04-11-03

Autumn is coming on in all of its glory, but the gum trees of course, don't change colour.  We are also not having the rain that we should in Victoria.  Melbourne has only 42% of its supposed capacity of water storage, and we are normally such a wet state.

 

We have decided to get rid of the goats. Trouble is, Brian wants to sell them.  I don't think he'll get any money for them, and the advertisement I put up in the local supermarket has not attracted a telephone call yet, but it's really only just in.

 

The goats are too much trouble when they continuously jump the fence and go into next door's yard (it is a huge area that is only partly grassed, the rest is parking area and humungous shed, used to weld steel equipment).

 

Thankfully, they have not made any complaints yet, but Murray Goulburn are parking their milk tankers there, so this could prove a problem if the one of the goats gets into the way of a reverse parallel.

 

Gerry, he being our original goat, looking somewhat like a homely Roman Republican Senator (can you picture a Saanen?), likes to get through the fence to the road and chew on the Council verge.  He too will end up decorating a mud guard soon.  Goats do not bounce, from all that I have heard, and I would not like to be responsible for the death of a goat and the possible death of a human being.  Plus I am getting thoroughly sick of braving the barbed wire and running out of puff (literally) as I try to chase the asinine creatures back in to their rightful domain, beating each other and the cattle heads up whilst rearing on their hind legs.

 

So they go, which is a pity.  We cannot afford good fencing, and they won't take a hint.  Which consists of me, shouting and yelling, and chasing them whilst brandishing a thin white PVC rod.

 

Well, Brian and I have just received some very good news:  the bloke who has a triangular patch of land opposite us, which is overgrown and full of machinery quietly rusting away (I call it the Truck Graveyard), has just popped in and asked if he supplies the materials, could Brian goat-proof the area and let our goats in to clean it up, as he can't see what he has and he daren't use oxy-acetylene equipment there in case the whole mess catches on fire.  What an answer to prayer!  And Brian showed him the old tractor we have just bought, so he is going to keep an eye out for parts and extras for it.  Bonus!  Thankyou, God.

 

Ahh, a hint, for you - keep a small squeegee and blade (the type you use for domestic window cleaning) in or near your vehicle for those mornings when you want to get condensation from your windows and mirrors.  I even use it on the inside windscreen, works a treat, and very fast.  Saves water, too.  Always run your finger along any rubber blade you are thinking of purchasing.  Don't buy one that is uneven, it will only amount to frustration for you when it does a bad job of wiping off moisture.

 

Autumn

 

I love each season

as it comes

each has its joy

winter winds to

summer plums

 

I love the autumn

for the fiery leaves

that spin their way

down past my eaves

 

I love the chill that

greets the dawn

the glitter of frost

on my back lawn

 

Hot soups that simmer

on a wood-burning stove

the smell of gum leaves

burned in their droves

 

I love to snuggle

'gainst my husband dear

he keeps me warm

in heart and cheer.