The worlds ugliest caravan just got power. Some might say that’s a little like polishing an old rock, but the van is my second home, be it ever so humble. Finally having power hooked up by way of a solar panel is pretty exciting stuff. I am trying now to work out the best bit. Being able to recharge my phone is high on the list. Being able to turn on a light when needed is also pretty good. The AFL Grand Final is this weekend and now I will be able to watch it live. Now that really excites me!
Spending the weekend in my van on the fringe of a rugby league town means that any chance to watch the AFL in a pub or club is slim at best and simply good luck. So now I will be able to flick a switch and watch what I want.
The chance to watch a bit of TV will be a welcome break from fencing. Oh my goodness fencing is hard work. Too hard for an old city boy like me. Too hard for a man that worries about keeping his hands ‘right’ for playing ukulele late into the night. Too hard for hands that would prefer to cup a glass of shiraz. Digging in chicken wire is back breaking and I know farmer Jeff will be inspecting my handiwork at some stage so I am making an extra effort to make it look neat and tidy. Chicken wire is brutish stuff. It takes a solid three to four days before my hands recover, before the scratches heal and the bruising subsides. Few things remind me of what a softy I am as quickly as fencing.
My usual break from fencing is firewood cutting and gathering. Firing up the chainsaw and cutting up windfall trees which then get neatly divided into wood for the Barjols cooking fire, and wood for home. I get a huge amount of satisfaction firing up the wood fired oven back in town using Barjols timber and cooking something interesting. The fire at Barjols uses only twigs, as its modelled on a rocket stove design to supply fast heat and then die out quickly. Being able to get so much utility from a single tree is great reward. Thank you to uncle google pants for showing me how to make all of that work.
My enthusiasm for life in the country will resume as soon as my back settles down. Any day now it should get back to the point that I can not only bend down but reliably return to standing again without it going into a ridiculous spasm.