Garden Grand Designs

Finally time to redesign the back garden to accommodate the new extension. Has involved lots of thinking and discussions on the pros and cons of existing layout and proposed concepts. And as with many things at our place it will evolve over time!

We are super impressed with our friends garden makeover and so decided to meet up with their garden lady to extract her expert opinion about our garden. Basically the bones of the garden are good but does need a little colouring in! She made several suggestions regarding the layout, materials and information on the pond as well as tweaking several garden beds.

Anyhow the creation of the pond went smoothly and all five fish are still alive. So that's great. Now time to reclaim the garden. So after a general tidy up, our first job was to establish a path to the veggie patch. The original flagstone path through the lawn was not as successful as I'd hoped, so we moved these down the side of the house to create a path to nowhere!

With several railway sleepers made redundant thanks to the extension which claimed the sandpit and a large garden bed, we thought about how these could be incorporated into our design. It was decided to cut these into similar lengths then place them evenly along a curved line to create the path. Using 20mm river pebbles, we would fill the gaps in between the sleepers.

Over several days, we levelled the path, cut the sleepers, positioned these and the corrugated edging, inserted the weed mat and then added the pebbles all between orienteering sprint races, work, and looking after children!! Plus the girls found their own fun too!

  

 

 

All done thanks to some wonderful help from the girls in spreading some of the pebbles! Now time to mulch to the right of the path and think about laying new grass on the left hand side!

Thanks Grandies

We love you and miss you already! Looking forward to your next visit.

Last Day with the Grandies

Over dinner and while the boys were having their hair  done, it was decided that with Nemo missing in action, we should get the water tested - a free service provided by the pet shop.

So between Bunnings shopping, coffee stops and the boys building the second half of the walk in wardrobe we squeezed in a visit to the pet shop.

Turns out the water was fairly ok. No major problems to fix. The girls pestered Grandad to buy another fish and so Doof Doof joined our clan!





Back at home we introduced the water plants into the ponds. To position the water lily adequately we were required to take out all the river stones. Very carefully, trying not to squash any fish and then who appears? None other than 'missing' Nemo who was very much alive! So now there are 5 fish :)

While doing this, the boys finished off the walk in wardrobe fit out despite some challenges with lack of studs and the position of the sliding door. All worked out wonderfully though. Not only have they done a fantastic job but have saved us a stack of money in the process. A quick coat of paint on the railings and a good clean was needed before the clothes could be organised.

Newest Family Members

Friday was fairly sedate, with the Grandies and girls playing at home until I returned from work just after lunch. Our afternoon involved venturing out to a garden shop in Pialligo to seek out potential water plants for the pond. We were very lucky to receive wonderful information chatting to the shop assistant on all things ponds.  An hour later we emerged with a water lily, water rush and duckweed and lots of things to consider regarding fish.


Next stop was the pet shop to buy mince for Pippa although I knew we'd walk out with more than that! Another in-depth conversation with the pet shop fish expert was also very good although we did receive slightly conflicting information to the pond guy. Anyhow we emerged from the shop with 4 goldfish and two very excited girls!

Each girl picked a fish as did Nana and Grandad. By the time we got home all fish were named! So without further ado, I'd like to introduce the newest additions to our family....


Following the pet shop fish guy's instructions very carefully, we introduced the fish to their new home. They seemed to like it. I did manage to get a photo of all four fish together before they disappeared into the rocks.

As you can imagine we were on the look out for any signs that things weren't ok. We kept checking on the fish.

Saturday morning dawned and prior to Little Aths we could only spot 3 fish....

after Little Aths we could only still spot 3 fish. Funnily enough Nemo was the 'missing' fish. With no evidence of a body, we sadly decided that Nemo had been taken possibly by a bird. All I could think was thank goodness it was Grandad's fish!!

Grandies Come to Stay!

We were blessed to have both Grandies come to stay for a week in mid January. Perfect timing for a little school holiday care too! The girls had numerous suggestions as to activities to keep everyone entertained.

The first to be nominated was a visit to the National Zoo and Aquarium. Tuesday turned out to be just as hot as it was on their previous visit to the zoo, 2 years ago! However this time the aquarium was open and provided some relief from the intense heat. Needless to say, the girls only lasted a few hours which was plenty of time to see all that was on offer although many animals were also sheltering from the sun!

Dinner was enjoyed on our deck, with Grandad trying to eat Ella's ice cream...luckily he was unsuccessful! Katy meanwhile was very safe on Nana's lap!

With the forecast to be hotter again, an indoor activity was requested for Wednesday. Questacon was the selected destination. Arriving early to beat the crowds, the girls and Grandies throughly enjoyed the morning playing and discovering.

And such a day was perfect for an evening at the lake. Meeting up at Yarralumla after work, the girls cooled off with a dip in the lake before we all enjoyed a picnic dinner and a few drinks.

By Thursday, the Grandies were well and truly ready for a rest, so the girls visited Nana and Grandpa for the afternoon so the Grandies could catch their breath!

Garden Pond - Summer Project #2

Meanwhile while Andy was busy building wardrobe interiors, I started on my project of turning our old turquoise bath tub into a pond! After deciding on the position of the bath, it was a little hard work digging the hole. Soon enough though the bath slotted into the said spot.

Discussions took place as to how the solar pump was going to work with Andy desperately wanting to re use the bath spout and tap too! We solved this by choosing and cutting various railway sleepers utilising an existing bolt hole to attach the spout. Must say it worked beautifully! Andy then capped the drain pipe and rigged up the solar pump. I added a few river pebbles and more sleepers around the edge and then it was time to add water!

Of course the girls couldn't resist getting a little wet after all if was a bathtub!

 

We gave the pond a few days while we dreamt of water plants and fish and went back to work......

Venture into Deep Space

With the thought of missing out on building wardrobes, Grandad immediately booked tickets for himself and Nana! First to arrive was Nana on Sunday night. The girls were very excited to wake Nana up in the morning. After a quick food shop and lunch, we picked up a friends of Ella's and headed off towards Tidbinbilla to the Canberra Space Centre.

On the drive in the large antennas were very impressive as they came into view. Turns out that only 4 of these big dishes are active. Noticeably the first dish you pass is the most famous - DSS46. Originally located at Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station between 1967 and 1981, this antenna received and relayed to the world the images of astronaut Neil Armstrong setting foot on the moon in July 1969.

These antennas are an integral part of the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex and forms part of the NASA's Deep Space Network. They provide communications between deep spacecraft missions as well as radio and radar astronomy observations for the exploration of the solar system and the universe.

Although only small, the Canberra Space Centre provides a wealth of information on the role Australia plays in the exploration of space. We checked out various fun facts about space missions from spacecraft to food to rovers. There was a small piece of the moon which is apparently 3.8 billion years old. We also tried on an astronauts suit for size! There was a small interactive section which kept the girls entertained for a short while plus several short videos. After an hour the girls had had enough learning.

Back in the hot car, we decided to drop in at the Cotter for a quick play...or wade in the river. Thankfully no-one got too wet and it was a really nice way to finish the afternoon.