The Native Iowan

New Year’s resolution stuff “ain’t my bag”, as we used to stay.

With that said, I have thought that I should be better organised, more premeditated with my blogging. Why? For no real reason other than my blog is my diary, my memory, my story. And I do believe life is a collection of stories. And all that is collected; sea shells, dogs, knives, motorcycles, guns, children, dogs, spoons, bells, dogs, glass figurines, cars, children, did I say dogs….

All that is collected, cherished, chosen should be shared and smiled upon.

So, week one of 2024 is all done. 51 more and we’ll be at another New Year.

Again and again, Infinitum.

Today offers a very, very nice, sunny, cool morn. 813am and I’ve been busy, doing stuff, puttering about.

I have commented that sunrise here in QLD, in summer, is 5am, the morning’s glow starts at 4am, the happy bird noises starts at 3am… My mornings start very early.

And thats the good news…

We have had heaps of rain in the past week. Over 300mm/ 12inches. The little stream got up and flooded. Our new road-to-the-back-40 survived its first test very well.

The new swimming hole needs work, but is going to be just what the engineer ordered.

And we have gotten a shit-load of mowing done. Always and all ways mowing to do…

Evidence:

It’s been on the cards a long time, over 2 years… the rebuild of the crossing to the “back-40”, which got washed out well over 24 months ago. Finally “started” it right before Cmas. Idea is to put in the culverts, then dig a swimming hole down stream. Not complete but… Very happy with stage 1…

Then the floods came… I was concerned that our work would be un-done…

Of course the new road becomes a dam, the hydrostatic forces build up and, if all not coool, the dam washes out… The main reason for the dam “going” is that it gets clogged up with debris, making the dam more efficient, increasing the hydrostatic pressures, causing problems… It looks like this…

Though clogged up, all and everything worked well enough, this time. The water found its path, the crossing held very well. The clean up was not fun… It took me a big, dirty, muddy morning to dig all the debris out. A couple trees, a heap of grass that turns into a woven barrier, logs old n young…

First dip in the swimming holes was a complete success…

Here is an ancient piece of root from a long gone tree… dead and buried and forgotten eons ago… excavated by the flood, deposited in my culvert… it was a bitch to dig out… weights about 100lbs, and will make a couple of killer sticks…

You can see its size once in my workshop…

I have a couple sticks on the go… And, very, very cool; the old wood chosen for this next bit of whittling, for shaping and sanding is defying me…

This wood is soooo dense and hard I am struggling to cut it. The cut you see above was done with a big “sabre-saw”. And that one cut cost me one new blade. The blade is rooted after 1 cut. But oooh, what a couple sticks we shall make. I willl get my chainsaws out, with well sharpened rip-chains… and go to work.

It shall be fun.

Mowing is a never ending story…

I think we have well over 20 acres “tamed”. We just opened another old paddock up for mowing. We have more old fences to drag out, and more to tame. its is a never ending story…

It do look extreme but its 100% practical… all the cover. I call it “armour”.

And, whilst mowing, I get to observe so much… here is a pair of very cool “Whistling Ducks”… https://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Dendrocygna-eytoni

If I keep the yard-work up, my farmer’s-tan will be perfect…

And the beat goes on…

More later

Smiles all around