Hee haw, laughing donkey!

[Sorry all, thought I'd published this a few weeks ago but (blonde moment) didn't hit the publish button...]

Was down in the donkey paddock today and Irwin obviously thought I was very funny...

UNDER CONSTRUCTION new chooker mole palace

The chooker moles have had it pretty good for the past few years in their (free from neighbour, made in China, came with Chinese instructions, constructed by MOTH and son with spare parts left over) chooker mole palace. Apart from the odd python and the loss of a couple of the girls, it has served them well.

The chooker mole palace in early days being inspected by the donkeys (actually they were trying to get in and steal the chook food)

But time and the Queensland weather has taken its toll.

Didn't think it would make through the Xmas storm season in 2012  but it did...

Then TC Oswald came along and gave us all a good pounding. But the chooker mole palace did not fall down (well not all of it anyway).

Ceiling modifications made by MOTH got the chooker mole palace through TC Oswald, albeit it no longer water proof

So, more heavy rain today and the girls are DESPERATE for a dry house to live in.

Following an idea I got to build a new choker mole palace out of an old swing set, I set about buying bits and pieces on ebay and at the local scrap yard late last year.

We started this construction project in December but have had to put it on hold for either searing temperatures, howling winds or heavy rain. Today, we got back into it and have made some good progress.

The new chooker mole palace under construction

This palace will have all of the mod cons, including this chandelier that I reconstructed from a couple of ebay purchases. I've also bought some lovely hand carved wood panels for extra decoration.

Every chooker mole palace should have a chandelier

Unfortunately my favourite mole disappeared during the week, so now we only have 5. The move into the new digs might be a good time to introduce some more. MOTH is desperate for more eggs to sell at work (this story is a post on its own - coming soon).

Funny, I'm the one that feeds them, looks after them and buys their feed... such is life (and I wouldn't change a minute of it!)

Another January in Queensland, another natural disaster

Gosh, our insurance company must think I have them on speed dial. This time it was a 4 day storm, post cyclone winds (thanks Oswald), torrential rains = lots and lots of fallen trees, no power for days (now restored) and all of our outdoor furniture is now literally rotting in front of our very eyes as we wait for the rain and humidity to break. We were lucky, we still have out home, we still have our health and we are still alive. I really feel for those who have now done through this, loosing everything two years in a row, heart breaking stuff.

So, I'm now chainsaw girl... cutting up trees and stockpiling the branches on a burnpile to deal with later. Here's some of the damage near our house.

A small part of our driveway after the fallen trees have been pushed aside so we could use it.

This one is suspended on another tree, very close to our power lines. Team effort required here me thinks.

There are literally dozens of trees (some wider than a persons torso) that have literally snapped like this.

Thankfully the tree closest to the house fell away from the house. It was about 7m tall.

Most of the trees bought others down with them.

Alas my compost bins and recycling station was completely trashed by the same tree that took out my rose garden.

There are literally scores of trees down in the paddocks that have gone as well, some really big. The fence has been trashed in several places. Am really glad donkeys were in the open paddock when all of this happened. It's still very wet and we're still getting showers and small storms so it's going to be a while before I can even go down there and check the real damage. I can see some really large branches suspended in trees, so it's not safe either. I heard some crash down when the wind came up briefly yesterday.

But it's not all doom and gloom. Some of us are having a great time running up and down in the drains. Red dog + red mud = dirty house!

Roman runs up and down the drains

Oh well, look on the bright side. I've got the firewood for winter sorted ;o)

Gosh, it's been a while...

I just realised this morning that I miss my blog.

I've been so busy the past few months (literally fighting fires, etc.) that I haven't taken the time to reflect and share on what's been happening in my world.

Moet is really toughing it out this morning, lying next to me as I write this in bed (it's Sunday)...

And she's not the only one... I caught Baillie this morning sleeping on the daybed on the deck - bad dog! She knew it too and got straight off before a good old fashioned telling off.

I spent most of yesterday working on one of my major projects - the boundary fence between us and the neighbours. The current fence is 50 years old (I know the old bloke who put it in, he's now 90) and it's probably on the steepest part of the mountain. If I had a dollar for every time I slipped and lost my footing yesterday, I'd be rich. Anyway, after pondering on  this for some time (bought about by my fear of snakes mainly) and looking at the outsourcing option (holy cow - I only asked for a quote for a fence), I bit the bullet and decided to do it myself. Having said that, I'm not replacing the fence - it's too expensive. I have installed a star picked double hotwire fence. No mean feat, given I had to carry the 25kg star picket driver up and down the hill with me, let alone continuously lift it above my head to smash in the pickets. Today I will go down it again and trim back the branches and grass so it doesn't short out and then again with the weedkiller, just to make sure nothing grows too close to the fence.

And after all of that effort, the donkeys will have a safer home. (We went on holiday recently and they decided they would too. So they have been in the front paddock for the past few weeks.) Now, with the new fencing, they will not be able to go anywhere. I've missed my long ears being up at the house.

My next project is a new palace for the chooker moles. The current one (made in China, arrived in kitset form with no instructions) is going to fall down in the next storm without a doubt. MOTH says, "Don't worry, we'll recoup" [boom-tish].

But I have grand plans. I've bought an old kids swing set (ebay), which will form the basis for the new A frame palace. I have also bought some lovely old pieces of carved wood (ebay) to add some features and... a chandelier (actually I bought a chandelier frame and them some old crystals off ebay, so I hope they will go together). Then once it's finished, I'm going to plant a passionfruit along side. It'll definitely be rustic.

Well, had better get up and cracking. I have dogs to wash, fencelines to trim and spray...

It's that time of the year again when everything can go woof!

Living on the top of a mountain can have it's advantages and disadvantages.

This morning I saw a joey wallaby with his mum on the side of the driveway as we headed off to work - advantage.

If there were to be a bushfire, our house it's a gonna - disadvantage.

So, last year, in a moment of (as MOTH clearly defines it "WHAT WERE YOU BLOODY THINKING...") - I call it focus - I joined the local rural fire brigade. Not only was I interested in how we might protect our property (which I quickly learnt was defined as "non defendable") but it was also a way that I could contribute to our local community. BTW - we do have a 5 minute evacuation plan which involves grabbing laptops, animals and getting the f**k out of there... oh, and of course, the kids (my bad).

One year on and who'd thought I'd now have a tertiary qualification in operating a chainsaw, am also certified to assist in road traffic accidents, renewed my first aid and am learning to drive a truck!  Oh, and I now am also a qualified rural firefighter.

Anyway... the purpose of my message is to highlight that bushfire season is upon us and it's time for anyone who lives in a bush area (in or out of the city limits) to start preparing for, what is being touted as one of the potentially biggest bushfire seasons in years. You only have to go for a drive and look at what's lying on the ground under the trees to realise the fuel load is scary. So, what to do...

There are plenty of options you can take ahead of a bushfire to minimise the risk to your property. Clean up any dead trees or rubbish, get rid of any leaves in your guttering and on your roof, and, if possible create firebreaks. Another option is one that we adopted last weekend at our own fire station - hazard reduction burning. This is a very controlled, low impact burn that clears away the potential fuel load in a managed way. I've attached some photos to give you an idea on how it all goes down.

As always, if you need a hand, just call your local urban or rural fire brigade - before there's a problem - they'll appreciate the call and will more than likely be able to help.

And if you really don't know where to start - contact me and I'll make sure someone contacts you from your local brigade.

Here's hoping everyone stays safe this fire season.