Orientation at BCGS

Sophie will be attending the Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School next year, starting in February. We have always known she would be going away to boarding school, but somehow it seems to be creeping up on me a bit too fast. She is only eleven, and she will be leaving home...
Today is her orientation day. We will be meeting staff and other parents and students in the morning, and then after lunch the students will stay at the school. The boarders will be staying overnight and doing an activity in the morning. Sophie is pretty excited about it, but also nervous, as with any new experience.

What Farm Kids Learn

The other day we were talking about the number of women in town who are pregnant at the moment.
Little miss seven commented that "it must have been mating season"!!
Isn't that the sort of observation that would only come from a farm kid?

Open Garden

A garden montage (click the picture to view larger)

Sunday saw us visiting the garden of Des and Ellen Gooding, just out of Darkan. Roger is slowly establishing a vegetable garden at Warragal Park, and he is always keen to talk to other gardeners to get tips and ideas. The Goodings' garden has many different areas, and hundreds of different roses. The roses blooms were HUGE. The season has been perfect for them. They also have poultry, and have covered the chicken coop to stop the crows getting the chickens.

Looking through roses out to alpacas and sheep

A cute plaster blue bird hiding in a staghorn

Roger enjoying strawberries from the garden

All sorts of roses...

The part of the garden that I liked most was actually a part of the house. The Goodings are building a lovely big sunroom/outdoor room onto the back of their house, which adds so much usable living space to their house and garden. It has glass doors and windows all around, so you can feast your eyes on the garden while you're in there, but it is sheltered form the wind and will be a heat sink in the winter. Now guess what I want???

Marie and the children about to enter the newly extended outdoor room.

Odette showing her fascinator, and the bandage over her cut.

Odette and Candy (helpX from Taiwan)

Odette looking totally Glam!

Hugh didn't want to be in the photo - but I got him anyway!

Consultant

Yesterday our farm consultant came out to the farm for a visit. We had lunch together before setting up on the dining room table to discuss farm management, production and business issues. Then afterwards we had a general chat over a few beers outside. Very pleasant!

Fascinating

Sophie, Bonnie and Odette have all made fascinators to wear on the occasion of the Melbourne Cup. The Melbourne Cup - the Race that stops a Nation! Even though the girls are going to school for a normal school day, they were inspired by all the hats and fascinators they had seen in the shops and media lately, and wanted their own.

Odette

Sophie

Bonnie

They have been worn on many outings already, as well as around the house.
I am going to a Melbourne Cup luncheon at Rarebits on Burrowes, the café next door to my studio. Although I have no idea of a single horse in the race I will watch the race with interest as I will be assigned a horse in the sweep, with a chance to win a small amount of money. I am not a gambling person, but somehow the Melbourne Cup always has a sweep, no matter where you may be on the day.
I remember one Melbourne Cup day when My sister and I were shopping together and decided to have our own sweep - one of us had all even-numbered horses and the other all the odd-numbered horses. The prize was something like the winner had her lunch paid for...