Living in the Future - Cae Mabon

The Dream.......
This wonderful shared space in Wales is so much larger than mine. However, I can see at least one or two similar quaint retreats being built at the Gum Tree Garden Studio.  The areas are cleared, leveled and tentatively marked.  Trenches for the shed are well on the way and I'm just waiting for the blisters on my hands to heal so I can continue the creative journey.

Since 2009 there have been  a number of day visitors and campers enjoying the free retreat while still in it's raw state...... and many, many enthusiastic offers of help and requests to set up ones own project.  Sadly......even though I really enjoy the visits and enthusiastic company..... only four volunteers have actually worked beside me over the last 3 years with hours barely totalling a days work.  Perhaps as the project takes shape some of those promises will be kept, but I do wonder, at 70 years of age, if the dream of a Koala Corridor and  free Nature Retreat will ever be completed in my life time...............the journey continues.

Sculptural Dwellings Using Natural Materials

This is something to aim for at Gum Tree Garden Studio.  There is so much that can be recycled if we only take the time.  I'll be adding more of these gems as I find them.

First Trip Out Since The Floods

There was "Road Closed" sign and a barricade across Pit Road ...the dirt road leading to my Gum Tree Garden Studio.  Car tracks made by the locals could be seen skirting around the barricade.  Oh well here goes ....I had been assured that the road would fine in the stretch to my place if I drove with care.    A piece of cake...I just followed the tracks.  The flood way crossing had been repaired very well and wasn't  a problem.

view of my creek boundary in the distance (right bank) and the repaired flood way crossing

Next could I get in my gate.  The Green Panic was thick...so ..I pulled out the pieces of carpet, laid them over the top and did a little dance to flatten it all.

Green Panic in the drive way

 Well how Swish is that .....a carpeted drive way.  The old timers will be scratching their heads at such frivolity.   I felt a lot safer as I had seen a very large brown snake amongst this grass last visit.   All my stomping would have sent him on his way well before I opened the gate.

I had hoped to cut back some of this Green Panic before going into the block.
I spent ages trying to get the brush cutter to start, but it wasn't going to co-operate.   I then looked at  the very long African Love grass inside the gate and felt a little uneasy about trekking through the numerous long tufts.  I had mentioned that I would have some board walks in my bush garden some time.  What better time than now.  So I grabbed the old wooden lids and pushed them into the spaces between the Love grass tufts.   Now I could travel freely to the more open soft grass areas.

Meandering down toward the soft grass areas and onto the creek

Looking back up to the drive way and the temporary out house

There seemed  to be so much life around me.  Butterflies were every where.  This little fellow sat on my hand for sometime before I was able to get him to let go and perch on the stump for a photo session.

  I found these new residents (below) in the pile of wooden lids.

The pretty spider is smaller than the resident spider featured in a previous post.  He is also missing a couple of legs, perhaps a run in with a bird.

 The frog was a very dark green ...nearly brown with white spots.  I couldn't positively identify him, but he could be a variety of the common green frog. All  were happy to just sit and get their 15 minutes of fame in a photo shoot.

  A bunch of noisy birds objected to my presence (above) and this little rabbit (or perhaps it's a hare) didn't even notice me (below).

The creek had gone way down and there was the lovely sound of running water.   It was crystal clear and sooooo inviting on such a hot day.  Apart from the flattened fences, every thing looked wonderful and my spirits lifted.

Fences down..might be able to salvage a post or two.

Standing on my boundary looking back to the crossing

Since the floods the neighbours cattle had been relocated so they had not been there to eat down the softer grasses and which were certainly in need of a mowing. There wasn't much I could do with out the brush cutter/snipper so I decided to take shots of the debris left in the trees by the flood waters. I found this gave me an idea of how high the floods would come in the future and help me in choosing the best place to build....either a shed/studio or a granny unit for retirement.

It was easy to see that the higher ground on the block was well clear of the flood waters.

