The air con is fixed!
It began to rain just as the fridgee got up on the roof to look at it. The owner of the business got up and held a very large umbrella over him so that he could continue to work in the rain. (It was a Bunnings branded brolly! and Himself was heard to mutter, "now that's a REAL brolly")
Some wag from the next door business even came out said "are you right there Mary Poppins?"
I did say it was the one time in my life it was going to be alright to tell me I had a problem with gas! I did not want to be told it was the condenser which was the expensive option. Re-gassing an air con is much cheaper than fixing broken bits.
Mind you they were telling me that the new carbon tax has more than doubled the price of some air con gasses!
Anyway it was only out of gas, they patched the hole and re-gassed it and bingo we have cold air again.
Stayed overnight, did a grocery grab then came back to base; just in time for a four hour power outage! There we were, nice cold air blowing on a 40+ day and out went the power. By the time it came back on we were wondering why we had bothered to have the air con fixed. Four hours without even a fan in that heat was a bit vicious. No idea what caused the outage but it was fairly wide spread, taking in several towns across the central west of NSW.
Still we were able to make ourselves useful by making the elderly Aunt and Uncle a nice fresh cup of tea on our gas stove. Of course we had no sooner put the cups on the table and the power came back on. Probably should have boiled that kettle sooner!
Tonight it tried to rain, nothing serious yet, just mainly thunder and lightning but we feel there is a big storm coming as the frogs are croaking loudly during the middle of the day and the ants have invaded the house and all attempts to remove them have failed, plus the tiny flying insects are so thick we can hardly see the outside lights around the farm at night. Hope it is not too nasty when it arrives.
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Tuesday...27 November 2012
Today we have to pack up our little home and take it 150kms up the road to get the air conditioner fixed. The darn thing was working fine, but has decided that blowing air is all it is going to do and I can whistle if I want that air to be cold! This would be all well and good, except it chose the first day of a continuing 40+ heatwave to go on strike! Has been rather uncomfortable for the last week and sleep has been optional which has not improved temperaments. Now that harvest is over, we have time to get it fixed.
We are too far out of town for a call out, so will have to take the van to the workshop. Hoping it is only out of gas and not in need of expensive repair. When it is fixed, we will stay overnight to make sure it is working and then head back to base again tomorrow morning. On the plus side, this means I can go shopping for a few things we need.
In the meantime the Aunt has finished making the four Xmas puddings and at the crack of dawn today amid the barking of dogs and the roar of truck engines, they sent some lambs off to market and towards the end of the week we will have our own mini version of the famous painting as the shearers are coming to shear the rams.
When one job finishes on a farm there is always several more waiting to be done!
We are too far out of town for a call out, so will have to take the van to the workshop. Hoping it is only out of gas and not in need of expensive repair. When it is fixed, we will stay overnight to make sure it is working and then head back to base again tomorrow morning. On the plus side, this means I can go shopping for a few things we need.
In the meantime the Aunt has finished making the four Xmas puddings and at the crack of dawn today amid the barking of dogs and the roar of truck engines, they sent some lambs off to market and towards the end of the week we will have our own mini version of the famous painting as the shearers are coming to shear the rams.
When one job finishes on a farm there is always several more waiting to be done!
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Saturday...24 November 2012
And so it ends. Just like that, with barely a whimper, harvest is over! Nothing left to do but clean up, wash down and put away the equipment. Well there is a bit more to it than that but right now all the folk here want is a sleep in and some rest. Definitely no fire works to celebrate as it would start a fire in the stubble and all hell would break loose.
We did have a fire call out during the week. One farmer who finished harvesting was driving through his property on the way to put his harvester back in the shed, happened to look back and saw smoke.
The fire was quickly contained by a passing water tanker but it could so easily have been a nasty event.
Not caused by the header as is sometimes the case, this time it was a power company transformer that had fallen off its pole causing a black out at the silo and setting fire to the paddock it landed in.
I had a lovely tea tonight and thanked the Aunt for the yummy silverside. Tea was actually chops and silverbeet which I love. Talk about dyslexic and tongue twisted! I must be tired too.
We did have a fire call out during the week. One farmer who finished harvesting was driving through his property on the way to put his harvester back in the shed, happened to look back and saw smoke.
The fire was quickly contained by a passing water tanker but it could so easily have been a nasty event.
Not caused by the header as is sometimes the case, this time it was a power company transformer that had fallen off its pole causing a black out at the silo and setting fire to the paddock it landed in.
I had a lovely tea tonight and thanked the Aunt for the yummy silverside. Tea was actually chops and silverbeet which I love. Talk about dyslexic and tongue twisted! I must be tired too.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Tuesday...20 November 2012
Tonight I went for my first ride in an auto-header Fascinating piece of machinery. Huge! The cabin is like the cockpit of an aeroplane, with gauges and lights every where. I just love technology and this is so productive. And it was air-conditioned! Sure beats the good old bad old days of open air tractors in the heat and dust and flies. Thank you Andrew.
