Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Mad October!

It has been a little crazy around here this month. We've been working flat out trying to get the cabin ready for Sara and Stephen's wedding. However, the rain has beaten us. Some days it was just too wet to attempt any outside work. It has come a long way and after the festivities are over for the wedding, we'll concentrate on getting it finished and ready for the summer season. 
One of the most challenging parts of putting this cabin together was cutting the metal sheets to size and then attaching them to the cabin walls. Frans complained bitterly about the tools. They were difficult to use and didn't have the right angles to make the job easier. 

Seeing the first full wall go up was a triumph! Even it it was the smallest wall on the building!
Once the outside was done, it was time to get the floor done. The old floor was uneven and not in a very good condition. There was only one thing for it. It had to come up. Frans and Michael (our young Chippie mate from Melbourne), pulled up the floor in a day and laid a new floor the following day.
The two men then got started on the walls. By the time Michael went home three days later, the cabin had progressed a long way! Thanks Mick. 


This is where it's at at the moment. The outside is done. Guttering still to be completed. Inside plastering complete. 

Here my lovely sister in law Jayne is getting up close to the horses in the paddock next to us. They are a friendly lot, treating us to a lovely display of bucking, galloping and mane shaking.

After our walk we stopped at our neighbour Graham's cattle yard to see a brand new calf. It was only a few minutes old. We watched in wonder as it slowly wobbled to it's feet and finally found the drinking spot. It took a while….
At last.. it found the right end. It kept trying to drink from the front!
I am amused most days when I get a visitor at the back door. This chook always manages to escape and come and say hello.

Finally the apple blossoms have started, so we're netting the fruit trees a little earlier this year. 
Those twiggy things on the ground are cuttings from the ornamental grape that I still need to do something with. 

And then a couple of weeks ago we had a stall at the Birregurra Festival. It was a cold, windy and miserable day! October is so unpredictable!

We had our own calf excitement last week. Another one born to Eileen, the boss cow. This little girl came all on her own with no troubles at all. It was a bitterly cold day and she lay huddled in the wood pile for an entire day before she managed to start moving around. Sara named her Regina.
Shortly after her birth, Eileen is still cleaning her up. Here she's getting rid of the umbilical cord. Sometimes nature is rather gross!


Making wedding jams! We bought the sweetest (excuse the punn) little jars, filled them with four varieties of jam and popped the cutest labels on them for the wedding table give aways.



And here's my Mum. No sooner had she arrived from South Africa for Sara's wedding, and we had her working! Thanks Mum for all your help!

Wedding pics coming up soon…
Have a great week!