Monthly Archives: November 2016

Australia, Bungendore, NSW

A busy week (part 2)

So where were we.  Ahh the grape vine and not the chatty variety either! Mind you the chooks are more than making up for the grapevine not being chatty… boy can the whinge and whine at me when I don’t give them what they want and how do I know this, because I don’t… but I am tempted sometimes to give in and have a quieter life I really am.  But some breeds are more ‘whiny’ than others… and I have at least one of them.

So, the grape vine came as a big surprise to both of us.  In fact both grape vines came as a surprise to us.  I am tempted to give them a good feed soon because I have a good supply of poultry droppings which I understand can go straight onto the ground, though you are then meant to leave them in the ground for 3 weeks before planting anything, but I was thinking of using them as a mulch over the top of the ground and letting them decompose, aka turn to dust which they are not far off doing anyway and then watering the grape vines to fertilise them.

So the week vanished without much trace. Mum, aka Charmaine, arrived at Day 7 of sitting on eggs having only broken the 1 egg which came as a huge surprise to all of us.  But there was a little drama with one of the rescue hens developing slowly…   Mum is a very large bird, much too large really and to top it off with, she has deformed feet.  It does affect her, you can see it from time to time if you watch her closely.  She often sits down to take the weight off her legs because of the feet issues.  I’ll see if I can locate a photo of her where her feet are visible so that you can see what I mean, but it means that her getting in and out of the nest is difficult for her without standing on the eggs.  And her weight on top of any eggs can cause problems if the egg does not have a strong enough shell.  And this is what happened with the first egg that was broken.  You can’t leave a broken egg in the nest for a whole variety of reasons, not least of all the smell.  But other issues include the fact that a broken egg will contaminate all of the other eggs, causing them all to die.  It attracts lots of flies; it sticks to mum and her feathers, and it glues a lot of the nesting material together in a horrible mess that goes well, horrible really… you get the idea.  It is bad for the eggs, it is bad for the developing embryos, it is bad for mum and it is bad for us because no chicks means mums broodiness won’t break and she will want to sit some more… So the breeder she came from never actually let her sit on eggs so ironically, despite being 6 years old this will be her first clutch of chicks, if we get any.

Saturday also arrived at the conclusion that a strimmer alone was not going to keep on top of the grass situation here.  The original plan had been to make sure that once a day, I went out with the strimmer and cut an area of grass until the battery went flat.  The idea was working really well right up until I hurt my ribs and couldn’t hold the strimmer for 20 minutes at a time (roughly the length of time taken to flatten the battery).  Then I was no longer on top of it, and more over one of the paddocks which is close to the house had not been cut at all.  The more I looked at the areas concerned, the more I realised that a lawn mover would be possible if certain areas were avoided and the strimmer used for them.  Bare in mind we are on a mountainside here, and the slope is a good slope in places with rocky outcrops (only 1 or 2 feet high) sticking through the earth/grass or more often than not hidden by it.  So Saturday afternoon Stuart was sent back into Canberra to come home with a lawnmower whilst I tried to work out what the problem with a little rescue chook was.  It took him a while but he came home with a Subaru.  I didn’t know they did lawnmowers either and the truth is that they don’t.  But the engine on it is Subaru and Stuart likes saying he has a …

So Sunday was get the lawns under control day… lawn mowing and strimming day.  Now Stuart has some overalls which are a really heavyweight dark blue cotton and he wears clothing underneath them (don’t ask why) and Sunday was a hot day (around 28°C)… you can see where this is going, can’t you?

