How the mighty have fallen! A total of 6 large trees have been cut down and are lying about the backyard in chunks. I have to admit we did ask for these trees to be chopped down. 3 were dead or dying and one had termites. The other two were taking up space on our proposed floorplan. It was sad to see them go - especially this beautiful gum with smooth grey-white bark. Big sigh.... However, we will be planting more trees and lots of native plants once the building has finished. There was scuffle over the woodpiles left by the loppers - apparently firewood costs hundreds of dollars for a trailer load. In the end we promised most of it to S's ex-aunt-in-law as she is the one who is building the new chookhouse.

Things are starting to happen... the chicken is laying eggs, the cat caught a mouse and we have all appliances working in the house (there was a week there where we lost the use of one toilet and the dishwasher all in one go)!

Our virtual house is taking shape and now we can see how the sun will come in at different times of the year - which is important for our heating plans. My next challenge is to plot out the boundaries of the property and start filling in the landscaping details. We are also trying to decide where all the lights and powerpoints will go - this has to be decided before the building starts - and there's no going back once it's been done!