Look Who Has Arrived

Much to the delight of the girls we decided to purchase 2 day old chicks from a property in Murrumbateman, a 30min drive out of Canberra. There were a variety of cute looking breeds to choose from including both full sized and bantam chickens.

After reserving 5 chicks online, we received the nod that all was good to come and pick up the chicks on Sunday morning. Armed with a box, we arrived at the property in rush hour! There were 2 customers before us choosing their chicks and another arrived just after us.

Obviously these people had a passion for breeding chickens. Their stock included Wyandottes - Silver Laced, Silver Pencilled, Partridge; Australorps; Silkies; Naked Necks; Sussex; Plymouth Rock; Vorwerk (very expensive); Pekin; Polish plus Indian Runner Ducks! Curious to know more about the types of breeds, we were given a tour of their chicken pens by the teenage daughter who answer all of our questions. She was also breeding turkeys!

After doing the rounds and realising not all the chicks were taken we revised our order. The girls then chose 2 x Silver Laced Wyandottes (full sized), 1 x Partridge Wyandotte bantam, 1 x Silver Pencilled Wyandotte bantam and 1 x Blue Australorp bantam. The lady then asked if she could throw in a mystery chick who was suppose to be a Naked neck but had hatched with feathers around it's neck. The girls were very happy to have another chick.


And so on the drive home, the chicks were all named - Maple, Jasmine (Ella's) Rosemary, Willow (Katy's), Clover (Nat's) and Mystery (Andy's)! Now we just have to wait for another 6 weeks before we can tell who is a hen and who is a rooster!!! There might be some tears!!

News got around that the chicks had arrived at our home. Over the course of the afternoon we had a total of 20 visitors all wanting to hold these gorgeous balls of fluff. If only I'd thought of charging a patting fee, I may have recouped what we'd paid for them!!

Spring Sc-ore.

Both girls have entered the Spring Sc-ore. It's a school based orienteering relay team challenge held over 4 Thursday mornings this term. The competition begins at 8am and concludes 30 mins later allowing us to get back to school in time for the bell. Each week brings a new school to explore!

Ella is with her original team from last Sc-ore event - the Aranda Antelopes which includes Elye, Owen and Emma. Katy has joined forces with her Year 2 buddies - Mira, Connor and Hayden and are known as the Aranda Bandicoots.

The first event was held at North Ainslie Primary School. With 35 teams racing in a very small area, it was chaotic. There were lots of smiles and just as many lost children. Most of them found their way thanks to the numerous adult helpers out on the course. When asked how her first Sc-ore race was Katy replied 'It was fun but I got a bit lost so I just asked the adults at most of the controls!' Looks like we have a some work to do :)

Garden Going Strong

The vegie patch is looking rather good at the moment! Snow peas are abundant and taste amazingly crisp. The raspberries are going great guns, with new shoots sprouting. The potatoes have emerged and the broad beans are maturing. The rhubarb is growing nice red stalks from which I would like to make jam. The asparagus had one spear only and am hoping more will appear soon.  Looks like I may actually get a few decent broccoli or broccolini (can't remember what I planted) hopefully before it goes to seed.

Last weekend I planted several tomatoes plants along with green beans, zucchini, capsicum and an eggplant. All of which are doing well.

Killer Kowalski

In early July, Cath and I committed to participating in the Kowalski Classic mountain bike race. We did the 25km last year and this year signed up for the 50km. It was to be the last ever Kowalski Classic as the pines at Kowen are being harvested and as a result the mountain bike trails are to be lost.

We believed that our Centenary trail adventure would be a good base from which could build onto. Plus Monday's when neither of us work meant we could head out for more bike rides. The first part of our plan was executed well unlike the second part. Mondays were interrupted with life, work and public holidays and we didn't get around to riding as much as we had wanted.

October rolled around and I was becoming more nervous about having to ride the 50km under prepared. Nevertheless we decided to approach it as another adventure!

Sunday dawned a little chilly but with the promise of sunny warm dry conditions. Perfect weather for our ride. Allocated in wave 3, we positioned ourselves towards the back of the line at 8.45am ready for the briefing and 9am start. Unfortunately we didn't realise how far back we were and that the line had a large dogleg.

With 50ish riders going off every 5 minutes, and wave 3 containing the majority of the 600 riders participating in the 50km distance, we didn't end up starting for an hour! Had we known this we would of happily gone off for a coffee and kept warm!

