52 of them - down one side of one of the fairways. There were a couple of other types of trees in there - for instance - two pecan nut trees. Plenty of wattle and gum trees to start with and a couple of crepe myrtle to keep an interesting look about the place.

This weekend is more of the same - we have another 60 to go in but learning from experience we are going to stretch the planting over a few days.

Sunday afternoon had me roasted and toasted. I remembered to cream up all over my face and arms but forgot that I was wearing a sleeveless shirt and my back became a disaster area - however all is over and at the moment I am several shades darker across the back than I am normally.

Here I am hoping that this is the last of the disasters - first - burnt the hand badly (I never half do ANTHING!) - then have a run in with the ute (a bout which I lost badly) - and now sunburnt back - hopefully this is the third and final sorry chapter in  my disaster pack for some time!!!

We are off to Tasmania in two weeks time - in time for Christmas and also to meet my future in laws - Tom and I became engaged on Saturday. We have been talking about it and now have finally started to do something about formalising our relationship. We are thinking about getting married sometime around February/March - already our idea of a quiet ceremony with only four people has flown out the door with people telling us that they are going to be here.

Maybe the idea will be to hand them all a tree and a pick - we are going to get those trees planted somehow!!!

Our little trees

Well they are tiny. lol

how about this

after just a week.
Maybe we have green fingers now. lol

new green house

well it is going well.
Lyn is having fun.

Oops!

Now just guess just who this happened to! (and it wasn't me!) - Today I came home with Tom after a shopping expedition into town - a couple of minutes later we were hurtling back into town at a great rate of knots! Guess who was kind enough to lift all of the bags into the boot of the car....... and then left his man bag with his wallet and epipen within for anyone to pick up!!!!!! OOPS!!!

Then when we arrived at Woolies and found trollies but not my bag. (Bugger)  Lyn rushed to centre management and I went to Woolies. The trolley return guy had found my bag and dropped it in, nothing taken.

Well proves one thing that even in Gympie their are some honest people. 

Spa room done

Well all done.
Had a spa last night's.
Fitted the lights and finished up today.
Happy people.

Spa room is coming along

Well day two of our build for our new spa area.
Looks great so far, will post some images tomorrow.
also had Morris from aqua around today, working on the irrigation for the course.

Looking good

Taken 1st November.

Well we are very near to getting water from dam. Pipes will be installed soon and the dam will also be enlarged. All we need now is rain. On a weekly basis we are planting more trees.

Rain!

Rain at long last! Not much but with the hope of more to come!!

Doctors lie

I have always been told that your body is sorest two days from exercise or from any muscular problems - they lie!!!!

A few days later and all things are still sore and sorry! My arms are twin disaster areas - I used them to try and get upright again, I only have one ankle - the other is a multi coloured cankle, the groove left in my right leg is still swollen to twice it's proper size and even trousers rubbing against it causes angst and most of the muscles in my body are complaining every time I try and move them!!!! So....... raspberries to the doctors who say that the worst day is the second day - they lie!

I am currently surviving solely on the thought that what does not kill you makes you stronger - that and the fact that Tommy is being extra nice and thoughtful at the moment - except for when he continually puts me on the phone to repeat the whole sorry saga again to someone - his new form of entertainment!!!!! - also his way of reminding me that what I did was super dumb! I think that I have gotten the message Tom!!

Day 2 from disaster

Second day paralysis has set in - my body aches and there are many and various bruises across it. Luckily a spa that Tom ordered arrived yesterday and Tom assembled it and had it up and running last night so that when I came home this afternoon from work we were able to jump in and indulge ourselves with a little bit of water recreation. Oh boy did that feel good!!!!

Unfortunately for Tom he now has an appointment with a dentist however I am sure that another session of spa-ing will heal all things!!!At least that is the theory that I am working on.... and who could blame me?

New spa

Picture this - puppy under tyres, with me in the drivers seat leaning down to try and pick him up........ end result - run away ute rolling backwards with me being dragged along by my leg - screaming my fool head off too! Tom running from the other side of the paddock and neighbours (over 70's) climbing the fences trying to get there to help me.

