Boys and their toys – but this one is big and red and shiny and makes a lot of noise

There is a saying somewhere about growing boys getting bigger toys but we can submit recent evidence that it applies to girls also.  Our beautiful remote property on the western slopes of the Blue Mountains near Sydney is surrounded by rarely visited national parks and a huge world heritage location.  For the last 13 years it has been our escape plan from the bustling cities of Sydney or Bangkok.  But the time has come to invest a little more money and effort in making our personal heaven a little better.  And that’s where the bigger toys come in.

Our old ute enjoying the sunshine and a bit of hard work at the property

Last November we bought a 15 year old four wheel drive ute, the sort of pick-up truck that is ubiquitous in rural Australia.  Our ute helps us do some of the heavy and dirty work around the property, including spraying blackberries, collecting firewood and moving equipment around.   The ute has been a huge success for us, but every time we pack up to go we have to leave it out in the open to face the elements.

The first attempt to unload the new shed was almost a disaster so we had to rethink it

So we needed a shed to park the ute in.  But not just any shed, we needed a big farm shed with room to park a couple of vehicles and a huge lock up section.   And the bigger the shed, the bigger the flatbed truck to deliver the shed.  This shed needed a 12 ton truck to deliver its flat-packed components which meant our little log bridge near the front gate couldn’t support its weight and the hill up our driveway was too steep.  So with permission we forged a path across our neighbour’s land and after felling a couple of trees (future firewood) we also made a track wide enough for the 18 ton cement mixers which virtually had to four wheel drive between properties to get there.

Getting the huge cement mixers onto the site was a job for the chainsaw

Once we got all the vehicles on site our trusty builders laid the slab and built our shed within a matter of days.  It was a milestone moment for our property, no longer the remote undeveloped untouched property but now more useable, more functional and more livable.

A work in progress – our huge shed only took two days to build once we got it on site

The big moment – taking delivery of my new toy

But big toys come in threes because after the ute and the shed we had to buy a tractor to park in the open bay of the new shed.  The tractor is an important – if somewhat indulgent – new addition to our property because we have a serious problem with unwanted bushes and undergrowth growing everywhere plus regrowth of gum and wattle trees.  So the tractor, and primarily the huge rotary blade slasher that is pulled behind it, is our latest strategy to keep the unwanted plants from taking over.

Julie has been on to me for ages to buy a tractor.  I’m not sure how this came to pass but at some point I weakened and and promised her a tractor.  Now that we had the shed to park it in there were no more excuses and a tractor it was.

Look out world – Julie in her new element

After a crash course in tractor driving and maintenance, which was really a case of memorising all the different levers,  switches and pedals, we were set for the large task of slashing the small growth before it becomes large growth.  And within a short time (before a part of our shiny new tractor fell off and we had to stop for the day) we had cleared quite a large paddock of its unwanted growth and used the front end loader – that big bucket thing on the front – to knock out all the old stumps.

There’s a lot of work to do but at least we’ve got the right toy, I mean tool

Like metallic triplets, our new ute, shed and tractor all resting after a big day of fun in the rain

And so now our family is complete.  Julie and I have an old lovable ute, we have a huge new shed and we have a bright red tractor.  Our three new toys are already the best of friends and work perfectly together.  They represent a bright new future for our property, more productivity in maintaining our land, a bit more fun and almost certainly more costs to maintain them.  But that’s what happens when your toys get bigger.

If you want to know the real reason Julie wanted a tractor and why I agreed to buy it, check out this video.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uWu4aynBK7E