Wide skies and the pits

Construction continues apace.  We are building profiles.  Profiles are boards mounted to stakes that are mounted at specific heights that are found with a surveying tool.  Then strings are mounted to the boards that follow critical lines through the structure -- center of pillars etc.  Below is a picture with one of the profiles in the foreground and excavating equipment around.

The main building (the gin) has a basement over 5.5 meters deep.  That's Jamaal down in the pit checking the depth.

Other endeavors

In what might be a surprise for those of you who are familiar with my devotion to a low-carb diet, we have opened a bread shop in the nearby town of Hay.  Come by and enjoy a meat pie and a cup of coffee.  Or fresh bread.

And if you are wondering what to eat, consider the following.

Surveying

After the land prep, we are surveying.  The very expensive gizmo my brother-in-law Sam is holding has a GPS built into the top.  The survey plans are on the tablet mounted to the pole.  By moving the pole and using the bubble level mounted to it, you can pinpoint within a couple of millimeters where you are.

After everything is staked out, you spray your lines so the excavators know where to dig.

On Father's Day

If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all.

For everything that Christ taught, everything that makes the New Testament new, and better than the Old, everything that is distinctively Christian as opposed to merely Jewish, is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God. “Father” is the Christian name for God. Our understanding of Christianity cannot be better than our grasp of adoption.

— J. I. Packer
Knowing God (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 1993), 201-202

Sights from the supermarket

Being an hour from town, a trip to the supermarket after church is pretty typical.

Below are some sights that you may find interesting.

Meat pies

Pumpkin -- a staple almost as common potatoes

Lamb on a stick

Check out the ingredients for fresh dog chow

Morning Tea

A charming tradition here in Australia is morning tea after church.  You have a choice of tea or coffee and people bring treats to snack on.  The second picture you see is of Fairy Bread -- very popular with the kids.  It is white bread, buttered and sprinkled with hundreds and thousands.

Fairy Bread

The Murrumbidgee River

We live on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River.  It would be difficult to overstate how beautiful it is.  The whole area is defined by the river.  The whole valley is known as the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (MIA).  There are growers of all sorts around -- citrus fruits, cotton and vineyards.  A billboard I pass on the way to town informs me that 1 out of 4 glassed of wine from Australia is comes from this area.

David fishing below the bridge

Psalm 1

Earthmoving stuff

At this point, virtually all of the focus has been on land prep for the gin.  The "gin" actually refers to a rather large complex with multiple buildings the foremost of which is the gin proper.

It rained the day we arrived and again yesterday.  This creates tremendous headaches for land prep.  Because we were further along in the process the most recent rain shouldn't be so troublesome.  Basically, the "pad" where the building will be was dug out until you got down to "good dirt" (a couple of meters down).  Other "good dirt" is scraped from elsewhere and "dumped" on the pad.  Then it is "compacted" by big rollers that are pulled behind tractors.  When it is well compacted a layer of lime is spread over it and then a layer of sand.  By the end the "pad" is above grade so when it rains the water runs off because of the hardness of the compacted dirt as well the slope.

All the heavy equipment is very impressive.  Stuff breaks regularly.  And as the pictures below show, stuff can get bogged if you get hung up in the muck.  Below is a picture of a "ripper" which had been bogged being pulled out by a dozer and a front end loader.

The Honeymoon Cottage

Mary and I have been here two weeks.  Beth and Jamaal about a month.  It would be difficult to overstate how much work has gone into the little house you see below.  About two years ago there was a flood from the river you see behind it.  They have scraped and painted and scraped and painted again.  The floor has been scrubbed, stripped, had its carpet torn out, been stained, tiled, or carpeted.  It is right on the banks of the Murrumbidgee River.

Well, the newlyweds moved in last night.  There is still work to be done (as there always is with a house) but it is has become a charming home. The river is right out the back and you can see the Carrathool Bridge in the background of the picture.

The Honeymoon Cottage

More stuff

Good news on the home front.  Thanks to the Herculean efforts of John Hooker, the house is rented.  Not only that, the people renting it want the dog!  (Unclear whether they really want the dog or if Hooker just wants Rugby out of his house.)  No matter.

Find me somebody to love

The scenery here is gorgeous.

Moving Down ... Under

Trip went just fine. Here are some pictures..

View from the cubicle.... (tractor cab)

Rush hour traffic

Jamaal, David, and Emmy have spent the most time on the tractors.  I run into town (Griffith) fairly often and find parts and supplies.  The town we are actually near is Carrathool and we go over the bridge multiple times a day.  One of my first jobs was to purchase the spreader (below).  I can assure you that it will blow out of the back of a "ute" (small pickup) when you start going over 100k's (about 60mph).  That was exciting.  Fortunately it wasn't damaged.

Griffith is home to both Yellow Tail and McWilliam's wineries.  Support our local producers.