Luckily - Tom was able to stop the ute before it ended in the dam - I ended up with only a very sore leg (somewhat cut up but no long term damage) and the pup ended up taking a swim in the newly created pond and couldn't see what all of the fuss was about.

Just another day in our new lives!!!!

Then and Now

Picture 1 is May of this year - Picture 2 the same scene this month - May is all grassy slopes and a hell of a job ahead of us - remove internal fences and cattle yards, mow down mountains of grass, plant trees, bamboo, palms and shrubs - which include fruit trees, use rocks to create a rock wall, remove mountains of rocks from fairways and greens, logs, dirt and mulch to start making features and you start to get some idea of where we have been in the last months of our lives.
Include in this journey the purchase of things like a farm ute, tractor, zero turn ride on, chain saw, blower, whipper snipper, brush cutter etc etc and you can start to understand the magnitude of the project that we have taken on!
And still we labor on and will be for at least another year before we see some holes at a stage ready to be used.
We have also added two new members to the family - Layla the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel X and Casper the Maltese holy terror who have joined our ranks.
Sanity is a distant memory but we can not complain of being bored!
Just in case I did not have enough to do I have also taken on a new job which will keep me busy in my non working hours!

Modified Course with real lengths

Correct sizes

and Tiger tees when needed.

2nd hole index 1 374m from normal tee

The days are getting longer and hotter - the water has stopped flowing into the dam and the water levels have dropped about a foot already within the last few days. Hopefully rain will come and cool us all off and also put some water into the waterways again.

Last night we had some rain which was enjoyable - but obviously we need a lot more. The watering runs will have to be more frequent until the rain clouds visit us again.

Today the rest of the blinds arrived for the west side of the house so it should be cooler from now on for us - a little bit at least - the hot summer afternoons have turned our house into a sauna.

Welcome the day when we get to see all of our trees grown and giving lots of shade.

Sunday 20th May 2012

Yesterday we took a trip to Maryborough - as Gympie is in the grip of show fever we felt that this was a good time to motor up and have a look at some of the shed/residential buildings that are there. Unfortunately Maryborough suffers from the same inertia that grips Gympie on weekends..... some businesses do not open on a Saturday morning???!!! Maybe they have soooo much business that they feel no necessity to chase business. We stopped at two different places to try and look at the quaker barn options however with the same results.

We enjoyed the leisurely trip and as we took a different route home Tommy got to see some more of the country side than he had seen previously. We took Laila, our dog with us and she enjoyed herself immensely, curled up with her head resting on Tom's feet. She would climb over him to see out if the car slowed but otherwise lost interest and snoozed her away her day.

This venture has changed us both already - as we travelled along the road I was thinking - I would love to see that tree or that dam or that rock at the farm and Tommy was thinking - that patch of grass would be hard to mow, how would you be able to do that??? Sad but true.

We were, however, able to find a drum to carry water in so that we can water the trees more easily. As we plant more and more trees this is going to be an ever increasing problem and a permanent solution has not yet  been decided on - something with a pump and solar panels is the preferred option but we are still investigating. Therefore in the interim this is the temperary solution. Hopefully we will not have planted thousands of trees before we have our watering system in situ!

We have the start of a citrus grove and in the next few weeks will be increasing it dramatically. We are still waiting for the slasher to come and mow down the rest of our grass so that we can continue to get a better idea of the complete lay of the land. Country timetables rule here.

Ken has started to pull down the internal fences and Tom took the opportunity to mow around the area it opened up so we have started to see a bit of 'flow' to the area. It opens it up and starts to look bigger and more integrated already. When the rest of the fences come down and the grass completely gone it should look fantastic!! 

20th October 2012

 This is the new second hole green that has just been started - a work in progress (isn't everything here!!!)

 This is the new pond that we have started today. Solar powered fountain - more work to follow tomorrow - watch this space!

The solar panel for the fountain.

Work has progressed well today despite the bad news - my father is ill and not expected to recover. The family are making arrangements but so far he is holding his own. Work helps keep your mind from other things - a good therapy.

Today we went a bought a tyne for the tractor - Tom has been madly tearing up the place ever since we brought it home - and I do mean that literally! He has been practicing with it on everything possible but was great to break up the ground for the pond. This afternoon late we were able to get in some of the plants around the pond, some mulch and some of the rocks and logs to give it that rustic look. It is a good start but still needs work doing on it. Rome, they tell me, was not built in a day.

