Cheap plot(s)!

Not long after we arrived at our new home, we bought a cheap bird bath. Watching our frequent visitors is a lot of fun as we sit on the back verandah. We hadn't done much else to the yard though - till very recently when I decided to grow some herbs in pots. 

I started with rosemary cos I like to use it when roasting lamb. Parsley, sage, thyme, more rosemary (it was in a bargain mixed pot), oregano and some basil came next.

Coriander and a punnet of tea herbs were purchased later, along with a single globe zucchini plant.

I've had a couple of casualties.  I wasn't sad when the bonus basil died because the spare is still hanging in.  It's fair to say I was a bit pleased when the chamomile passed away.  (It was included with the tea herbs and isn't my favourite).

I was less impressed that the zucchini keeled over cos I was looking forward to seeing it develop globe fruit.

My Victorian gardening wasn't a huge success.  Lack of outside taps and limited water hindered any progress, as did my lack of knowledge.  The cold/variable climate, escapee cow, inquisitive chookies and resident rabbits also hampered my efforts.

Based on that past experience, I hesitated to expand my "garden" beyond the back verandah.  However, digging a patch in the yard is cheaper than buying more pots and potting mix - so I'm broadening my scope.

I'm not keen to acquire more seedlings though, so hunted in the garage and rediscovered a large box of seeds.  Some have passed their best before date but after last night's internet research I've decided to try them anyway.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained eh?!

The tenants prior to us left behind a small "compost" heap.  Soon after our arrival it sprouted a pumpkin vine and a tomato plant, in spite of various non-organic matter being incorporated in the pile.  I cleared some bones and plastic rubbish from the area yesterday and planted six zucchini seeds (the last of an opened packet).  Hopefully at least a couple germinate.

I dug a garden bed today during a break in the rain. The soil was soft and I discovered a number of healthy worms as I removed grass and mounded the earth. I'm quite pleased with my work - even if it does look like a grave-site!

A lot happened ...

It's been a long while since I last posted. A lot can happen in two and a half years - and a lot did.

We left the property and spent a few nights in our crammed van, before taking on a month-long house-sitting position.

At it's conclusion we moved back into the caravan, which was our base for around 18 months (save for some other house-sitting), while we actively sought an interstate relocation a lot further North.

We weren't really camping - but we didn't have a home(in)stead, so I continued to post on Happy Hamby Campers during that period.  There are quite a few entries on that blog for 2015 and 2016.  Some detail our adaptation to van/tent life, while others document various adventures away from our usual caravan park site(s).

In February 2017 we (finally) relocated from Victoria to Queensland (about 700km North of our original New South Wales location and 1,700km from where we lived in Victoria). We are quite near to Brisbane on a large block, with just one immediate neighbour.  We like the quieter environment and have very recently celebrated our first anniversary as QLDers.

We unpacked the container as soon it arrived at our new home.  All up there were only a couple of breakages, so we were well pleased with our packing of boxes and the container itself.  Most items were fine after storage, though the leather lounge had some light mildew and the fridge required much deeper cleaning.  The container was sold just weeks after we unpacked - for not much less than we'd paid back in August 2015.  Yep, we were pretty chuffed about that too!

Tea leaves ...

We were advised yesterday that Tea would be collected this morning - and should be ready to board the truck at 9:00am. 

Nick was on night-shift last night. He had not long returned before we departed again (with me driving and Vaughan organised for his usual school drop-off).

The trip is about 45 minutes and we wanted to allow plenty of time to move Tea from her paddock to the small race yard, so arrived a little after 8:00am.

Although Tea walked up to the first gate quite happily (encouraged by some lucerne hay), it was clear she wanted to dash and dance across the much larger paddock - with Nick and Vaughan in pursuit!

Fortunately she soon tired of the game and walked easily into the yard, when offered a larger portion of hay.

As it happened, the truck didn't arrive till 12:30 and there was plenty of time to spend with our cow prior to her departure.

She seemed happy enough munching the grass and then sucking on a chunky piece of rope - and smooching with Nick while she waited.

