the battle ground

Our backyard is still a mess but there is hope. We were told that we'll see green grass in there this week. Bring it on! Most of the old red brick paving is done and the irrigation systems are coming in today. Once the back is finished, the guys will move to the front of the house. There is a big project there too. It is quite amazing how projects grow in time. You start with one bit and end up ripping the whole joint apart and starting from scratch. The front of the house will be one of these projects.

All the concrete from under the carport and veranda is going and bricks are coming in. The veranda posts are going too. They were a later addition to the house (probably around 50 years after the house was build) and don't match the era. We will get proper timber posts made to suit the house. Irrigation, lawn and a new front fence will follow. Again, the fence will be done by heritage fencing guys to suit the house. OK, it will have all the fancy modern technology but will still look like over 116 years ago.

It's a very rewarding exercise to see this house regaining its glory back. People already say that it is the cutest house on the street. Wait till it's all finished people ...

layers of stuff need to be compacted and leveled before the bricks come in

Our neighbour's peach tree is infringing our airspace, which is awesome. We claimed all peaches that we could reach as ours. We had to wait few more days before picking as they were not quite there yet. Well, few days later they were all gone. Not a single one left. It wasn't us though ... Here are the offenders:

caught in the act

These things are gorgeous and noisy as hell. But honestly, can you be angry with something so beautiful? Nope, you can't. Absolutely impossible. So we let them eat the peaches and had a glass of wine watching them do that.

This is a common activity of ours. Sit outside and watch the birds. There are so many of them visiting our yard and having a drink or a swim in the birdbath that we put up for them. We also have a bird book (Christmas present from Zofia and Paul) that we use to identify them. The peach eaters are the Rainbow Lorikeets and people consider them pests.

The birds were one of the first things that I noticed in Australia. There are sooo many of them and they all are beautiful and very colorful. People take them for granted and don't realise how gorgeous they really are.