Summertime .... and the Livin' is Easy.........

Well, it isn't officially summer yet, but the last few days of 35 degrees (95F) have certainly made it feel so.
The hens are delayed and won't arrive until early December -mutter, mutter, grump, groan!  The other jobs around the patch haven't stopped, and after a few days of rain, the grass is jumping out of the ground.
Yesterday saw a valiant attempt to tame the front padddock, and all was going well until the ride-on threw a belt.  Not the easily replaced blade belt, but the main drive.
While I await the pleasure of the repairers, it is off to the shed to get some more work done on the new bench and cupboard that will house some of my woodplanes.
Fine woods and fancy joinery are often presented as the objective in all woodwork.
These are eminently suited to furniture, and I will address both of them from time to time.
But this will be a utilitarian piece made from what is available - I know that there is some hardwood and a few left overs of particleboard.  These will serve well enough for the bench, and there is some re-cycled meranti that will make a useful cupboard to sit on top.
There's an old saying - perfection is the enemy of good enough.
For this cupboard, good enough will do nicely.
I've been attempting little bits and pieces on this project for a while now, but they always get shunted sideways when higher priorities intervene.
Today I finished the legs and assembled both sides. The front and rear rails are cut and the top roughly dimensioned. Photos later.

Chillaxing by the pool sure felt good this afternoon.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention

Eons ago, in our first year in the Village, a good friend of my son thought to help us out, by delivering a grocer's dozen of near-feral chooks that had been terrorizing Upper Rollands Plains. These, the boys had rounded up in one afternoon's feathered version of catch the greasy pig.  A car boot load arrived just on sunset - and unannounced.
What the ...!
Where to put them - no chookhouse, no cages of any kind - in short - no preparations at all.  The boys stood there like cheshire cats, so proud of their contribution to Tele Point self-sufficiency.
The poultry spent the night in a zincalume garden shed, and the next day it was all hands on deck to .....let's go make a chookhouse.
There wasn't much in the way of materials - a little wire mesh, some scraps of corrugated iron sheeting, and an old child's swingset pipe frame without the swings.
Inside a day we had a lean-to roof and a half, and a wire enclosure with a rudimentary door.  Good enough for now - we'll build a better one down the track.
Seventeen years later, and the original dog's breakfast of a chook house was still there, and in need of a make over.

Out came the door, and in its place went a mezanine of nest boxes - three in all.  A new door was added in the side, and that same side extended to provide an A-frame yard. Another door, and we can walk in without stooping.  Add some more corrugated iron to protect against the southerlies and westerlies, and mesh on the northerly outlook - and it was nearly finished.
A small offcut of shadecloth to temper the summer heat, leaving a sunny corner for those cold days - and we are done.
All we need now is for the ladies to arrive and take up residence.
That should happen this week if the chicken gods are kind.

Keeping the Ladies Happy

Well, it has been an age since we had poultry down here on our little plot, and the old fowlhouse has been begging for a makeover.
I have been slowly doing renovations to the chook palace, and it is nearing completion.
Today was superb weather for working outdoors, after the heat and humidity of the last couple of days.  Overcast, mild temperatures and a slight breeze - does it get any better than this!
So the chookie yard had its wire attached, and there are only a couple of pieces to finish off and the ladies can move in.
I have been seeking advice from all and sundry about poultry breeds, and have even joined the Australian Poultry Forum to see what is currently best practice in poultry culture.

Hopefully the large numbers of alektorologists who read this blog will chime in with advice. Maybe even the experts from Pony Paradise will share their knowledge and experience.
Once its finished - should happen over the weekend - I'll post some piccies.
But in the meantime - feast your eyes on today's sunset.  A modest affair by Tele Point standards but still awesome.

Sometimes the trees do get in the way.

 

A full review of Poultry Paradise will follow shortly .....................................................................

Hastings Woodworkers and all things Woodie

As an active member of the Hastings Woodworkers Guild, I have the pleasure of the company of many like minded wood loonies, as often as I choose to visit the clubrooms.  Open every day over at Timbertown in Wauchope, the Guild offers a centre of excellence in woodworking that is fun to be part of.
The Guild offers members a meeting place, a workshop, a display room, lunch room, timber store and a small mill for converting logs to lumber.
It may very well be unique in its range of services to members.
The workshop is well equipped and there are members whose collective expertise in all things woodie, has educated many others in wood lore.

We held our annual exhibition back in October, over a three day period in the heart of Port Macquarie NSW.
A couple of thousand visitors came through the doors and experienced the demonstrations, discussions and displays that were offered.

