broken bridge

Posted on February 5, 2016 by kathy

Our latest project was a bit daunting, we’d put it off thinking it would be difficult and time consuming. There is a bridge over the stream at the bottom of the hill in the rainforest

1.before1

and the timbers have been deteriorating since we moved in. No longer was it safe to traverse in a tractor…….

2.before2

……the time had come. Michael had sourced hardwood from a local sawmill and it was already stacked and ready to go. After cutting them to length

3.cutting

we laid them out to make sure we had enough

4.laying out 5.laid out

and drilled the nail holes in preparation.

6.drilling

The old boards were easily prised off

7.prising 8.prising

and the new ones were dragged down the hill a few at a time.

9.dragging

One by one, they were set in place

10.new ones

and nailed to the supporting beams (old telegraph poles).

11.nailing

We were pleasantly surprised at the progress we made

12.newones2

and the old ones were stacked for future use.

13.old ones

The last of the old ones came off

14.last one off 15.all old ones off

and the new ones were all laid.

16.all laid

It was hot work but the surroundings made up for the discomfort.

17.scenery1 18.scenery2

Side rails finished off the edges and Poppy was on hand to give advice.

19.siderails1

We thought it fitting that she should be first to test the strength of the new bridge.

22.finished

After that hard work in the heat, there was only one way to get back up the hill.

23.up the hill1 24.up the hill2

London

Posted on February 2, 2016 by kathy

Our British adventure began with a few days in London. Neither of us had been for many years and we couldn’t resist seeing the postcard sights. The best view had to be from the London Eye.

1.London Eye

Opened in the year 2000, it is Europe’s tallest Ferris wheel at 135 metres. One revolution takes about 30 minutes, travelling at a rate of 0.9km/hr. This allows enough time to get on and off without stopping and do a quick sweep for explosives in between.

2.The Eye

The 32 pods each hold 25 people. I’m pleased to say we only had 8 in ours.

3.The Eye

Before long, the iconic landmarks came into view. St. Paul’s Cathedral and Waterloo Bridge.

Charing Cross Station with Embankment Place shopping complex above and Hungerford Bridge, often called Charing Cross Bridge.

A little higher

8.The Eye

and we could see across the 23 hectare St. James’s Park

9.St James's Park

to Buckingham Palace.

10.Palace

From the top

11.The Eye

it was a long way down

12.The Eye

and we were awed by the dimensions of the Palace of Westminster, otherwise known as the Houses of Parliament.

13.Parliament

As we descended, we had a close look at the intricate architecture of County Hall and a glimpse along the Thames to Westminster and Lambeth Bridges.

After lunch and a beer on Southbank we embarked on a Thames River Cruise. On the way we had a different view of County Hall and a closer look at Big Ben.

The Houses of Parliament were just as impressive from the water.

19.Houses of Parliament

The Tate Modern was not an attractive building, it looked like the power station it used to be.

20.Tate Modern

Hay’s Wharf was a trading wharf from the middle ages until 1969. The Wharf and Galleria now house offices, restaurants, shops and flats.

The glass facade of City Hall contrasts sharply with HMS Belfast, moored nearby and now owned by the Imperial War Museum.

Tower Bridge blends with the hue of the river and sky.

25.Tower Bridge

The Tower of London stands proud

27.tower

despite competition from The Gherkin.

28.Tower & Gherkin

The 40 storey commercial skyscraper in the financial district has dominated the skyline since 2004.

29.Gherkin

We walked the scenic route back to our hotel, past the Horse Guards Parade,

up The Mall, through Admiralty Arch

32.Admiralty Arch

to Trafalgar Square. Nelson oversees the hustle & bustle from his Column, keeping watch on The National Gallery.

Piccadilly Circus concluded our sightseeing.

35.Piccadilly Circus

I think we did well for one day!

Hartzview Vineyard

Posted on January 29, 2016 by kathy

When my sister was here on holiday, we ventured on a girl’s road trip to Strahan and Hobart. Having sampled the produce of Hartzview Vineyard at Salamanca Market, we realised an expedition further south was in order. The complimentary lunchtime dessert voucher was added incentive. On a gorgeous overcast, drizzly day and after a few diversions along the way, we arrived at Hartzview in time for lunch.

1.Hartview

Hartz peak was shrouded in mist.

2.vineyard

The shop was filled with tempting produce, some of which came home with us.

The views through the stained glass windows of the tasting room were lush and peaceful.

There was no need to reserve a table

9.dining room

and the meals were superb.

Did I mention the free dessert?

12.lunch3

After lunch, we explored the Heritage listed fruit pickers’ huts.

13.huts1 14.huts2

The seven restored huts, dating from 1934 and 1943, were used by seasonal fruit pickers who came to pick berries from December to March.

15.hut1

Whole families would live in a hut, sleeping up to eight people.

20.hut2

During the Second World War, Italian prisoners of war worked as fruit pickers and farmhands and were housed in these huts. 25.hut3 24.hut2-4

This unexpected journey into the past, coupled with a wonderful lunch in a beautiful location, made for a very memorable day.

26.final

wonder wall

Posted on January 26, 2016 by kathy

Last month, we completed a project that we had been working on for a few weeks. There was an area along the driveway where the land dropped away to the paddock and the driveway was being undermined.

We looked at all sorts of retaining wall solutions and decided used tyres were the way to go. The fellas at the local tyre service were happy to help and put aside any tyres of a specific size for us. Each week, we would collect them

3.P1150377

place them in position

4.P1150378

fill them with soil (we had a truckload of clean fill delivered) and stomp the soil to pack it down.

Of course, Poppy was on hand to help.

8.086

The dead tree close by was removed in case it came down on the new fence line. It will be next years firewood.

9.P1150518

The posts for the new fence were positioned

and stabilised as we went.

The grasses didn’t take long to start growing in the new soil.

15.P1150848

Finally, we were up to the top row

16.P1160009

and more soil levelled the tyres with the driveway.

Once we get some rain, we will add grass seed to the top level and the wall will be complete.

19.P1160114

Now for that fence…………

20.P1160122

A big thank you to the guys at Tyreright. If you need new tyres or are thinking of building a wall, you’ll find them here https://www.tyreright.com.au/stores/burnie

Caddo Lake

Posted on January 22, 2016 by kathy

While staying with Michael’s brother and sister-in-law in Texas, we were taken to Caddo Lake, the largest freshwater lake in southern U.S.A. Half in Texas and half in Louisiana, the 26,800 acre lake was once home to the Caddo Indians. The land was bought by the Government in 1835 and within a year all were moved out.

There are a number of theories as to how the town of Uncertain, on the shore of Caddo Lake, got its name. We lunched at Uncertain General Store & Grill, their specialty being catfish, along with other tasty offerings.

1b.Uncertain