Thursday 24 May 2012

24th May 2012

Time sure has gone quick since we last  updated the blog .
We decided to have a day off from milking etc. John decided it was time to have a look around Lake Tinaru Dam which is not far from home. It is a man made dam where in some photos you can see the tops of the old trees sticking out of the water. There are Barramunda fish to be caught here and a great place to park the caravan for a few days and relax.




This is called  a Curtain Fig Tree
Marg standing at the base of the Curtain Fig Tree


John assisting to help pull out a car that went into a ditch

On 24th March our caravan arrived from Brisbane. Yah .  John had flown down to see it at Red Cliff in Brisbane. We had been looking around fro a 20ft caravan that had a shower and toilet and if we were lucky
an annex as well. Yes it had all three. It is a Roadstar Limited Edition 2004 . It has a island bed so that will save us climbing over each other to get to the little room in the night. After giving it a good clean as it had been sitting empty for 18 months unused.. We started to fit it out, Oh what fun that has been from hunting around to find a fry pan with a good lid to fitting a new mesh window screen for the insects to keep out . We had to buy a Anderson plug so that the power would all work and this took time . We spent a lot of time on the Internet searching google.
Finally we had a day in Cairns on the 19th April buying a 22" TV and all the necessity for cooking etc and making it like a home for us. We also brought a 7" reversing monitor and a UHF radio which will be fitted at a later date. We left at 6.30am from Malanda and got home at 6.45 pm a long day but succesfull.

                                                                           
                                                                             









25th April 2012 ANZAC day.                                                                                                                     

Yes I went to the Parade here in Malanda and so pleased I did. It was lovely to see the old diggers there as some of them I have been looking after. I was a little homesick when I saw the NZ flag flying.
                                                                           
                                                                         


                                                                    Bill Grumley with family 
         

                                                     

John has been very busy helping Glen with planting of grasses and doing what ever is necessary on the farm. Then going out to Ross's and doing milking 5 1/2 days a week. He has just finished helping with the silage cutting and getting that all undercover before the rains comes. These were long days . He said the other day that he was working longer hours than what he did at placemakers.
I am having fun learning folk art painting  from Anne. I am going to enter into the Malanda show day in July with the pieices that I have painted.

                                                                         

                                                                           
                                                                              
I have added some photos here that may interest you.  It is time for harvesting of peanuts. For thoses that don't know . Peanuts grow under the ground  once the flowers of the plant start opening they are harvested by being dug up and turned over so that the sun can help dry the peanuts Once dry they are collect and processed. We brought  3 kilos for $5.00 then we shelled them yummy.

                                                              Peants plants planted next to corn   
                
                                                   Peanut drying after dug up as far as the eyes can see
     
                                                                      
                                                        Peanuts drying on top of the soil                        
                                                                 Calf area John & Glen built
                     
                                                              John & Glen discussing calves           
                                                             Glen doing what has to be done             


Glen & John being butchers