Hello readers! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year. Welcome 2023!
As usual we have been very busy these past few months. There has been a mix of things happening both on and off the station. My job role has expanded into some admin work for some off station projects that Josh and Denae are starting, including 6 self contained cabins for short term accommodation in the township of Tambo and the purchase of a building for a cafe, among other things. Itās been great having some extra work in the office and it keeps my mind busy and creative juices oiled. Matt has been helping in town with some tasks also, such as site preparation etc
Weāve established some lovely relationships with neighbours nearby, including a young couple next door at Woolga station and another neighbour up the road at Kootchie station. Itās nice to make connections and weāve enjoyed several get togethers over the past months.
We have started prepping our house in Blackall for a full makeover. The shed is full of equipment and supplies. We have new windows to go in, new roof to go on and exterior cladding too. We will get some help in January to do the new roof so that we can finish it in one or two days. Once the outside is done we will make a start inside, including some re-sheeting, new bathroom and kitchen, repainting and polishing the floors. I canāt wait to see it finished and get some tenants in. š
We enjoyed the school swimming carnival in the final weeks of term 4, Indi swam her little heart out and picked up a couple of placings. Lexi had fun participating in the prep games too. We spent a few Friday nights in town before swimming lessons, it was fun to stay in the caravan on our Tambo block and enjoy the town conveniences. The kids love riding their scooters around town, playing at the playground and of course swimming! Tambo has great facilities and the pool is beautiful, itās free entry for everybody all season, which is awesome.
Weāre enjoying school holidays, the kids were able to spend a day mustering cows at Glanmire before Christmas. Indigo did a great job on her horse and Lexi and Ashton were happy with me in the buggy and the truck. Lexi isnāt too keen on big mustering days just yet, her pony is a bit full on. The kids were with us working all day until sunset while we drafted cattle and branded the calves etc. It was a long hard day but they handled it well. Indigo even went back the following day to muster with Matt and Josh, Matt said she did a great job and was very helpful blocking cows while they were drafting cattle etc. The girls have just shuffled all their horses and Lexi has now claimed Indiās horse and Indi has been riding a bay mare of Mattās. I love seeing them ride. š„° We only have a few weeks before school goes back, Indigo will be grade 3 and Lexi grade 1.
We recently made a trip back to Gympie as Indigo had a tonsillectomy. Indi and I headed off on Sunday and she had surgery on Tuesday. She was so brave and recovered really well. She hated hospital and couldnāt get out of there quick enough, poor possum. Matt kept the little ones home with him and he met up with us on the Thursday. Apparently Lexi was in charge of packing the overnight bag for the trip for herself and Ashtonā¦she actually did pretty well for a 5 year old! I think they had to fend for themselves a few times while Dad was busy and Mum was away, lucky we breed strong independent kids. It was lovely to have an early Christmas with the Hanson family, always nice to see everyone. The rest of our time was spent running around visiting friends and gathering building supplies for the Blackall house. We filled the cattle truck and horse float to the brim. šØ
We spent Christmas at home with Mum and a neighbour, followed by a third Christmas celebration on the 27th when my brother joined us. We had so much fun with everyone together. Itās so nice to be able to spend time with family for a few days when you can actually have quality time together. Itās great to have space for everyone, Mum stayed in our caravan and my brother and family stayed in the quartersā¦everyone had their own space and a bathroom which makes it so good. The boys enjoyed shooting clays in the afternoon and chasing pigs in the evening. We had some weaners in the yards too, so we were all able to process the cattle together and walk them out on horses. A fun experience for everyone.
Weāve had some interesting things happen, incidents of a brown snake in our shoe box at the back door, one under the chook food bucket which my face was directly over and 2 king browns trying to fight off the neighbours working dogs that were āplayingā with them!
Ashton was unwell on New Years night and gave me a big fright when his eyes started rolling! He is fine, once he threw up he came back to again. š¬
Weāve had a few rogue bullocks that needed hobbling. I took the pig dog with me while I was down the paddock and ended up running into a mob of pigs on the dam! Weāve had 6 puppies born and rehomed. Dogs fighting dogs causing injuries. Bogged road trains full of cattle that needed pulling out. š¤ Iām sure thereās other things Iāve missed. If you say it quick it doesnāt sound like much but these are the things that fill our days.
2023 will be an exciting one for us personally, we hope to finish off the Blackall house and get it rented and weāve also ordered a 2 bedroom cabin type home for our Tambo block which weāre hoping to run as some form of B and B. Iāll keep you posted!
As I type, Iām driving the ute back from cleaning troughs. The girls have followed me all the way around on their horses, which is a great effort!
Wherever you are and whatever your plans for this year we wish you a happy and healthy 2023! āļø
The Hanson 5ive 