Things begin to happen on the borders..

I had asked the neighbours if we could cut down a couple of eucalyptus trees, to use as roof beams, but it was complicated. Anyway, they are now all being cut down and sawn into 2.20 m lengths for pulp mill... It will make a big change to our view, and it is quite noisy and messy. We had said that it would be all right to use the bit of land just above the trees, so now it is covered in brash and branches. I had asked them if they could keep back a few poles for me... so we shall see.

I have been planting potatoes and peas and sowing carrot, leek, cabbage, coriander. You never know, they might come up. We have had a lot of heavy showers but when the sun shines it is warm. The compost is steaming away. I am a bit concerned as my source of used straw may be using it all herself! Well, for mulch for her potatoes... So I have been working up the courage to go and make inquiries to buy some. It can be straw that has got wet or has grass growing through it, it's still good for compost.

The days are getting longer and the little daffodils are popping up and smelling sweet. The baby chicks look more like chickens now. They eat what the rest eat and wander around the hillside peeping and cheeping. The other day I found a large mother pig near the hen house. She had been inside and had eaten all the food and knocked over the water and eaten the eggs... Hmph! I don't like that. We chased her and her three babies off the land, but no doubt they will be back. They are left to forage and the owner doesn't seem to care.  R has suggested we take one of the babies and turn it into sausages, etc. but I don't think we will...

The grass is growing and I have been busy weeding. We planted some trees just before Christmas and they are looking well. They have buds on them.

The digging of the foundations is continuing... It is hard work. sometimes it feels hard work just to get down there and get started. But when I get into the swing of it, time passes and mud has been moved (and rocks). I have made it a bit narrow and will probably have to widen it to be bigger than the walls I intend to build on top... Oh, just to think of all the gravel we will have to shift down the hill to fill the trench makes me tremble. But I have collected some larger rocks and think I can use some of them, too.