Hi Folks,
The helpers all toodled off to the Tasman Island adventure cruise leaving Susan and I in peace. We had a mail delivery from SA which included my new credit/banking cards the old ones expiring at the end of this month. Then followed the activation process quite simple and notifying all the billers who have been bombarding me with emails foretelling the end of civilisation as we know it if I did't update the expiry dates in their databases. I have arranged a dental visit for Monday to try to salvage some of the wreckage of my teeth. This will be followed by the wreckage of my bank balance no doubt. Hardly Normal omitted to notify us that a replacement coffee machine had arrived 12 days ago. We will pick the last one up on Thursday. The saga of the Telstra bill continues but hopefully next month it will finally be fixed since i foolishly changed plans back in February!
We have carried on having everyone tell a story about something good/funny that happened in the day when we have community dinner. The story was introduced by Rose and is a good technique for involving everybody in dinner and getting an idea of what they enjoyed in the day. Mine was a short conversation at the animal pen with Lynne this morning. Not quite verbatim.
Lynne had given the chickens porridge which they enjoy.
Lynne: "Porridge is rightly or wrongly supposed to help them lay"
Simon: "ahh"
Lynne: "I always have porridge in the morning so it's easy to cook a little extra"
Simon: "I thought you were going to say it helps you lay"
Lynne: "God forbid" and then burst out laughing walking back to her room
Looks like the video upload is working again in the blog so here are some from my walk to Cape Hauy.
night folks
Simon
Cap Hauy panorama
Cape Hauy cliff view
Fortescue Bay panorama
The end of the Cape Hauy walk.
Day 124 Nubeena Monday 30th May 2011
Blackberry Gully side view
Blackberry Gully down hill
Hi All,
Just a short one today. Today started with a chuckle. The ducks had all wandered up into the carpark as they do when the morning feed is a bit late. I lead them back with a bowl of scraps to the dam. Today the chickens were at the top of the driveway so i had to sneak around between the laundry and unit 6 the back way. With the gang of 6 waddling behind. Anyway the chickens who are not overly bright didn't notice us. I left the ducks picking over the kitchen scraps and walked past the chickens who followed me back to their enclosure. It must look a funny sight.
After the barnyard capers we settled down to finishing off the blackberry gully beside the driveway. The result looked impressive especially to Ilan who said it had always been a mess. However once the warmer weather arrives the blackberry rhizomes buried beneath the surface will spring into action. Hopefully there will be a crew ready to pull them out or spray them otherwise the effort will be wasted.
As the cafe launch draws nearer we are trying to use up food. Consequently we had a formal type lunch of leftovers today. Ate far too much and was most uncomfortable this afternoon. Tea was community dinner so no respite for the digestion. Susan and I then skipped over to the barn and watched Doctor Who and thence to bed.
Night Folks
Cheers Simon
Day 123 Nubeena 29th May 2011
Hi folks fairly normal day. Except the weather which was abnormally good! The conference continued with Susan attending. I did my normal chores plus a bit more gophering filling in gaps as required. Half of the new chickens were missing this morning but after a short mad panic I found they were hiding around the back of the chook shed outside the fence. The ducks quacked, the goats bleated and the chooks clucked and all was good.
The food for the day plus the room cleaning went off seamlessly as far as I could tell thanks to the efforts of our helpers who really rose to the occasion.
Community dinner tonight was a good example. A perfectly cooked beef rump roast (modesty forbids naming the individual responsible especially since there was no great skill involved), with a good blend of roast and boiled vegetables(Susan) and some excellent Yorkshire pudding(Suzanne). The fare was traditional and excellent. After tea a new card game. I missed the start but it was called Jungle Speed or something like that. Involving matching card patterns and grabbing a wooden icon in the centre of the table. A lot of laughs. So to bed and tomorrow a million rooms to clean well a fair few anyway so I won't get many helpers.
Susan's conference report follows.
The food for the day plus the room cleaning went off seamlessly as far as I could tell thanks to the efforts of our helpers who really rose to the occasion.
