The End Of Renovations!

It is finished!

I do love the butterfly my beautiful family gave me for Christmas

It's feels so good to know that it's finally all done!

Yes, there are still projects. I would like to have some raised veggie beds, and there are a few walls that need a lick of paint. But the renovations are done. So what did we do? First there was the pantry by Tiger and Grandfather, then there was the fixing of the termite damage and at the same time the electrical work and landscaping at the back door, then there was the fitting out in the laundry and now finally the tiling is done.

















I still think my favourite renovation is the laundry. So practical, so usable, so sensible and so well done! A few years of thought was put into it, and if there was a next time I would put the drier over the washing machine (or the other way around) but it didn't work with my plumbing.

Local Wildlife

We've seen a bit of interesting wildlife at our place in the past few weeks.

Tiger and the boys were cleaning up a pile of corrugated iron and found this little turtle. Yes, we are glad it was such a benign creature, but the weather has been pretty cold so I would have been seriously surprised to see a snake.

We released him into our dam, after taking note of the beautiful pattern the creator made on his back and the lovely way he could scrunch up in his home.

Granny came to visit and deliver some much needed cupboards. As she was unpacking the cupboards we discovered she had a stowaway!

This beautiful, tiny bat travelled with her from near Inverell, in the north of New South Wales, down to us on the southern border of NSW.

We don't know much about bats, except that even my children know that they carry disease. We used to be concerned about Hendra Virus when we had horses in Toowoomba. Thus we got gloves before touching.

We emailed our friendly scientist Dr Danny Wotherspoon, who's always been part of our family. He said: 

"That is a most exciting find indeed! Bats are really hard to identify even when holding one in the hand. There are many small features to look for. Good to see that you had gloves on. That one is in the Evening Bat family, or family Vespertilionidae."

Unfortunately the pictures we took were not clear enough to be able to identify it definitively. But we know that this one belonged to the suborder of Microchirotera or microbat. And he certainly was small, the body was no bigger than a mouse.

Uncle Danny believes that he has probably found other bats in his species and gone into hibernation now for the winter. So it possibly ends well.

Quote from Dr Danny Wotherspoon 

BSc, Dip Ed, Grad Dip Bushfire, MA, PhD, 

MESA, MASH, MEIANZ

Councillor, Ecological Consultants Assn NSW

Abel Ecology

Burrumbuttock Babies

We have had our first baby at Burrumbuttock. We came home from church today to find this cute little lamb.

Tiger is our shepherd. He did a great assignment learning all about our breed of sheep a few months back. For the past two weeks he has been carefully feeding our little herd of 12 dorper ewes (and one Ram) every two days, whilst wearing a bright coloured jumper. He has trained them to recognise his voice, so that they happily come whenever he calls. However, whilst they are coming closer to allowing him to touch them, this ewe was not ready for us to go any closer to her and her baby than 5m or so.

Big Boys Camp: Germany: Travel Day(s) Part 2

This morning we got on the train and went to Albury where we met mummy and the other kids when we got home we gave the kids presents and settled in. We have had a wonderful time in Germany and I can't wait for next years camp.

Big Boys Camp: Germany: Travel Day(s) Part 1

Today we got up and did a thorough clean of the house and then left for Frankfurt. We flew via Hong Kong to melbourne which took about 20 hours on the way we watched lots of movies such as Paddington and Captain America. We arrived back safely in Melbourne where we stayed the night at a budget hotel. Since today was ANZAC day daddy was supposed to be in Jindera but we couldn't make it.

Big Boys Camp: Germany: Day 13

Aglasterhausen and Frankfurt 

In the morning we drove to Frankfurt to drop off the car and pick up a new car. Our new car is a tiny four seated Fiat with a sun roof, city mode (to help with stopping), and lots more. We visited Oma in hospital, and then went home and went for a swim but the pool was all booked.  It was a very busy day.

Big Boys Camp: Germany: Day 12

Aglasterhausen

That's us with Herr und Frau Schulte

Today was a wonderful day (until the afternoon) but I'm getting ahead of myself.

In the morning we took Oma for a blood test appointment and then had lunch with a couple called the Schulte's in Aglasterhausen.  Daddy went to school with their son Tobias.

Then we went home and had a rest and then packed to go for a swim for after our visit to Oma in the afternoon.  But the swim never happened.

When we visited Oma the nurses told us that Oma had to go to hospital again because the blood tests that had come in said that there still might be an infection in her knee.  Daddy dropped Tiger of at home and visited Oma in hospital. And we never had our swim. We were supposed to fly home the next day but Daddy changed the flight and we have to take home the car tomorrow.

Big Boys Camp: Germany: Day 11

Aglasterhausen and Mannheim 

Daddy's cousin Gwen

This morning we took Oma to church in Mosbach. Daddy thought the organ music was great.  There was a baptism, and the church was about three quarters full.

I'm listening to the audio tour in English

Then we went to see Daddy's cousin Gwen in Mannheim.  Gwen lives in Giessen, just north of Frankfurt, which is not far away. When we got there the traffic was horrible. There was some kind of protest going on and police were everywhere! There was so much of a delay that you could get out of your car and not have to move it for a long time!

We had lunch at a Turkish restaurant and then went to look at the palace there in Mannheim. On the way back to the train station there was police every were! Normal police as well as riot police with awesome suits. We think they were there because of the football match that was going on.

Apparently there are some bus companies in Germany that go interstate for only €15,00.

Big Boys Camp: Germany: Day 10

Aglasterhausen and Sinsheim 

Today we took Oma to the market in Mosbach. Then we went to a medieval fair at a castle in Sinsheim and watched a mock fight. During the fight some of the people wielded fire balls one chains. Grandfather would have loved it.

While we were there Tiger bought a horn (trumpet) made out of cow's horn.  Lots of people turned up in medival costume.

We also went to the Sinsheim Tecnic Mueseum and it was amazing! We saw (and went in) lots of  planes including one of the Concordes of Air France and a Russian copy.  There were lots and lots of cars, tanks, and displays.

We also watched an IMAX film about life in the ocean. Tiger also went on a water ride that pulled a boat up a hill and then let it go into the water and also a ride the went round and round and turned over.

Big Boys Camp: Germany: Day 9

Aglasterhausen 

In the morning we visited Oma and managed to get her to stand up (assisted and leaning on the bed). Then Daddy left Tiger at home while he visited the doctor briefly.  We then went for a walk around Aglasterhausen.

This is the primary school he went to when he was six years old.  The house he lived in with his family and Oma was just next door.