Here is the lawn he is complaining about.  I’ll try to walk you through it with pictures, but this could take as long as it took him to cut the lawn and he didn’t actually do all of it! The cheat…

Starting off on the eastern side by the bedroom window... We are looking towards the outdoor entertainment area and a smallish area in front of it.
Starting off on the eastern side by the bedroom window… We are looking towards the outdoor entertainment area and a smallish area in front of it.
2 - up by the other set of stables, looking west, down the longest part of the flat 'paddock' near to the parking and outdoor entertainment area
2 – up by the other set of stables, looking west, down the longest part of the flat ‘paddock’ near to the parking and outdoor entertainment area
3 - down the side of the water tanks and bike shed, looking towards the house
3 – down the side of the water tanks and bike shed, looking towards the house
4 - the odd flower does find its way into the lawn and adds that little challenge.
4 – the odd flower does find its way into the lawn and adds that little challenge.
5 - an area that you have to be careful with, but most of it can be done with a lawnmower. Again looking towards the house
5 – an area that you have to be careful with, but most of it can be done with a lawnmower. Again looking towards the house
6 - standing in the same place as no 5, but looking 90 degrees to the left, across the front of the old building and towards the creek.
6 – standing in the same place as no 5, but looking 90 degrees to the left, across the front of the old building and towards the creek.
7 - looking towards the main and actual area known as the lawn, from the 3rd pond.
7 – looking towards the main and actual area known as the lawn, from the 3rd pond.
8 - looking back away from the house on the lower side of the studio.
8 – looking back away from the house on the lower side of the studio.
9 - somewhere yet to be even considered. One of the paddocks. At the moment, its only use is as a hay meadow.
9 – somewhere yet to be even considered. One of the paddocks. At the moment, its only use is as a hay meadow.
10 - looking from the studio at the main 'lawn'. Ironically this is the one area that lacks something called grass which is usually what makes a lawn. This is clover and cape daisies mainly!
10 – looking from the studio at the main ‘lawn’. Ironically this is the one area that lacks something called grass which is usually what makes a lawn. This is clover and cape daisies mainly!
11 - looking back at the house and the 'lawn'.
11 – looking back at the house and the ‘lawn’.
12 - one of the hazards to avoid. This is about 4 feet across for some idea on scale.
12 – one of the hazards to avoid. This is about 4 feet across for some idea on scale.
13 - another area that has to be mown, somehow. The outer chook enclosure.
13 – another area that has to be mown, somehow. The outer chook enclosure.
14 - an area that we need to keep a cut path around 2m wide from here to the stable block that houses the bore water pump. The actual stable block itself also needs to be kept clear and cut.
14 – an area that we need to keep a cut path around 2m wide from here to the stable block that houses the bore water pump. The actual stable block itself also needs to be kept clear and cut.
15 - With us having fenced in the veg plot, it also has grass that needs to be kept trimmed and cut.
15 – With us having fenced in the veg plot, it also has grass that needs to be kept trimmed and cut.
16 - not quite suceeding on the keeping some of the veg plot trimmed...
16 – not quite suceeding on the keeping some of the veg plot trimmed…
17 - up the side of the house to the top of the veg plot and more or less back to where we started. An area that also needs cutting and was missed...
17 – up the side of the house to the top of the veg plot and more or less back to where we started. An area that also needs cutting and was missed…

Well, I did say it would take a while to walk you through it.  And he missed quite a few areas from this initial cut.  Areas such as inside the corral (picture 2 on the RHS), around some of the buildings, the area in the middle called the ‘garden’, the various other paddocks, the septic tank field which needs a path cutting through it for the same reason as the paddock from the chook enclosure to the water pump stable block…

He complained that it took him 4½ hours.  Personally I am amazed that he managed so much in such a short period of time; just don’t tell him that!  We are told that the grass will stop growing.    We just have to wait until winter arrives again! rofl.

