Sometimes when you turn around in Liz’s kitchen you’ll find Jack standing there waiting for his bottle. You never know when he’ll turn up. Liz has been feeding him a bottle of milk. He sucks down about a quart of milk non-stop in about 2 minutes. Then he’ll get a carrot. While drinking or eating, he’ll grab hold of your finger to help keep his balance. He has very sharp claws! He is very cute, though. No one knows how long he’ll stick around. He would have been weaned by now so continuing to feed him by bottle may keep him coming back. He does go off into the bush during the day. When we were walking down the drive, Jack was in the paddock and Charlie saw him and took off after him. Jack rapidly bounced away with Charlie at his heels. Both moved very fast, but Jack clearly could out run Charlie.
All over the property are huge grey gum trees (eucalyptus) that are my favorite Aussie tree. Apparently, there are over 900 species of eucalyptus trees, and the red gum tree is probably the most common in Australia. But I love the huge, tall, straight grey gum. Tony and Liz have a couple of wonderful grey gums growing along their driveway near the house which I really love.
When we were here 3 years ago, it was just 2 months after the devastating bush fires occurring all over eastern Australia. A couple of homes of Tony and Liz’s neighbors burned down just down the road. Tony did yeoman’s work to save his house and because he practices good property management his house and shed were not terribly at risk. The other thing that provides Tony with some protection is the several dams (we call them ponds) that he created all over his acreage that provides him with a good source of water to fight fire. Here’s a photo that Tony took during the bush fire on his property.
I took a walk around the property to see the difference from 3 years ago. Mother Nature is truly amazing. The regrowth was remarkable. From charred skeletons of trees, the undergrowth is now green with loads of gum trees saplings. Here are some comparison photos from 2020 and now.
One of the reasons Tony and Liz were able to save their house was the diligence taken in keeping the undergrowth in check in a large circumference around the house and outbuildings. Tony keeps the timber lots very tidy and he slashes the tall grass and rakes up the debris. It makes for a very nice look as well. You can see a pile of debris that is swept up in the photo below on the right. Keeping the undergrowth down is really important. Having cattle around to eat the grass certainly helps, too.
Here’s Lou in the LandBoss with Charlie waiting for their tour around the property with Tony.
Friday was a really hot day, in the 90s, and we were all sweltering. Tony and Lou went into Coffs Harbor for a medical appointment and said it was really hot there. Lou was back about 2 minutes before he got in the pool. Liz served him lunch in the pool.
I spent some of yesterday and this afternoon today helping Tony troubleshoot his satellite internet. We fiddled around with placement of the modem and considerably improved the WiFi. We couldn’t get the WiFi connection to reach his office so we worked on an Ethernet connection. We had cable running everywhere as he was also trying to get TVs upstairs and downstairs connected and working. We did have some success but we didn’t really understand what worked and what didn’t, we just kind of stumbled upon somewhat of a solution. Anyway, I was happy to help and the good news is that the internet was better.
Friday evening we went to the Coramba Hotel for dinner. Coramba is a little town nearby. We met Tony and Liz’s daughter Kristen and her husband David there. It was a lovely spot with a large veranda overlooking a nice pastoral view. We sat just inside so we could enjoy the view but be protected. There was quiet a cloudburst with a few moments of heavy rain, and then a great rainbow, and then a lovely sunset over the mountain.
Sadly, we will be leaving in the morning. Tony and Liz are fun to be with and are wonderful hosts. We’ve enjoyed our time with them very much.