Well just got back from a couple of weeks up the bush.
I was trying to get more done for easter as we have a croud coming up.
There was some progress to the shed, the heater is finished, after diggin gravel from the creek for the slab, it was mixed with cement & came out great, after i knocked off for the arvo, I had a beer & was looking at the new base for the heater, i put some of the excess gravel into my dish & yes there was a few colours in it, gold that is.
The next day it was back to the creek to find some sand for the brick laying, after filling the trailer, the old sierra was working hard to drag it back to camp, but it was ####, to much rock in it & the bricks were rocken every where, so i gave it away.
Ted an old mate said i know where there is good sand, an old hill covered in grass, once we took the grass of it was good fine sand, there was an old gold stamper there 130 years ago & the tailings were perfect for mortar.
So the walls arn't true but my fist go at bricklaying came out ok.
I then run out of bricks, No problem Garson has some second hand one, he gave me a hundred to finish the job, only cost me a 6 pack, & then i drank 3 of them with him. (then a few more) that day was finished.
Then what to do for the top, i cut up our old dunny that blew over,
for a base, some stringy bark props to hold it up, then from the local tip some old fence for reo, then 4 inch's of creek concrete on top.
An old billy with a leaky bottom held the concrete back, so the stainless chimny (don't ask) could be dropped through,
Then the brake drum heater was put in place, it works great, the only problem i see is it being to hot.
To dress up the front again the old dunny walls were cut up, & an old cupboard draw that was laying in the dirt at Teds gave up it brass handles, a piece of marine ply from the tip for a mantle piece.
I only planned on staying a week, so by the second week i started to run out of rations, so i was lucky when a young goat wanded into range of my out door breakfast table, yum, into the gas fridge, then some in the camp oven some on the BBQ, my dog sandy was happy to. It's liver went into the yabbie trap, i got 28 on the first try, so up to TED & Jens for desert.
Teds garden was booming so me & sandy would wander up in the late arvo & have a feed of apples, pears, corn on the cob, cheery tomatoes, & baked pumpkin.
Sandy loves apple cores & whats left of the raw corn when i'm finished with it.
Ted decided to kill 2, 12month old sheep so then we had lamb chops comin out our ears.
I have a little GMC generator & had extention cords running every where, so i dug a trench over to an old rusted out iron water tank that was given to me, it is the new generator come wood shed. The sheds now have a fuse box, power points, the lamps, TV & DVD know have switches, instead of pulling extension cords.
A good tip, my mate said try enegy saver globes with the little genny, i can have 5 of them going with the telly & it's hardly working.
What else, did some painting on the shed, did 2 days with garson workin on zooks, me Ted & garson cut wood for 2 days, good white box & some crappy wooliebutt.
Oh yeah time flies up there, I had built a new sink/bench out of old pallet & needed to extend the tap out, so up to teds with a heap of gal & plastic fittings, we found a bit of old 3/4 gal pipe laying in Teds paddock, i needed it 13inch long threaded both ends, he said no problem he pulled out a old rusty die & handle, this thing was 2 foot across, after fixing the loose vice we cut threads on both ends, home again, idiot the outlet on the tank is 1inch, so up to Garsons, still no good, we went through buckets of fittings with no luck, so the stick welder made the connection from 3/4 to 1inch, a few more beers & that day is also over.
Ted comes down, the horse we dragged to it's feet the day before had died, & was with in smelling distance of the house, so the zook did the job of dragging the couple hunded kg horse to the bottom paddock (bone yard) could have been more dog food but we didn't know what killed the young fit horse, maybe a snake.
Old mavas is an 84 yr old top sheilla, very witty, I love stirring her up, she takes it well, especially when i go on about the real footy (league) not ping pong. Her house burnt down 12 months ago while she was in hospital, one of her rams knocked her over & busted her knee.
I asked if she had ever been to the top of the hill over lookin Teds, it looks the other way at MT Conabalis, she was keen, so after using a milk crate to get her in the zook, we took the rough (low range) fire trail up the hill, i kept saying is it to rough & she would smile & say i love the bush & i'm really enjoying myself, we had a good couple of hrs, but i think she was worn out when we got back.
Any way a good couple of weeks away from the rat race.
Sandy on our way home.
Trev
Aus
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