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1. ⭐️Be an Early Bird no snoozing till 10am, the beasts will be awake, need tending (Every. Single. Morning)

2. 🐮Have A genuine love of animals in all their glory, they’re a big responsibility.

3. ⚡️The ability to embrace chaos, even with the best management, animals escape, storms wreck planting, equipment breaks down

4. ⭐️The ability to embrace mess, formal gardeners look away! Free- range chickens and neat garden beds don’t go together.

5. 🍀An appreciation of nature and the outdoors, enjoy being outside, in all weathers

6. 🐓Barn and chicken coop cleaning skills, those cute photos on social media of animals snuggled in clean straw, eating from shiny clean dishes? That takes work, there’s a lot of shit shovelling behind the scenes.

7. ⏰Time! Don’t under estimate how much time and energy it takes to keep it all functioning well. Are you up for it?

8. 🏠Reliable Pet/House sitters on speed dial or you’ll never go away

9. 🧑‍🌾An ability to ask or pay for help, can’t do it all on your own, you just can’t

10. ⭐️Energy The jobs are never ending. If you find yourself exhausted or resentful maybe time to rethink this lifestyle or embrace number 9!

Things i’ve learned.

In addition to the usual antiseptics and bandaids, Australian first aid kits need tick removers, anti-histamines, Stingoes and a snake bandage. 😳

Teeny weeny Scottish spiders will seem cute compared to their large Antipodean cousins.

It’s ok to scream like a banshee when a Huntsman spider runs up your arm or blood-filled leech falls ‘splat’ at your feet (it did) having sneakily attached to your abdomen as you walked innocently through the rainforest earlier.

Continue reading “Arachnids, Reptiles and Many Small Beasties”

Rob and I have given homes to many animals over the years, I was once accosted by a stranger at the local IGA, “ah the Noahs Ark people, so many animals in pairs at your place!” It was true!😆

2 mini- Italian Grey hounds
2 sheep (fat)
2 geese
2 turkeys
Multiple bantam chooks
Oh and a friendly peacock

Our own petting zoo.

The peacock (long gone) would often fly up on the deck, display its magnificent feathers then shit on the hand rails and often seen strutting up the animal- hating neighbours driveway, presumably shitting on theirs too. It also had a distinctive raucous call which Rob found charming, me not so much.

Along with the petting zoo we managed everyday life, work, home, acreage, little kids and with no family nearby the chaos was all ours (both sets of grandparents spent many long holidays with us, always such a wrench when they left😩😔)

Continue reading “Rescue and Release”

I’ve always been a bit of a tree hugger, love the rainforest, the eucalyptusy smells, the birdsong, the silence.

Neighbours within poking distance is not my preference, i love people but like choosing when I interact and Rob, well he prefers animals! 😆

I’m used to the drive home from work, nose to tail traffic, petrol fumes, tradies driving up my arse. All worth it 40 minutes later when I park under the tree in front of the house, swing the car door open, feel my nervous system go aaaaaah soon as feet touch the ground

Moving entire countries, buying land, building a home together was a challenge, many “aah, that’s what we should have done” moments since. 🤦‍♀️

Continue reading “The Big Tree House”