Farewell to The Pines

When we first moved on the Ponderosa, one of the first things that made an impact on the property was the 20 years old pine trees that were planted in the back paddock I nicknamed "The Pines".

It was the perfect location for our chicken run and allowed the Chooks shade and plenty of bugs to dig up and feed on.  Remember my blog when they first arrived - Our New Chooks.  They looked wonderful from the east boundary looking towards the homestead as well.

Unfortunately during the first winter we got to experience just how much the south westerly winds like to whip through the pines.  As time progressed we became extremely concerned that some would fall either on the homestead or on the neighbouring property or heaven forbid on their house.

So .. an opportunity arose to have them removed and we took it.  If I am to be honest, I wasn't too enthusiastic to have them come down, but I caved and after it all was quite surprised with just how much difference it really made to the landscape of the property.

Before

After

Before

After

If I am to be honest, I am sad to see them go, however in the long term I hope to turn that area into an orchard .. only after the chooks have had a good crack at scratching the decomposing the area first.

Scented Wonder

I can't believe that summer has come to an end and we are already half way through autumn.  I've been busy over the past few months as my beautiful grandmother has fallen ill which means I haven't spent a lot of time on the Ponderosa.

Today I had an opportunity to do some work around the house and during some reflection time of sitting on the front porch, I gazed out over the rose garden (which is coming starting to come to the end of it's flowering) and reminisced on the beautiful display it managed to produce this season as I was either leaving or arriving home.

I just had to post some photos considering the last post was about designing it.  

It never ceases to amaze me the enjoyment that the Ponderosa provides me.   99% of the roses in this garden are wonderfully scented so you can just imagine the aroma that drifts through the air when there is a gentle breeze.

There is still room for a few more roses, and there are specific ones I am after and need to look quite hard to source them ... watch this space.

Happy living people