Birthday mayhem

Some people spend their birthdays catching up with friends and family, getting nice presents, enjoying a nice meal, and maybe a few drinks. Kind of indulge themselves. Not me, I spend my birthday tackling major garden projects!

Geraldton weather is basically stinking hot from about November through March, meaning the garden is a no go zone. It just isn't possible to spend more than a few minutes in searing heat (we are talking upper 30s, even in the 40s, celcius!) doing anything more strenuous than sipping on an icy cocktail. Even that's better done in the shade.

Then in May it begins to rain. Just a few quick overnight downpours, enough to get the farmers seeding, then a relatively dry June before the major rainfall in July and August. Then no more rain till May. Of course not all years go by the books, last year we had a lot of late rain which almost ruined the wheat crop, and we didn't have quite the number of hot easterlies this summer, but you get the idea.

This leaves a very small window of opportunity to remove my old rusted rainwater tank and replace it before the rains begin. So who am I to let a small matter of a birthday get in the way of a more important event: the impending arrival of a new tank?

Replacing the tank has required a few logistics, like how to remove the old one, WTF to do with the old one, and how do we get the new one in through carports, pergolas, corners, trees etc. No worries: remove half the pergola, cut up the tank, cut down a few trees with the new chainsaw (YES!!), and shovel a lot of sand.

The worst thing about this job was the tank sludge.
 1. realising you have been drinking water from that tank with that stuff in it.
 2. removing it through a hole punched in the bottom so we could move the tank off its pad.

Like bad baby diarrhoea, eeeeeuuuhhh!! Once that dries out I'll shovel it onto the garden. MMMM!

Sally and Sheridan came over and helped for the whole day - best birthday present ever - and removed the pergola and cut up the old tank. Sally particularly enjoyed the sludge job, seriously!!

While I wielded the chainsaw! Is it just me, or are those clothes swimming on me?

After the garden chores were done we repaired to the verandah to watch the sunset and enjoy roast lamb and veg washed down with a lovely 14 year old Shiraz!

Great friends, great food, great wine, what more could I want on my birthday?