Just a quick post to show some of the effects of the golden hour, a favourite time of the day for me and my camera.

I love the softness of the colours in the light just before sunset. It can be difficult to work with as the light levels drop, and working with a fill in flash can have adverse effects as well. Maybe it is this fine line of low light and harsh flash, the volatility of the situation that makes it good.

I think it is just the results. I love a good sunset and hope to never be too tired or get too bored of it to pick up the camera and walk over the hill.

Sure, it is the same sun on the same distant range, but it always changes.

Check out the gallery for the rest of the pics.

After the “Work for the Goon” programme had finished, you’d think we might take a break for a while and enjoy the new pergola, but there was more to do!

The idea for the pergola is to be able to have out “wet” area outside the shed as this will hopefully cut down on condensation, water spills and leaks inside and eliminate potential smells. It also makes drainage more central and removed the need to take the angle grinder to the shed again to put water pipes through.

One of the main things that we have missed since leaving the old house in Adelaide is our washing machine. Maybe it isn’t the first thing that jumps to mind, but if you consider the alternative to not having a washing machine on site, the time taken at the Laundromat with the bad results and additional cost turn out to be considerable problems.

After finishing the pergola on Saturday afternoon, Meg couldn’t wait to install the washing machine, even though the “wet” area isn’t finished.

We picked up the machine from storage (the folks shed) and checked the connection sizes for water before heading to the hardware for adapters.

I was sure that I had the right size, but Meg made me go and check it outside on the machine and sure enough, she was right again!

With the correct adapters, we headed home and I started plumbing.

A temporary solution is to connect the washing machine to the tap near the shower and then send the grey water down the hill to the new garden bed that I’d made for the purpose.

Ten minutes later and we had our first load of washing on! What a milestone!

In the afternoon, the folks arrived as we’d cleaned up the van and it was time for it to return home.

I can’t say how much it meant to us to be able to borrow the van from the folks. It allowed us to move from Adelaide and get a start before we had anything apart from bore water and power at The Journey.

Today was the culmination of a heap of work and with the van gone there is a significant hole in the view from the shed – a reminder that we are continually moving on.

Meg and I took a walk around and noticed that (Dirty) Harry the Almond is now in full bloom. He must have hit the mother load and loved it! (Harry is planted on the site of our first toilet.)

It is all smiles around here as the loads of washing get done and Meg sits under the pergola.

A short while after the Shed Raising weekend, David sent me an email with an interesting proposal:

“I am at a bit of a loose end at the moment. So I am available for a couple of days work if you need some unskilled labour for your next project. I work for goon and food, in that order Just email me if you would like some help.”

I jumped at the chance to get another project back on track so David and I arranged a suitable time.

My designs for the pergola had been changing over a period of time, and with a suggestion from Pa for a lean to, the final design came slowly forward. The suggestion was to bolt a horizontal support along the shed frame and then hang the pergola from that. The shed was strong enough and this eliminated the need for more posts and gave us more floor space against the shed.

My memory traced back quite a few years to Steve and Ralphie’s place and helping Steve to pre-paint the pergola that they were having done. Then it rebounded to the pergola that Raph and I had built at the old house at Para Hills, and the fact that we didn’t pre-paint the timber. I was learning from experience that painting the timber before it was awkward to reach would be a good idea.

Pa and I had a bit of the painting done when David and Amy arrived and I quickly explained some of the design and thinking behind it to David.

David also has an engineering background, but he has used the way of thinking about a project a lot more than I would have. Raph’s influence was again brought into play as David came up with the mantra:

“Measure twice, cut once.”

David also introduced the idea of using a template for measurement and double checking things – always a good idea.

We made the cut outs in the posts for the facia to sit on and then tackled the hard stuff – drilling into the shed.

Time was marching on and we didn’t have much to show for it, just some cut and painted timber. Was Meg going to believe that we’d been working hard all day?

The first support was bolted to the shed with care. Measurements were made and checked as we had only a small margin of error. The supports were bolted through the horizontal C section of the shed frame that is 25mm high. We had 10mm bolts and then washers and nuts to put inside that 25mm window of height, drilling from the side where we couldn’t see the C section.

More measurements were made as we moved along, but one of the holes was slightly high. How could this happen? We checked level, measured again and scratched our heads as the answer remained elusive.

The solution was to drill the next hole by eye – surely it would be right? Surely? Before there was too much objection, I drilled the hole straight through the frame, nicely in the middle and David came up with another quote for the project after I’d dodged it up:

“Measuring is for the am… Dodge it up in the pm!”

It was another succinct observation of the way in which I work.

We finished the day with the main support in place and plenty of work left to do.

Bottles of Goon, a nice warm fire, a nourishing camp oven chilli (complete with Jalapeno chillies, sour cream and corn chips) and a dodgy DVD later, we crashed for the night.

Day 2 dawned nicely and after a good sized breakfast of sausages, eggs and toast we were ready if not raring to go.

We all did the dishes at the sink overlooking what we have been calling the stock paddock (even though we have no stock, but that is the plan). It was a nice sunny, morning with a bit of chat and the dishes getting done – it reminded me of those cooking shows where the chef cooks outside, except we were on the wrong end of the meal.

Pa arrived and we were soon drilling the cement to dyna bolt the feet in.

Soon after that we had a post in with joists hanger in place on the supports. Some discussion later and the frame took shape quite quickly, certainly quicker than I had expected.