Eventually we started. It took a little while to sort ourselves out in relation to other riders but we soon found our own little bubble as Cath called it. The riding was fun and the first 10km ticked by quickly and easily. We came across a lady who had an impressive crash on a tight downhill corner. After untangling her from her bike, she fortunately came away without any serious injuries.

For the next 10km the course was great especially a section weaving through the lines of the pine trees. After a break along the fire trails, we entered a tough area. The trails here were made according to Patrick by motorbikes - very bumpy with steep pinches up and down. I found it hard riding spending lots of time getting on and off my bike.

At this point I also felt sick from the lollies I had had earlier. Water wasn't helping either. Struggling on, we then hit the hill known as Excesscalator. It was full of sharp rocks and tight uphill corners. Too  technical for me and again I spent quite a bit of time walking. Cath was going much better. Her recent MTBO events had helped and so she patiently waited at the top for me to catch up.

Back on the bike at the top I was focussing on making it to the 32km feed station with thoughts of perhaps pulling the pin if things didn't improve. Music echoed through the forest lifting my spirits but it turned out to be a few more km's before the feed station actually appeared. We stopped to consume some of the food on offer. The watermelon hit the spot!

From here, there were a few long mostly downhill fire trail sections and before we knew it we were at the top of the Romper Room descent. This is the track that Susie had stacked on a few weeks earlier making us scared!! We made it down having to hop off a few times but neither of us crashed so that was good.

At the bottom was the final, impossible hill aptly known as Stairway to Heaven. I'm not sure how people actually ride up this. I found it impossible and walked most of it. Cath had another good crack which was fuelled by her crankiness of the difficulty and did an awesome job of riding a good portion of it. Again very nicely she rested at the top until I appeared again!

It was then an easy roll over the last few km's before popping back out in the paddock and across the finish line. The 50km took us just over 5 hours which included the 20mins or so rest at the feed station. So glad to have survived this one! The post ride hot chips, coke and coffee were much appreciated!

Saturday Fun

Got to love Saturdays. We're down at the local oval by 9am where we spend a few hours helping and watching the girls participate in their athletic events for the day. Next it's on to the coffee shop for a post athletics coffee and catch up with friends who have also been at athletics. The kids play while we chit chat!








Last weekend we had a few extra girls. Both Mia and Aoife come for a sleepover while Katy disappeared over to Mira's house for the night. The older girls spent a considerable amount of time dancing to Just Dance videos.

Going, going... well almost gone!

Several months ago on a still night we were watching TV when suddenly the power surged on and off a few times at the same time as a loud crashing/zapping noise was heard coming from out the back. Thinking a possum had over stepped the mark on the powerlines, Andy and I headed out to investigate. With our torches lighting up the yard, there was no possum dead or alive in sight.

Confused by what was going on, we were about to come back inside when our neighbour (across the back fence diagonally from us) called out. They'd come out too trying to find the cause of the power surge. From their lounge room window, they said they could see sparks arcing off the powerlines!! The mystery deepened! Then from the darkness another neighbours voice floated across the fence wondering what was going on. According to them all was ok on their side of the fence.

So there we were having a late night over the fence catch up, when someone noticed a large branch covering most of our over the back fence neighbours yard at which point he appeared as well! He inspected the damage with very little to say, and we concluded the branch dropped hitting the powerlines as it fell and thankfully not pulling them down in the process!

We're not sure of the species of this beautiful big eucalypts tree but we have often watched it bend quite violently in stormy weather wondering if would survive and it always did. So it came as a big surprise to find a branch dropping off on an extremely still night.

The neighbours purposely left the branch sprawled across there backyard so that the appropriate tree authority could see and assess the risk in the hope that it was deemed dangerous and could be removed. And in due time we received a letter stating exactly that and informing us that permission had been granted to have it removed. We were both happy and sad about this prospect. It's a gorgeous tree which provides shelter and food for many birds. During the flowering season, the noise from the birds is very loud but also wonderful. On the other hand, while the birds are merrily eating they are also pooping... right on to our washing!!

I can't say the back neighbours are great gardeners so we did wonder if and when this removal would take place. Time ticked by with the branch still lying across their garden. Every time I hung out the washing beneath the powerlines and branches I'd say a little prayer hoping a branch wouldn't silently fall and squash me!!