We have planted some of the plants that we got from Landcare yesterday afternoon and will be planting the rest tomorrow. Hopefully by the end of the growing season this year we will have made leaps and bounds into the growth of a multitude of trees, bamboos and shrubs! We are now praying and hoping for some rain to help the process along.

We are hoping that we will have the bones of a good structure in planting in the next couple of months so that next year we will be able to start the underplanting of the ground cover and smaller shrubs which will make up the whole.

Tom spent some time today working on one of the greens - using the tyne (of course) ripping it up and then leveling it again ready for seeding and fertilising. For a couple who are untrained in farm work we think that we are not doing too badly at all.  It certainly has been a learning curve for us both.

Please multiply all values on this plan to get correct measurements - 

This is the revised plan for the course - some changes due to the slope being greater than expected once all of the grass was removed.

Long time since last blog

Well it has been a long time since our last blog - our lives have been turned upside down for awhile but we are now on track again.

Many things have changed and progress has been made. All of the internal fences are gone as well as the cattle yards which we sold for a farm ute - sometimes it works fantastically well and sometimes it decides to go on strike however it does get our water container to all of our new trees so that we can water them all. Twice in pure desperation poor Tom has pushed it to the slope and we have kick started it - works a treat! We have had all of the grass slashed down and have enormous heaps of grass around the farm - apparently if we drop soil on them they will mulch down much quicker so we are in the process of doing that but also using it for around all of the new trees.

We have been madly buying trees from all over the place and can't wait to see what they will all look like. Winter months this year has been hard on our plants - all 8 of the coffee trees died from the series of 7 frosts in a row - the frosts also cut back all of our clumping bamboo, 2 of which we lost all together which is a shame - we were so looking forward to watching them spring forth over the spring/summer seasons.

All of our citrus - other than one Kaffir Lime - got through unscathed from the frosts and are doing well - we have ordered another 25 and will be lots more in what was once the front paddock which we will now not be putting any holes on at all because of the steep slope there. Perfect place for more lime trees!

We have also ordered another 18 coffee trees which should provide us with more coffee than we will ever be able to use for our own use - perhaps a future sideline for us to explore!

We have added greatly to our equipment - water container (1000 litres), ute, chain saw, brush cutter, blower (to clean up the mowers) etc etc - the list of needs for this place grows expedientially! However we deal with it one day at a time and are getting more experienced at finding novel solutions to problems.

To add to our finances I have found myself a job again. I am once more working for RSL Care as a personal carer - work I love and it gives me a break from the farm work, an income and some social contact with people - there is really no down side to it! Great!!

We are learning about plants as we go - reading up on which ones are which and their individual needs, interesting and hopefully will help us to keep from making terrible mistakes with what we plant. Hopefully it will all come together as something lovely - in time.........

We also have other fruit trees with the idea of being wholely self sustaining in fruit and vege sometime in the future -  with this in mind we are converting the carport to a green house and growing vegetables there - it is also the place where we intend to do some propogating of trees as well - so far so good.

We have several fairways and greens in the making now and the plans for placement of them has changed with the landscape being a bit of a problem in some areas but all is well and the changes working out ok.

After Holiday

This is what greeted me when I got back home after my little forced holiday.
Lyn had done so much work while I was away.

 

 One of our newest acquisitions - the ute sometimes decides that it doesn't need or want to work!

Our little angels. Layla and Casper. Our bed is their favorite place to sleep - especially if one of us is still in bed.

 This is our idea of using what is already on the place - soil dug out to make ditches for the logs - our mulch from all of the grass on the place and then add cheap plants from Landcare - we are on a budget!!

 Watering of greens - well.... they will be greens one day!!

 The Dong Feng is doing it's fair share of the work load and is great for all of the heavier stuff - Tom is gaining experience in using it and enjoys nothing more than getting out on it for the day.

 This is the end result of a couple of hours work - wait for a couple of years and it should look fantastic!!

 This is the first green to be sown with seed, fertilised and then watered - fingers crossed.

Monday 21st

Well we have been busy over the last few days.

