Gardens and Chickens

I've finally started the mammoth task of mulching the entire garden. I've split it into ten different sections (in my head) and will try to finish one full section each time I venture out. Here's the first bit.
Two hens hatched 12 chicks between them - all silkies, all colours. These little guys are just over a week old now.

The boys at work were doing some cementing today so Gibbo had the surplus poured as slabs for chookpens -it will help with flea and lice control.

30 more for Lunch

Mike and Danni had their little boy, Angus, dedicated last Sunday and we hosted the lunch here at home. It was a lovely afternoon - great weather, great food (wagyu pattie burgers), great people and a few drinks. There were stacks of kids and they all had a good time, running, chasing each other, trying to catch the escapee chickens and just having fun.

This is their little boy above............this is my little boy below.............isn't he just beautiful????

The tennis boys came for Sunday night tennis and Kat and the kids came after the races. By 11pm I was worn out and fell into bed with my beautiful green blanket wrapped around me. I love it.

Andrew Knows.....

Andrew knows about my blog...........he's been wondering why I haven't been updating the family website (I don't have the software). He said I should do a blog like Danni does......and I couldn't resist telling him I already do and have been for six months. So I quickly showed him - and now he knows. Isn't he lucky? Hello? Hello? Isn't he??

Here are some recent photos of his. His ewes are lambing (having twins and triplets) and the cat had kittens IN THE CEILING!!

30 for Lunch

We hosted 30 visitors from Korea on the lawn for lunch last Tuesday. The usual routine was trotted out - lots of entrees, wagyu burgers and good beer; home made carrot cake and coffee; hay bales and a smokey bbq add to it all. We're quite used to this now and the routine is generally the same with a minor tweaking here and there sometimes required depending on the make up of the group. Even though they're generally only here for 1-2 hours it can take me up to 8 hours to organise, prepare, run and clean up after a lunch visit.

Coco and Gundi had a good time and got lots of attention and small morsels.

Gibbo, Al and Peter discussing the finer points of the Red Emperor beer.

Reason, Season, Lifetime

Danni M put this post on her blog; I thought it so true and it especially made me think of fairly recent events and why I had A in my life for a relatively short time, all the while expecting her to be there forever. I don't have anything profound to say about it but I am reflective now and then about our time together. I don't think she was a REASON friend; more a SEASON friend because she brought me peace and made me calm, made me laugh, taught me something I wouldn't have done (run 10km at the Gold Coast; finish a triathlon amongst other things) and brought me an enormous amount of joy. She was incredibly supportive and understanding in times of trouble and knew the perfect thing to say or write. She was someone I thought about every day and was always thrilled to see. And then one day she just wasn't there any more. At all. Not even a whisper of her. The season ended and that was it. So Reason, Season, Lifetime goes a little way to making me realise that, just because something in your life makes you happy, it doesn't mean it's always going to be there.

REASON, SEASON, LIFETIME

When someone is in your life for a REASON, it is usually to meet a need you have expressed outwardly or inwardly. They have come to assist you through a difficulty, or to provide you with guidance and support, to aid you physically, emotionally, or even spiritually. They may seem like a godsend to you, and they are. They are there for the reason you need them to be.

Then, without any wrong doing on your part or at an inconvenient time, this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end. Sometimes they die. Sometimes they just walk away. Sometimes they act up or out and force you to take a stand. What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done. The prayer you sent up has been answered and it is now time to move on.

When people come into your life for a SEASON, it is because your turn has come to share, grow, or learn. They may bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh. They may teach you something you have never done. They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy. Believe it! It is real! But, only for a season. And like Spring turns to Summer and Summer to Fall,
the season eventually ends.

LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons, those things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person/people (anyway); and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas in your life.

Camel Talking

I visited the camels today. Gibbo and I took chooks to the Allora club show and while we waited for the judging to take place we ducked back to the zoo where they now live. I went in on my own and made my way straight to them. The anticipation quickened both my step and my breathe.


As soon as I saw them I broke into a big smile. Jasmine made her way up first; she looks just the same – those long sexy eyelashes make her look so feminine. It was those eyelashes that first caught my attention on sale day nearly three years ago now along with her inquisitive nature that made her come to the front of the pen while her mates all hung back.


Omar took a little longer to make his way over to see me but once he did I’m sure he remembered me. I thought he looked a bit sad and I sensed a sadness in him. I patted and scratched and rubbed him in all his favourite places and he just stood there with his eyes half closed and lapped it all up. He followed me all the way along the fenceline as I slowly made my way back to the entrance. My last glimpse as I turned away was of him stretching his lips and mouth toward the sky and delivering a loud (and I’m sure, smelly) rumbling belch from way down in his stomach.
I walked back through the shop and the lady asked me if I had enjoyed my visit. I told her I’d only come to see the camels and she said “oh the devils who keep pushing our fences over?” I told her that I used to own them and she said I should have told her when I came in through the gate. She said that when they first came, the girls gave Omar a hard time (Jasmine and the other resident camel, Jedda). She asked me if I thought if they’d grown much and before I could answer her, I started to cry. Embarrassed, I mumbled something about how well they looked and left the shop.

I’m pleased I went to see them as I've often wondered how they were doing. I was glad to see them in a big paddock looking lean and clean with no sign of the mange they sometimes suffered from here at home. My hands were shiny and dirty from massaging them; my eyes were wet and I felt both happy and sad at the same time.

