Back to the Murphy's and their Chook Palace

Well, here I am back with Shaun and Nobuko for a few more days. I helped Shaun pull the formwork down from the concrete roof we were working on when I was here last month. The results are quite nice... maybe little too nice for chickens. This is a chook pen that will be here for many generations. Shaun had done some welding and carpentry while I was gone, you can see the door for the two story nesting box on the right.
After we removed all the formwork (including quite a few wheelbarrows of gravel we had used to shape the dome), we cut and fastened the wire mesh to the steel frame. The building envelope is now complete. All that remains to do is plaster the outside wall and put a few finishing touches inside-- a perch or two, an automatic watering device, etc.

Yesterday was a beautiful sunny Spring day, so I decided to do a little bushwalking. I set out for a rock outcropping up near the ridgeline that I could see from the veranda here, thinking I might be able to get a good view of the valley. I set out on a compass bearing (45 degrees), but had trouble keeping on the line because the terrain was pretty rough. The hill is scattered with boulders of varying sizes, and some areas are thick with briers. But I picked my way through, and saw some interesting things along the way.

I saw a number of kangaroos and a couple different lizards. This was the only one who waited around long enough for me to get my camera out.

As I climbed higher, I was beginning to think that I had missed my mark... but then I felt the presence of something big. I looked up and there it was. It doesn't come through in these tiny photos... but this rock is HUGE! At least 4 or 5 stories high, enough to break through the canopy.

I thought it was hopeless that I would be able to climb it, until I went around the back and saw this tree growing right up against the side of it. So I shimmied up to the top, and was exposed to the entire valley and the bright blue sky...

I had a clear view of the farm where I am staying now... if you follow the driveway too the end, Shaun and Nobuko's house is on the left. And if you look to the left of the house, you can even see the Chook pen we've been building.

Needless to say, I sat and soaked it in for a good long time...

Last night was so clear, I wanted to try and capture the glowing house and spectacular sky. I couldn't upload at full resolution, but the second picture demonstrates just how bright the milky way is here in the Southern Hemisphere. It really is spectacular.