Creator of roads.
Part of the new boundary road - East side.
Captains Log - 1800 / 21st August 2025
If you had asked me eighteen months ago if I would be managing a road making program on my property I would have answered yes - although in that case it would have been using the karcher on my driveway……and it would have taken an hour at most. Now however I am the curator of 67 acres of bush and the karcher is basically useless except for washing dirt off machines.
I mentioned in my last log that we will be having a undergrowth burn here on the property - it has transpired that on the list of properties that Tasmanian Fire Service deem to be the most risk to potential property and adjoining forests, ours gets the blue ribbon as first place and at some point over the next six weeks (weather permitting) 49 acres of the 67 will be transformed. Over the last two weeks we have had a flurry of activity on the property with road making machines, chainsaws, whipper snippers and industrial blower backpacks working like champions to create fire boundary roads. The result of this is that we now have a new set of roads through and around our property that I am very fond of.
Road smoothing attachment to quad bike with accessory from the local tip.
Whilst I am not the creator of roads per say (the industrial bobcat of amazingness with front end monster mulcher gets that accolade), I think it is fair to say that I can claim the title of “maintainer of roads”. I have immense pleasure attaching the steel tow behind quad bike plough sorta thing with a huge tractor tire strapped on top and meandering around all the tracks smoothing out the bumps. Chainsaw in hand the branches are clipped to allow all whom may wish to pass to do so without risk of a scratch.
Today I fumbled my way through the All Trails App (which is always a challenge - what was the password again?) and managed to map out the perimeter of the property. If you know how to use it, the link is here - although I think you have to register. It is quite a thing though - you press start (eventually) and the app tracks and marks you on an overlay of what I assume to be Google Maps with speed, elevation, distance, time and calories (although I assume the calories count if you are on an actual bike with pedals and not a chesterfield on balloon tyres with a motor - ATV).
The Tasmanian Fire Service have been on point. They don’t mess around. Over four days they carved roads into our 68 acres large enough for a car over a distance of around 2kms. The track on the appy thing above tracks those new roads as well as the return journey over what is roughly the circumference of The Ship - Bay of Fires. The total distance was 3kms. The Admiral did the same ride. The below gallery does not do it justice, but it gives you an idea. We figured out that we could fit over two hundred “Wentworth Street’s” into our new digs.
I expect my next log will be about the controlled fire that happened here….watch this space.
“Manager of soil.”
On a lessor scale, but no less impressive (to me at least) is the vegetable garden of amazingness that now has a name - “Saamayika”.
This was the original name of the property and a sign that we found in the shed that now hangs over the entrance to the vegetable garden and chook run. The Admiral has recently been speaking with the people that built The Ship and we have learned a great amount of history of this property of late. Originally built by a Marine Engineer who also built a yacht under the house (before there were apartments) the list goes on to having been owned by a doctor and a bush pilot and some other people (Robin was mentioned earlier in these logs). Every person has put their stamp on the property and we are certainly enjoying putting ours on as well.
When we arrived the garden was suitable for the person that lived here with only two out of the eight garden beds being watered and maintained. Since arriving we have been conditioning the soil and have just recently put in an irrigation system - not just any irrigation system though, a dam fed, 16,000l two tank and electric pump system that have been refined to use the best of the water supply whilst covering the whole garden. I find myself in the vegetable garden quite a lot - it has become part of my office.
Here is the current view - but wait until the soil warms up!
“Whisper of chooks”
Roula, Toula, Soula, Voula, Foula and Agape are without doubt the best fed, best housed, best dressed chooks on the planet. I know, I am biased, but if I explain to you how these six sisters live then I expect that I may get a few groans from the more hardy of the farmers out there….but here it goes…..
Today I actually toasted some Sugar Ant Ridge sourdough, spread with R Stephens meadow honey and cut up into little bite sixed bits. The other day we made toasted cheese, ham, relish and sundried tomato toasties - we were too full for the last one so that got crushed and given to the chooks - they loved it! Cheese and bits of pumpkin, tomato seeds coupled with their usual mix of grains and any unfortunate bug that may have wandered into the Kublai khan of chickendom. When they are in season (and definitely not when they are not), they get a raspberry or two each. They would go to the crossroads for a raspberry.
Once upon a time Agape would occasionally take a raspberry from my hand and they would shoot away to eat it - now when I open the gate they all stand at my feet and it is a challenge sometimes not to trip over one of them……the concept of the gate opening forward to them is beyond comprehension and it is easier to just go for the ride and be pushed out of the way by that big shiny thing that stops them from the vegetable garden. I don’t need a flute, they are behind me or around us whenever we enter - especially if we are holding that magic silver bowl of food!
They all have their personalities - Agape has become a little too cocky and demanding whilst two week older Roula is quite happy to wait out any frenzy, comfortable in the knowledge she will get her share.
On the flipside (eggcellent pun there), we are getting four eggs a day currently and we have never had to do any worming or other chicken stuff folk said we would have to do (we check for stuff, but all healthy and happy - why wouldn’t they be!).
Of course there are many other things happening but that can wait for another day……
Thank you for reading my ramblings again.
Cheerio
The Captain.