After everything has bolted?!

It is fair to say that the fences at Hamby Home(in)stead are a bit (or a lot) wonky.

Some of the gates and their latching mechanisms are somewhat "how ya goin'" also.

I had a huge chortle this morning when I tried, for the first time since our arrival, to shut the boundary gate to our section.

Such was my amusement that when Nick woke later (after a long night-shift), I insisted he walk down the driveway to appreciate the "iron-y" of the situation!  

Owl's that?!

It was a little after 6:00pm when we started driving into town.  We hadn't long turned out of our driveway when we spotted a bird hovering just near the fenceline. 

As no other cars were around, I pulled over to the wrong side of the road, so as to view and photograph this Barn Owl.

About a month ago a Barking Owl visited a tree beside our storage container and tonight's tyto was on the boundary of the paddock that runs behind our house.  Nice neighbours!

Definitely a highlight of the day/night!

Can't stand the mess?!

We've had a few days of sunshine but the mornings have still been cold and wet, with frost.  Our gumboots are certainly getting well-used! 

The problem is that the boots get mucky so are kicked off at the doorstep, which is becoming increasingly difficult to navigate. 

I've been pondering a solution and had thought to google "boot rack".  Nick looked at some of the pics and said he could make something. 

I was up at the woodpile though this morning and found a piece of pallet - so got Nick to cut it into two halves, which have been placed on end beside the doorway.  It isn't perfect but it is serviceable - and it will be interesting to see if stands up to frequent use!

Shopping for spuds!

Since moving into Hamby Home(in)stead we've been buying our potatoes direct from the grower at stall about 25km "up the road" from us.  A $10/10kg bag lasts us ages but if we were really keen, we could buy 50kg for $30!

The small shed is usually deserted so we help themselves to our bag of choice, slotting payment into a locked cash box. There is an exercise book and pen but I'm not sure whether we are sposed to record what we bought as I've only encountered the farmer on my first visit.

Historically, the Romsey area "was rich farming land and provided a "food basket" for travelers to the gold fields in the mid-to-late 1800s. Potatoes were grown for many years, until WW2 caused farming to change to sheep and cattle."

Every last drop!

Tea was fairly quick to accomplish drinking her milk from a bucket.  (We just assumed she would learn how to do it but seemingly some calves never progress further than using a bottle).

In the early days though, it was a messy operation and she couldn't quite manage to get the last few cups of milk from the bottom of the bucket.

That small amount was decanted into her bottle to ensure she drank every last drop - which she did!

Mucking around ...

As good as Nick's boot-brusher is, there are times when the mud is too thick for sweeping to be effective. 

We are becoming regulars at the recycling shop and on a recent visit I spotted (among other things!) a collection of stove parts.   

One of those has now been employed as a boot-scraper and sits beside our boot-brusher - not bad for $2.50, eh?!  (Yes, we love a bargain)!

Bovine bliss!

When Tea is let out of her enclosure, she has the run our house paddock - a huge area with plenty of room to roam. Invariably though, she spends much of her time near our front door.

She particularly likes to scratch her neck on the table where all our firewood is stacked!

I've chased her away several times today because the whole table (including a small bookcase full of wood) was starting to rock alarmingly!

Visitors!

All the wet weather is having the expected impact on Tea's small enclosure and the Fox-proof Fowl Fort (FpFF).  We've been letting our little calf out to roam the house paddock and the chookies have been enjoying some time free-ranging also.

They are a curious bunch though and I've been working on the computer to hear pecking behind me as one of the girls tests the glass!

During one of the wetter periods, they all sought cover under the small sheltered area adjacent our front door - and made themselves quite comfy on our doormat!

I'm sure if we opened the door and stood aside, the girls would be extremely happy to come in.  Tea is more forward and has already tried to walk into the house!

Oscar is not at all keen on visitors.  He tolerates the chooks sitting by the front door but has carried-on loudly when Tea came too close. 

We were all a bit startled by his hissing and growling - and Tea was very surprised when he ran at her.  She stepped back, knocking into a chair and scaring herself but the funniest sight was Oscar donking his head on the glass!

Bucketing down ...

There has been consistent rain this past week or two - and some days there has been mist also. 

The water level in the tank has risen more than 10cm, which is wonderful. We'll be able to do numerous loads of washing, though getting it dry will be an issue!

Of course, Tea requires feeding regardless of weather and paddling about in the rain (and cold) to do so hasn't been all that pleasant. 

It's a good thing most of us have full wet-weather gear - though at the time of purchase we thought we'd be using it for archery and bushwalking. No-one ever dreamed we'd be wearing it calf-feeding and chasing after chookies!

Erin is not as well-equipped as the rest of us but has purchased some rather flash gumboots during Target's recent sale.  Vaughan also has some newly-acquired gumboots - and I have dug out my purple pair, which I bought for camping.

