Visit to Marysville

We finally had a clear cool day to visit Marysville (the weather had thwarted a couple of previous attempts).  It is now nearly two years after the devastating fires that destroyed the town and it is only just starting to reconstruct.  There are new houses but there are many vacant lots and the impact of the fires is seen everywhere.

The Cafe seemed to be one of the few buildings still standing in the Centre of the town. Some of the trees are recovering, many are dead.  One of the stranger sights was a front gate to a Patisserie that had been completely burned out.

The forests surrounding the town have a long way to go for full recovery

But there are many areas of regeneration.  The forest floor is covered with new plants that are able to grow as a result of the recent heavy rain and the the amount of light that is now reaching ground level.

The Cora Lynne Falls were in full flow when we visited.

The Woods Point Road showed what is must have been like during the fires with large trees crashing onto the road.  This monster had come down and punched a drainage gully into the road where it had fallen.

Activities for a wet Saturday

While James attended a friend's birthday party, Patrick and Sophie came to visit Granny and Pa. Pat conducted a short Graphics Workshop for Sophie while the adults pondered the mysteries of the coffee bean.

This is getting boring!

I emptied the rain gauge yesterday morning and it rained all day. It varied between light showers and persistent heavy rain. It seemed to rain and hail all night as well.  So the gauge this morning showed.


In the last 2 days we have had well over 50 mm of rain (2 inches in the old money). This is more than enough to water the garden. Now a bit of dry would be good. Unfortunately, the forecast is for more rain.
The poor old Bird's Nest fern spent a cold night collecting hail.

Is this really Melbourne?

Well we have had an unusually wet winter and now it looks like we are trying to set records for Spring. It has been pouring down today. For the past few years we have had downpours but today it has been consistently solid rain. The tanks are overflowing and the roof has sprung a leak! Is there anything worse than trying to track down a small leak in the roof? The wise words of Helmut come to mind yet again - "Ian - you have a house, you have a hobby!"

Carri Visits Grandma

Carri came down from Strathmerton to visit Grandma today. She is only 2 weeks away from providing Greg with another grandchild so she did well getting down using public transport. Claire picked her up at the station and took her out to Baradine then returned her to the station to make her way home.


We trust all will go well for the birth. Shane and Marlene are also expecting their second in about 2 weeks.

Another Wet Wednesday

The plan was to get up to Marysville and have a look around now that the town is getting back on its feet after the fires.  The day did not start well.  It had been raining overnight and the rain started again during the morning.  We got as far as Healesville (in the rain) and cloud was closing in over the surrounding hills.

So it was lunch at Wattleseed.

And then a visit to the Rochford Winery on the way home.

Marysville is still on the agenda.  We hope for a better day next time.

Tatty Teddy Comes to Dinner

Tatty Teddy came home for the weekend with Patrick.  He had visited previously with James and he is definitely looking older.  Despite that he assisted in the construction of an aeroplane and seemed to enjoy his dinner.  He returned to school on Monday.

Cooper at 2.5 years

Cooper reached the trigger point for another addition to Granny and Pa's gallery.  There have been a number of attempts to come up with an appropriate photo.  It must be something about the age but all the grandchildren have tended to decline the offer of a photo when they reach two and a half.

The current nominee is

We have yet to move through the approvals process but this is the best so far.

Ringwood Reno

The changes are just about complete at Ringwood.  They have changed the way the house works and the homeowners appear very happy with the results.

Grandma Back at Baradine

Grandma is back home as of yesterday.  During her stay in hospital, a number of tests were conducted and she was given antibiotics for an infection.  The infection cleared and the tests did not show any indicators for cancer so we have no idea why she is unable to eat much.

She is happy to be back in familiar surroundings (even though she is also aggravated by all the fuss)

The Trampoline

One of the favorite pass times for Jack and Cooper is to develop their expertise on the trampoline.  It might be recognised by other members of the family.

Nothing like a little leaping and jumping before books and bed.

The Latest Family Photo

It is a bit of a struggle to get the right photo for Granny and Pa's rogues gallery.  Yesterday we finally managed to get Lachlan's six month photo.  Tried all morning with the big camera without success but in the evening we got this one with the compact camera.  The magic ingredient was to have Jack and Cooper to keep him amused.

Restoration of the Great Lawn

Well, after about 30 years of neglect, we have tried to revive the back yard lawn.

After years of compaction by young children with Billy Carts etc, the ground had set like concrete. We broke up the surface, sprayed the weeds and Huey obliged with some very wet weather. We were then able to break the surface more and add fertilizer and compost. It has now been planted so we will see if we can grow anything more than weeds in future!

Grandma in Hospital

Grandma has not been in good shape for some time. She is only able to eat soups and stewed fruit for weeks. On Tuesday she went to hospital for a series of tests and for rehydration after a series of intestinal problems. We have had no results so far but it is not looking as though much can be done to relieve her situation. We expect that she will be returned home very soon but she is still very frail, even moving around the room requires support from the staff.

Not great news but the worst part is that she is very aware of all that is happening and is hating the situation in which she finds herself.

Card Arrives - Another Triumph for the Postal Service

We are always happy to see large organisations responding to marketplace competition with increased efficiencies and improved services.  In this most recent example a card posted in Sweden on about 15th Sept. made it to the Antipodes on the 6th October.  Sweden must use Volvos, they are slow and safe.

Our thanks to the senders - the card did arrive safely.

We might believe that this was a slow delivery but Sweden still has a bit to learn from Australia Post.  In mid July, I received a Delivery Confirmation Card that had been posted in Perth six months earlier.  One must acknowledge that it is hot, dry work pedaling across the Nullarbor.

Plant Moving Day

As Livingstone Gardens has closed and all the residents moved to Mooroolbark, there was an opportunity to relocate plants from the gardens.  Apparently the place is to be bulldozed so a time was allocated for people to take plants they wanted.

Over a couple of hours we removed a range of plants ranging from succulents to weeping cherries and camelias.  Adam took some from directly outside Grandma's old room.

These have now been planted in a more appropriate location

The plants make a great show in their new location.  We can only hope that they survive the relocation process.  Needless to say, one little puppy will not require rocking to sleep tonight.

Auction

On Saturday morning there was an Auction close by.  It was passed in at $574000 but was sold later in the day.

Grand Final Day - Take 2

The company decided to assemble at for the replay of the Grand Final.  Such was the interest that Kate went shopping, Claire went to visit Grandma, and Lisa decided to weed her garden!

We watched the first quarter but the game was such a walkover that we found sitting on the patio with a drink was preferable to watching the carnage.  Sophie and Cooper preferred Playdoh.

 Jack liked the bike ride.

 And Sophie was happy when Granny turned up.