More land management learnings and caravan life

Well, we are now members of the local Landcare group. We met with the new landholder co-ordinator and she was very excited about our place and we joined up. This will open up a world of grant money for various projects that EcoTender doesn't cover (if we even GET EcoTender money).
Meanwhile, the Yarra Ranges Council (still getting used to them not being a Shire anymore) is offering a Horse Property Land Management course that runs over two days. I tried my luck, asking them if it mattered that the property in question is not in the shire but that we are. It never hurts to ask, and in this case that held true! I'll be doing the course this Saturday (no farm on Sat for me, but this is for the benefit of the farm and one must suck it up from time to time), and on another Saturday, with lunch and nibbles provided - may as well avail of my shire while I'm still in residence here! Participants also receive a $500 grant from Landcare (or DSE, one or the other, I can't remember!), which isn't huge, but may pay for a drinking trough that doesn't have to come out of our personal funds. Every little bit helps, especially when we're aiming to do the right thing by our patch of dirt, in the scheme of the biosphere.
Our steers are busy eating down the tall grass in the creek paddock - it was almost waist high two weeks ago, and they are making progress down that narrow strip of title. The grass is green as can be and we have more rains due this weekend. It's a pity our guttering still isn't done to fill our tanks (currently resting on their sides!), but if it's going to rain anywhere any time soon, it will be here.

The composting loo is set up in the shed, with its little fan running and is making life on weekends quite a bit more comfortable for everyone. It means I don't have to think of a reason to drive into town to use the public amenities...which is a shame, because I rather liked feeling compelled to go to the bakery for croissants! And I am rather enjoying the drive up a nearby road to buy farm-gate eggs - $1.50 for half a dozen and $3 for a dozen...yes, please!
We were also graced with the presence of a koala and her baby, in a tree right next to the caravan, for the entire Cup long weekend. It felt really nice to be chosen, and when we returned the following weekend she had taken her leave of us. I wish the wombats would!