1st many trees (well lots for us anyway)

 The start of our grove of fruit trees.

12 trees make up the first grove.

Then 6 natives.

10 Clumping bamboo trees as well. Fast growing and look great.

 And also a willing helper at all times.

 1st day. some trees done, more done on Sunday afternoon.

 Early shot taken just a few days after Dong-Feng arrived.

Have a look at the foreground grass and wait-a-while bush.

 

 Area in-front of the house now done.

Does not look much but 6 hours with both of us working on it.

The fences from the old farm are now all but gone.

Looks so much more open now.

Friday 18th May 2012

The last couple of days have been busy ..... and this morning we are still recovering from planting trees - the land is now dotted with trees - not with the hundreds that you would suppose from this so far but with about two dozen - my only thought at the moment is..... OH MY GOD!!!!!!We still have hundreds to still plant - will I survive???!!!!!!

We have started our first grove of citrus trees - conveniently close to the dam for watering - we still have not finalised the type of watering system that we are going to put in so at present we are watering by hand - the hard way is not the best way but at least it is getting done, but can not continue this way for long - the sheer amount of time that it takes will stop it happening.

This morning we are hoping that Ken Pearce will be coming to take out the internal fences on the property thus opening it all up for easier access. We are also hoping that the neighbourhood slasher will be here to slash the rest of the grass.

We have organised for Ken to be here for the next few weekends - it will give us a boost to the amount of work that needs to be done for us to be able to stand back and completely see the lay of the land for the final plan of the golf course to be set in cement!

We have already mown two of the fairways down and can see their layout but seeing is believing and seeing more of the contours of the land has inspired Tommy to change his plans for some of the fairways - therefore the quickest route to clearing the land will give him the easiest chance to complete any changes that he wants to make.

We have my sister Karen and her husband, Leith visiting this morning for morning tea so a full morning all around. They are coming from Kingaroy on their way to a nice quiet weekend on the Sunshine Coast before going back to work after a holiday that was curtailed due to the weather in Victoria and South Australia. Spring is probably a less cold option.

Well bad boy is working like a charm.

Tis funny with the zero turn but now I have the hang of it and it is fun. Ken has done a great job cutting the grass for me and at the same time giving me some hints on this tractor thingy.

 Speaking of which here are a few bits of wood that I have managed to either go over of just miss.

 The 9th fairway is much better now. tomorrow will give it a little rip with a stick rake that our next door naighbour gave is to borrow/keep. Ken has added a huge chunk of concrete to weigh it down. will see how it goes tomorrrow.

Apart from a stuffed back feeling good with all this manual work. And the land is looking much better. Pity the moo cows have such big feet to put such big holes in my lovely 12th fairway, oh well, we fix.

 And had to test out the 9th this afternoon. 210 mtr drive 20 mtr's past the ant hill. (the dog leg).

Would have left a 120 mtr approach in to the green.

Sunday 13th May 2012 - Mother's Day

Firstly - Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers out there - I was lucky enough to hear from both my kids today and it was great to hear from them - as always.

Today was a bit of a bludge day for me - up at 6 this morning to go to the markets and get some more trees - I have been promising myself to plant all of the trees for several days have still not finished - however tomorrow is another day. Planted some of the plants today but none of the trees.

While Tom and Ken busily worked at getting the grass down today I stayed inside and plodded around getting housework and small chores done - you know - the ones that sneak up behind you and by the time you turn around they amount to days of work - none of them huge time in itself but there were a multitude of them - and more to come. So I am going to be house bound for a few days while I work on them and have the house and yard looking respectable again.

The back paddock is starting to look somewhat bare after a few years of being covered in long grass. The neighbours are sending up a collective sigh of relief that the snake haven is finally being dealt with. Talking of which..... yesterday when I stopped on the John Deere to give Ken Pearce some water and ginger beer to drink there was a black snake that went under both Johnny (the John Deere) and the tractor (Dong Feng) or 'The Dong'. That was a surprise and not a nice one - we have all been wandering around in that self same grass for a last couple of weeks secure in the knowledge that it is too late in the season for snakes to still be around! OOOPS!!!

I stayed on Johnny until I found a nice clear space - no more wandering around the long grass for me thank you very much!

