A cut here and a bite there.

                                                                      Before

Like most, I feel pretty good after a haircut. A bit of a trim around the edges always makes things look a little more respectable. And so it was the other day when Lisa ( and Tom after school ) spent a day at the new block, mowing lawns, brush cutting thistles and black berries and generally tidying the new place up a bit.

 I reckon we've collected at least a few tandem trailer loads of rubbish just from around the property so far and that's not including the scrap iron and steel. It seems the more grass we cut and clear, the more the detritus appears!

But despite the mess it's amazing how a day of cleaning can start to transform the look of a place.

I even pulled out the nasty 70's aluminium windows that were in the South side of the verandah. With these removed your can actually see what the place might look like after we have re-instated the verandah posts, where they were originally. 

After

      

While we were in the swing of things, ( the sledge hammer that is ) the old lean-to which was attached to the side of the laundry wall, came down too. 

Before anyone becomes alarmed at the thought of me removing what was an original part of the structure, let me just say that the remnants that were left of the lean-to were being supported by the corrugated iron only ( and a few rocks on the roof ! ), as all of the studs had been eaten by termites or at some stage just rotted away. And at least half the roof and rafters were gone too.

                                                            "Look Mum, no studs!" 

What was interesting though was that some of what was left of the timber structure was, I believe, pit sawn timber. So of course that has been saved and put away for the future, where it can be utilised in some form in either the rebuild or a new building.

But the picture is not all rosy. In my exploration of the house I found that my little friends the termites are still chomping their way through the floorboards and god knows what else too. 

So first things first, it's time to call in some form of toxic avenger to curb their enthusiasm. Next week we'll see just how bad the damage is. Stay tuned.