So our little chook called Ellie.  She is EE or Ellie the Escapologist because she is the one that is a really good flyer.  She is the one that can get up into the hayloft.  She also has a potentially life threatening problem.  She keeps throwing up.  She vomits a clear, colourless, odourless liquid: namely water.  Talking with a breeder who is helping me with the chooks, we went through a whole load of options.  Some took overnight to work out.  Was her crop emptying at night – well, no, it wasn’t actually.  Could she have something called sour crop or an impacted crop?  We ruled out sour crop almost immediately because a) she would be much more ill than she is – in fact she is thriving here and looks a lot better than the same time the previous weekend and b) having smelt what she was throwing up, there was no smell. Sour crop can be a septic condition, where the contents of the crop have gone bad and rot in the crop instead of passing through the digestive tract.  It is caused by a yeast infection.  The same one humans get but with a chook it can be fatal.  It also makes their breath smell and anything they throw up would also smell.  So that was quickly ruled out.  An impacted crop needed her to have had a good feed the night before and then not allowed anything other than water until she was checked over the following morning.  Now our setup has a problem.  At the moment, the area that I could potentially use for sectioning off a chook and stopping them getting at the autofeeder or soil which has seed in it in the inner enclosure is in use with a broody chook and just a day previously I had removed the partition that made it 2 areas and made one larger area, with a single door and got all of the roof area fenced in to protect from ravens and birds of prey.  Undoing that work was not an option and putting her in with the broody chook would result in a chook fight with one very hurt chook the next day and probably no eggs still alive in the process.  So that was a no go.

In the end the breeder offered to come around with a guinea pig cage that would work for keeping a chook in overnight, but no longer.  Luckily EE is a smaller chook so this is an option and Sandra had a good look an Ellie for me as well.  She is in good health, other than throwing up from time to time (a serious condition because they can inhale the vomit and suffocate quite easily).  It is happening on a daily basis minimum, so it is a real risk and problem that needs addressing.  The following morning, whilst there was some grain left over in her crop from the night before, there wasn’t as much as the previous day when I had inspected her (but that day she had had access to the inner enclosure).  It wasn’t an impacted crop.  Starving her out of it wasn’t necessary.   So at the end of the day, we actually don’t know what is causing it.  At the moment it is no distressing her, not upsetting her and she is healthy and getting fitter by the day.  It is a case of monitoring it and seeing if it was actually the reason she was being culled from the flock and why she was up for ‘sale’.

Just for Stuart. 3 of th 4 nesting boxes are finally in use after the cardboard box has been taken out of the game by Mum (Charmaine) our broody chook sitting on eggs.
Just for Stuart. 3 of th 4 nesting boxes are finally in use after the cardboard box has been taken out of the game by Mum (Charmaine) our broody chook sitting on eggs.
The one legged chook pose which they are amazingly good at! That is Ellie standing up with JJ (Jane) and Vickie (VV2) from left to right in the boxes.
The one legged chook pose which they are amazingly good at! That is Ellie standing up with JJ (Jane) and Vickie (VV2) from left to right in the boxes.
Ellie who despite her 'condition' is looking really good.
Ellie who despite her ‘condition’ is looking really good.

Finally, we also have some good news relating to the goldfish pond (this is the larger of the 3 ponds we have and the one that I found the goldfish in).  At least 2 of the adult goldfish are still alive (a pair going by the little ones swimming around)…  If you look towards the top of the green leaf, it is pointing out the goldfish!  I have since seen them every morning, so I will try to get a better picture if my luck holds out.

Evidence the goldfish still exist! In fact since this photo was taken, I have seen them most mornings. We may actually have baby goldfish in the pond!
Evidence the goldfish still exist! In fact since this photo was taken, I have seen them most mornings. We may actually have baby goldfish in the pond!

Well – that is it for last week.  I will try to add some more bird or veg plot pictures in the next few days, but tonight I start the Christmas Cake and this is a 2 day event… And tomorrow we have the wombat man around.  The Landlord is talking about putting a small electric fence around the perimeter of the house.  I know it is his house, but the wombat has gone now, the hole is sealed up and sound, I have chooks and chicks to consider – today is day 11 (of 21) and well, I really can’t see how practical it actually is, nor do I really want to have to pay for it either.  But there we go.

Time to do some housework – preferably not involving the hoover which pumps out too much hot air, then start the cake.  The fruit has to be picked over and soaked overnight and this is the first time I have tried to do it is Australia and we haven’t been able to get all of our usual ingredients so it is going to be interested.  At least I have my cake tin!