Floods Have Taken out the Fences

All the fences are down after the floods.  Well that's not as bad as others I know but it has put a lot of plans on hold....not good when one is on the sunny side of 70 on an aged pension and time is running out.  I must admit that feelings of despair do sneak in every now and again as I wonder how I can do all this on my own.  The dream of leaving rental accommodation and retiring out at the Gum Tree Garden Studio seems very distant at times. 

The good news is the waters did not come up to the section where I wanted to build....which means I will probably get council approval.

I checked with the neighbours and was told, that I will be able get into the block now as the council have done a quick repair job on the flood way crossing by dumping a load of rubble...... and if I drive with care I can get through the washed out areas of the dirt road leading to the block.

Large areas of farm land behind the Crow Nest Grounds and beyond became lakes during the deluge.  Many of the farmers out at Pinelands/Crows Nest area are still unable to work on their properties as the soil is so saturated their tractors are getting bogged.  So many have been affected by the floods and the ripple effect continues.

Trees and large branches have also come down and my friend Ailsa (sunny side of 80) said she removed one from my driveway in case I didn't see it in the 6 foot high Green Panic covering my driveway and damaged my car.  I must learn how to use that brush cutter I have sitting in the shed, we can't have this dear elderly lady moving trees out of my driveway.  The old carpet is loaded in the trailer ready to act as a weed mat in my driveway.   Hopefully it will help prevent the car from getting bogged as well.

Well back to baby steps........Champions win one step at a time.

A Slow Journey

Over the last couple of months I have been out and about seeing what I can find to help with the progress of the Gum Tree Garden Studio at Pinelands.  Pinelands is 3 kilometres north of Crows Nest Qld. and about 40 minutes drive from Toowoomba where I live.


The early morning shadows on the far side of the creek
mark the boundaries of the Gum Tree Garden Studio

It is a very slow process, but I think I may have enough for an out house and a 3m x 3 metre shed.  I can't wait to get a few comforts out there.  It will allow me to start working on the fences and regeneration projects, such as planting Koala friendly trees and natives along the creek banks.

Many generous Freecycle members have provided all sorts of materials to recycle at the Gum Tree Garden Studio.  Just before Xmas a  member donated these old broken pavers that will form part of an interesting crazy path, that will eventually meander down to the creek.  For now they are in my garden waiting to be transferred to the block.......and trying to look as though they belong in their temporary home.

After watching a program on Better Homes and Gardens I decided that a shed with a recycled brick floor would be the easiest way to go.  I have the option of fixing the shed with long pegs that are designed for temporary garden sheds or bolting it to cement stumps set at ground level.   Perhaps some quick set cement will do the job.  Either option should be something I could manage on my own in my old age. 

Freecyclers donated all sorts of bricks and pavers.  Including these pavers that hopefully will be used in a similar way when transferred to Pinelands.  I might need a few more to finish the look, but it works well enough as it is.

I am hoping there will be enough bricks for the 3 x 3 shed.  I think 36 bricks are needed for a square metre.  I'll have to measure them later.  It took hours to load and unload the various donations of  bricks and many still need to be taken on the 40 minute drive to the block at Pinelands.

The last load was donated by Yvette....the lady who fills bags with toiletry items for the homeless.......It was a huge pile of bricks and rather than load and reload later I took them out  to the block as soon as I picked them up.  It took one and half hours to load and  three hours to unload.  The trailer was so heavy that the little four cylinder Magna  couldn't pull the trailer up into the blocks driveway.  So I loaded my little trolley and carted them in 8 bricks at a time.

I must admit that I spent some of that time sitting on a log drinking copious cups of coffee and just enjoying the view.  More time was spent wandering around seeking native plants that may have struggled through the African Love grass after the rain we had over the weeks leading up to Xmas.

I managed to find some lovely little gems.  I don't know the names of all of them and will have a look at Trish Gardner's blog "Toowoomba Plants" to see if I can identify them. Some will be weeds, but I have learnt that many native weeds are edible.  So, there could be some interesting finds.

