The Bush Block ... in the beginning ...

Dave bought the 25 acre bush block, sight unseen, on the recommendation of a friend who bought the block next door, while he was working as a computer technician in Melbourne. When he quit his job in 2004 he packed up and moved to the bush block, and lived there in a tent for nearly 2 years. Talk about a tree change!

I took this photo in late 2006. This shot is aimed slightly south of east. The clearing in the middle is the house site, to the right is the southern tree line that has barely been touched since. Trees to the left (north) have now been removed - bushfire regulations require a 30 metre clearing around habitable buildings.

We were talking about building the rammed earth 'mansion' at this stage. In fact, early last year we bought architect plans for a rammed earth loft cottage. Many months' discussions down the track, though, we have settled on the smallest kit home we think we can fit in to, with the option of building a rammed earth shed/cottage/mansion at a later date, when we are living there. Living 40km from the site has been the major deciding factor in choosing what (we hope) will be an easier option than rammed earth.

Last month, though, we finally got the house site levelled and the access road re-done. This next photo is roughly the same view after the bulldozer had been through. About the only thing that looks vaguely similar is the treeline on the right/south! The area that the bulldozer cleared is somewhere between 1-2 acres, more likely the latter.

When he was living in the tent Dave had fenced off an area that he'd planted some apple trees and some other plants in - and had forgotten all about the rhubarb; thought it was dead. So Lucky (the rhubarb murderer) will be stunned to learn that in the midst of that sandy desert I discovered a sprouting rhubarb crown!!! See, hunny bunny, you're just living in the wrong climate for rhubarb, we can't even kill ours with a bluddy bulldozer!!!!