6 months in Bathurst and still going strong.......

We have been in Bathurst now for 6 months and it has been 4 months or so since the last blog so here is what has been happening. And remember you can click on the pictures to look at a larger copy.

Well the middle of winter has arrived and we look forward to thing starting to warm up in the next few months. But it has not been as cold as we thought it would be and we were right. July and August daytime temperatures were an average of 2 degrees warmer then the long-term average and in September was 3.5 degrees warmer. The overnight temperatures were about normal.

Frost on Vegie patch in July

Peas in early October

Spinach and Lettuce late October

Carrots and Peas - late October

Joy started pruning the fruit trees  in late July but she was not sure how hard to prune them but they have all survived and have blossomed and now have fruit on them.



Apricot Blossoms and the hard working bees

Apricot Blossoms



Apricots but most have dropped off now

Fruit trees and vegie patch in the backyard

We have done a few day trips including Chifley Dam and Millthorpe.

Chifley Dam



Chifley Dam outlet

Millthorpe

Joy has been “working” at Rankin Cottage Craft. She has some of her craft things for sale in the cottage and the amount of commission they take is reduced if you “work” in the cottage so Joy does ½ day (4 hours) about once a week at the cottage.
Joy is still playing Tennis once a week and going to the Gym for Exercise classes once a week.
Les had started building his plastic models again and doing some work for his previous employer.

In Mid August we had a few very cold days and when Joy’s niece, Kate, was visiting it snowed on the peaks around Bathurst (but not in Bathurst or our place) so we piled in the car and headed up the road to have a look.

Snow on hills viewed from backyard

During her stay they went into town for coffee and ended up in the local paper.

Celebrities

To celebrate our wedding anniversary we did the “Zoofari” at Taronga Western Plains  Zoo at Dubbo. The first day you get an afternoon tour, dinner and a night tour. Overnight in Permanent tents in the zoo and then a morning tour followed by Breakfast.

You can train cats, even big ones. The lion has to sit on the wood otherwise no food!!!

Home for the night

We then had the day at the zoo with free bike hire. First time we have ridden bikes for some time!

My what a big tongue you have.......

Meerkat on the lookout

Meerkat "flat out" (is this like "Planking")

And what are you??????

 

 



Yes mum I am eating my greens! (Eating Broccoli)

 


Very young baby. Hasn't learnt which way is up yet!



Well I was thirsty!!!!

We then stayed in Dubbo that night and came home via the back roads and Burrendong Dam near Wellington.

Canola Field

We had a friend visit from Sydney for the weekend in September and did a drive to Oberon to look at the Daffodil farm. We went via a Holiday Ranch where she used to visit when she was a child. She says it has not changed all that much. Also got to show her an Echidna (first time she has seen one in the wild) and baby ducklings.

At the end of September we went to an open day at Errowanbang Woolshed near Carcoar. Great old woolshed and we were given a tour and Les ended up on TV!!!

 

Les (Grey shirt taking photo) as seen on the local WIN News

We also decided to go to Cowra to look at the Japanese Gardens in Spring. We took the scenic route via Bigga, passing a Native Grass Tree Forest (one of Joy’s favourite plants)  and Wyangala Dam where we had lunch and a walk to the top of the hills overlooking the dam. Steep but worth the effort to see the Balancing Rocks and the Dam.

Greentree Forest

 

 

Wyangala Dam Wall



Balancing Rocks. They look very big and thick.....

...but they are actually fairly thin!!



Wyangala Dam



Wyangala Dam

 

Make sure you get my good side!!!!

 Stayed in Cowra overnight and visited the Info Centre/Rose Gardens and watched the “Cowra Breakout Hologram” (at the Info Centre) which is well worth a look if you are in the area. It runs for about 10 minutes and is shown every 15/20 minutes.

Rose Garden, Cowra



Cowra Lookout

From here we went to the Japanese Gardens and spent just over an hour wandering around the gardens and feeding the ducks and fish. Had lunch at the café and then headed home.

We survived our first “Bathurst 1000” in Bathurst and it was interesting. We kept away from the track and the town as much as we could so other then a bit of background noise (sounds like a swam of Bees) the only effect on us was the increased helicopters flying over the house and Les spending 1 ½ days in front of the TV!!!


Jet heading towards Mt Panorma

Roulettes over Mt Panorama

Compare the Roulettes photo above with the Smoke from the Lithgow fires (in mid/late Oct).
Cannot even see the outline of Mt Panorama
 

 We have had solar panels installed on the roof and we now have to wait for the meter to be configured. This means we are getting power from the panels but are not receiving the rebate for the excess going back to the grid until the meter is configured. We have worked out we will save about $1.20 per day (plus what ever we will get once the excess goes into the grid). So not much but at that rate we should pay for the panels in about 7 years which we think is pretty good. So now we have solar power, vegie garden, compost and Joy makes her own laundry detergent, soap and deodorant. What is next? We are researching eco friendly home made insect repellent. We will keep you posted on how we go..
Les has also started doing some plans for our next holiday but the problem is where to go, for how long and when.  He has also started at the Bowling Club and has been once to practice.

Some of the birds that visit us.

Even though we have not had much rain (about 1/3 of the normal rain over the last 3 months) we have had some interesting clouds

The greenhouse has worked well and Les still has his Orchids (well all but 1 and we will see if it will come back)