|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Here in (very) sunny Australia we've got enough problems with the climate change. Currently we have 95% of New South Wales officially "drought declared" and suffering the worst drought EVER, which for a country like Australia is saying something. You'll see from the photos how brown the landscape is looking. I don't remember when it last really rained here. We've had the occasional and annoyingly brief shower, but nothing substantial - the sort that gives the ground a good soaking. In Oberon we've actually had only 490mm in the last twelve months instead of the usual 850mm. So the farmers are doing it tough at the moment. Never thought I'd be envying the wet UK climate!
I suppose when it does eventually rain I'll be complaining about not being able to get any building work done. As it is, thanks to the dry weather, the work is progressing well and I hope to reach watertight, lock-up stage before next winter arrives. I have found a good plumber and have decided to get him to install the metal roof. I did the garage roof myself (with some lifting help) so I know I could do house roof myself but think it would be nice to have someone else do the work for a change! Also they will be much quicker than me - provided their work is good enough for me to bear looking at afterwards, of course!
I have just spent the last month on the wrong end of a pick and shovel, concreting in the fondations for the thirty-two verandah posts, then digging out the ground for the verandah slab/pathway which goes all around the house. I had a concretor set all the posts with his laser level and he did all the shuttering, pouring the Readymix and finishing off and he's made an excellent job of it. It has been much tougher than I had anticipated, even with the use of of a post-hole digger and my own back-hoe (JCB) to break up the surface, it still needed a lot of manual input. That was me! So I'm now down to 10st 9lb from 11st 7lb, which I was a few months ago when I'd slacked off a bit from the Atkins diet. But I'm now back on it and would highly recommend it to anyone wanting to lose weight. It is really simple - just stop worrying about the fats and cut right back on the carbohydrates.
I had a surprise visitor at the house site the other week. I was just leaving the garage and was about eight feet from the doorway when I was met face to face with a snake coming in! I don't know who got the greater fright. I did a quick backward step (several actually) and it shot off to one side and disappeared into the corner behind a stack of cement bags. Bear in mind that this is a large garage but it is full of all manner of building materials. Lots of places for a snake to hide - permanently! I decided that it would be good if this snake was persuaded to vacate the premises immediately! I had some empty five-gallon drums nearby and thought if I rolled one of these towards the cement bags it would be frightened by the noise and take off back out through the door. Unfortunately my aim wasn't as good as I thought and the first drum went straight through the door and off down the drive. There was plenty of noise though. No sign of any exiting snake. The second drum was more on target and came to a noisy stop alongside the bags. No snake to be seen. I bent down close to the floor to get a better look, just in time to see a wriggling tale disappearing up inside the covered barbecue! I had visions of him/her tucking in to all the left-over fat on the barbecue plate. How would I get the cover off? It is one of those cheap vinyl things, it usually snags on something unless you get really close to get a vertical movement in lifting. I didn't fancy getting that close to my new visitor. I had seen several snakes before but always on a mutually detached basis. You leave me alone and I'll leave you alone. The system had worked well until now. This was a real threat. Remembering what I had learned from various experts, I decided to let the snake to make its own arrangements about when to leave. I gave myself an early mark from work and went home leaving the roller door open about three inches from the floor. Enough room for a snake to get out - if it wants to. Would it want to - that was the question. Would it take up permanent residence? Would my garage full of necessary building materials be rendered inaccessible?
The next morning it was with lots of trepidation that I arrived for work and opened up the roller door. How would I know if the snake had gone? After looking around as thoroughly as I could, there was nothing for it but to lift off the barbecue cover. Standing on some blocks to get as high as was practical, I whipped off the cover to find - nothing. What a relief. Later I called in at the National Parks office in Oberon to discuss the situation with one of their field officers. She said there would be nothing of interest to a snake in a garage. I had done the right thing in leaving it to find its own way out. It had probably come in out of curiosity. She identified the snake for me from my description. It was a copperhead. They are lethal but will normally leave you alone unless cornered, (as in cement bags corner?).