7 January 2015

Heartwoods in Summer

 
Welcome to Heartwoods from Bushy, Winter and I.
We had a lovely time away, and would like to share it with you.
Here is a map of our property. It's a mountain side, made up of two 40 acre blocks. They were parcelled off during the gold rush. So if the kids fall out, they can inherit one each. 
 
You can see the bottom boundary is a creek...more of this at the bottom of the post. Top left of the block you can see two black spots which are our sheds, and one blue spot which is our leaky dam. We are almost at the top of the hill at about 900 metres.
 
 
You may be wondering what the kids get up to without screens.
First we have Mr Artist being cool in a shell on our dam (complete with some water for a change.)
Going, going, gooone!
 
 
Here Winter, come and float in my boat.
Um, no thanks!
OK I'll go by myself..."wow, look at all the tadpoles, there are literally millions, seriously there are more than a thousand!"
 
 
Then we have parkour adventures over "Speedy" our stationary wreck.
 
 
Don't forget archery sessions with Bushy who is a passionate archer. (new bows for Christmas)
 
 
And then we have riding our bikes - this time the kids rode from the top to the bottom of our block after Bushy slashed a path with the tractor.
Mr Artist managed it unscathed both times, but poor Mr Actor came a cropper the second time. Thank goodness for dirt bike helmets!
 It was still voted the BEST fun!
 
 
We also have time to jump on an old couch, throw sticks that sound like thrumming boomerangs, and play cricket with Bushy...Winter is fielder.
Top right photo shows the stairs I fixed and outlined with bark, and bottom left shows the outdoor shower in the driveway (which we now realise we left up, so may need a new one by the time we head back!)
 
 
Down time includes knitting, reading comics, drinking tea, sitting in our lounge room admiring the view (a flat elevated cleared section- you can see the ground drops away behind Bushy), lying in the hammock, and the all important bug spray!
 
 
There were plenty of bitey bugs, but we also saw a ton of birds including an eagle, also a tortoise, a snake, lizards, and tadpoles.
 


Down the bottom of our block we have a ford to cross the river, and we've noticed it's been under water the last few times. So when Bushy mowed the driveway we came down to have a look. The pipe underneath was silted up.
Never fear, Bushy is here! 
After some digging and scraping, and strategic placement of rocks, we had it flowing again.
 

Then we decided to clear away a waterhole for swimming/ squatting(!), cutting back some undergrowth, to create a lovely cool spot for picnics.
 
 
What does Heartwoods look like at night, you ask?
Here is Bushy in the shed with our divider down (Mr Actor is asleep behind the blind), and outside the trees are silhouetted on the cooling sky.
 
 
One of the glorious sights this visit was butterflies flitting around this blossom. Of course I didn't manage to capture any of them!
 
 
So that's our busy visit. Hope you enjoyed your time with us.
Feel free to lie back, relax on our hammock, and enjoy the evening sunshine!

 
Please come back again.
Until next time, keep on creating and showing your beautiful selves to the world.
 
Love,
Jazzy Jack

17 comments:

  1. what a wonderful hideaway!!!
    you know already i LOVE to live outdoors, your woody spot seems like a paradise to me. and so healthy for the kids, away from screens but in the middle of nature. you all look very happy!
    thank you for sharing!
    xxxxxxx

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  2. What an amazing space! A place for the kids and animals to run free and for you all to spend quality time together, I'm very envious.
    You look so content crafting away!
    Please can you restore Speedy? She's beautiful! x

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  3. What a lot of dun.
    I was missing your, dear Jazzy.
    So glad you had a good time.
    Happy New year to you and your gorgeous family
    XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

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  4. Ha! Good times well documented. Glad you wore lots of bug spray. You wouldn't want to catch that nasty chicangunya virus!

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  5. I did indeed enjoy that visit - what a fantastic spot! And it's all yours? Lucky things; space and nature and time together, that sounds perfect. xx

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  6. Your little piece of Aussie heaven :0)
    xx

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  7. It looks like a great place and ...it's summer! A bit unusual to me to wish you Happy new year when the weather is hot. I like it that you spend so much time with your family and find fun things to do. A little brake from the net is good for both kids and adults. This place is yours? How amazing.

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  8. Yes please! I'd love to come back! it's all utter bliss, what a perfect haven, I feel refreshed just looking at the photo's x x x

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  9. It looks like you guys have a wonderful vacation together! Beautiful place and fun adventures - sounds just perfect to me. Glad to hear from you, dear Jack! Enjoy your break with Bushy and kids! Love xxxxx

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  10. How wonderful it is to have such a place to spend time in nature. No wonder you had so much fun.

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  11. Wow I wish I was there! xxxx

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  12. Oh man, it must be awesome to have land of your own, reminds me of Dallas!!! I loved this show when I was a kid! :D
    Adore the photos, you guys always make me smile, and I mean it, you really put a big ass smile on my face :D Thank you for sharing your trips with us! ^_^

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  13. Your family looks so happy in your delightful place and I can just imagine how peacefully you all sleep after the fresh air and activity. What a wonderful treasure you have and thank you for sharing it. I was captivated by the whole thing and I am enjoying summer vicariously as I hunker down for cold, damp winter here.
    xoxoxo

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  14. Yeah, it looks like a famous time (wish, I where there and in summertime - )
    By the way; I'm reading a book about Australian life: "The Midnight Dress" by Karen Foxlee. The nature is so different and fascinating...
    (I'll back again only next week)

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  15. Great to see you all being the special people you are here and in the flesh!!! D&M xxxx

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  16. These are the sorts of things I used to do in the outdoors. I'm so happy that you still do! And your family too. I laughed about how your set-up would allow for asset-splitting. I love your orange wrap and the tadpoles.

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  17. This is all yours? How wonderful!!! Kids without their noses in a phone. Now there's something you don't see every day. I love the photo of you all bundled up with your knitting. Just the perfect thing!

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