Australia, Bungendore, NSW

A busy week (part 1)

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It has been a busy week here in at home in Bungendore.  Monday started off with a new gas cooker being delivered.  And so our landlord turned up before 9am because it was only being delivered.  Fitting gas cookers in Australia is much easier than in the UK.  There is none of this must have a qualified gas engineer business because the hose is on a valve similar to that of a car tyre and you basically push the ends together, then twist and lock.  Done.

At least that is the theory and worked just fine at that end of the hose.  What neither myself nor out landlord had noticed was that a rubber (well a something type) seal had stayed attached to the old cooker and was now being driven away…  Our landlord also hadn’t taken into account that where the bracket attachment was in the floor had been fine for the old cooker, but not for the new one.  So as well as having a gas leak, there was also this issue of not being able to push the gas cooker all the way back.  It went about ¾s of the way back and then stopped and could not go back any further, but it simply wasn’t enough.  And so he had to disconnect the new cooker and call the builder in.

Luckily the builder was nearby and able to come and look at the problem that afternoon.  He wasn’t able to resolve the issue immediately and given the gas leak had to be dealt with before we would use the cooker, there was no point in starting to deal with the gas fitting being in the wrong place, that late in the day.  Tomorrow would be fine.

It carried on with me washing and bathing our 2 new rescue hens because they were filthy and I don’t mean with dirt.  They were covered in their own crap and needed it getting off them.  Cleaning them up revealed some of their injuries that need to heal and helped me assess their condition.  More about that is in one of the previous posts here.

Thankfully Tuesday went reasonably smoothly but not as smoothly as it could have done.  The gas fitting would not unscrew from the floorboards, so in the end he cut the floorboard out and the whole thing was dropped down below the house with the hose still connected to it, then moved to where it was out of the way and away from the electricity point as well.  Then floorboards were put back, holes filled in and so on.  Before long the cooker was installed and operational.

The builder also had a few other jobs around the place to do which the landlord had OK’ed including filling in and repairing several holes that the wombat has made and killing its access to a den it had made underneath the laundry room.  A wall had been demolished by the wombat so that needed repairing and sealing backup with an inspection hatch putting in.  Some water related plumber jobs needed doing and given I had been waiting for the plumber to get on with it, the builder (Harry) who could do it, got on with them as well.  So we now can top up the bore water tank without all the pipes coming apart every 15 minutes from the pressure.  The pump no longer squeaks and protests… he has oiled the shaft for us.  There are various taps around the place outside that have been replaced.  Some were wonky where the tap screw (you know the bit with the actual tap handle on that winds up and down) had been bent and others needed new washers… He has also reconnected the Studio with its water supply and put a complete new tap and splash guard in there, and established that the very reason I had a major leak there was because the old pipe had not been insulated and had actually frozen and split!

Harry also had a couple of jobs to do which we were paying him for.  We had permission to convert the patio doors that are the bay window in our bedroom into a ‘window’ that opens and closes.  It wasn’t as smooth an operation as hoped for, and some make dos have had to be made dones but we now have an opening ‘window’ on a flyscreen in our bedroom and so far we haven’t actually closed it!

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From the inside, it is almost completely unclear that there is a flyscreen there at all, unless you happen to be in the bedroom that is!
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It’s not that clear, but the right hand recycled patio door now opens and there is a flyscreen inside which is removable. The door also locks on the inside!

He also made a custom fit flyscreen for the downstairs external door that comes up into the sitting room.  This allows up to prop open the door down the stairs and prop open the door at the top of the stairs, clear out the spiders and the likes and put the flyscreen in and we have a nice through draft going from that downstairs external door, up the stairs, into the sitting room, through into the bedroom and out via the other new ‘window’ on a flyscreen.  It has made such a difference to the place, and we now have air in the bedroom.  Fantastic.