Community dinner tonight was a good example. A perfectly cooked beef rump roast (modesty forbids naming the individual responsible especially since there was no great skill involved), with a good blend of roast and boiled vegetables(Susan) and some excellent Yorkshire pudding(Suzanne). The fare was traditional and excellent. After tea a new card game. I missed the start but it was called Jungle Speed or something like that. Involving matching card patterns and grabbing a wooden icon in the centre of the table. A lot of laughs. So to bed and tomorrow a million rooms to clean well a fair few anyway so I won't get many helpers.
Susan's conference report follows.
Day 122 Nubeena Saturday 28th May 2011
Hi Folks,
The conference was in full swing today and we are full tonight. Breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner was prepared by a spectrum of people including the new cafe chef and of course the helpexers. From what I could see it went pretty well with the helpexers displaying some good talent in the food department. I filled the role of gopher, chainsaw firewood, shopper at supermarket, reception (badly) plus the normal animals and pools and of course dish washing and drying not to mention light globe changing etc. A longish day but not overly strenuous. Susan started the breakfasts at 7 and got things rolling before attending the conference and is currently (it's 1035pm) setting up for breakfast tomorrow.
I was summonsed from my room tonight to see the Aurora Australis for the first time. Imagine it would be quite spectacular closer to Antarctica although it's pretty cool here tonight so maybe i don't want to get too much closer. For some unfathomable reason I still can't upload videos to the blog so I might have to place them on Facebook. instead.
cheers Simon
The conference was in full swing today and we are full tonight. Breakfast, morning tea, lunch, afternoon tea and dinner was prepared by a spectrum of people including the new cafe chef and of course the helpexers. From what I could see it went pretty well with the helpexers displaying some good talent in the food department. I filled the role of gopher, chainsaw firewood, shopper at supermarket, reception (badly) plus the normal animals and pools and of course dish washing and drying not to mention light globe changing etc. A longish day but not overly strenuous. Susan started the breakfasts at 7 and got things rolling before attending the conference and is currently (it's 1035pm) setting up for breakfast tomorrow.
I was summonsed from my room tonight to see the Aurora Australis for the first time. Imagine it would be quite spectacular closer to Antarctica although it's pretty cool here tonight so maybe i don't want to get too much closer. For some unfathomable reason I still can't upload videos to the blog so I might have to place them on Facebook. instead.
cheers Simon
Day 121 Nubeena 27th May 2011
Cape Pillar
Totem Pole
Rocky outcrop
Looking North
Walking Track
Hi Folks,
Susan worked today from 730am to 1130pm in preparation for the conference on sustainability. I was strategically on my day off as allocated by Susan. It was supposed to be Thursday but then became today.
After arising at civilised hour and having a large breakfast i headed to Fortescue Bay to do the walk to Cape Hauy. This is part of the proposed 3 capes walk. The other 2 being Cape Pillar which is a 2 dayer and Cape Raoul which I am yet to do.
Being a showery day i packed my wet weather gear and wore my fleecy jumper. None of these items were required. The first part of the walk is a long uphill section which had the sweat pouring off of me. The walk starts at sea level and ends at an elevation of around 200 metres. Consequently it took me 2.5 hours to get there and 1.3 hours to walk back. The views from the cliffs were quite precipitous and i wasn't keen to get too close to the edge. The two spires at the end of the walk are called the totem pole and the candle stick. Some lunatics actually climb these. The other item of note was a couple of fairly large tuna type fish being cleaned at the boat ramp when i got back. Unfortunately I didn't see the whole fish. I could only vaguely see the heads and frames in the water on the bottom.
Returning to the resort my phone rang and Susan was asking when i would be back as trailers had to be moved. This i did, along with testing the pools, feeding the ducks, drying the dishes,lighting the combustion heater, washing and drying clothes etc etc. All part of life here even on ones day off. I did manage to squeeze in a spa. Tomorrow will be full on especially as the trojan is on her day off and attending the conference. Ahh after midnight again so i better get to bed.
I do have some video of today but the blogger is not co-operating so I will put it on as an extra.
night Simon
Day 120 Nubeena Thursday 26th May 2011
Hi All,
A physical day today and a longish one. Preparation for the conference on the weekend. Thus involves getting the shed more presentable on the inside which Susan was looking after and on the outside which involved moving the junk err valuable artifacts that were visible from the shed. Fan Fan enjoyed riding around in the trailer on the property waving to the crowds lining the route. To finish the day off I chainsawed a tree and prepared various branches for hall decoration.
