sailing

 what was the world like before playgrounds? mum and dad came over from tassie for baby niamh's b'day, so Janu got to play with them some more...

she's one!

 wonderful niamh is one! a great party in all nation's park, melbourne.  catriona made her dress (the blue party one)!

it was dad's birthday too - they are 3 days and 65 years apart!

gravel

 I probably don't even need to tell you how fantastic this all is for Janu. A real, live, tipper truck just outside the door. machines, moving parts, wheels...  Don and Sue salvaged some 18th century steam timber bending machines, and here they are. boiler puffs smoke, wheels crank, and out comes an amazing curved pieces of wood.  window frames, old car parts, water skis, drum hoops, you name it. 

wool

 craft galore. a mini tipi made from sticks and bark.  using the soft alpaca wool stored in a wheelie bin, bales or wool given by the local mill.  so far we've used the wool for: a rag rug (cut into strips), a stuffed xmas tree, a heart for niamh for her b'day, strips for a fly screen, a blanket, pot holders, tipi covers for toys, beds for toys, wool angels...

sue&don

here are sue and don, who own the property. sometimes sitting round the lunch table with Don and Sue (and friends), Janu cuts into the conversation to tell a story of his own.  He has noticed the format: 'when I was doing ______, ______ and this happened...'.  So he says 'when I was 2 (such a long time ago), I pushed a shopping trolley right past the shops and into the lake!!', or any total nonsense (espcially if it's naughty, or involves swords or knives or blood...that's another story!) with huge giggles and cheeky grins.  I love that he wants to join in. 

He's also said twice, unprompted, that he wants to be a police man when he grows up. once it was a traffic policeman. we'll keep a watch on that one. 


and this is the poor man's version of the fire bath.

fire bath

who needs a spa when you can just light a fire under your bath? there are 3 tubs scattered around the property. I snatch handfuls of lavender on the way, dropping off clothes to sink in the creek water infusion. 

trees

 it's cosy here, feels a bit like home. I can lie in bed, watching the tops of tall gum trees moving. big ships in the sky.  blue sea-sky beyond. a kookaburra calls. the grass waves with sun in it's hair. shimmies across the slopes, golden.  It's time to cut it, and we've bounced along on the mower a lot lately.

strimming and mowing are so satisfying. we mowed around the cabin, and put up a mini-tipi, poles that we found collapsed in the trees. the poles make a star at the top.