We spent the day in Redbank yesterday - cleaning, getting a few things sorted out. Moved the blasted combustion stove into the big shed.

That stove has been a trial. It's a freebie from friends who are renovating. We really wanted the stove - the problem has been the timing. They wanted it out of their house a few weeks ago. We've needed to use the ute for other things. The stove is unbelievably heavy. And we've had to move it on and off the ute a few times. Firstly we had to get it on the ute at our friends place - we had one go, but had to wait until the renovations were floored - dragging it across a ditch wasn't really practical. We then had to get it off the ute here so that we could do some recycling / rubbish runs. It's very very heavy. We then had to get it back on the ute so that we could drive it up to Redbank. At Redbank we had to get it off the ute. Mostly we've done it with just the two of us and a complicated series of ute ramps, ropes and pulleys, a large trolley, tie downs, and a lot of grunting and swearing. Still it's now at least in the shed where it will live, if not exactly in the right place on the floor - it got put where it got put because we were hot, sweaty and slightly over the whole bloody thing.

The birdlife, though, while we were there yesterday was fabulous. A glorious little lorikeet of some variety (would you believe I packed the blasted bird books only a couple of days ago - I might have to go and dig them out again). There were a few of these birds, but one in particular was busy under the clothes line at the back of the house, and none too impressed with me wandering backwards and forwards with trolley loads of concrete bricks and fiddling around with step sets.

There was a Superb Wren (the blue ones) and his mate. He was very solicitously working the fence line keeping an eye on us in case we generated some treats - I'll have to start digging and scything some grass down in the orchard so that he can really make himself popular.

There were swifts everywhere - they are nesting in the steel beams in the sheds and in the deck at the back of the house. Marvellous birds to watch dart and charge around.

There was a family of magpies with a young one on its trainer wings - they looked like they were practising take off and landing in the gum trees at the back of the house.

The plovers and other water birds were calling from the dam region and there were crows and cockatoos in the air above us (note to self - fruit trees will need to be netted toots sweet).

We did end up watering those fruit trees by hand - the watering system is very poorly set up and is too hit and miss (hence the poor state of many of the trees), but we should be able to sort that out by setting up greywater runs and a little dedicated TLC and active hand watering for a while.

Adam's going to have to overhaul some pumps as well - basically everything is structually not bad, just needs some TLC.

We're starting to feel the pull of Redbank I can tell you - Adam will be up there all weekend this weekend, to get the painting and floor coverings in the house underway. I'm starting the trek backwards and forwards next week with loads of things being moved. Gryphon's next vet appointment is early November. Decision time is getting closer.