The downstairs flyscreen has had to be a custom made job. Sadly you can't have it in place and shut the door, and there was no way of putting on one in the inside because of the step immediately the otherside of the flyscreen. So this was the only option that kept it tight against the ground and frame which means snakes can't get in (nor can flies either!)
The downstairs flyscreen has had to be a custom made job. Sadly you can’t have it in place and shut the door, and there was no way of putting on one in the inside because of the step immediately the otherside of the flyscreen. So this was the only option that kept it tight against the ground and frame which means snakes can’t get in (nor can flies either!)

Wednesday saw Stuart with the day off work, so we had a late lunch at our favourite vegan restaurant in Canberra and then went over to see a friend who has recently had surgery to her shoulder injury.  She was looking a lot better and moving around much more freely that we have seen her do previously.  We were also able to have a look at the rescue hens she had picked up with us on the previous Sunday.  She had had one of the 5 die on her already and 2 of the other 4 looked like they desperately needed bathing as well.  They too were filthy in their own crap (I am assuming it is their own, but it may well not have been and the same applies to our two as well) so the most likely cause of the other one dying was not something contagious but something called Fly Strike where maggots hatch in the crap on the feathers of the chook and then eat their way into the bird… I’ll leave the rest to your imagination.

Thursday saw the builder return to finish off the work that needed to be done.  The inspection hatch needed to be sorted on the walling up of the laundry room foundations and then there was a rather large hole to fill in that the wombat has created.  Plus we had permission to fell a couple of trees which the possum had been using for access onto the roof.  Harry brought along his chainsaw and helped us out cutting them down and then cutting them up into sensible sized lumps of wood.  Some will be stored to be burnt next season and so, already dead, can be burnt immediately should we decide we want a fire that is.  A couple of mornings this week, it has been cold enough to actually need one!  At one point it dropped down to 3°C in Canberra and we are always at least 1 or 2 degrees below that!  During the day, one of the new chooks managed to fall into the pond which caused some amusement.  The path was covered in wood shavings from the trees being felled.  The pond weed was also covered in the same wood shavings and totally… you can see where this is going and that is exactly where it did go!  Suddenly the nice wood shaving path she was walking on dunked her into the pond!

We also had a swarm of bees decide that the best place to nest was the roof space above out bedroom.  I had other ideas and luckily because of the chooks, we had some powder spray called Coopex which is basically an insecticide safe for the chooks.  In a very fine spray and with a ‘puffer’ I was able to spray some into the air up wind of the swarm and give them just enough to say ‘not here’ and not enough to kill them.  I didn’t want to kill any of them (and didn’t) I just didn’t want them nesting in the roof or by the window.  The last thing I needed was that!  Luckily they were deterred.

So, this week has seen plenty of growth and surprises in the garden as well.  The potatoes seem to have grown every time we look at them and I am sure they are over 6 foot tall by now!  The honeysuckle has come into flower and this weekend is absolutely covered in flowers.  3 of the ‘bushes’ are wild honeysuckle or at least what I know as wild honeysuckle in the UK and there is a 4th which isn’t.  It is definitely an ornamental one and yesterday, Stuart and I constructed a climbing frame for it to grow up.  I then spent about an hour trying hard to tease it up it and hold it there without snapping any of the growth off which is rather brittle and rather prone to doing.  The chooks thoroughly inspected the attempt afterwards!

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What appears to be wild honeysuckle (if I was in the UK that is!)
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What appears to be wild honeysuckle (if I was in the UK that is!)
One of the varigated honeysuckles
One of the varigated honeysuckles

We also have a number of bottle brush bushes (best said sober that one!) which are just starting to come into flower.

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Just starting to flower in the last few days, the bottle brush bush.

 

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Just starting to flower in the last few days, the bottle brush bush.

But the biggest surprise has to be the grape vines!  We have at least 2 of them growing and I’ll keep you updated on their progress.  I have no idea if they will even produce grapes but we can only hope.

A grape vine!
A grape vine!