Wicked!

Elphie really needs some white letters but she does okay with these! Elphaba is our workhorse green four wheeler - she moves us around, holds random things when sitting in the shed and serves as a pruning platform. 

She is currently holding Dubya's blanket so it can dry out.

Our motorized vehicles have names. You have likely seen posts about Betty - our diesel truck.

Betty is also very handy around the farm for pulling things, carrying things and especially getting us up and down tricky hills while doing so. 

Scott has been taking her into the scrub to bring back logs he has chopped up from fallen trees. She does fine in four wheel drive and doesn't seem to mind. She brought back a load of hay for Dubya last week. It has gotten so dry that there isn't enough grass to keep him gaining weight. 

Goose is our other truck and serves as a mobile water source. She has been chugging along despite not having a great battery. She isn't registered so has to stay on the farm. 

Goose and her water go to the livestock, trees down in the orchard and to stand by stick pile burns in case needed. Besides the tank, she carries a petrol pump and two hoses.

Valencia is the Trattoria tractor we inherited:

Valencia can drag heavy duty equipment to clear brush and long grass. Valencia has had the last few months off duty. Between no functional battery and Scott's recovery period, she has not been able to be used. She does not have automatic steering so is a bit hard to turn. 

When we can't use Valencia for mowing bigger jobs, Mandi gets pulled out. 

Mandi is a very sensitive ride on mower with unique wiring (that breaks easily). She now works but is on vacation while the grass stays short due to lack of moisture. 

We are hoping to take out the QEIII (Queen Elizabeth III) sooner rather than later. We also inherited this tinny and have taken courses to be able to run her at speed (which may be a moot point due to the relatively small engine size. 

Not yet tested for floatation ability but we do have life jackets. It looks like the trailer tires may need some insufflation before we go!

Parking is getting a little tighter - we also have Kristy's van (tucked safely in the shed), a trailer and the horse float. Plus the little wagon, wheelbarrow etc. We have ordered one more - a sapphire blue Subaru EV. Should arrive in November. The battery for it will be on that wall next to the QEIII so she may need to move. 

If you didn't figure out our naming convention, it is mostly color based. Betty White, Valencia oranges, Gray Goose, Mandi/Mandarin and Elphaba, the green witch. The QEIII is just because she follows her namesakes the QEI and II. Plus she is small enough that I didn't think I could get "Aluminati" to fit. Not sure yet what the car can be called. Scott has suggested Evie (EV) but I would think she would want to be included in the color scheme.  Whale seems rude, berry seems belitting, shark seems ominous. Peacock? Morpho (butterfly)? Moonie?  Sappho? Can't think of a nickname for cobalt. Let me know if you have suggestions!

Speaking of musicals- we haven't found a place to go see any in this area but there is the Kinema in Narooma. It has a decent selection of movies, If we don't take the QEIII out, we might try for a movie night instead. 

I start my accreditation site visit at the University of Sydeny in a week so am gearing up. This means re-reading lots of documents,  writing an additional blog, getting my hair cut and even my nails done. The hair is cut and the nails are done. You might be getting a bird themed blog next time. We did join a bunch of neighbors to attend a birding session down the road. He emphasized ethical bird watching, talked about binoculars and sound identification of birds (you hear way more than you can see). Good way to spend the morning! 

I did have a scare earlier in the day. Two wedge tailed eagles were on the road between our house and the house with 3 dachshunds and terrier. 

Thought it was cool until I remembered the dachshunds. Definitely within prey size limits for these large birds. Here is a picture of one flying that still doesn't do justice to their size:

This one is over our house and is recognizable by the "less than wedge" tail he has. 

I went back up the road and didn't find dachshunds or other animals but I did see something gray in our paddock (behind the fence closest to them). It was a dog coat. So I called the neighbors and trudged up the hill fearing the worst. All 4 dogs were alive and well. Still no clue about the coat but maybe just blew over on a windy day. Fingers crossed.