After the storm there were two options. One, stay home staring at the damage, getting frustrated by the all new items to add to our already lengthy house & garden to-do list, or two, hitch up the trailer, fuel up the chainsaw and take a rather opportunistic approach and squeeze every splintery piece of good we could out of what was a total pain-in-the-bum set back.
We did the later - in a bit of a 'Fun With Dick and Jane' style tour of the neighbourhood, we spied out fallen trees to cut for our firewood pile. We considered it a bit of a service to the community removing trees that would otherwise be left to an already overloaded council, and shamelessly filled our boot and trailer with meaty chunks of freshly fallen gum which will be perfect for burning once seasoned.
We weren't the only ones taking this tact, in fact everywhere we turned there were utes and trailers laden with ridiculous amounts of wood, it was like the community was gathering what compensation it could for the devastation the storm had caused.
A few days later came an even bigger blessing, when an Arborist working locally was seeking out a place to dump a load from their chock-full chipping truck so they could continue to work. Free mulch? Yes please! In fact we were only a few weeks away from having to pay for a load, and at $400 for a truck full, getting it for free was beyond exciting!
As soon as the truck unloaded and was out of sight I jumped into my gumboots and ran outside to meet D who was standing arms folded in deep 'mulch appreciation'. Unable to contain my excitement, I ran to the top of our new mulch mountain and enjoyed our neighbourhood from a slightly different viewpoint and thought to myself just how much I love this place, now more than ever...
...and I love that it's still just the beginning of our story here. Just thirty months in to our Thirty Minutes Inland journey... who knows where we'll go with it? We certainly don't, we can only dream and plan and hold on for the ride as we watch it all unfold.
Below:
The Log of Contemplation after the creek burst its banks.