Hamby Home(in)stead is starting to look like a proper farmhouse, now that the front door is littered with many pairs of mucky boots and other footwear!  (We've even had Tea and the chooks camped out on our doorstep, sheltering from the weather)!

The Bucket List?!

Tea arrived at Hamby Home(in)stead three weeks ago.  Initially she drank only from a bottle, not much different to a two-litre plastic container you might purchase milk in, although hers is slighter tougher and is fitted with a valve (as well as a teat). 

The issue with Tea's bottle is that the valve doesn't operate effectively, so the bottle collapses (because our little calf sucks very enthusiastically).  The milk flow is then compromised  - and whoever is doing the feed is subject to frustrated butting. 

Over the past week, we've been teaching Tea to drink from a bucket.

We were given a demonstration when Tea was first delivered to us - and the theory is simple enough.  Basically, we guide Tea's head into the bucket and let her suck our fingers at the same time as her mouth (not her nose) is immersed in the milk.

It's an awkward exercise, even with a large bucket!  Tea pushes hard against us and sucks so strongly that Erin's finger actually popped under the pressure.   In time our calf will drink the milk without needing the security of sucking - but that achievement seems a way off at this stage (though we've seen her drink puddle-water without any assistance)!

Even after a week of practice, as soon as our fingers slip from her mouth, she butts at the bucket and milk sloshes everywhere!  (It's been a week of new feeding experiences for Tea.  She has started eating a small amount of calf pellets - in addition to the grain mix, straw and hay that she was already nibbling). 

Rounding up the eggs?!

Our chookies have been with us for twelve weeks - and have gifted 161 eggs in that time, which averages just over 13 a week! 

Of course, we don't always get 13 and in fact the weekly numbers have been dropping over the past couple of months, which we expected due to the girls moulting in preparation for the colder weather. 

Their lowest weekly egg tally was five, two weeks ago and we assumed they had done their dash for the season. 

Not so!  For the past fortnight we have received egg tallies in the double-figures.  We aren't sure what impacted on chookie productivity.  They have been enjoying some free-range time most days during that period, which obviously agreed with them.   At the same time as their free-ranging though, Tea has been exploring the house paddock and she takes great delight in sneaking up on the girls and rounding them up -  so our other theory is that all the running about has upped their output!

Free firewood!

For us, moving to South to Victoria represented a 1,000km change in climate.  It is definitely much colder here than what we were used to.  Fortunately Hamby Home(in)stead has a combustion fire in the lounge area, which we started using as early as April!  As winter approached we used the wood heater more often - and cutting/collecting firewood was a regular activity.  There was a fair bit of wood stored in the back corner of the house paddock but it was obvious we would need more.


The Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries allows the free collection of firewood for domestic use during an autumn (1 March to 30 June) and spring (1 September to 30 November) at designated areas in certain State Forest areas.  It was nearly the end of the autumn collection period that we visited the local-ish Wombat Forest to try our luck. Quite a few people had obviously been luckier than us, earlier in the season.  Even so, we took home a very full trailer-load to supplement our pile.  (Due to recent rain, most of the wood was quite wet and wouldn't burn well - but will dry out in time).  All going well, we intend to collect more wood during the spring season to prepare ourselves better for next winter.

Although I helped with the wood collection, I also took the opportunity to photograph some lovely fungi that were spotted during the day.  I've just now found information about a fungi guide for the local area, so may purchase that for future reference! 

It was quite a cold day but we enjoyed our first trip to Wombat Forest.  It may be that we can explore further on another occasion, praps even camp there  - worth investigating, for sure.

Sourdough Success!

I finally made my first-ever sourdough loaf yesterday. Vaughan and I started a starter at the end of April and then I started another one about a week later.

I've been (mostly) diligently feeding it since, discarding half at each daily feed - and waiting for the right time to start baking. 

It is fair to say I over-think things and worry too much about doing them properly.  The compost bin has done well out of my procrastination - being fed sourdough starter each day. Anyway I gave myself a stern talking-to and decided to actually make sourdough bread - not sourdough compost!  Typically, I resolved to start immediately after my pep-talk, which meant my sponge was made at around midnight.  I then kneaded the sponge with more flour yesterday morning (at a far more civilised hour).  The process of slow-rising took much of the day with the dough just sitting in a covered bowl on the kitchen bench until around 4pm.

It was recommended that the second rise take place somewhere draught-free and warm, so my dough was nestled in a cloth-lined bowl by the fire for an hour and a half.  By 6pm it was ready for the oven (cranked up to maximum heat of 250 degrees, which was reduced to 200 degrees after the first 15 minutes). 

The loaf was ready just before 7pm and later served with dinner. A small taste wasn't enough for anybody - so I've started another one today!


