Day 73 - Big Dip

A decent downpour last night was far from ideal with the outside walls of the Old Dairy freshly painted. Emerging with his morning coffee the Bandycoot was very disappointed to see that the fresh paint on the second level had actually run down the concrete wall of ground floor.

He straight away started scrubbing these paint streaks off before they could set, but what to do about the paint, still wet, upstairs? Will the rain still sprinkling lightly down, the Bandycoot (my boyfriend) ran into his tool shed, climbed back up the painting ladder and started drying the paint – with a blowtorch! Naturally I had concerns that he might set the house on fire, but he insisted he was staying a safe distance away. This had some success and after a while he decided to let nature take its course, and hopefully dry the paint during the day.

To cheer ourselves up we decided to go for a drive. The Bandycoot recalled visiting a lovely waterfall in his younger years, so we headed just down the road to Dip Falls. On the way we saw beautiful Australian Shelducks in the fields and stopped to take a photo. That’s one of the things I love about Tassie is the beautiful birdlife (also that you can just stop in the middle of a country road and don’t have to worry about traffic).

The Falls turn out to be quite lovely, especially full after all the recent rain. Navigating a very long and slippery set of stairs to the bottom was well worth it for view off the steel platform. At the bottom of the falls were a large number of logs that had been washed down in the recent flooding and were now diverting some of the water flow.

Dip Falls

We walk in the nearby bush and find old tracks used by loggers, with broken down pieces of machinery rusting slowly away among the trees. Then the Bandycoot insists we have to see the ‘Big Tree’. Considering how many huge species I’ve seen already in Tassie, I wonder what makes this one special. After a beautiful stroll along the boardwalk, I catch my first glimpse of it. At 62m it is quite humbling and you can help but feel dwarfed by the power and beauty of nature. We both give this amazing specimen some big hugs and take a few happy snaps to remember this awesome feeling.

The Bandycoot hugging the 'Big Tree'

Day 72 – Feathers, flock and flee

Sunshine! It feels like I have come to life and the world around with me. Ever the optimist I put a load of laundry through. When I’m hanging out the clothes on the line I notice that grass is green and lush from all the rain. The small native birds are revelling in the sunshine and form a feathery carpet around me as they dance and duck about searching for bugs and grubs who may have also emerged in the warmth.

Later it’s time to put a second coat on yesterday’s paintwork. I’m nervous about climbing back up the ladder and on to the awning roof after ripping my leggings and cutting my leg trying to get back down. The Bandycoot (my boyfriend) suggests climbing out of the upstairs window instead, which I manage to do (though very awkwardly). I quickly cover the boards, worried about the dark clouds looming behind us. The Bandycoot has a lot more wall to cover than me and insists on painting late into the day. I express my doubts that it will dry before the evening dew arrives.

We take the puppies for a late afternoon walk and they are excited to go down to area where the Bandycoot has been chopping wood, next to the creek. On the way back we find ourselves the centre of attention with the alpacas following us up the hill until we also come face to face with the sheep and cows that the Bandycoot’s nan has put into the paddock to keep the grass down. Before we know it, we’re in a rather scary Mexican stand-off situation with none of the animals wanting to back away. This is all too much for our little pup Indie, who looks a lot like a fox, and she makes break for it and runs all the way home to the Old Dairy being chased by some cranky cows. Jazzie sticks close to us and after some yelling and loud hand clapping we make it safely back to the house yard. Phew!

A worn out Indie...happy to be home safe again!