Hi folks, sorry for not blogging recently, I forgot all about it!! lol
Well reading back on my previous one, I am having trouble remembering whats gone on.  Well one of the twins died, one night it was really cold and windy, I guess it was the weaker of the two and just couldn't cope with the cold.  But we have had another lamb, now we have our breeding stock, a boy and a girl.  I named the boy Sean the Sheep (very original huh?) and Alex named the girl Elouise after his girlfriend back in Blightly, I tried to tell him it was a bit posh for a sheep but he was adament that her name was Elouise.  I guess the neighbours must think I'm mad shouting "Sean the Sheep, Elouise!" at feeding time, they know their names though and come running.  Now I think they must be about 4 months old, they are growing fast and that Sean is a little bugger!!!

 By the way sorry for any spelling mistakes, I can't seem to figure out if this blog site has spell check!!

We still haven't got any chooks as the coop that Duncan put up blew down in some really strong winds we had, so their coop has turned into a flat!!!  Luckily there were no chooks inside or else they would be flat!!

I have been working hard all winter chucking loads of shit on the veggie patch and weeding etc, it is finally ready for planting up.  I am waiting for the risk of frosts to pass, then I shall be able to plant up.  Duncan has made me some pretty cool frames and I have covered them in netting to put on the plot to stop rabbits, wallabies and possums from eating the goods (hopefully I can grow some goods in the first place).  We have fenced off the area to stop the sheep getting down there too, so I have my own little veggie area.  I eventually would love to put a nice little potting shed down there like Arthor Beale from East Enders.  But I can't seem to find anywhere that does them at the moment, I can only see tin sheds?!?  I am sure I will find some where eventually.  I would also like to put a cafe style bistro table and chairs down there, so that I can be a total Pom and sip my Pimms in the afternoon heat.

Duncan has managed to get rear ended by another ute and has damaged all his muscles in his back.  But luckily for us, it was in works time, so the company's insurance is paying for the Physio, doctors and the time he is having off work, so at least we are not out of pocket.  He is making good progress and has up to 97% mobility now.  His boss on the other hand has been a total arsehole about the whole thing, and is making him feel bad about not being able to lift heavy items etc etc.  He calls himself a devout  Christian......I don't think so.  The best thing about this incident is that Duncan makes his appointments with the physio on Friday evenings and is held in New Town, so we have all been piling in the car and head for Mures and have ourselves some lurvely Fish and Chips, dog an all.

I have met some more Poms that have come over to call Tas their home, they are totally lovely people and I wish them all the best in their new life downunder and a bit further.

Mash has grown to be the most gorgeous dog ever!  Considering both her parents were Beagles, she's looking a lot like a short Pointer,  which I am pleased about as she seems to be a bit more intelligent than the average Beagle.  We have decided to let her have one lot of puppies when she's about 2, then get her de-sexed, so if your in Tas about Feb 2010 and want some pups, come and see me,  they will be free to a good home.  She has proven to be a jolly good hunter, she has caught and killed a mouse in the house (living in the country you get them)  and she loves to bring me presents to my front door, like dead animals!!!  So she is a true hound and will sniff out anything that smells interesting.  She loves to play with the dog next door, who is a 10 year old Red Healer.  He was going to be put down before Mash came along as he was suffering badly from Arthritus, but since Mash has been on the scene he now has the virility of a 2 year old!!!  So the neighbours are very pleased as their beloved pet has a few more years in him yet.

We all seem to be coping very well with the Tassie winter, most days it is bright and the sun shines.  But we have had some very chilly days with temps struggling to get to 9-10c, we have had loads of frosts and I think I've lost my orange and lemon trees that I bought at Agfest.  I guess we are just too exposed up here, we have no shelter from the wind, so feel the full force no matter which direction its coming from.  Our house has reverse cycle heating which translated into English is an air conditioner unit that heats as well as cools!  Which I might add costs a fortune to run, our last quarterly Hydro bill was $600, so since then we are trying not to run it and rely on the wood burner to heat our house.  I have resorted to buying electric blankets, which are an absolute godsend and I don't actually know how we lived with out them.  We have had very few rainy days, which I am very surprised about as I was told that it always rains in Tassie, but we are actually suffering a drought in winter, so I guess that is down to climate change, who knows.

We took Alex to the cinema for the first time a few weeks ago to see Kung Foo Panda, he was really good and only got fidgety towards the end, when he sat on Duncan's knee and all was well in the world of Alex.  I have been trying to get him interested in some sort of martial arts so that he will be able to take care of himself at school, should anyone decide to pick on him.  But he keeps saying "no mummy I want to be a log truck driver!"  I can't seem to get through to him that he can actually do both!!  Failing that we can always get our mate Woofy to go and pick him up from school in his V8 bomb car, I'm sure no one will pick on him then!! (Woofy is a big hairy guy from the bush).

Last weekend we went to Mount Field National Park, there was snow on the mountains, with drifts of up to 3-4ft deep.  Alex kept disappearing and shouting "mummy help me!!"  There is a ski  resort up there, and it was in full swing when we visited, loads of people came for some skiing action.  We just settled for snow angels and a snow ball fight, its much safer. 

Well thats me over and out until the next time............watch this space.....................................