Last night, Nick congratulated me on my sourdough success and praised my sourdough starter care.  He pointed out that I don't have a fabulous reputation as a gardener, tending plants on a regular basis - yet I had managed to keep my starter alive for well over a month.  Hooray for me!

(His words reminded me of a conversation with my midwife in the early stages of my first pregnancy.  She likened ante-natal care to looking after a plant, which she obviously thought was a simple process.  I can remember being quite worried about my baby, given the continued death of my houseplants! It was not until a few years later that I confessed to her how much stress her analogy had caused)!

Cutting Edge ...

We bought our first chainsaw from a pawn shop in Charmhaven, about five years ago.  It stretched the budget at the time but served us very well for our camping trips. 

Nick had a lot of fondness for it, which was obvious when we called into Gisborne Power Products for replacement parts - and it made better financial sense to trade-in our faithful friend on a new model, the Mini Boss!

The chains from our old saw can be used to create several spare chains, which will be handy. Nick is definitely liking the you-beaut titanium chain though - which we thought would be of great benefit during our Yowah trips, where the wood is infamous for blunting chains in record time! The drawback is that the titanium chain can't be sharpened at home with the kit purchased back in July 2010).

As a giggle, I have just now discovered that Stihl Australia offers two chainsaw ringtones for free download!  Nick currently has a copy of Elmer's klaxon horn for his phone but praps he might be tempted?!

Ice Magic!

Vaughan enjoyed making frosty finger and hand prints!

Vaughan encountered frost during our camping trip to the Warrumbungles. C-O-L-D was an oft-used expression that week - and again as winter arrived at Hamby Home(in)stead!

The frost was certainly pretty - and pretty novel!  Vaughan and I had fun crunching across the paddocks admiring all the icy leaves, rocks, posts, fences and cow-pats!

Our cars were often ice-covered. Some mornings warm water was necessary to clear the windows before the 8:45am school-run!

He's (dearly) departed ...

It's been a week filled with much emotion. Both highs and lows. There was huge excitement when Swirly-Tea finally arrived - and incredible sadness when our lovely Sundance (aka Sunny) left us.

He died quite suddenly on Wednesday night. We were all stunned that one moment he was purring, enjoying being stroked - and shortly afterwards he was dead. 

I adopted Sunny from the RSPCA in late 2001. I hadn't intended to get a cat. A good friend insisted I go to see him. She was adamant I liberate this beautiful boy, who had many positive attributes - with the added bonus that he "matched my hair"!

At the time my hair was dyed vibrant red and when I went to see him, he was a pretty good colour-match. Colour co-ordination aside, I was still quite sure I didn't need a cat so walked around the room looking at all the other felines and feigning indifference to the one in the corner. Whenever I looked up though, his golden eyes were watching me. And so I got a cat - or rather a cat got me.

When I was filling in all the necessary adoption paperwork, I was advised my new companion was "a timid cat" and would require particular care. My "timid cat" sat in his travel box beside me as I drove home. He purred all the way. Once home I put him in the laundry and closed the sliding door. About an hour later he opened the door and sauntered out, still purring. So much for being timid!

I changed his name from "Flutta" to "Sundance" but mostly he was called "Sunny". He was about a year old when he came to live with me, around twelve and a half years ago. We've been through a lot since then. There were many different addresses and at the end of 2004, Nick and Oscar moved in. Sunny loved Nick but wasn't greatly keen on Oscar. In time though, they formed an odd-couple kind of friendship. Vaughan came along in 2005 and while both cats were very tolerant of the Young Master, it was Sunny who lay without protest to be "protected" by many pieces of train track!

Sunny was already suffering some mobility issues in 2009 when he was savagely attacked by two dogs. His injuries were severe and though he did recover, the damage later led to significant arthritis which was diagnosed not long before we relocated to Victoria. At the time of diagnosis, Sunny had very little support from his back legs and dragged himself about much of the time. So sudden was the change that we at first checked for a tick. Throughout all treatment and examinations, Sunny remained purring and co-operative. He really was a beautiful cat.

Since moving into our Hamby Home(in)stead, Sunny's gait had improved and he was able to walk fairly steadily (albeit diagonally) a lot of the time. He loved stretching in front of the fire and spent lots of time snuggled on our bed, often on my dressing gown. It really seemed the country life was agreeing with him - which was lovely to see.

We buried Sunny yesterday. It seemed fitting that the skies were grey and it rained throughout the day. I couldn't give him my purple dressing gown, so he was wrapped in a similar piece of polar fleece. At one stage of his career, Nick was a funeral director. He ensured Sunny's box casket was lowered properly and prompted us to share some happier memories of our little cat. (Oscar watched the funeral from afar).

I've found a gorgeous rose, appropriately named "Sundance" and perfectly matched to Sunny's colouring. I am going to plant one - not to remember him by, as he won't ever be forgotten - but rather to honour the beautiful soul that was his.