We've been up in the air for many months now but finally we've landed on our feet. Our house in the city is sold and we've resettled our little family to a nice house in the country. We're half way up a mountain ridge about 5 minutes out from a small country town with a population of just over 2,000 so it's most definately a tree change for us and it couldn't have come sooner. This is the view from our back verandah so you can see that we are surrounded by a temperate / subtropical forest.
The place runs on tank water and apparrently practically never runs dry and there is some solar panels too so while we aren't totally off-the-grid we're pretty close. The first thing we noticed was just how quiet it is here. You can hear the birds and the crickets but no more traffic noise or late night drunken hooligans stumbling past the house. We sure won't miss that! The other thing is just how dark it is here. When the moon is new you literally can't see your hand in front of your face at night. The absense of city street lights means the night sky is full of bright and twinkling stars. I'll finally be able to pull out that old telescope my mother-in-law gave me and put it to good use to educate my girls about astronomy. There is a lot of wildlife up here I can teach them about too. We saw this little guy on the property the other day.
For non-Aussies, this is an Echidna. Kind of like an Australian version of the hedgehog and he was probing around our wood pile probably looking for ants or termites. On the 2nd morning we were here my wife was up early and spotted a wallaby (a small kangaroo) in our backyard but by the time she went for the iphone to take its photo it was gone. Plenty of birds here too - Kookaburras, Currawongs, Crows, Parrots, Rainbow Lorikeets, Black Cockatoos and the other day while exploring the property I found this :-
At first I thought it was just some random rubbish, but as I got closer I realised it was lots of different things. Milk bottle tops, candy wrappers, tape....all of it was stark blue. This is the remnants of a Satin Bowerbirds nest. I thought that was pretty cool to have such an exotic and unique Australian bird around, though having all this wildlife around is not all good. We were driving up the road the other day and needed to make a big swerve to avoid this guy :-
That's a diamond back python, which is not a poisonous snake so it's relatively harmless for humans though it gave the wife a bit of a fright. It's really just the brown snakes and the red-belly black snakes we'll need to look out for. Haven't seen any of those ones yet.
Anyway, we're really happy to be here. I've got a seperate studio on the property that I can use as an office and we get the NBN hopefully connected on Tuesday so we're just about at the end of this little life transition. Very soon I should be properly set up to work remotely and that means I'll also be able to start writing regularly on STEEM again. I'm going to try and pace myself a bit with my writing and I have some fresh ideas for a new project I'm going to try and flesh out, so stay tuned. I'll be back in the swing of things in no time.
Looks like a great place to call home!
Sure does! Thanks big guy.
(Goldrooster here) Great to see that scenery. In 2010 we toured around NImbin and climbed Mount Warning and saw the same snake (sleeping) and some other kind of black lizard of 70 cm.
Might have been a goanna. Those things can get pretty big.
BTW - Don't worry about these other Aussie crackpots commenting. Nimbin is famous for marijuana and drug culture so they are trying to imply you were partaking. Just a bit of typical Aussie humour ;)
film shot made by me at teh time:
Yeh, that's not a goanna. Not sure what it is too be honest. Looks a bit too big and shiny to be a blue-tongue lizard. Thanks for sharing! :)
'Toured around Nimbin'?? Is that code for something!
No no code. Nimbin is a village - famous for hippie culture - in NSW. We were around there for some days.
"some days" ... is that code for something?
Congratulations brother!!! I'm so happy for you. Ain't nothing like leaving the city and moving somewhere where theres more nature than people.
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Thanks Arly. Couldn't agree more. It's not that I don't like people....I just like nature more :)
I'm due to move again I think. Need to upgrade to at least 5 acres and at least 1 acre away from the nearest neighbour lol and no fly zone above me would be fab.
#turningintoahermit
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Congratulations on the new place looks like a great spot to settle down and welcome back.
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Thanks @j85063
Awesome news. Great to see. A tree change is definitely something worthwhile. Looking forward to seeing what the next few months bring!
Cheers mate. I'll try not to disappoint ;)
Ah man, that looks and sounds great! I love dark skies and being out beyond the hullabaloo.
Great to see you’ve landed buggs 😁👍
Thanks big D. I'll get my discord back up shortly to see what shenanigans and malarkey I've missed out on ;)
😁👍👍
Nice going mate! Glad you're getting settled in. Sounds like a good move to a tranquil location, and wow! To have a bowerbird in the neighborhood!!!
Thanks. Very tranquil indeed. I'm going to have to study up on Aussie bird noises to see if I can find out where he went.
I spied the famous ssg mug..
So when we getting the invites? I love a good house warming party.
As always, looking forward to seeing what you got up your sleeve.