The truck driver arrived and seemed a bit bemused when we introduced Tea to him (after our former neighbour introduced us).  Happily our cow was well behaved and boarded the truck a lot more co-operatively than when we put her onto the skinny horsefloat a fortnight ago!

Tea travelled to Shepparton this afternoon.  She'll be sold at the Regional Saleyards tomorrow.  We won't attend the sale.  It's a round trip of about 500 kilometres and we're already feeling a bit drained from today's angst.

Tea times ...

We visited Tea today.

She's been staying at a friend's house, awaiting transport to the market.

The truck will collect her on Monday. We don't have an exact time, so we called around this afternoon to offer her some apple and carrot - and say our farewells.

Nick and Vaughan gave her favourite scratches - under her neck and at the base of her tail.

There have been times when she has folded her legs and stretched her neck along the ground to thoroughly enjoy a neck massage!  

We remembered some of her past exploits (chewing through the extension cord, entering Erin's caravan while we were out and coming into the house when we were home)!

Raising a cow has been very interesting!

Final Tally ...

I stopped counting packed boxes about two weeks before our exit date.  It was just too hard to keep track of them, as the pace picked up (and our stress levels increased).

At last tally there were about 90 boxes but I expect a much larger number are actually in the container.

It was easier to keep tabs on the op-shop donation boxes.  That number increased to at least 45.  Quite a few other items were given away via FreeCycle and FaceBook. Of course, we sold what we could but sometimes it was quicker/easier to gift things.  Vaughan's school received many books and various other educational resources.  Our knitting group coordinator was very happy to assist the reduction of Erin's yarn stash!

We've kept our normal rubbish and recycling bins chockers since mid-May.  As well as a free hard rubbish collection, we used our two complimentary tip passes.  Another very full trailer load went to the tip on Sunday, which cost $120.00.  I do hope some of those items make their way into the fabulous tip shop that we often visited.  We'd like to think our stuff might be considered a bargain!

When we packed up our previous home, we housed all our gear in two side-by-side storage units. Those same belongings filled 70 cubic metres of a huge removalist truck.  

Soon after receiving the Notice to Vacate we made a family decision to fit all our possessions into just one storage unit.  I'm not exactly sure of the size comparisons but we packed one 20-foot shipping container with everything we want to keep.  There's currently a bit of overflow that didn't make the packing deadline, so we'll cull that further (as the trailer is set to be sold).  Everything we own is either in the container, trailer, caravan or our cars.  That's it.  A-ma-zing!

Whatever floats your ... cow?!

How do you get a cow onto a horse float? With a great deal of difficulty!

Once our container was loaded, Nick drove Elmer down the driveway, leading the way for the truck.

When he returned, he was towing a hired horse float.

There was some joking that he really should have found a cow float!

Regardless of what it was called, Tea was completely unimpressed by the skinny wheeled conveyance.

And she wasn't falling for apple bribes two days in a row, either!

It required our concerted joint efforts to heave her onto the trailer.

I failed to get footage of Nick grass skiing behind Tea as she raced away from the float!  That sight may well have been the day's highlight!

I'm not sure how long it took for us to win over the cow but we finally had her inside the float and were able to move her to temporary accommodation.  She seemed to like her new quarters but definitely didn't like us much after the floating experience.

E for Effort (and Exit)!

Sunday and Monday (our exit date) blended together.  We achieved a lot but didn't sleep much, though we did appreciate our caravan beds on Sunday night (or very early Monday morning) - when we finally got into them!

We expected our container to be collected on Monday afternoon but received a message to say the pick-up would occur between 9 and 10am instead.

There was a mad dash to cram as much as possible in the little remaining space - before putting the last two boards in place and locking the doors.

I grabbed a quick group shot for the archives before we dropped Vaughan to school for his excursion.

Our cleaners were due at 8:30am but were delayed so we spotted them driving slowly along the road when we returned from the school run.  I waved them down and they had not long parked when the tilt-tray truck drove down the driveway.  Far out!  That first-off rushing around pretty much set the pace for the rest of the day.