Wandering Jew

Field Lily

But that's not all that's been gathered for the project.  The block is elevated and prone to erosion, so I need to build some swales and a pond to catch water. This time last year I collected a huge piece of black  plastic from the Esk area, and water bed bladders from a local Freecycler ready for the large pond.


20 metres of black plastic folded in four
- does have some holes but I can work around them



Water bed bladder to use as Pond lining

I  also picked up several trailer loads of landscaping rocks for the edge of the pond. All donated by a generous freecycler.

landscaping rocks waiting to be transferred to Pinelands

Some were too heavy to lift so I rolled them into a cane clothes basket before lifting them

Before any of this can be put into motion I will need to carpet my drive way ( old carpet makes an excellent weed mat) so I can get into the block.  Some will be used as weed mat on the paths as well.

..... and use the brush cutter on the African Love grass so I can start cutting the paths, levelling the shed sites and digging the pond.

Last visit to the Pinelands block I decided to take some of the wooden lids (mentioned in a previous post), back home with me to act as a wind/rain break on the chook house. When I lifted some lids off the pile I found this beautiful little resident.

I search the images on the web but still can't be sure what he is.  Let me know if you recognise him.

Scavenger Hunt

I need some basic comforts while I tackle the task of developing my Gum Tree Garden Studio, regenerating the creek area and planting for the Koala corridor.  Perhaps a bush shower,  an outhouse for the Porta Loo or perhaps even an Enviro Toilet, and a rain water tank.

Tufts of African Love Grass

An ongoing task will be the management of the African Love Grass that is crowding out any Native species that may be struggling to emerge. So a shed to store my tools would be nice and a shelter of some sort ...for relaxing and painting....even if only temporary.

I have been collecting all sorts of bit and pieces, but still there is not enough to complete any of the projects.

Shed kit and cement brick cubes

 For the outhouse/change room I bought a small 70cm x 150cm Absco shed online and found a camping toilet frame from the Op shop for $4.00.  It's ready to be set up as soon as I have a firm foundation.  My idea ,so far, is to use some cement cubes ...(the ones with holes in the middle - above)... one at each corner and centre of the longer walls....and perhaps in the centre of the shed floor.  Then fill the cubes with quick setting cement and fix the shed to these.   A cement slab is out of the question because of cost and poor vehicle access.

Pallets and Wooden Lids

 For the floors I have scavenged some hardwood pergola boards from my neighbour..... and four large pallets and wooden lids from our local Freecycle.  The block slopes down to the creek, so setting the sheds up a little will allow the water to get away.  I hope to pick up more pallets and lids for other structures like a bush shower and small fenced areas that will protect the native plants.

Bush Shower at Bestbrooke Camping Area

I found a lovely example of a  bush shower in the Bestbrooke Farm Stay camping area just outside of Warwick.  As one can see it is a very simple design and easily adapted to the rustic effect I would like to create.

Interior of Bestbrooke
Bush shower

So far I have collected A large blue drum to serve as a temporary rain tank, a bath tub, a tiny hot water system to store hot water either from a solar batch heater .....or an even simpler black hose solar collector on top of the shed roof.....(you can find this one on Green Power Science You-Tube).

I also pick up some nice Colour bond sheeting ready for one of the other sheds or a bush shower.  The tyres in the photo - above left - will be filled with rammed earth and used to manage erosion.  One can just see the hardwood pergola boards that I hope to recycle as the bush shower floor.

   

The next step will be the fences...I can not plant any natives until I have something to protect them from the neighbours cattle.  I managed to find one or two Star Pickets each trip to the Tip Shop and  have about 20 now in varying lengths..some I am using around the home garden for now.   Corner posts could be cut from the dead trees that were felled this time last year,but there won't be many  as most of the trees were eaten out by white ants and can only be used in landscaping, path edges or for creating swales to slow erosion.   Apart from that I haven't been able to scavenge much for fences....yet.

The search continues....