08

Many of the geese are trying to find a good nesting spot. Poor Aaron in the caravan! He has been woken by their noise, as they sort out who is on whose territory, often in the middle of the night. We hear them well in the bathroom, as the noise comes up the bath plughole. It's quite eerie. I found a cache of eggs from various sized chooks in the peafowls cage a few days ago. I don't have to worry about the crows getting at the eggs there, at least, as it is totally enclosed.

You may remember that a while back I discussed how most of the Feathers enclosure had been built. Well, you will be pleased to know that yesterday I found another use for a single bed wire bedframe - young Mowgli and younger Fred had been getting through the large cypress hedge and in to next door. Worrying from a number of aspects - trespass, I don't want them doing damage to anything, possibility of their getting on the road and being hit or causing a driver to swerve and have an accident, and so on. I talked to Brian about it, and he was just a bit overwhelmed with work. Yesterday the little blighters were at it again, Fred doing a vanishing act as I watched. So I called them both back (Caution was too smart, she stayed in her basket, out of the cold and wet! And Mummy's cross voice!), and searched around for a usable gate until Brian comes up with one a little more sophisticated and serviceable - after all, that's what husbands are supposed to do. It's in the genes, isn't it? Well, the bed frame that I found fitted perfectly between the laundry and house walls. It's wedged in a beauty. No wandering dogs, at least for now.

I still have not finished cleaning out the kitchen entirely, but it's bearable. We are doing very well in the Freebies line with the greengrocery waste from Materia's. Bless 'em. The rabbits and guinea pig ate well this morning - broccoli, carrot and cucumber. Yesterday, I was at St. Vincent de Paul's Op Shop (yes, I have been busy, but hasn't everyone?), and they had a genuine plastic garbage bin, with no lid. Which was fine, I could live without the lid. Price: .50cents. Couldn't pay it out fast enough. Nothing wrong with it that a bit of scrubbing won't fix, which is also fine - I just put it under the outlet pipe of the laundry. The washing machine will do a great job of sending it soapy water, and it can sit and cogitate for all I care for a few days. I don't believe in wasting the energy scrubbing if I can help it.

I was not pleased with Fred. He has grabbed two pot plants to "play with". One plant may survive. The other disappeared. I have the empty pot. It was too much in the past to yell at Fred. I must just remember to put things out of his way that he might even take a remote interest and fang.

I am constantly astonished at how much a small sedan can fit. I drove to McVicker's last night on the way home, and picked up some wonderful timber offcuts that Brian can either chop up for firewood (he has the circular saw going through a large belt to the old tractor, and has enormous fun slicing through innocent bits of timber. Yes, he does wear protective gear, othewise he might need it when I got hold of him) or use in projects around the place. All for free. Yahoo! The tractor seems to be doing quite well on its start-up of regular fuel and then on to the free waste cottonseed oil mix, finely sieved. A lot cheaper than using stuff from the Service Station. Sorry, Gas Station.

I won another CD from our local ABC radio station the other day, bless Kirsty Bradmore, the announcer. She does a fabulous job at being amazingly cheerful at six in the morning. My eyes are barely open, let alone my equanimity! Anyway, this CD is The Man From Snowy River, and I am currently listening to it for the first time as I type this. It's an original soundtrack from the Arena Spectacular, involving, apparently, a lot of horses on stage. Must have been something to see! I think it's a bit of a modern interpretation of the Banjo Paterson poem, about men in the High Country, the drovers after a particular brumby (Australian wild horse).

Another bargain! Now, the reason why I brag about these is in the hopes that it will spur you to thinking that if some smarty-pants Aussie with a big mouth (actually, every dentist I've ever opened the cake hole for has said it's incredibly small for the volume it transmits) can do it, then you Americans can do it, too, and probably better! So go for it! As to the bargain - I was at our local Safeways Supermarket tonight and they had one of those singularly beautiful light green framed Clearance Sale signs on some percale bed linen. You little ripper! And then, gentlefolks, I found one that had no protective packaging and a slightly dirty look to it. Better and better! Now, the full retail Safeways price of a sheet in this line is a mere (cough, cough, hack, hack) $21.95 (yeah, right, and I'll just reach in and grab me American Express platinum card, shoving aside the letter from the Queen congratulatin' me on bein' the best thing since sliced bread and vegemite, pushing over the key to the Rolls Canardly (can roll down hills, but can hardly get up 'em), and damagin' me fingers on the worlds largest faceted pure diamond which I keep as a memory of bad times and for somethin' for me hands to do instead of twitchin' constantly through a too-full money clip. Yeah, right). These sheets have been marked down to a prettier $13.95. Now, I always feel a bit cheeky doing this, but what the hey, if someone doesn't buy the soiled stock, it usually gets chucked, and that idea gets me more sore than a croc. with a toothache.

