The day after writing that I felt safe in my little bunkhouse I was lying in bed and I could hear a scratching in the walls… I could hear something moving around… I couldn't decide whether it had wings or was walking on feet… I decided it sounded bigger than a cockroach… I decided it probably couldn't kill me…Txting a friend to share of this dilemma I was called a chicken for not looking. I wasn't being called that having spent time on a chicken farm… I went outside to investigate. I found a blown over tree and a broken slat. Knowing there was something therefore in the walls or under the floor I didn't think it was wise to fix this at 11pm. For it would mean that it couldn't get back out… It was suggested that it could be Santa… A bit early for Christmas presents but this comment did made me think about chimneys… I realised I had a fire with a chimney heading to the roof… I didn't know if there was a hole in the roof end or not… I covered my end with a towel… An hour later with the sounds still on the other side of the wall I hoped that it couldn't get in… I eventually fell asleep. We fixed it the next morning with no idea what I had for company that night…

Night time dramas aside, it has been absolutely freezing the last couple of days! We had the pleasure of 3 degrees one morning! 3 degrees?! Are you kidding?! Apparently a similar temperature to Scotland right now…! Swinging from cold, wet and windy to warm and beautiful, I alternate between hoody and body warmer to only my t shirt! I look forward to my warm after work shower everyday :-).

Some things I have learnt with my week:

• Citrus kills earthworms. Don't put them in your compost!
  
• That blood and bones in fertiliser is an effective deterrent for kangaroos
  
• That it is easier to make red rather than white wine
• Fruit trees are pruned from the inside. 'Vase pruning' if you will.
• That garlic is white because it is apparently bleached white… Organic garlic is therefore best
• That you can face a fine of up to $110,000 for killing a saltwater crocodile
• A lot about Belgium! Two Belgian wwoofers also here, we have been asking each other a lot of questions
• I've met a beautiful kelpie dog that is allergic to grass. Who knew dogs could be allergic to grass?!
• A week of geography questions, I now know where in Scotland Applecross and the Isle of Islay are
• A new skill also added, I have been grafting grapevines to change the grapes for next year's wine.

Lots of laughs this has included being asked whether I am at the ‘pole of cats’ (talking about it being cold they apparently meant polar ice caps), what ‘dumb fries’ was like (our local hometown of Dumfries) and people using the word hay when they mean hey! Finishing my book (quite liked it :-)), adding some movies to my watchlist, Craig Werth and the Hussy Hicks have also been added to my music playlist. My favourite day of the week though was Monday. It was a beautiful hot and sunny day. Left alone to plant seedlings, it was most therapeutic :-). The sun still in the sky, dinner was homemade pizza cooked in an outdoor wood fired pizza oven. Actually amazing, the tandoori chicken and strawberry and chocolate were my favourites :-). For evening viewing we watched Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Mentioned many a time on my travels I've been wanting to see it for ages. Loved it :-). Many a laugh and watching them climb Kings Canyon, a climb I did just less than four weeks ago, it was a pretty cool moment for me :-).