Spring has sprung...
After what was a very wet winter, spring has definitely arrived in Bridport. The last month has seen almost no rain at all and with the El Nino firmly in place it is likely to be a long dry summer. Just in time for our water tanks to arrive, so they may need a manual filling to kick things off.
With the warmer weather the wild flowers have really started to show their true colours. Now anyone that knows me will understand that I know almost nothing about flowers - ooh, that's a nice white one - so bear with me.
I have it on reliable authority that we have a lot of wedding bush out and about at the moment. It is a shrub that grows to a little over head height and is covered with small white flowers, typically with five petals. They are all over the property and line the walking tracks providing a nice honey like aroma.
As you can see in the pictures above there are also some blue/purple flowers. I am told by people far better informed than myself that these are a love creeper. To these you can add a variety of others colourful specimens ranging from shrubs down to smaller ground cover, with a variety of colours on display. These include a pink heath, bright yellow creeping goodenia and a yellow and red prickly beauty or prickly bush-pea. There is also a pale yellow native dogwood (not pictured) which I might have to look at planting behind one of my planned golf greens - in keeping with the dogwoods around Augusta.
The next few months should offer quite a sight around the property, as the blooms thicken. Last year it was an absolute sea of white wedding bush with flashes of other colours interspersed as we headed into Christmas.
For those keeping track of the wildlife, you will be pleased to know that the native hen chicks are growing and are all still with us. Last year the four chicks dwindled to one in just a few weeks, but we have been fortunate enough so far to still have the three little ones running around with their parents. We have also seen a new pair of swans come to nest on the dam, so may see more cygnets in a few weeks.
On the animal side of the ledger, we continue to encounter wallabies of various sizes as we walk the tracks around the block. They can often be seen at night out on the lawn between the buildings and the dam. This week they were joined on the lawn by our resident wombat, snuffling around not far from the house. And we were also lucky enough to get a visit from the platypus a few days back. We believe it lives in the creek just below the dam wall, and tends to visit the dam in the couple of days after a bit of rain during drier periods.
In terms of the build, we are starting to get to the stage where the externals are not changing as much week to week, with more attention shifting to the internals. From the outside, this week saw most of the cladding completed, and the support footings for the decks installed. It is already easy to tell that these will be a great spot for a morning coffee with an outlook over the dam, or to settle into with a beverage later in the day and watch the sunset over nearby farms and Bridport.
Internally, we have started to see plumbing and electrics going into the wall cavities. This includes a hot water recirculation system that will mean we won't lose too much of our precious tank water waiting for showers to warm up.
Coming weeks are likely to see the water tanks installed, painting of the cladding get underway and more work on the electrics and plumbing.
And finally, as always, we hope you are enjoying these updates. If there is anything you would like us to cover, feel free to drop us a line at info@stripeypig.com.au. If you would like to be notified about any updates to the Stripey Pig blog, please join our mailing list on the main Blog page - and don't forget to tick the 'Yes, I agree to receive marketing emails' box to make sure you get your notifications.
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