First week at Bluebirds Farmhouse.

We have moved!  So here we are at Bluebirds Farmhouse!  It is early days.

Last Friday was moving day.  I thought the day would never come.  There was so much to do in order to get our city house ready to sell.  There were plenty of times I thought it would take forever and so much to do I just never knew what to do next!  These times I just remembered to "do the next thing." When you don't know what to do honestly anything will help so just do SOMETHING. Sooner or later all the little bits add up.

Friday morning we got up early and I finished wiping things down and basically mopped the floor as we went out.  The van was full!  And we headed off with four chickens and a parrot!  That was some load I have to say. I doubt we could have fitted in a match at that point.

So off we went!  It was a BEAUTIFUL day.   The trip is three hours.  The closer we got to the farm the greener and more beautiful it was!  Ricky (the parrot) seemed to actually enjoy the ride.

As soon as we arrived we both felt we were home.  We were so excited!  And each day ever since has been an adventure!
It is so peaceful.   The birds and sounds are beautiful.

We got the van unpacked right away, bed set up and made. We had a picnic like dinner as we did last time.  I had shopped for a week and carefully put all the food away hoping I had not forgotten anything!  I have to get used to no close by shops.  You have to think of everything.

Saturday morning we hit the ground running.  We unpacked so much that day!  We have with us probably 80% of our stuff.  In the Adelaide house we have left some of the best things to make the house look lovely to sell.  So we have no table, chairs or lounge!  Or TV.   Well, we have a TV but it doesn't work.  And we have not once thought to sit down and watch it anyhow.   Each evening we have had a bonfire and a pretty early night.

The first day Luke came over to see us with his trailer.  He helped Andy load up three huge loads of rubbish around the place.  This was some stuff from renovations and general junk others had left behind. 

This was a big help and then Luke took Andy to find the dump... farms have their own dump and that is where you take your rubbish.  This isn't much as all scraps and organic things are fed to animals or compost, all burnable stuff is burned...

On Sunday Chloe came over and so did Mum.  Mum had not seen inside the house before.  So she got the royal tour.  She arrived with a bunch of fresh bay leaves for the pantry.

In earlier posts I explained we have a lot to clean up and fuel reduction to do before the summer fire season.  And only about a month before fire bans start.   Fires are our greatest worry really.  So behind the house there are too many dead trees and mess that needs cleaning up.  We started straight away.   Every night we have had a bonfire.  It has been hard work but I have loved it!   And we can see the difference!

My nephew James turned up.  He could see what needed doing.  Since he has come most nights after work and helped us.  

Andy and James have the chainsaws going.  So much for the serenity lol.  As you can see we are removing the absolute dead stuff.

We cut up the good firewood and stack it.  Then the scraps and unsuitable stuff becomes that nights bonfire.

With James helping some of them have been enormous!  We have one pile we are saving up for the biggest of them all maybe next week.   The next morning when I wash my hair I notice how smokey it smells! 

While outside at night I notice how incredible the stars and moon look.  The full sky with no lights from anywhere is amazing.  Most nights have been clear so we have really noticed this.

Another adventure.... there was a giant beehive in a tree literally three meters from the back door.  By large I mean huge huge, huge!   We would not use the back door that is for sure.   A beekeeper came and relocated them for us.

This was the view from the back window!  I have to say it was compelling viewing too.  The beekeeper had heavy metal music playing.  Not calming I wouldn't have thought...

The bees were NOT GRATEFUL for being re located.  The next two days the remainder attacked us all.  Andy got three bites, I got one and the builders who came back to finish some work outside all went home!  

Finally the bee problem is over!

I had a goal to unpack everything before we head back to Adelaide.  We need to water the Adelaide garden and tidy up for house inspections... plus of course see the girls.  So I gave myself five days to unpack.  And I did it!  Most things are some kind of work in progress but the kitchen, wardrobes, pantry and so on are unpacked.

I figure if I wait to show things when they are perfect it will never happen so this is my pantry to date.   I am really happy with it though.

By sheer luck (rather than good planning)  many of my baskets fit perfectly into the shelves.  The baskets are all labelled... tinned fruit, tinned soup, corn, packets, rice, pasta and so on. 

