Farming (I mean Freezing) away

Well Well once again it has been a while. What can I say- were just too busy working. Well ok not entirely true- Neil is too busy working and I am not too busy been a 1950's housewife :)

The tuckered out dairy farmer at morning tea (too dirty to be allowed inside so he makes himself comfy in our annexe- blanky and all :)

The weeks are flying by. We have been here 5 weeks now and probably have about 2 months more stay here- if we don't freeze solid and remain here as statues forever. It is certainly not as cold as Armidale- it's just that we are in a pop top caravan. Praise God for power, electric blankets and a heater. Last night the temp INSIDE was 1 degree then 3 hours later with the heater running flat out it made it to a whopping 9 degrees inside. The electric blankets needless to say get left on 2 or 3 all night and their is lots os snuggling up and fighting over the blankets. Not sure how the explorers did it......As I write this I am waiting for the water pipes to defrost so I can have a shower. It's half past 9 and there are still frozen solid- this could be a long blog :).

The worker in the family :

Our varied views at Sunset time :)

Mine

and Neils :)

Neil is getting a day off here and there mid week so aside from catching up on sleep we got to go for a drive around the local extinct volcano. The views stretched for mile cause the countyside around here is very flat. There are two huge lakes nearby. One Lake Colac is Victorias largest lake. The other Lake Corangamite is 3 times saltier than the ocean and has salt piles that stick up out of the water in the shallow areas. The area here is so so green due to the rich volcanic soils and all the dairy farms around the district.

I get the odd trip to Geelong and also down to the Great Ocean Road with one of Neils workmates who travels for work a bit so that is fun. It is amazing how quickly I can fill my days with nothing much. I cook a few cakes and slices to keep the hungry farmer fed and from fading away, I do some craft and wander around and watch the calves feed and play- they are just like kittens- totally spontaneous and hilarious in their games.

I have enjoyed bike riding on the few fine days we have had. The wind resistance means you get twice the exercise :)and twice the ouch afterwards :).

The farm has a few young people working here who we enjoy socialising with over a meal. The farm owner and his family live here and they are super friendly and have us over in the afternoon sometimes. A french backpaker rounds out the people who live on the farm. He keeps us on our toes understanding his great English in between his really strong accent. He is also a great cook so we enjoy some tucker with him and hearing stories from the French Island he lives on off Spain somewhere.

Well best get packing- in true red neck style we are off to the 71st Melbourne gun show. Did I mention I scored us Superior SPA accomodation in Melbourne for a quater of the usually price----mmm so looking forward to it. Ahh the perks of going to the gun show (just as well there is a closing time or Neil may never leave the show and I would never get that spa). T'will be nice for Neil to get to enjoy his hobby....not to mention he showed the boys here how it was done shooting two foxes in two shots the other week. Funny ever since Mr Fox has gone to foxy heaven nothing from under our annexe has gone walk abouts or been chewed. Now Spike the dairy cat has moved in to make himself at home in Neil's reclining camp chair....