The Farm

I thought id take a minute to tell you about life on the farm so far. The move went smoothly and we have unpacked most of our stuff. The water does indeed taste incredible and it gives tea a special taste. I'll soon see what it does for the home brew. It's deathly quiet around here and after a brief discussion I have negotiated the TV into the bedroom so that it doesn't intrude on the peace or assume too central a role here. That's if it makes it from Ashburton without toppling over on the windy roads. We walked down to the damn today and decided on a location for the tree house I'll build. Guerrilla style of course. There is heaps of potential for guerrilla activities here. The veggie patch for a start is over run with weeds and if I can ship in enough sawdust for paths, I'll have some keyhole garden paths running through it before Sam can say 'rotary hoe'. Sam is a great landlord, in the old fashioned caretaker of the peasants kind of way as opposed to the absentee, agent managed land lording I have grown used to. He gets up early and I can find him most mornings sitting in the large shed considering the work day ahead. There's always weeds to spray and fences to mend. He's 84 but keeps to a strict schedule of early hours. Today I teamed up with him to build a couple of gates for when the dogs arrive. It took us most of the day while my wife unpacked and slept in the sunny window. The house looks over a valley on to some fire ravaged plantations but to the left there is a ridge of trees and a couple of dams. More opportunities for guerrilla fish stocking. In the afternoons the whole valley turns a brilliant green. In the distance and just on the horizon I can just see 3 constant billows of smoke from the power stations that provide most of Melbourne's power. They help remind me to turn off lights around the house and I swear the clouds of steam above them change when I do.