Tom came in tonight and is tired as - he has been steadily working his butt off and is starting to feel the effects of it quite a bit. We are both hoping that the continual work will be good for us and improve our health - if it doesn't kill us in the meantime.

Another foggy morning. Needed to wait till 10am beforewe could start.

Well work has gone well today. The 9th fareway has been cut and cut. Grass is now about 2" long, and we have taken so much grass of this fareway. Two huge piles just on this one fareway. Thank goodness we have only 4 par four holes to do. The rest will be easy. The rough will have to wait for a bit tho.

Getting used to the zero turn mower as well. Will upload some pics tomorrow.

Friday 11th May 2012

We are still adding to our list of equipment - today's addition was a 4 stroke blower for getting rid of the grass our of the engines etc of the two ride on mowers - much needed as they are clogging up on a regular basis at the moment. Will also be of help to get rid of the excess grass etc out of the sheds - quick and easy clean up.

Reading the instruction book is a surprise - you would think that you are handling a lethal weapon with all of the safety instructions that they give you - and you would end up being kitted out like a space cadet into the bargain. While I am all for safety - I am not for spending half the day getting in and out of excess clothing just to blow away some grass!!

Tom spent most of his day out in the sunshine working on the fairways - it is very slowly starting to come together - this weekend the pace will be quicker with an experienced tractor driver in charge giving us some much needed help. After two days of three of us working our buns off we should be able to see some real progress.

Tom is getting used to the new way of mowing - the zero turn in vastly different in the steering and it takes some getting used to - his first efforts were like a duck on drugs! meandering all over the place but now his aim is more sure and the tracks he leaves in his wake are starting to show signs of straightness!!!

We have finished most of the initial work on 9 fairway and have started on 12 fairway - much heavier going with the type of grassing different and that is making a huge difference in our ability to get through it and get it under control - more times through it before it becomes properly mown but we are still seeing progress every single day which is great!

Thursday 10th May 2012

Today we went into town again - running errands never ends!!! and went off and bought a Big Dog zero turn mower - Tom was having spectacular fun on it ripping around the field - like a kid with a new toy. He tells me that he accidently found out how to do a zero turn - perhaps at a less frantic pace next time may be helpful!

We are getting the grass down in one area but there is a huge amount of the grass that we have not even touched yet which is why we have enlisted further help on the weekends to get through more of the initial workload so that we can start on the planting out and planning.

Meanwhile the house is looking like a bomb has hit it but you can only be in one place at a time and at this time the place is outside trying to tame the greenery.

Today Tom tried to move logs with the bucket but was unsuccessful - there is a definite knack to doing it and we are hoping that Ken Pearce - who is coming to help on the weekends - will know and show the knack so that we can learn it too. This was always going to be a steep learning curve and has proven to be so - and will continue to do so for some time to come I can only imagine.

We could also be ending up with a trailer soon also - Outdoor Power Centre is where we bought the zero turn and also has the trailer so we will be able to use it on the farm and for getting the machinery to town for servicing. It is sure to become very useful in the long term and we will also be able to bring back bulk buys of trees in it also. All of a sudden our machinery needs seem to have risen expedientially. No doubt in time we will learn how to maximise the use of all of them.

Tom is in the processes of turning a wok scoop into some form of booster for the wifi for the computers - he learnt about the idea from Richard Davies from the Sunshine Coast - many thanks Richard!!!

Tonight is Grand Design night so we will be watching that and then finding the bed early! We have decided that if we are to survive all of this exercise then we should get fitter and healthier than we are at present - so now we are having fresh fruit and vegetable juices and  I and endeavouring to make our meals healthier too. Time will tell if we continue with the health kick but all efforts are to the common good.......... I hope!!!

To make life easier we just bought a Big Dog Zero turn.

It will be delivered this afternoon.

Will have more pictures this afternoon with it working.

Well today was hard yakka.
Started to setup the 9th fareway. Very happy with the result so far but oh so hard on the back for both of us. I did the heavy mowing on the tractor and Lyn used the John Deere.

Then I started picking up the huge amount of grass clippings. The bucket on the tractor does a great job picking up the mulch.

This will give you an idea of the grass we have to trim. lol