Firstly apologies to Jenny who wrote a thoughtful and reflective comment on the MIFGS post which I had missed until today and Sue an old friend from Perth to whom I've been going to respond since she wrote. While I don't expect a lot of feedback, it is a truly positive experience when one receives thoughtful comments such as these.
When we spoke to GROCON a week or so ago, we told them that we said we would be ready for them to start any time after Easter as that would give us time for a final fossick.
With that thought in mind, we have been very busy up at the farm over Easter. We did a pretty thorough final search for things of interest/value on Friday. I spent probably the best part of two hours sorting through the accumulated debris on the floor of what had been our walk in robe but was now host to most of the glass and china from the dresser formerly upstairs. In addition to many pieces of cup, saucer and mug that Ros will eventually turn into a mosaic, I managed to find another one of her rings,a lovely surprise as I was really hoping to find my set of car keys with the "Life begins at 40" brass tag on it. The keys didn't turn up so I obviously didn't leave them where I thought I had. Some would say, "Now that's a surprise!".
Ros also found and collected several buckets worth of pottery and crockery from the kitchen
In the study/dining area, a couple of other items that I was hoping to find, namely the remains of my old C8 Celestron 200mm Schmitt-Cassegrain telescope and a set of boule or boche depending on which side of the Alps you hail from, did eventually turn up after much raking of book ash - shades of 'Fahrenheit 451' and I'm a fireman too!
The telescope legs came first, followed by the no longer mirrored lens complete with hole no longer quite central, in a lop-sided disc of barely translucent slag. What a bloody waste. I stopped looking for a while. The chromed steel boche balls were not as I had anticipated, neatly together as they had been in their wooden box. Rather they were spread across a couple of metres, due no doubt to the floor of the study burning through and tipping them onto the dirt underfloor.
Tired and not a little exhausted, we went wearily home. It had been a good Friday!
On Saturday we did some general clearing up and watering and I put about 30 odd star pickets in the ground ready to make a fence for Woody the goat who we hope to have back here soon.
Sunday - We had more or less "planned" to meet with Richard and Jan about 9-ish up at the farm but not having heard from them decided that we wouldn't hurry up. So after a leisurely start and the inevitable trip to Mitre 10 to pick up yet another useful thing, such as a couple of plastic petrol cans and some two stroke oil for the chainsaw, we arrived at Little Wood. Ros went to visit the Uphills for a cup of coffee while I assembled the chainsaw.
She'd been gone about 15 mins and I'd just made the final adjustments to the chain tension when Richard and Jan arrived, for the second time. They'd been here at 0900 but not finding us had gone for a drive. Jan went off to join Ros for a cuppa while Richard and I wandered around looking at stuff in a fairly haphazard sort of way and talking about nothing in particular apart from fires, their effects and the dehumanising impacts of crises on bureaucracies, the usual light banter we engage in.
By the time Ros and Jan came back, we'd performed some useful work by moving the chiminea to a location less likely to be damaged by the clean-up crews and generally wandered about the remainder of the site.
Leaving us with hot water, coffee and tea and some very tasty sandwiches and apples, Jan and Richard drove off to Hurstbridge to collect their two sons for a family day together.
We spent most of the rest of the day cutting down burned trees and shrubs and then cutting them up and stacking them. Isn't English a wonderful language?!!
Easter Monday was yet another busy day. We'd discovered via Ros' message bank that Lesley had actually come up on Saturday and finding us not there had after waiting around for a while, sensibly driven home.
As I wanted to check a couple of prices on tools at Bunnings and Mitre 10, we'd arranged for Lesley to collect Ros on Sunday and drive directly to the farm, while I meandered around. The bloke I wanted to talk to at Bunnings was busy with an other customer and after watching them go from one location to another at what seemed like snail pace, picking up an item here and then doubling back and getting another there they eventually walked out of the tools section and so did I.
A pair of fencing pliers for me and a retractable clothes line for Cait which I'd been meaning to get for a couple of weeks, saw the end of shopping at Mitre 10 in Diamond Creek and me on my way to the farm.
By the time I arrived, Lesley and Ros had been joined by Yvonne a neighbour from Nink's Road who had also lost a house, cottage and several sheds. We chatted for a bit and when Yvonne had departed got down to the serious business of log stacking, extensive pruning, fence removal, followed by a relaxed picnic lunch under the lebanese cedar which had best survived the fire. The tools purchased and donated by Lesley's partner Stephen, apart from the axe and bow saw, have had a very fine working out and I am most grateful to have them and a great wooden tool box made by lesley's dad in which to store them.
Lunch over, we got on with it and towards 4-ish had a very large pile of branches and twigs and beautifully pruned Camellias courtesy of Lesley who drove off exhausted into the sunset - well it wasn't quite dusk, but she'd definitely done a great days work!
Some short time before or perhaps it was after Lesley's departure, a little yellow car appeared in the driveway and it wasn't until Cath got out that I recognised her, Jamie and the girls who live a couple of doors down from Cait and Nicco. They had come for a quick visit and to offer their services for a future clean-up day. It was rather nice - almost like being at home again, with people dropping in and work getting done.
A great end to the Easter Week.
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