After the days exhertions it was into the spa and a couple of Cascade lagers before tea.
Ilan and Lynne were away all day in Hobart not returning until 9 with more chickens. Suzanne prepared the community tea. An early hiccup where the breadcrumbs for the meatballs turned out to be biscuit crumbs with their inherent sweetness. She did a good save with further additions and everyone agreed the balls and the pasta were great. To top it off for dessert profiteroles, delicious. Seems like the cooking skills are alive and kicking in the English young. We have been promised Yorkshire puddings on Sunday so something else to look forward to. Once again the community tea provided a lot of good humour and laughs. They really are one of the most enjoyable events we have here. No doubt the wine has something to do with it.
Tomorrow my day off and hopefully i will walk to Cape Hauy. Susan will be working here and having Saturday off to attend the conference here.
Night Folks
Simon
A physical day today and a longish one. Preparation for the conference on the weekend. Thus involves getting the shed more presentable on the inside which Susan was looking after and on the outside which involved moving the junk err valuable artifacts that were visible from the shed. Fan Fan enjoyed riding around in the trailer on the property waving to the crowds lining the route. To finish the day off I chainsawed a tree and prepared various branches for hall decoration.
After the days exhertions it was into the spa and a couple of Cascade lagers before tea.
Ilan and Lynne were away all day in Hobart not returning until 9 with more chickens. Suzanne prepared the community tea. An early hiccup where the breadcrumbs for the meatballs turned out to be biscuit crumbs with their inherent sweetness. She did a good save with further additions and everyone agreed the balls and the pasta were great. To top it off for dessert profiteroles, delicious. Seems like the cooking skills are alive and kicking in the English young. We have been promised Yorkshire puddings on Sunday so something else to look forward to. Once again the community tea provided a lot of good humour and laughs. They really are one of the most enjoyable events we have here. No doubt the wine has something to do with it.
Tomorrow my day off and hopefully i will walk to Cape Hauy. Susan will be working here and having Saturday off to attend the conference here.
Night Folks
Simon
Day 119 Nubeena Wednesday 25th May 2011
The blackberry gully we are clearing. They extended almost to the front of the picture to the right of the trees and a fair way to the left and well above head height. You can just see some in the centre background about 20 metres away.
The duck house. The nets will go shortly.
The ducks!
Hi Folks,
A day of tidying today. I rearranged the garden shed and managed to start the 2 Stroke Victa Vac which looks like a good little machine. Much better than the normal blower type vacuums. Well better than the cheapies we have here. I also managed to get the tiller going as well. This is also a Victa. I tried it out on one of the garden beds. It didn't seem anywhere near as good as the one I used the other day when we planted the garlic.
We also tidied the shed across the road. Susan and Ilan did most of it. I loaded some tree prunings on top of the ones they had already loaded before i arrived and unloaded them on the next bonfire site at the resort.
The cafe people have surfaced. D-Day is next Wednesday should be interesting.
It was a calm sunny day and I was enticed to the rocks at White Beach for a fish. Unfortunately the wind was there in my face along with a good swell so it wasn't very pleasant. After losing a $15 lure I decided to retire to the jetty before dusk. Managed to catch half a dozen "Snottys" which I returned to the water since they were under the 250mm minimum. They are called snottys because of the consistency of their slime covering. Their official name is Blue Warehou and they are good eating so I am told. Anyway it has whetted my appetite for some more fishing. Other species caught locally are mackeral, couta, flathead, cod and squid. I did see a few garfish under the lights the other day so maybe a day trip might be in order. Definately can't buy "gents" down here though unfortunately. I could have stayed fishing longer but the breeze and general cold air made the tips of my fingers numb so I retired back to the resort and the heat of the spa.
At least we have a nice warm bed to sleep in unlike our animals huddled in their shelters. I guess they are made for it. The ducks were out swimming on the pond today not that my pictures show it. I went to take snaps and they all came racing over expecting a feed.
Night Folks.
Simon
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