Summer Storms

I love summer storm season.  There is something fun about the gradual build up of pressure ending in a burst of welcome rain and thunder.  Of course, like many things I like there is a down side... 

Another tree flattened a fence that we are yet to clean up.  Given it was marked to be pulled up this isn't so bad, but still annoying.  

I guess Mother Nature just likes to remind us she is in charge around here!

Climbing Wall

Ages ago I posted about 'The Great Wall' and then never posted any more updates.  The Mr finally asked me to do it because he is pretty happy with his efforts on this project.

On one wall of the old workshop we built a climbing wall.  The walls of the shed had to be re-framed, ply had to be painted, holes had to be drilled and t-nuts had to be put in so the hold could be screwed in.

All the effort was worth it, the whole family enjoys playing on the wall and having some fun.

I prefer trad climbing, but given the lack of rock right here this is pretty good too.

Painting

I think I saw a tumbleweed blow through this space awhile ago.  Updates have been few and far between yet slowly but surely, stuff has been getting done about the place. 

The above photo was taken the day we moved in.  It is an enclosed verandah and this is where the children sleep; Blue up this end, and Possum down the other end.  The ceiling is just over 6 foot 'high' on the low end.

We braved the heatwave over the Christmas break to paint.  We decided to paint all of the timber boards a lighter colour to open up the room.  This was NOT a fun job, it was slow work with a small brush to get in all the gaps between the boards.  It was horrid stuff.  

The end result was worth it.  The small rooms look lighter and brighter.  This is Dulux Whisper White with Royal Beige trim, we painted the ceiling in Whisper White too.  The new plasterboard sections came up well and the children are both really happy to have 'new' rooms.  Just the rest of the house to go...

Gymkhana Update

 The local Pony Club had it's Gymkhana after the rain that ended the week of camp.  Possum had a lot of fun and came home with about 10 ribbons.  The pony was very well behaved and Possum smiled all day, even in the bareback.  

She is already talking about the next gymkhana she could go to, there will be no stopping her soon!

Blue didn't ride, his pony is still recovering after a visit to the vet.  He should be back in the saddle soon.

October in Pictures

 

Black Cockatoos moved in and made a mess as well as plenty of noise.

 

The orchard is drying off, but looking good.

 

The lucerne needs rain, but is holding its own well enough at this point.

Pony Camp - Day One

Possum's first day of pony camp today.  When we drove in she said 'I am excited, but also a little nervous'.  The nerves disappeared very quickly when she ran into friends. 

Peppy the pony was ready to go and I gave Dad the lead today because he is working for the rest of the week so it will be all up to me then.

The icy pole was a highlight! 

I don't know how many children there are at camp, but in Purple Troop there are 8, and they all had fun.

Monty Roberts

Colin and I went to see Monty Roberts  perform.  I was not sure what to expect from his show but it was actually really good.  He certainly has a presence for that kind of live performance which helps a lot.

He worked on a variety of horses with different problems and it was interesting to see what he did in different situations.  He did some join up but there was also a lot of advance and retreat pressure stuff; much what you would expect really.

He spoke a lot as well.  I didn't realise that Monty works closely with people such as returned servicemen and prisoners, I always thought it was just about the horses.  I was wrong.

I was nice to have a day out with no children underfoot and do something different together.  It does make you appreciate your own horses more when you go to events such as this one.

In other good news, we came home to discover Bill had popped over and sown some lucerne for us.  Now we need more rain :)