By mid afternoon the frame was up and the purlins were ready to be cut and screwed in. David suggested templates again and this was probably the most time saving suggestion yet.

A frenzy of alignment, cutting, clamping and screwing took place and by the time David and Amy had to leave we had completed the major structure.

Day 3 was a little more relaxed as all we had to do was slip a couple of roofing sheets on. How hard could it be?

Pa and I started after lunch and were careful to line it all up nicely on the first sheet, as any error here would compound across the roof.

I’d bought the right screws for the job, with little holesaws in them to cut an oversize hole to allow the polycarb to move as temperature changes and a good rubber seal on top. They took a while to get used to, but when I got the hang of them we were away.

Unfortunately the cordless drill didn’t keep up and we resorted to running the other two corded drills. I’d found that drilling a quick pilot hole with a pop rivet drill bit was a lot easier that just using the special screws, especially when I was at full reach on top of the pergola.

We finished a few hours later, just in time to bring the table around and crack a drink. Meg brought out some nibbles and the three of us enjoyed the first sit under the pergola.

Is there a better satisfaction that seeing your ideas come to fulfilment? The aches and pains float away as the sun went down and we watched the wind in the trees through the clear roof.

Thanks to David and Amy for all of their help. The “Work for the Goon” project is now a part of life at the Journey. I can’t wait for “Work for the Goon II”.

The bore was troubling me so I’d headed back and opened up the control panel. Luckily there was a circuit diagram and I traced part of the circuit to the flow switch and a switch with a variable timer.

Put simply, it seems that the bore will run until the timer runs out. The circuit then relies on the flow switch being connected to run. This isolated the problem to the switch or the flow of water and I didn’t want to believe that I had no water.

I had some things to do in town, so Pa and I dropped into Mid North Irrigation to ask about the problem with the bore.

We told Carl what I’d done to isolate the problem and he agreed that the flow switch was the likely culprit. He pulled out a new switch and described what goes wrong with them and gave us a failsafe test for the switch. What great service!

Pa and I ducked back home and I isolated the flow switch and turned the bore on. The timer didn’t trip and we checked the flow of water via the level in the tank. It was going up rapidly, so we left the tank for an hour or so.

With the tank full the next step is to remove the switch and find the problem. Hopefully it will be an easy fix as a new switch is $250!

We’ve been very busy lately and haven’t been taking enough time to enjoy what we have.

With the “Shed Raising” party a few of weeks ago, Meg and I realised that we hadn’t walked the property enough and should be doing it more regularly, noticing changes and getting fitter.

The days are almost getting longer and there is some good sunshine now so we really should make time to do it.

We started last weekend with a Saturday afternoon wander. I had an ulterior motive and had taken the mattock to do battle with some artichokes that have been rapidly spreading across the property. We walked and talked about life and plans and views and trees.

Today was also a nice day and I’d taken the camera instead of the mattock.

First stop was the bore. The tank hasn’t been filled for a few months (a testament to our water saving lifestyle) and it was time to fill up.

This would also be a test of water pressure to the shower as I’d installed the instant LPG water heater in a tree and wanted to see what it could do. As the tank is on the hill above, I was wondering whether adding a metre or two in height to the water level in the tank would increase the pressure noticeably.

The late afternoon sun was broken by the trees as we wandered down the valley away from the bore. The valley was peaceful, with no wind or traffic noise – just the sounds of birds playing in the trees.

As we came to the main creek I saw a slight movement on the opposite hillside and watched as a couple of kangaroos looked back. (Sure, they might not be “kangaroos”, but Euros or something similar, but until I find out which is which anything that hops and looks like a kangaroo will be a kangaroo.)

I clicked off a couple of shots, but I was using the 28-70mm lens. If I’d had the 100-400mm lens we could have seen what they were thinking but I’d only taken the camera and not the entire camera bag.

Walking a few steps further on spooked the kangaroos and they were off.

We walked the creek line and stopped to check on the artichokes that I’d had a go at last weekend. I’d dug a fair bit  of them out but had heard from others that spraying or using pellets is really the only way to get them. We’ll see what happens.

I saw a photo opportunity in the creek and entered. The tree on the left side of the creek had roots that had been exposed by the bank and with the late afternoon sun and a little bit of flash, I thought I could get an interesting perspective.

Meanwhile, Meg was being creative on her own, creating a monster out of an ant hole, some bark and moss. Arrrggghh! The monster!

The artichoke population increased dramatically as we reached the western boundary of the property. This is turning into much, much more of a priority.

We took some time to take it all in, sitting around a huge, old gum tree that must have some stories to tell. It must be at least a metre across – how old does that make it?

Wandering up the step climb I spotted a different type of thistle. It has a purple flower and reminded me of Scotland for some reason.

A storm was heading our way over the Blyth plains and we watched the changes for a while as it moved before heading back along the road and checking out the neighbours sheep.

It was a pretty good walk and taking the camera really made me look for things and take notice.

All wasn’t right when we returned, as the tank wasn’t full or even noticeably better off!

I raced to the bore and after a while discovered that a switch had tripped inside the control panel. Fears met worries and frustrations as they bounced around my mind. Had we run out of water? Had I blown up the expensive submersible pump? Had we hooked up the tank without the right valves and done some damage?

I reset the switch and turned the pump back on. A short while later, the switch clicked off and the pipe moved – it was off again.

The questions went around my head again as I failed to learn anything from the process and was left with the realisation that things are always going to break and go wrong and it was up to me to deal with them.