I knew you would spot the mug ;)
Not having a house warming party, but if you're ever in the neighborhood we have got a decent guest room now so you're more than welcome to drop in!
Great to see you guys established in the new place, and starting to blog again.
We're off camping soon, looking forward to a couple of nights of stars without light pollution.
Cheers. I had forgotten just how bad the light pollution can be. Such a refreshing change to get away from it. Have fun on your camping trip!
All the best, Buggs! :)Fantastic @buggedout! A big step indeed. Looking forward to seeing your toothy grin in my feed again.
Thanks. It really is a bit of an ugly avatar I've got there but I guess I'm stuck with it now :)
Man that scenery is LUSH! Not excited about that snake but the echidna is sweet!!! Now all you need is a wombat or two. (I love wombats)
How exciting you might be steaming more again soon! You are always missed. ☺️
Congrats on the new place and the adventures ahead! 🤗
I haven't seen any Wombats yet because they are nocturnal but apparently they are around. Might have to get out exploring with the torchlight to find them.
Yeah. We tried to find them up at Lake Crackenback. Saw heaps of burrows, but never managed to see one.
Hey, @buggedout.
This is all very good news. I'm glad you found a place that sounds like it's to your liking, where some adventure awaits (with wildlife), and where you may all have a chance to slow down and enjoy life. Maybe.
I had to look up NBN. Guess that's phone and internet? I'm also glad to here that you're settling in and that all is well. Being on the road can be fun, but eventually, it's good to have a center of operations. :)
I'm glad to hear that you will be coming back to STEEM in whatever capacity that is. I'm hoping this all means that last year's financial situation is in good shape for this year. Congratulations on the new home in the new location, and I wish you nothing but good things going forward. :)
Sorry about that. Yes, NBN stands for National Broadband Network. It was a government infrastructure project that (depending on who you ask) was a bit of a debacle.
Not sure what you mean about financial situation. Was that my doom and gloom comments about the state and future of STEEM? I have become cautiously optimistic that we might have seen the worst. I'll try and write about that soon.
Thanks for the kind words :)
Well, there was the STEEM situation, but there was also your own financial state of affairs if I remember right. I mean, all I remember of it is that you weren't doing as well with STEEM returns, and you felt like you needed to give more attention to other activities you weren't as involved in because of STEEM. Anyway, if all is well, no need to get into it. :) I'm just glad to see things moving along and that you're feeling like STEEM may be out of the worst of it. That's comforting, actually. :)
Ah, yes. I was commenting that my other income and business activities were down because I was spending too much time on STEEM. I've corrected that now and that's one of the reasons why I am going to try and pace myself a bit more with my writing.
Okay, cool. :) I didn't think I was confusing you with someone else, but I could have easily done it. I'm glad to have you back in whatever capacity you can undertake. You've been pretty dead on about things regarding STEEM economics, and I've missed having that perspective around, especially when most of us have no idea what's going on, at least not to what extent, or why it's even happening.
That looks nice. Just need a veggie patch, chicken coop, and a couple of goats and you're set.
Cheers. Not quite ready to get into animal husbandry so I can't become a full on hermit just yet ;)
Looks like a great new life, I can't imagine how nice it is living in the away from the suburbs!
Thanks. It still feels a bit surreal but it's definitely worth trying if you ever get the chance!
Wow wow wow!
What an incredible place to live!
We also live rurally in the English countryside which is fantastic.
It's not as warm and tropical, but spring has sprung and our plants are loving it!
Thanks again for such a brilliant insight into your life!
Nice! I was planning to come over to England this Summer for the cricket though I don't know if I'll be able to tear myself away from this place now.
Fair dinkum! Looks and sounds like a nice spot! Am looking forward to reading more about your new life. Cheers from Nova Scotia, Canada.
Cheers! Sounds like you're familiar with the Aussie lingo. Are you an ex-pat?
Canadian who spent 17 years in Japan. Heaps of Kiwi and Aussie friends along the way. I hope to make it down under some day!
Only thing I can say - Awesome!!! enjoy your new life mate.
Thanks @lordnigel so far so good ;)
That looks pretty sweet (except for the snakes)! I'm stacking silver and biding my own time, waiting for the US markets to reverse (low real-estate, high silver) so that I can buy my own piece of paradise, too! Good luck to you!
Yep, we're just renting here for now and I'm stacking and biding time too. After this little stint in the country though I reckon we'll know exactly what sort of little paradise we will be after when the time comes ;)
I like the trees and the sea, at the moment I am in sea change mode and enjoying the sea breezes. Hope you find your ideal place soon.
That is so cool, congratulations! Can't wait to get away from suburbia and buy a piece of freedom somewhere. As long it also has NBN access lol