It has been a busy few months. Lots to report......
The hens started to lay....they are now rewarding us with an egg each every day.
Remember the Town Hall that we bought in 2009? We have been storing the timber since then and this year is the time to either put the Hall back up as it was when it was constructed in 1890....
Or use the Oregon Pine and old wood - and build something different.
BA Town Hall circa 1890
The inside of this beautiful building. Although old and flooded a few times , we thought the timber was still pristine. We decided to tender on the building.... were successful and we had to dismantle and remove the building from its original site.
We suspect that some of the timber were subjected to .....shrinkage........during storage at our factory. At least it was under cover there , but since we moved it to the farm, it was stored in the open.....
The Hall being carefully dismantled (2009)...
Ground breaking! And the building work started.....
We adopted Anzac and Roxy , the two adult dogs of an expat family leaving Fiji.
They were city dogs before coming to the farm - but very eager to learn!
and the first pole is up!!
Meet Mr James Naicker - our builder!
It wasn't just building these past few weeks.....
Sometimes
it is just right to sit down with everybody.....and have a "talanoa" (talk - Fidjian)
It is 6 months since cyclone Evan.
The broken branches are now becoming more of a hazard. The bark holding some of these branches are now dried up and the slightest wind causes the branches to tumble down.....in this case right on top of my young fruit trees in the nursery.
Thank heavens for a
handy man!!!
James and his team continued to make magic.
Claude could hardly keep up with taking photos! Everyday a task that James set up, was completed.
We are very happy with the progress.
Here James explained the technique of laying floor boards.....Look at the beautiful condition of the old floor boards.
and the roof is up!!!
Because we were not sure how much wood we lost due to "shrinkage" , we decided to build small cottages/rooms and see how far we got with the timber.
Yes. We
had
more
rain !
Lots of rain!
Busy as always, Claude used the wet, unproductive days to service his fishing reels.
\
and the result......!
Work on the cottage stopped for a few days during the rain.
and the sun came out....and work continued.
Afternoon "talanoa" session. All attending....hahahaha!
One of the most beautiful features of our cottage
is the beautiful wrap around steps.
James is busy building them here.
Remember our outside bathroom? One morning Claude found these
mushrooms in the bathroom....
James and his sons starting with cottage 2/3
Gardening is a non stop event.... an old derelict fishing boat became a garden feature.....
The cottages in progress....
and now the hard work starts for us.
The old wood needs to be sanded down.
The floor boards ,
the beams....
the walls.......
Claude with another project.
A nearby resort replaces their Kayaks and we sure could put their old ones to good use ....... after fixing them up!
Claude's new projects in waiting!
Roof is up on cottage 2!
we had picnics with friends and neighbours....
But a farm has loads of work. Claude has been busy with
grass slashing and tractor work.
and removing trees from our vegetable fields.
Wesley is declaring WAR on weeds....and trees !
a beautiful pic isn't it?
The cleared field....it was hard work and took many days....
a thought I would like to share -
Nothing worth having, comes easy.
It's great to see how you guys have taken bare land and turned it into something productive in such a short time! Thanks for all the informative descriptions and the pics of nature, they provide an insight into the delights of your island home. Can't help but laugh at your comment that 20 degree winter is cold, when we can drop to -30 and even -40. Keep up the good work & keep us posted!
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