Vonnie

When we bought our house it was a typical middle class suburban dwelling with a similar garden. We quickly proceeded to change all this. Out with the sick Camellias and in with healthy apples, a Feijoa and a Persimmon. Stuff the lawn, it produces nothing and has to be cut, so it became a vegetable garden. The place was already looking ethnic. As "man does not live on bread alone", we put in some annuals and perennials for colour. We then tackled the backyard. Fortunately, it did have a large garden and some some fruit trees. Again, out with the sick, and in with some new. We how have a small orchard of thirteen very productive fruit trees. Next the vegetable garden extensions!! Firstly we built two very large compost bins and got all the neighbours garden scraps and lawn clippings. We then got three chooks for eggs and fertilizer. I suspect that by now the neighbours were a little concerned by the hippies in number 20!! Within a year we had doubled the garden space with non hybrid vegetable plants and now, during the spring/summer months, we are virtually self supporting. Being vegetarians helps. Next came the bees. Two hives are plenty and we now have our own pollinating source plus more honey than you would believe. The excess usually becomes wine/mead!!

Then came the pool!! We used the pool maybe ten times a year and it took a little work, but a lot of space. It's now in the process of becoming our Japanese garden/retreat, complete with gold fish, Bonsai and, one day, a bridge. All we have to do now is to repaint the house, but who wants to paint houses when there are sailplanes to fly, and stinkplanes to jump from!! As the Buddhists say, 'nothing is permanant' so after discovering that I had cancer we've decided that city life, whilst having some advantages, sucks. We sold our home in the city and will finally move to our land in the country. It's a big step but the lack of work plus the pace of life in the city has finally broken us and we can live in the Goulburn Valley, close to the glider field and Nagambie dropzone. We'll do a lot less work here, have a small garden, some more chooks, bees and dogs. The rest will be native trees. The best part is a total lack of uncontrolled city dogs which bark all night. Wait for the pics of our galvanised, corrugated steel, Glenn Murcutt inspired home as it proceeds. This could take some time and in the interim we'll be 'living' in a shed and a small caravan. Well, here we are fourteen months later and the house is finished,we're living in it and have more chooks plus a rooster. It's a change from the shed and van but we miss some aspests of that life. Now we have insulation, noise suppression and a very effective heater. It was sometimes cold in the shed.

Vonnie and me

Chooks taking liberties, and dog food!!

Summer extension

The front garden. Stage 2.

A crop of old-fashion Tomatoes. The cucumber is 77cm long.

Kirwans Bridge from the rv6.

Under construction. I'm in the yellow shirt. January 2002

View from the back door. The flooring is all second hand from five different houses.

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Last update August 2002.