Two Years At The Farm

Last week Mr GGF and I celebrated two years at the farm. I seriously cannot believe its been that long. Time seems to fly faster the older we get. But what’s changed in the last year? Oh. My. Gosh. What hasn’t?

See our last year in pictures!

From January to March 2019, we saw a number of animals come to live at Green Gate Farm. Lucky Duck and Duck Norris got four runner duck mates. And boy are they noisy!

Our friendly ram, Dave, arrived during the week the bushfires surrounded our town. He cried for the first week but his mood improved greatly once he discovered he could have head rubs whenever he wanted. An entire harem of ewes to keep him happy also helped. Since arriving, Dave has sired a flock of cute lambs, including our orphan lamb, Terry. Dave’s acquired a new harem next door now, but still comes to the fence for regular pats!

Our Second Year at the Farm

2019 saw the ‘green gates’ finally installed at the entrance to the garden and the beginnings of a rustic front fence. Mr GGF worked hard to finish the gravel path and complete the cottage garden. The installation of a new roof on the farmhouse meant no more pots scattered up the hall when it rained. Sadly, it also meant we had a resident possum who came to live in the roof space. The night he had a fight with a friend and they fell through the ceiling into the attic wasn’t a good night!

We installed the Green Gates for the house garden!

After disposing of our possum friend for the last time, we started painting the exterior of the house. It’s taken two years at the farm to get to this stage. It’s still not finished but it’s getting there. We had new windows installed in the lounge and the ugly aluminium ones removed! The difference double glazing has made to the warmth in our home is amazing. I was sceptical the windows would look good but nobody can tell they are not the original rotten windows. They look authentic to the house.

We stained the floor during October school holidays. It took a week to dry. There were a lot of takeaways that week. I’m not sure I’d stain a floor dark again but I love it in the bedrooms.

We welcomed baby chicks and ducklings. It was so exciting to see Ginger with a baby after the horrendous time she had when her friends were taken by a quoll. Sadly, we lost all our chicks (and Ginger) to a hawk. It’s a lesson we’ve learnt and plan not to let that happen this year.

After two years on the farm the most exciting part of the year, other than Christmas, was having TWO new bathrooms. They became functional on the day the family arrived and though we have to finish trims yet and light fittings, they came out as we planned. The added costs of trades meant we had to seriously scale back the budget in other areas, meaning the bath had to go in the main bathroom. But there’s room there to add one in the future. I think the room does need it. And it’s annoying to have nowhere to bath the dogs!