The Herd

Eszter ask to see the Herd :-)
Here they are, the 12 of them. They are doing well this winter, there is enough food to graze but they are getting "biscuits" too :-)) They love to eat the hay when it is cold. When they hear the ute coming, we get a few mooo-s signaling that they see us and they are THINKING :-) It takes a few minutes to process the information :-)) then everybody come running down the hill. It's impressive -and mildly frightening- how this several hundred kg thunders down on you. I always think... what if the brake will fail one day? :-)) but they inevitably put on the brakes... all 4 of it... and just centimeters from the thin, white line (the electric fence distancing us from them)... they skid to a knee-deep, muddy halt.
Sometime the bulls play-fight a bit on the way down :-) then around the hay bales there is some jostling, head pushing, horn pocking, [Only Fergus has horns. Interestingly -I expected the horn to be a dominant trait- none of his babies has it. We might be breading the Poll Highland :-) ] shoulder toss to establish ranks and decide who eats at what spot.
Here Peter has his curly head, Ibi hiding behind mum Ili.
Peter, the young bull
Fergus of Lachlan Mohr
Jazmin of St Imre :-)
and a more model photo
Lizi and the last baby,
Lenke De Sheep :-))

Pruning and house building

Paul started building the house. We have to move up there ASAP. Hardly wait....Here are some pics on the progress:
Old roof coming off:
First section of the master bedroom:
View from the master bedroom :-)) it's a bit (very) dirty at the moment but...this window will be a Gothic one, like the ones at the front. other window here:
bathroom and corridor: going down to the other 2 bedrooms. Skylight for lounge and my secret storage space:
New roof structure started:
It was variable weather today so don't expect artistic photos from me :-)) I've been pruning all day, couldn't get bothered to look for right angles for the pics. My hand is still holding up, no pain yet...Chris and Candy helping pre-prune the old ones
they are doing a very good job! Thanks! Look how much they've done already...here block 1 with mama ducky who ALWAYS can get out: and here's DONE:

Paul's eyes are a bit sensitive still, he has to wear the sunglasses while working, but so far so good.
Finished another paper on OH+S. Not quiet...still 2 more pages to go but at least I know where I'm going with it and done all the research. Geeezzzz, I HATE essay writing! Did I tell you before? :-))) 3 more to do soon :-(( just the ones we know about yet...I'm not complaining though. I really love school! Pat me on the back, because I didn't have to resubmit the Communication one and I'm a veritable expert now on fire hazards and even done an evacuation plan for the business :-))
It's time to put some food on the table. Bon appetite! And Anica and Craig...yes we are thinking of you when we'll rise the glasses tonight :-)

The Master Winemaker REALLY looks like a pirate now :-)

Another very busy week is behind us...
Bianka and Tamas left us, they are on their way to New Zealand, but not before they painted the wine storage and Bianka even devised some tagging system for the shelves :-) Thanks a lot !!!! We'll never forget you! Keep in touch.
We had a function. A great bunch of people celebrated a beautiful lady's birthday at St Imre. Thanks for picking us and we hope you all had a good time.
And now for the most scary and exciting event of the week...Paul had his right eye operated on. Dr F. Burgess changed his lens to alleviate the pressure building behind his cornea. He had to wear a patch over his eye for the day and we laughed ourselves silly watching the reaction of the people on the street :-)) He looked like a bikie after a bed night out :-) and he wasn't even wearing his usual bandana, only when we arrived home :-)) Look at him now: he can't deny his pirate origin :-))) Pity, the patch wasn't black :-) Doc took the facial accessory off today and the master winemaker can't believe how well he can see already!!!!! Fingers crossed, he doesn't collect an infection, because -if everything goes alright- soon he'll have the other eye done and he may not need glasses at all...
Cheers for now.

Pressing the reds

It's gloomy out there again today.
But if you look the other way, the Sun peaks out from behind the clouds. Andras and Bianka took off the netting. Some are in their bags already but some are still waiting for the rain to stop. We had another 45 mm, the ground is saturated now, the old drain is gushing from under the vines and the ponds are overflowing Inside work time :-)
We bottled some barrels of the 08 Pinot Noir to make space for the new going in. Pressing is going according to script We are delighted with Bianka and Andras :-) not just because they are our first Hungarian HelpX guests but because they have restored our faith in the HelpX experience. We had a nasty, regrettable few weeks lately :-(( I was debating as to write about it publicly or not...but I think other hosts (who read my blog) have the right to know that not every guest is a honorable one! Edwin Lua from Singapore was staying with us for a month. As is my custom, I offered Lucifer to be used by him to a trip up the Hartz National Park. He drove it down Cockle Creek the previous week and they came back in their respective skins. Not this time though! They arrived on the back of the tow truck :-((( Edwin paid a grand to part-compensate for the damage he'd caused. So far so good...I was thinking he does the right thing to do and how lucky we all are that no-one was injured, only Lucifer was so smashed up that I didn't have the heart to even look at it without starting to cry :-(( ( You know, this car isn't just a 4 year old car for me! It is my very first new car I ever owned, that's because it has a name, just like all our pets.) Edwin disappeared of course :-( He wrote to me after I've sent him the 6000 dollar repair bill that I should by a secondhand car...(I suppose with the money he paid). Or (in his last email to me) if I want the rest, I should arrange for his insurance fraud!!! Now, this may be a custom in Singapore but NOT in here. And NOT in my family. Ever! We left our old country because we didn't ever wanted to participate in corruption, fraud and bribery. We never compromised our honour and integrity. Not for money, not for political reasons...So I'm mighty pissed off with Edwin !!!! Our every cent is allocated very carefully to be able to finish the cafe, the gallery and the house. The 5000 dollar he took out of our budget is a BIG hole that, being winter with not many customers and jobs for Paul, is very hard to plug in :-((
Edwin withdraw himself from HelpX, so I couldn't leave a feedback to other host about all this. This is why I've decided to write about it here, in case other hosts will look for information about him before they open their home and offer their hospitality to him.
Ohh well...I believe in Karma...what goes around cames around. His conscience might awake or let him sleep soundly for the rest of his life... and I console myself with the company of good friends.
We visited Miki, had a beaut time in his jacuzzi and laughed ourself silly around the dinner table.