Oh dear. I have just realised that it has been over a month since our last post – aaaargh – how did that happen! I’m really sorry if we actually have any readers who missed us! I have no idea if anybody is even following our blog any more, but I’m going to keep posting anyway – just cause I love it and this is our family record keeping place.
So. What’s been happening with the Fealy Family you ask? Well, in early January we had – along with the usual mango madness for that time of year – our #mangozilla craziness!
It’s a bit of a long story which I will write a blog post about, but the abridged version is that we found a HUGE KP (Kensington Pride/Bowen) mango in one of the mango trees in the block closest to the house, Matt took a photo of it on the scales and with another ‘normal’ sized KP mango beside it, we popped it on our social media pages and boom!
All of a sudden #mangozilla was on the news and in the papers! We were just going to eat her with some icecream as a family, but after all the media attention we decided to auction her off for the Buy A Bale Charity and she raised a whopping $555 which was just so fantastic!
Other than mangoes – the farm has just been super busy with lime and passionfruit picking and packing squeezed in amongst the mangoes too!
Blue Sky Produce limes fresh off the packing table!
We’ve had a very stressful time with the mango season this year which has led to us feeling pretty down and worn out about this farming gig recently, especially Matt who’s worked really, really hard to get his head around all there is to know about being an orchardist. We’re trying to get our mojo back, but it’s a bit of a slog at the moment!
For most of January we had my sister Beth (some of you will know her from The Exercise Hitlist blog) and her family visiting from Western Australia.
Aside from putting them to work on the farm, the kids and I got to do lots of fun things with the cousins, but Matt was mostly tied up on the farm so missed out this time. Here’s some teaser photos of the fun things we got up to – blog posts with all the details to come!
A little 4wding adventure to check out the local Clohesy River 4wd track
A walk and swim at Lake Eacham couldn’t be missed!
Some Davies Creek fun!
A week away all together at Bramston Beach!
Bramston Beach fun!
A first time trip to Josephine Falls – we loved it! (Image thanks to Sarah Kendall Photography!)
All of our crew having morning tea at Josephine Falls
We spent a few nice days escaping the heat at Bramston Beach by going to Babinda Boulders
Of course the fun couldn’t go forever and before we knew it, it was back to school for the kids! We have one in Grade 4, one in Grade 2 and one in Grade 1 this year, plus a teething 9 month old who already has 4 teeth and is crawling everywhere!
Fealy Kids back to school 2015
Lastly, the wet season arrived finally, with a bang on the weekend, dumping huge amounts of rain up here in Far North QLD which has seen lots of flooding, including the local bridge here in town in Mareeba which went nearly 3metres under water!!
Kids checking out the Barron River Bridge in town which went nearly 3metres under water!
So, that’s a bit of an update on the Fealy Family. I know it is a brief one, but Kipp has just woken up from his morning sleep and is now banging away on the mouse and keyboard, which signals that is all I have time for today!
I hope you are all well – drop us a line if you have a spare minute and tell us what you have been up to since the New Year rolled in – we love hearing from you!
Blog Posts on Bramston Beach, Josephine Falls, Babinda Boulders and Clohesy Creek to come!
Hi Jess,
Well i can confirm for that you have atleast one regular blog follower. I can’t help thinking about the amount of coronas i would need to polish off that box of limes in your post though! Geez the kids are growing up fast aren’t they, wish you were all back just next door like old times so we can make light work of the Jaggermeister bottle sitting in my cupboard !!! good times….
Aaargh Luke – don’t tempt us! The way we feel at the moment we would be back drinking Jagger bombs with the Samford Rd crew on our deck in a heartbeat! Hehehehe – we miss you lot! We’ll try to bring you some Limes for those Coronas if we make it to Brissy to do some work on the house later this year!! Thanks for still following along with our blog!
Hi Jess. Yes I am still following. I too have been quiet on the blog front but will post again soon. Enjoyed your post.
Leanne Morris recently posted…Be Inspired.
Still reading too. Started following when you were travelling but now interested to see what a different life you have farming compared to our Sydney suburban existence.
Simone – so nice to know that you are still following along – I can’t believe it has been nearly two years since we headed off on our trip – aaaargh – we so just want to pack up and go again! Maybe sometime in the next five years! Thanks for saying hello!
Great to hear from you! And dont feel bad about 1 month. I have not written my blog for over 4 months, now. THAT’S a big gap. While your update inspires me to get back to it, i am not sure when. So much has happened. (Arriving in Perth in October, 2013; flying back & forth the Sydney as a dying and finally a death occurs in the family; next home hunting; purchasing a block of land; nomadic living without the travel – uggghhhh; rental house hunting for a base while our next home is built; visit from a sister leads to a brief return to work.)
So much more to still happen (work with the builder to get the house built & septic system installed; work with another builder on the Model Rail Shed build; work with knowledgable friend and family members to plan, design and start on the 400 m2 garden; moving our stuff in storage to our rented house so we can start doing the chuck out we didn’t do when we packed ip in 2012!; get back to fabric art and quilting; start getting involved woth our new community – OH. MY. GOD!!! The groups i can join – singing, dancing, gardening, quilting, amateur theatre; not to mention all the stuff the local shire organises like movies in the amphitheatre…)
Whoo hoo! While this list is daunting, i am so excited, i am exhausted already…LOL!!!
So, thank,you again, Jess, for another blog that has given me the opportunity to reflect.
And, by the way, i love the photos! QLD has soooo much water! I do miss that here in WA.
And super congrats on your super Mango fundraiser. What a hoot!!
Keep well, say hi to Lexi from me.
Oh, did i say i enjoy your posts so much? I do!!
Cheers, Judith
Mangozilla! That’s so awesome. I really want to eat her with ice-cream also. But $555 is a bit rich 😉
I love your blog and just catching up on your stories. It’s quite amazing. Shall be following more closely.
Rene – Together we roam recently posted…Luna Park Sydney rides and Coney Island slides
Rene – thanks for stopping by – lovely to have somebody who’s not family following along 😉