At this point I felt that finally I could see all the work I did before like washing and labelling all my jars,  stocking up loads etc all was paying off.  On day 5 I had a pretty well stocked pantry.

I also started working on my medical cupboard.  This has a way to go and needs labels but I have medical books at the top, bandages, ointments and disinfectant etc all in drawers.  Essential oils on top.   I need a shelf yet for medicines.  Over the counter things are in containers and stacked.

I will keep working on this but it is pretty well stocked.  I had a helper when Belle posted me so many supplies.

Next I started on an emergency preparedness cabinet.  That has a long way to go but it has candles, matches, torches, lanterns, gas cook tops, a fry pan that will run on the generator and so on.

I have started working on a new routine.  One thing is in the morning I walk up to the chicken house. This is quite a distance from the house.  I carry a basket with the chicken feed and household scraps.  On the way back I fill that basket with pinecones.  I don't know the type of pine tree but they are the largest pinecones I have ever seen.  They are literally the size of your head.  I am filling baskets with them for next years fire starters.   Some sit near the new fire as they look lovely.

I figure this part of my routine will keep us in kindling always!

Each day we make discoveries.  There is a small yard fully fenced.  It has a little shed like it could be a yard for a goat or sheep.  It has a tap in the middle and old trees that look like ancient fruit trees... we will see what they are soon.   This is the perfect place to plant my orchard! 

We started cleaning that up.  The tap in the middle is ground water and it drips.  There is a large dip there so I am going to plant pumpkins in that.  I have wanted a pumpkin patch for years.  So this weekend I am planting!   I think I will have to make a surround as there are rabbits....

I would like a goat but Andy isn't sold on this idea... yet.  Chloe would like an Alpaca but Luke ins't sold on that idea yet either!  🐐

Next week I might get some laying hens.  Chloe sent me a link to a local guy who is selling some point of lay red hens.  So maybe!  I need to find some nesting boxes... but one of the old sheds will have something I can use.

The main thing is every morning we wake up so excited for the day!  And every evening we fall into bed so pleased with what we achieved and happy and tired. 

There is a deck to the front.  Andy calls it the landing as that sounds posh lol  

This is where we discuss the day and plan the next.   

Even as I do dishes at the kitchen sink I can see fifty or sixty white cockatoos out the front eating something in the grass.   I have had Galah's sitting on the railing of the deck too.

So after almost a week this is where we are.  Without much furniture it is a bit like camping but we have our good new bed!  It is so comfy to get into after a long day. 

We saved money in a lot of ways.  I had saved $2 coins in a jar for a couple of years as I heard a coke bottle full of these adds up to $1000.  Not having a coke bottle I used a jar.  I thought now is the time to cash it in.  It was so heavy!  I went into the bank and it was $1500!  This has been really handy just now.

We moved ourselves and hired a truck which Andy drove.... plus about six trips in the van.

We kept the old stove and original kitchen. I have new counter tops and splash backs coming but otherwise we kept it all original.  Most we cleaned and stripped back the house (i.e. removing old carpets) rather than add things.  

We have increased our preparedness a lot!  Now we have ground water and rain water.  Wood fires that I can cook on and heat water.   Lots of fuel for them from all the dead trees we are cutting up.  We have plugs in the house so that if the power goes out we just turn our generator on and change plugs.  As we get more set up and get the veggies in, the laying hens, the pumpkin patch this all gets better and better! 

So it was really my biggest week of feathering our nest ever.  Starting a new nest!  

I intended to post as a new blog but just cannot get it to work so here we are in the same place!   And to everyone I normally email please accept this as my correspondence as I am unable to keep up with much else just now.  Also thank you to everyone who commented on Laine's Letter.  I have not been able to reply as I normally would, but thank you!

Now we have come back to Adelaide to get the house ready for inspections this weekend, water the garden, see the girls and do a grocery shop.  It is time to take a breath and consider our second week at the farmhouse.  I know we did a lot in one week!  It was a wonderful start!  As each thing comes together it is so nice! 

I hope you have had a good week. How did you get ahead, build up your home or save?

I will go back to posting Feather your Nest Fridays and some other posts I have in mind.

Many Bluebirds and millions of others are threatened right now by a hurricane.  I have heard especially from Pasty how they have been preparing.  They could really use prayers now.