I spent the last few days dead heading the rose bushes and watering the pot plants. We have one Xmas pudding made and another batch of fruit marinating in plonk for the next one. Smells good.
The weather is warming up and there is not a cloud in the sky.
In the background is the constant hum of machinery and the crackle of the UHF radio as the district goes about the business of harvest.
The uncle does not do the harvest, he mostly leaves that to his grandson now, but he makes himself useful pumping water from the river to the holding tanks that feed the stock and to wash us and our clothes and water the gardens. We are four kilometres from the river so pumping the water is hard work and never ending. He tends the livestock making sure they have food and access to water and keeps an eye on their health, which leaves the others to go about the harvest without distraction. He also takes care of rubbish disposal and summer weed control. A handy fellow to have around.
I am constantly amazed at the ability of these older folk. I am usually exhausted by lunchtime and have a little nanny nap most days, but they just keep on keeping on. They may not move as fast as some but they sure as heck do not spend their days sitting around twiddling their thumbs either.
I spent the last few days dead heading the rose bushes and watering the pot plants. We have one Xmas pudding made and another batch of fruit marinating in plonk for the next one. Smells good.
The weather is warming up and there is not a cloud in the sky.
In the background is the constant hum of machinery and the crackle of the UHF radio as the district goes about the business of harvest.
The uncle does not do the harvest, he mostly leaves that to his grandson now, but he makes himself useful pumping water from the river to the holding tanks that feed the stock and to wash us and our clothes and water the gardens. We are four kilometres from the river so pumping the water is hard work and never ending. He tends the livestock making sure they have food and access to water and keeps an eye on their health, which leaves the others to go about the harvest without distraction. He also takes care of rubbish disposal and summer weed control. A handy fellow to have around.
I am constantly amazed at the ability of these older folk. I am usually exhausted by lunchtime and have a little nanny nap most days, but they just keep on keeping on. They may not move as fast as some but they sure as heck do not spend their days sitting around twiddling their thumbs either.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Thursday...15 November 2012
We had a lovely little break down south, catching up with our siblings, daughter, grandchildren and various other relations. We will return for a longer visit when harvest and the festive season are over.
We drove all day yesterday to get back to Himself's aunt and uncle's place. Was a long haul and we were tired but a good nights sleep works miracles.
So here we are back on the farm in NSW and the harvest has definitely started.
This generally means the wheat harvest. The oats and barley are stripped first and for some reason do not seem to come under the heading of Harvest with a capital H. Oats are usually (but not always) grown as animal feed and barley only seems to count if it goes malt barley which we all know is what goes into our national drink........beer!
And that makes it important enough to be mentioned!
But it is wheat that is the main crop of this area and it is wheat that the farmers are talking about when they pass each other at the gatepost.
Right now there are machines and trucks going flat out all over the district and to cap it off the local silo opened today after initially saying it would be closed this year. Upon hearing that news, the aunt and uncle rallied the locals who called a public meeting and GrainCorp (bless them), agreed to open after all.
If they had not opened this silo, the growers here would have had to cart to a silo nearly 50kms away.
There are so many factors involved in a decision like this.
Less distance to the silo means less cartage costs and more loads per day can be delivered thus getting the crop out of the paddock quicker while it is in top condition and before the weather changes as has been known to happen. Rain can ruin a crop or lower the quality of it so the harvest is done with one eye on the ground and the other on the sky! Shorter trips mean less damage to the roads and it also means less trucks in the bigger town causing traffic problems and less waiting time for the trucks to unload which means the truckies are happier as they are being paid by the load. Less fuel costs, less pollution, the list of plus and minus is long, all of which affect the final outcome for the grower and in today's tough financial times can mean the difference between a good harvest and a bad one.
While we were away Himself's aunt has been busy making her Xmas cakes (10)!
Seems I am in time to help with the puddings, we only need four so far but I am sure that count will go up before we are done.
My time today has been spent tidying fridges and freezers ready for the extra food for harvest and Xmas.
During dinner conversation last night something was said about a person in the district being slightly over the hill and I said, I am not a spring chicken myself, to which the uncle replied, "You my dear are definitely no spring chicken, you are a fully feathered chook." Bless him, he is full of quirky little quotes and jokes!
Stay tuned I feel I will be quoting him regularly......
We drove all day yesterday to get back to Himself's aunt and uncle's place. Was a long haul and we were tired but a good nights sleep works miracles.
So here we are back on the farm in NSW and the harvest has definitely started.
This generally means the wheat harvest. The oats and barley are stripped first and for some reason do not seem to come under the heading of Harvest with a capital H. Oats are usually (but not always) grown as animal feed and barley only seems to count if it goes malt barley which we all know is what goes into our national drink........beer!
And that makes it important enough to be mentioned!
