Settling in- Buying a house to live in, ..and moving AGAIN!

[keith]

well, six weeks after the offers were accepted, we signed cheques for half a million and then it was move time again!


although some of us didn't take it too seriously!


After a few days of ute trips the big truck came-


Lovely house, but those gardens don't look like me!!


We bought it for the "swamp" at the back. Aussie doesn't have real swamps, but this will do- there are a couple of little streams running through the gully there.

[keith]

The house layout is just great! All the living areas are at the back, facing North (Orange is colder than it is hotter!) with a nice view from being two storeys high.


This is East-


This is more North-


and this is West-


and THIS is lying in bed! Through the gap in the leaves I can see where the ring road around Orange to the North joins the older North road, and see the lights of the trucks at night. That's the strawberry garden inside the avairy!

[keith]

This was the lounge when we bought it-


and now it looks like this-


we live in the office of course


with the garage through one door & the dining/kitchen through the other. The other two walls are mainly glass, to the East and a sliding door North.


Our first meal! Fish & chips with wine!


The local birds are most upset, as the previous owner (who built the house) didn't have cats or dogs-


So, now we have time to return to shooting. Unfortunately the first time we went was the last shoot of the year.. and it poured!!! That is rain that is causing the faint streaks in the air, and those are raindrops on the end of the barrel! So the first three weeks of December have already made it one of the wettest, just as Ken Ring predicted a couple of years ago on predictweather.com The drought has broken this year!

[keith]

Well, with Christmas out the way and New Year just gone we are settling in and mostly unpacked.

Today we were standing on the deck when two cockatoos flew into the walnut tree with all the noise and rioting that accompany them.


We are standing two storeys high, and the tree is a good three storeys high, but it took no time for Asti & Merlot to suddenly be interested.


One cockatoo left, but the other was tougher, and Merlot was keen...


However, once she was within a couple of metres the second cocky flew off to the gumtrees next door to sit there and swear at the cats...


Neal, whom we bought the house from, said the cockatoos come every year and raid the walnuts. It might be harder this year!

[keith]

This morning we found a guest in the aluminium kitchen window. He has legs so he is most welcome, although being only about 70mm long he is fruit-fly sized, not housefly sized!



Then in the lemon tree we found caterpillars.. about the size of my little finger! A few young ones..


and half a dozen mature ones. We will try and secure a chrysalis to see what they turn into, but whatever it is they will be big!