The geese are making determined efforts to wander further afield again - literally.  They cross our busy road, and thence into the paddocks over the road to graze.  What is so wrong with our paddocks?  We have a large acreage, goosly speaking, is it the call of the new?  Or do they just like me yelling and screaming at them to get back to our property.

 

The fencing material has not yet been dropped off to us for the other property, and yesterday I caught the goats in next door's rose garden doing some makeshift pruning.  Praise God they weren't home.

 

I had tried last night to do a bit of Easter Egg decorating using wax on a chook egg in a pattern, and then soaking the egg in vinegar.  The wax kept sliding off, so I ended up with an egg in the bin, totally unsalvageable.  Should I have sandpapered the egg surface first? I'll try again another time.

 

Sunday we are heading off to the Otways National Park, which is South-East of us.  It will be Alice's first camping trip, and, at eight, she is long overdue.  We'll be doing a lot of bushwalking in the beautiful cool climate rain forest, where there is, for example, a messmate gum tree over 200 years old.  Lots and lots of waterfalls, ferns, tree ferns of incredible proportions (Dicksonia antarctica), blackwood and myrtle beech trees. 

 

Melba Gully has glow worms which line the tracks at night. Wow!

 

Maits Rest, named after the District's first forester, Maitland Bryant, has a boardwalk which culminates in a viewing platform next to a 300-year-old myrtle beech tree registered by the National Trust.

 

Triplet Falls disturbingly has had some seventy trees chainsawed by some idiot, and both the Government and the Environment lobby says they should be cleared.  In the meantime, this wonder of God's Creation is closed to the Public, which makes me an angry Little Vegemite. (Otway State Forest Click the highlighted part to go to their site. The Triplet Falls is indeed closed for vandalism but this site has some excellent pictures; take a tour from the viewing platforms, see Dando's Campground in the Avenue of the Poplars. Just click on the Slide Show and enjoy! Nita)

 

I have packed a really warm one piece jumpsuit in army grey (verrrry attractive!) to keep me cosy at night, and we are so looking forward to time off.  Brian's oldest son, Aaron, has been kind enough to volunteer to feed the animals, and please pray with me that we don't lose any, nor do they do any damage whilst we are away.

 

I'll let you know how it all went next week.