The olive and the fig

We took our first 'owner' trip to our block yesterday, with the poor olive tree that's been surviving in a pot - waiting on this day for nigh on 6 years, a fig tree, wire, chainsaw, brushcutter, spade, mattock and various implements of destruction.

First act was to stake our claim.

Then I got down to digging a hole near the gate, and Barbs took a large bag off to collect the dead horse bones (isn't this what every new property owner does?)
Without too much drama, the olive was planted. I didn't bury any corpses at its feet. But where you plant an Olive, an old belief goes, you plant a piece of your heart. And figs of course are symbols of fertility and possibly, knowledge :-).

We took ourselves on a tour of the boundary - walking the property line. It's an interesting combo of beach sand, limestone rocks and granite. I can grow two varieties of rock! There's a dam/waterhole, that exists simply by getting down to the water-table (we're between 25-95 feet above sea level) and there are surprising hummocks and little hills and valleys, meaning there are spots that face North, and could be reasonable for grapes. Yes, a daydream. No you can't order a case. There's a winter stream, and quite a lot of bush, more rush-tussocks and bracken. And rocks. Did I mention the rocks. This includes sheets about 30 yards across in the house-paddock. Houses can forage on rocks, which most other animals find indigestible.

Then we set cutting weeds and dead trees around the house site... well, temporarily. The brush-cutter and its shaft decided they'd had enough of each other, and started divorce proceedings with a trial separation. This was something the weeds greeted with delight. I had the dead tree twist on me and pin my bar - but nothing a well-applied wedge and brute force could not sort. There is a wealth of dead trees (firewood)- they're mostly she-oak, shallow rooted and tend to fall over at a certain size - making a tangle of dead flammable stuff - better cut and used than left to be a fire-hazard. We have weeds, thistles, nettles too as extra benefits - but once the area is tidied up should be lovely, and less good for fires and snakes.

It's a start, that's all I can say.

We sat and had spiny lobster on home made bread, and a glass of wine to celebrate. There's a lot to do, but every step is one less that we have to take.