Planning has already commenced for 2012's big event.
In the meantime we will be present at a number of other functions, the next of which is the Craft Show in Port Macquarie on 18-20 November.
Meetings are held on the third Saturday of the month, and our next will include a club auction of a wide variety of tools and timber.  Can't wait!

Feuds With the Neighbours

Living in the country has many charms, and that is why we chose to do so.
However, some of the neighbours are really starting to become annoying.
Every night we have a visit from an absolute animal, who vandalizes our property without a second thought.
Sometimes we are visited by red-necks who treat the place as if they own it.
Well I've had enough.  It's time for action.
When that rotten bandicoot turns up tonight to plough up my vegetable garden, he's going to get a shock.  The soil in the garden beds is so full of worms that he can't resist. Our lovingly tended vegetables are turned over as if with a mouldboard plough.
And when those king parrots fly in to feast on our corn, they are going away hungry.

I have built protective covers over the veggies.  I watched a frustrated kookaburra who sat on the top staring at worms he couldn't get at. "There are plenty more in the front paddock" I told him.
Star pickets, poly pipe and bamboo provided the frames, and whatever mesh I could dig up from the "might be useful one day" pile, provided the covering.
The finishing touches were a couple of old shade sails from the front deck, that I hadn't gotten around to disposing of yet. ("Might come in handy one day")
Mr bandicoot will have to dig for worms elsewhere - he is a veritable bulldozer in the garden.  And those red necked parrots can go back to eating wild tobacco berries and wattle seeds.
While I am typing, the bower birds are tap dancing on the roof - there must be twenty up there. They are omnivores and seem to eat everything.  They can go back to pestering the dog for the kibble in his bowl.
A cold brew on the back verandah was very satisfying this afternoon.
In spite of the neighbours, we wouldn't swap living here for anything.

All at Sea

We have been away from the Village and computers for a trip south to Sydney, the mountains and the South West Slopes.  A day of sailing on Sydney Harbour and out through the Heads was our excuse for visiting the big smoke. 
The James Craig is the only restored 19th century barque in the world that takes passengers to sea, and it promised to be an experience not to be missed.

This beautiful ship is a three masted barque built originally in Sunderland, England in 1874. She has an iron hull, and is fitted out with  a variety of timbers making up all but the lower masts and main yards, which are also of rivetted iron - (50,000 rivets).  Re-launched after restoration in 1997, she is fully operational, and with all 21 of her sails set she is a splendid sight.   She has over 5km of standing rigging and around 1000 metres of planking.  For a ship that has done 23 Cape Horn roundings, she looks truly beautiful.

This wasn't just a trip to sea for me, but also an opportunity to see and admire the woodwork and craftsmanship of others. As well, it was a chance for my wife and I to spend some quality time together.

So much of the James Craig is made of timber.



Pulley blocks made of American Ash












 The ship's binnacle under construction on the main deck.  This sits in front of the helmsman and carries
the ship's compass.

Sailor's socks

Walking the yards to adjust the sails is not for the faint-hearted. Some of the crew have devised ways to remember which is port and which is starboard




Winds were light but the day's weather was fantastic.  Strolling the deck was wonderfully relaxing while the crew kept us all on track .

The highlight of the trip was totally unexpected, and that was an encounter with a pod of humpback whales.  One spectacular breaching showed one of them near vertical and totally out of the water - took us all by surprise so no photo I'm sorry. Best I could do was a pic of a swim-past by a mother and calf.

As far as ship's carpenters tools are concerned there were few to see.  I want to introduce you to the largest ship's carpenter's rebate plane I have ever seen - but that's another story.

Mum's Potting Shed

There is always plenty to do around our little acreage. We have been finishing and renovating our old house ever since we came here.
This has been a project on the to do list for quite a while.
It is finally finished.
The love of my life had a little potting table out in the middle of the backyard under a tree, and yearned for her own potting shed.
Here were the requirements:

• Somewhere dry
• Light and airy
• Faces the north
• Has a big workbench area
• Must have storage shelving

I made use of an old zincalume garden shed that was blown to pieces in a storm a couple of years back.
The front plate holding up the rafters is an old hardwood window ledge from a very long window - ex-demolition.
The trellis came from my son's house when he replaced his pergola with a Queensland room.

The bench has an old plastic shallow sink for mixing potting mixes, and plant potting and the like, where spillage can be re-claimed.
The sink came out of an old photographic darkroom.
The left side of the bench has a re-cycled panel from a renovated kitchen. It has a stainless steel surface.
The shelf underneath has a suspended support in the middle, and uses a couple of over 100 year old hardwood boards from a demolition of a friend's shed.
The weather in these parts comes from the south and west, so it stays remarkably dry.
The customer was happy, and so am I.