Another Poultry Show

Allora Poultry Club Show was held today. We got up early and boxed 18 young birds up and set off. On arrival we quickly penned the birds then had a good look around at what else was on show. BJ was there again with her beautiful red silkies, a colour that I’m very keen to produce.

Her silkies have magnificent size, shape and head crest. She told us that until she introduced the T bloodline to her hens, her stock looked like ours does – not bad, but lacking in body and crest size. We recently acquired a T cock – but he doesn’t mate naturally - so we’re about to learn how to AI chooks – I wonder which one I’ll end up holding.

There were some very cool looking Indian Runner ducks on show, standing at the back of their pens like embarrassed teenagers, not really sure how to stand or where to look and trying to appear invisible. They almost look like their hands are in their pockets - and their pants are half way down their bums in true teenage fashion.

We had a cup of tea and a hotdog before heading off to see the camels (see next story).

When we returned the judging wasn’t finished so we walked through the shed and had another good look at everything. We watched the judge do his thing, then went and had lunch and more cups of tea. We sat and talked to M&T who also had some chooks in; Gibbo nursed K on his knee for ages; she leant back against his chest and played with his cap and chewed on a plastic spoon.

I went to the car and had a little nap; the two early starts in a row were starting to take their toll. Finally the judge finished and the presentations were made. We ended up with 3 firsts, 3 seconds and 2 thirds. Our silkies look nice but they have a long way to go to be consistently producing really good quality birds.

Showing poultry is a good hobby for a couple to have. We enjoy looking at other people’s fowls and seeing what we can aspire to. It also means we get to spend a day together.

Kat would have been proud to see that Gibbo dressed the part and blended right in.

I just love this photo - I took it at exactly the right time, just as the shaft of sunlight came through the roof - and the duck was in perfect position. There's something a little sad about it...

Drew and I rose early on the 25th and went to town for the Anzac Day Dawn Service. We left home at 20 to 4 and picked up S then went to the cenotaph. The crowd built slowly and quietly; people greeted and acknowledged each other in hushed tones, footsteps crunching on the stones on the road. I stood quietly in the concrete gutter; the stars shone in the still dark sky; a gentle autumn breeze rustled the leaves on the trees and lifted the hair on my neck.

Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, there were several hundred people there, babies wrapped in blankets, toddlers perched on shoulders and children holding their parents' hands. The service commenced at 4.28 with a short march from the ANZ bank corner, down Patrick St to the cenotaph. It was eerie to see the group, illuminated by street lamps, snake its' way to the crowd, accompanied by a lone drummer. A sombre service followed and the haunting sound of The Last Post and Reveille rang out on the pre-dawn air. The ceremony was over by 5am; people quickly disbursed, still talking in hushed tones.

We dropped two kids home then went to have breakfast somewhere but our restaurant of choice wasn’t open – not surprising at 5am. I left Drew in town at S’s place and drove home. It was still dark when I got home so I crawled into Drew's bed and wrapped myself in his soft blue striped blanket and had an hours sleep. I woke up and had breakfast, fed the chooks and went back to town for the street parade at 9-30.

Three horses led the procession......

followed by different bands and returned servicemen organizations, followed by the schools.

Drew marched - the older students marched holding hands with a little person either side of them. It was a lovely idea and gave the school a very inclusive feel and it made my heart swell.

Once at the cenotaph a much longer ceremony that this mornings took place; a new monument to the soldiers killed in the Korean and Vietnam wars was unveiled and the names of all the soldiers from the district who have been killed in times of conflict were read out. Speeches were held; wreathes were laid. The army CMF men stood, wooden and silent, at each corner of the soldier statue. I thought I was going to faint so I walked out the front and away from the crowds.

There’s something about the Australian flag that really stirs something inside me; I guess that’s what patriotism is; it makes me proud and glad that I’m an Australian.

I'm a Leonard Fan

I'm a recent Leonard Cohen convert, a new fan, a devoted follower of the smooth as silk voice - then again, maybe I'm not such a new fan. I've been reading a bit about him in the last little while; he was in Brisbane a few months ago and a columnist I like to read wrote about his concert, his songs and lyrics. Something in my memory shifted and I started to wonder if it was the same Leonard I had listened to in the late 70's/early 80's. My boyfriend and I would play tapes in the player of his Holden ute - but I can't remember whether it was Leonard Cohen or Lynyrd Skynyrd I was actually listening to. I started to think it was more Skynyrd than Cohen - because after listening to my new CD (The Essentials) I'm sure I'd remember these songs. Then again, that deeply mesmerising, mysterious and sexy voice of Cohens' does touch a chord with something inside me from long ago so maybe it was him. To listen to him through a set of quality headphones would be awesome - especially Hallelujah. Almost hypnotic. Drew also thinks LC's voice is hypnotic but not in a positive sense - he thinks it's the worst voice he's ever heard, depressingly awful, and he has to hit the off button when he gets in the car. Ha! The youth of today has no taste in music!

Sleeping Arrangements

This is where the two dogs have been sleeping; it's a very cosy arrangement and Coco puts herself to bed when she's ready. They go to bed about 8-30pm and we let them out around 6am.