Then last week I arrived home to see a guy roped up high in the tree with his spiky shoes on and a chainsaw hanging from his belt!! The process had begun! He gave us a wave and we watched in awe of his ability to rope a branch, cut it and lower it seemingly effortlessly with such precision to the ground.  In between cuts, I managed to have a chat to him in hope to secure some of the timber for our wood fire for next year. That wasn't a problem he replied.

We had expected the job to be completed within a few days (and to have some free firewood) but that hasn't been the case. Progress has halted with the tree looking now like this. At least I'm more comfortable with hang out the washing now.

Something is Missing...

The new fox proof coop is finished! All we need are the chickens which we are picking up tomorrow. Needless to say the girls are VERY excited. I'm just hoping as they are unsexed 2 day old chicks that there are more hens than roosters!

Summer Sports

This past week has seen the beginning of the girls summer sports - Little Athletics, cricket and Sc-ore.  Ella is the only one playing cricket which involves training for an hour on Wednesdays and a limited overs game on Friday afternoons. Here are some moments of Ella bowling and batting.

For Katy (and us), it's a long time waiting around so on Ella's first training session I dragged Katy out for a run through Kaleen along the stormwater drain. On game night, Katy usually finds another younger sibling to play with!

Heart Palpitations at the Granite Tors

One of the reasons to escape for the weekend was to do a bit of walking. Initially we were considering doing a decent overnight hike but for various excuses decided on a more sedate day hike. The overnight temperature plummeted which made for a restless cold nights sleep. A game of frisbee golf followed by eggs and bacon improved the start to the frosty morning.

We had selected the 7km Granite Tors as our day hike. Beginning at Orroral Tracking station, the walk was mostly along a fire trail but involved a 400m climb. As we left the tracking station, Ella recorded our names in the walking register. It wasn't long before we began peeling our layers off. It was fairly slow going as we trudged uphill. Thankfully a few lolly stops helped combined with some rock clambering to keep everyone happy.

There were several other groups of people enjoying the beautiful blue skies and warm weather. They were all much faster than us probably because they didn't have little people in tow. Thankfully we finally came across a small trail with newly well built stairs heading off the main track into the scrub. A quick conference decided that we should explore this little track. Within a few minutes we were in awe of the huge granite boulders perched on top of the ridge with spectacular views of Orroral Valley.

A perfect lunch spot! Post lunch meant it was time to explore. Here is where my heart palpitations began, watching our sure footed eldest daughter leap from rock to rock completely unconcerned about the steep drops! I couldn't convince everyone fastest enough to continue on our journey towards the geodetic dome.

Taking the small track, we wandered along the top of the ridge passing more huge rocky outcrops for a short distance before the dome roof of the observatory came into view. Built in 1974, this building housed a 10m telescope and laser. From the laser, pulses were fired to the moon and bounced back again via retroreflector mirrors place on the moon's surface by the Apollo astronauts. This provided information about the motion of the moon, the rotational wobbles of the earth, continental drift and theory of relativity. The observatory closed in 1998 when the facilities were transferred to Mount Stromlo.

Just beyond the geodetic dome was a wonderful lookout providing more spectacular views over the valley. We could almost see our car! The return walk as expected was faster and easier although the steep downhill gave our quads a good workout. Back at the car, Andy decided on running back to the campsite while the girls and I drove. With the warm conditions, we headed down to the Orroral River to have a very refreshing splash in the icy water. A top way to finish the day.

Camping Close By

Opting not to travel to Bathurst and Hill End for the National Orienteering Champs, we remained at home working for the school holidays until the last weekend where we escaped for a mini camping break.

Travelling only 60km south of Canberra, we arrived at the Orroral Campground at 4ish on Friday afternoon. A quick recce of the camping area saw us choose an elevated site with great rocks and trees to climb nearby.

We took advantage of the gas BBQ to cook our hamburger patties before lightning a fire on which we roasted our very sticky damper on sticks. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the wind picked up the temperature dropped rapidly and we soon all retreated into the tent.

Fun at Floride

On their Nana school holiday day, the girls were lucky to enjoy a sunny day at Floride. With a picnic in hand, the girls participated in the usual... gnome painting, looking at the flowers, flowers and more flowers; going on the ferriswheel (Katy); going in an inflatable bubble (Ella); big slide ride (both); admiring the many sculptures including the impressive Horizon, a water filled clear ball that inverts the surrounding environment and finished off with an ice cream. A lovely day out.