Sunshine!

That's what we've had these last two days...until this morning, when I awoke to the sound of wind, wind, wind. It looks to be a blustery one!

But, we've got great farm news going on here. Our first bona fide sunshiney day here was a boon of productivity. We finished potting the viable bamboo seedlings, mixed up a special chicken poop/lime and dirt mixture and planted zucchinis, button squash, basil and, uh...cucumbers! I made sure at least half the flat (of about 65 dirt-filled tubes) was basil. Pronounce it baah-zil, like an Australian. Now say it again. Makes you smile, eh?

Then we watered, and I scattered amaranth seed all over the back bare area where the Volvo is, and where the blackberries used to be. Amaranth is nitrogen-fixing with a deep root structure – super-great for this soil! Plus, we can eat the seeds! After I seeded, I raked dirt around and hopefully over the tiny things, and then we scythed a ton of bracken and piled that on top of the amaranth as mulch. We could probably spend twice as much time covering it with more mulch, but well, you get tired. I gotta say, swinging that scythe – just like a golf club! - was very satisfying. It reminded me of whacking fiddleheads in Oregon in the springtime, and I remembered that Tiger Woods is a taiji practitioner, so I focused on swinging from my legs out through my arms. It got to be a nice rhythm. As I was swinging, I wondered if Tyler had a certain way he did it, and if I was doing it 'right.' Then I realized that however I was scything was the right way until I figured out a better way or until someone showed me a better way. Here I was, waiting for approval from someone – anyone – when all I have to do is approve of myself!

I love and approve of myself.

There. I've been approved of! That was simple!

We pulled weeds around the broadbeans (really big beans I've forgotten the American term for) and I got to play in the kitchen quite a bit. We installed a new shelf in the kitchen and I swept up and cleared off and wiped and tidied and arranged a bit – all quite satisfying. And then everyone headed down the hill to Aunty Bev's house (where they've been staying all winter and where half their stuff is) and I stayed, excited to have a bit of time by myself. Since the day had been quite warm, the solar shower was warm...and I took the shower of initiation! It certainly felt good, even when the wind nipped around and scattered goose bumps across my skin. And it worked! How nice.

It was so quiet on the block without Solomon's incessant questions and declarations, I almost felt at a loss. I gave myself time to meditate, but found I was just having conversations with Solomon in my head – they went something like this: “Can I have a treat?” “Not now, finish your lunch.” “But I have finished my lunch!” “Then why is there food in your bowl?” “There isn't! I want a treat!” “I can see food in your bowl right now.” “I want a treat!” And so on. So I took a walk around through the garden, surveyed all the plants we'd cared for during the day, looked at Della's pumpkin seedlings erupting green shoots through the soil, walked over to our potato patch and then up to the rise above the shed, watching the almost-full moon rise over the Eucalyptus plantation next door.

What a beautiful day!

That was by far the latest I've stayed up here as well – all the way til 9:30, and the light was just fading outside.

That's one thing I'm getting used to is how light it's getting and staying! At 5 pm the sun is still high in the sky, and I'm used to it getting dark around six or seven. I think the long days will be ideal – already we're planning to work early and late and siesta in the middle. It'll keep us out of the main heat and radiation of the day as well.

Then, yesterday dawned beautifully clear and even a bit warm as well – how wonderful! This is the day we were going to attach the plow to the tractor and really start planting potatoes! Well, it worked out that we didn't have car keys to drive down and meet Della at the farm, so the three of us (Tyler, Solomon and I) walked down the back way on dirt farm roads to get to the farm. What a beautiful and toasty day! Sun shining, birds singing, Solomon lagging behind, people singing and hooting and hollering (that was us) and making our merry way downhill. I checked how long it took when we got back to the farm – an hour and a half! I enjoyed it so much it didn't feel that long, but the other night Tyler had driven the tractor down and walked back up all in about an hour. Whew! Long legs! I could've dawdled much more than we did on the way down, too. There was a pond, and we passed a paddock of sheep where they've left bits of wool, and along the Eucalyptus plantations there are strips of bark hanging off the trees to gather – a fiber-workers dream! I've been wondering if the Aborigines used the bark for anything – baskets, sandals...who knows? The white settlers killed them all off anyway.

While Tyler tried to muscle the plow onto a bent hydraulic arm – he eventually used a crow bar and a hammer, which worked – I read the local paper, saw that it was slated to rain again today, and looked at the four comics they include. Della brought out a book called “Growing Vegetables South of Australia” by a former Oregonian named Steve Solomon. Della and Tyler have visited this guy, who's from Portland and a former Scientologist (who still believes the stuff, just is out of the cult) and from reading the introduction to his book, it looks like he's pretty scientific with his methods – very meticulous. He says the climates of Oregon and Tasmania are very similar, and recommends a website called soilandhealth.org, which is an online library he's created that has tons of information about composting , mulching, health and longevity, and other stuff. It sounds cool and as soon as I have internet access I'm going to check it out. His theory for longevity goes like this: Health=Nutrition/Calories. He recommends eating high-nutrition, low calorie foods. From their visit, Della said he's very much a fan of eating until you're 80% full, and is still concerned with calories. Apparently he lives on kale. In the book he says, “you would have to chew until your jaw got sore and you still might lose weight. But you would certainly become a well-nourished, long-lived scarecrow.”

Kale, anyone?

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this personable book.

Today's a big day as well, despite the blustering wind. Tyler's spent the morning adjusting the plow and getting ready to break some ground, and everyone's out there now, watching the momentus event. I'm in here, enjoying my own thoughts again, remembering a couple more things that I find funny.

Chicken are 'chooks'

Wallabies and poteroos come out at dusk, and if I happen to be walking along the road or go out toward the bracken-covered part of the field, I'll hear the hoppers pounding away into the night. In the morning things have been browsed down, including any seedlings that were left out of the electric fence, and little droppings are scattered around. As we came home right at dusk one night, we saw at least 6 jumping things bouncing out of the way of the Ute.

All pickups (including el camino-type cars, which are quite popular here) are 'Ute's' and semi's are trucks

Coming up the driveway there were even more of them – probably 25 in all. They are the main challenge to farming here, along with possums, and both of them are just about the cutest things. Down at the farm Aunty Bev caught a mama and a baby possum in a trap – I saw them curled up in the corner, mama protecting her baby and looking at me with unblinking filbert-shaped black eyes. I think I saw what was left of one alongside the road. The first thing that struck me was the hand – five fingers, just like a little kid's.

They have mixed drinks in cans here, like Jack Daniel's and Coke. They're called Alcopops. About 5% alcohol, like having a beer.

I'm not kidding. I can't believe the US doesn't have these yet!

Last note: Haven't been able to get pictures to upload very easily. Maybe when I have more time to figure it out. As it is, a trip to town is a big deal, and things need to get done!