2021 in review (Part 2)…

April/May

The storms that caused so much heartbreak in March moved a huge amount of sand along the coastline and deposited a lot of flotsam on our beaches. All types of things from logs to coconuts were washed up. The moving sands also revealed the wreck of The Buster on Woolgoolga beach.

The Buster shipwreck on Woolgoolga Beach

The Buster was a 39 metre barquentine that was driven ashore in a storm in 1893. Info about this shipwreck can be found at https://www.heritage.nsw.gov.au/about-our-heritage/maritime/buster-shipwreck/

As we all continued to settle into our new home, the renovations in April and May were all about solar panels and concreting outside, and the kitchen inside.

The walks along the beach continued, with Jet getting more brave in the shorebreak, and the beach showing how much she loves us with her heart-shaped pebbles.

The changing seasons brought changes to the birdlife in the yard, and more birds on the clothesline, including the beautiful Spangled Drongo. We also saw our first snake in the yard, a very pretty (non-venomous) common tree snake with a mouth full of frog, as well as our first carpet python on the path over the dune.

In April we hung more of our artwork, inside and out, including adding some Amanda Thompson Artworks wheelie bin stickers. They brighten up the bins and have drawn quite a few comments.

Down the east side of the house (the narrow side that doesn’t really get used) there was crushed roadbase that the dogs were continually bringing inside. The doggy door is on this side of the house. Weeding this area was also a constant job. At the back of the house (south side) pavers had been put down along the edge of the patio because the area was too shaded for grass to grow. Between the pavers were river pebbles, with more crushed roadbase underneath. And alongside that the grass still didn’t grow properly. It was a real mess. Along the west side of the house was lawn, but with all the rain it was very boggy, and the shaded area was mud. Have I mentioned we are on clay? Drainage is pretty bad along that boundary.

Because of all this, we decided to put in a concrete path all the way around the house and to extend the back patio. This meant lots of work to prepare. The frog pond had to be moved. As did the palm tree stump beside it. We also had the split system aircon outdoor unit moved as well. We chose the new spot for the frog pond but digging the hole for it was a major job. Remember that clay?

Then the pavers and pebbles all had to be moved. Another major job.

While Stephen worked on this, I started on the front garden. We were joining the new concreting up with the existing driveway and path, which meant moving more pebbles and digging out the plants outside the guest bedroom, at the front of the house. We didn’t like the plants anyway, so we were happy to get rid of them. While we were at it,  I made a start on cleaning up the other two garden beds out the front; one of which was extremely overgrown. I’m still working on that one.

We couldn’t be happier with the end result of the concreting job.

Before and after concreting the back patio (south side of the house)

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