So I took the orphan bedsheet to the Service Desk and after some humming and hawing and getting of higher-ups and more responsible-type staff, the price came down to $8! Not bad, ay? Better than being hit with a solid lump of 4 by 2 anyday! It gets better, gentle reader! The high muckity-muck, bless her cotton socks (no, I didn't check to see if she was wearing same!), says I can have 'em in PLURAL. So as the poor creature I have selected as my victim, nah, she just happened to be there, bless her!, has another PACKAGED sheet of the same species, I have the option of getting two for $8 each. Wahoo! You little beauty! I came this close to giving 'em each a peck on the cheek! But they were awfully busy, and I thought, perhaps I'm not old enough to get away with that sort of assault just yet. I did cheerfully pay the $16, though.

Now, another tip. If you have a favourite brand, bear in mind that if it is often discounted, it will probably be on a six-week rotation. So shop for what you need during that time. I say "probably", 'coz to rely on a system with discounting is like relying on the Government to be honest. Smile when you say that.

Oh, if you nice people haven't had enough of Aussie culture with me mouthing off, see if you can get on the Internet and tune in to Macca on a Sunday Morning. He starts at 5am EST, Australian time. Now, he doesn't bag ALL Americans, just like he doesn't bag all Pollies (politicians). He is fascinating, and his programme has been on air for years. People call him from all over Australia and all over the World, and he talks to a lot of bushies about what's happening in the country and why they choose to live where they do, and if you like Banjo Paterson-style poetry (Bush Ballads), you'll love what people send in to him. He interviews people who have interesting jobs and fascinating hobbies, and quite often there'll be a serial which is autobiographical. The last one I managed to catch up with was about a bloke who had come into the Sugar Cane Industry from the ground floor. Wonderful stuff! He's not a bloke with a big ego, is Macca, but he is a bloke with a big audience. He has had books about people and their work who have been aired successfully sold, and the same for many recordings. Ian McNamara is singularly good at finding dinkum talent. Many times it is humourous. One of the all-time classics would have to be I made 100 in the backyard at Mum's, which is about that time-honoured game, backyard cricket, where lobbing one over the fence or hitting a window is regarded as "OUT!" Anyway, give Macca a try. He's just eccentric enough for anyone who likes my sense of humour (there must be some of you out there who do, surely!) to appeal.

Grass Roots Magazine, Issue No. 158, Aug/Sept 2003. I've referred to this amazing magazine, and its principal rival, Earth Garden before. This latest edition has a fascinating article on how to Build a House From Tyres. We're not great believers in the commonplace in Australia, I gotta tell ya. This is written by Suzanne and David Alder of Wentworth Falls, NSW (more power to 'em). This is a hands-on experience. They used car tyres in a form of rammed earth construction that provides a structurally stronger, thicker wall.

In case you think this is a project that might well be beyond you physically, the article mentions that the authors are in their 50s and less than fully fit (their words, not mine). The Council passed their plans, and were very helpful, once they stopped laughing, apparently. The tyre retailer was happy to offload them, otherwise he would have to pay to have them taken away. He delivered them in lots of a hundred or so. They had the earth on their block tested and it passed muster. All they paid for was the cement to mix with the earth. Empty tyres are laid out along the slab and layered like bricks. Each is then rammed with as much earth as can be made to fill it, and the formwork does not move! Being a bit on the not-young side, they found that ramming dry earth into the tyres a bit much, so they went wet mudbrick mixture hand-rammed, followed by dry earth pounded in on top. Worked a treat. The final finish is a mud render covering over chicken wire, which seals in the tyres completely. The insulation is fantastic! The appearance is similar to any other well-wrought earth-built homes. The tyre-walls are happily load-bearing, and last very well.

The Neighbourhood

It seems to me

we could never be accused

of just "existing"

Every time I look

something has changed

or we have changed something

We are known in our village

For our animals

Geese road crossing

Pig feasting

Goat wandering

The smiles are genuine

We are a landmark

And the animals don't particularly care.