But it is wheat that is the main crop of this area and it is wheat that the farmers are talking about when they pass each other at the gatepost.
Right now there are machines and trucks going flat out all over the district and to cap it off the local silo opened today after initially saying it would be closed this year. Upon hearing that news, the aunt and uncle rallied the locals who called a public meeting and GrainCorp (bless them), agreed to open after all.
If they had not opened this silo, the growers here would have had to cart to a silo nearly 50kms away.
There are so many factors involved in a decision like this.
Less distance to the silo means less cartage costs and more loads per day can be delivered thus getting the crop out of the paddock quicker while it is in top condition and before the weather changes as has been known to happen. Rain can ruin a crop or lower the quality of it so the harvest is done with one eye on the ground and the other on the sky! Shorter trips mean less damage to the roads and it also means less trucks in the bigger town causing traffic problems and less waiting time for the trucks to unload which means the truckies are happier as they are being paid by the load. Less fuel costs, less pollution, the list of plus and minus is long, all of which affect the final outcome for the grower and in today's tough financial times can mean the difference between a good harvest and a bad one.
While we were away Himself's aunt has been busy making her Xmas cakes (10)!
Seems I am in time to help with the puddings, we only need four so far but I am sure that count will go up before we are done.
My time today has been spent tidying fridges and freezers ready for the extra food for harvest and Xmas.
During dinner conversation last night something was said about a person in the district being slightly over the hill and I said, I am not a spring chicken myself, to which the uncle replied, "You my dear are definitely no spring chicken, you are a fully feathered chook." Bless him, he is full of quirky little quotes and jokes!
Stay tuned I feel I will be quoting him regularly......
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Saturday...10 November 2012
Well here we are back in Bendigo.
Left my sisters little farm yesterday to travel to Albury but got a phone call on the way to say Himself's sister from Darwin was arriving in Bendigo yesterday for a short visit, so we took a right turn instead of a left turn when we got to town and came to his brothers place instead. We have parked our rig in his brothers back yard and are enjoying the luxury of a unit in his brothers motel. Himself's older sister and the Darwin sister and one of the nieces came over for tea last night and we chatted in front of a roaring log fire which the younger brother lit to keep the lass from Darwin from feeling the cold. A good night.
Have spoken to our Albury friends who have had some sad news and are going to have to go away for a few days so that takes the pressure off us to be in Albury as was planned, we will catch up with them in the New Year instead.
Left my sisters little farm yesterday to travel to Albury but got a phone call on the way to say Himself's sister from Darwin was arriving in Bendigo yesterday for a short visit, so we took a right turn instead of a left turn when we got to town and came to his brothers place instead. We have parked our rig in his brothers back yard and are enjoying the luxury of a unit in his brothers motel. Himself's older sister and the Darwin sister and one of the nieces came over for tea last night and we chatted in front of a roaring log fire which the younger brother lit to keep the lass from Darwin from feeling the cold. A good night.
Have spoken to our Albury friends who have had some sad news and are going to have to go away for a few days so that takes the pressure off us to be in Albury as was planned, we will catch up with them in the New Year instead.
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Thursday...8 November 2012
Got up this morning, opened the windows and thought must go and wash my face, my eyes are a bit blurry. But that did not make things any clearer. No wonder. The blur was fog! Can not see my sisters house it is so thick.
Have had a couple of busy days. We went for a drive to Horsham to visit overnight with the daughter and her family, they are all looking well. Then back to Bendigo where I spent half a day with my younger brother and the rest of our time was visiting Himself's siblings. On the way out of town we stopped at the cemetery and paid our respects to Himself's mother and father.
Came back to my sisters, had lunch then jumped into the car again and went to Kyabram to deliver some wine we have been carrying for nearly a year for a friend over there. She was very pleased to get it as she has just come back from the west and was unable to buy her wine as they have temporarily run out.
A quick trip to the cemetery to check on my dad's grave then it was back to my sisters place.
While my sister cooked our dinner I went around the corner and had a quick cuppa with my eldest brother. No wonder I was in bed early last night!
We think we are having a quiet stay at home type of day today........
Friday, November 2, 2012
Friday...2 November 2012
Hmmm, somehow sleep and my sister do not fit into the same sentence. Every time we get together sleep goes out the door! Lots of catching up and a glass of wine in the evening and suddenly its pumpkin time and we are still talking.
Yesterday we drove over to Benalla and had afternoon tea with my foster parents. They are looking well and caught us up with most of the family news.
Today I will go around the corner and have a cuppa with my eldest brother, then we have the youngest brother coming for lunch and tonight we are booked to accompany my sister to the local for happy hour. Busy busy busy.
Yesterday we drove over to Benalla and had afternoon tea with my foster parents. They are looking well and caught us up with most of the family news.
Today I will go around the corner and have a cuppa with my eldest brother, then we have the youngest brother coming for lunch and tonight we are booked to accompany my sister to the local for happy hour. Busy busy busy.
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