Mangana Mission News July 2011

Dear Family and Friends,
where has the last quarter of this year gone!!!!!!
I must apologise for my tardiness in updating the Mangana Mission blog however I shall try and get my act together and produce it monthly from now onwards. The greatest challenge that confronts me is now to try and remember all of the events that have taken place and the projects that have been completed with the helpers.
What feels like a very long, long time ago I was blessed with the arrival of an extremely talented young lady from France called Lucie. She is a brilliant artist so it was decided to make the most of her talents and let her loose on several artistic projects that had been in the pipeline for some time.The first of these was to paint an angel on the standing log in the native forest, followed by Ned Kelly the Gold Prospector  and the Aliens on the Cabin and finally the Pirate on the wall of  Garden Shed.

Mangana Angel

Ned Kelly on the Cabin

The Gold Panner on the Cabin

Alien Invasion at Mangana

Touching up the Pirate

Lucie at Wineglass Bay Lookout

Working in the Vegetable Gardens

During Lucie's long stay there were a couple of outstanding events that will stay in my mind forever.
The first was our decision to take a tour of the North East of Tasmania as it was a very rainy day and not really suitable for farm work. The drive across the Mathinna Plain dirt tracks was interesting due to the rain and mud however the rain refused to stop. During lunch at the Welborough Pub the rain teemed down outside, by the time we reached St Helen's on the way home the main street was totally flooded and it appeared that we would be stranded in St Helen's for the night. Due to the responsibilities of feeding the animals at Mangana we persevered and finally made our way home after over 30 water crossings! There were great celebrations upon our return!
The second great adventure was a day trip to the Freycinet National Park. In the past many helpers and WWOOFER's have mad the trek up to the Wine Glass Bay Lookout so I decided that I may as well give it a go. It was (for me at least) a challenging climb but the view at the end was worth the effort. I may even give it another go again in the future after a bit of fitness training and giving up the cigarettes!

After Lucie I was blessed with the arrival of Laurine from Belgium. She is a wonderful person and we had a great time together chatting away till early most  mornings. During her stay at Mangana Mission Laurine dedicated herself to painting the furniture on the back decking amongst other jobs. The outdoor suite had been painted quickly by myself some time ago using Chicken Feed Black Spray Paint. As the old saying goes "you get what you pay for!!" The cheap spray paint looked good for a while however by the time that Laurine arrived it was looking very tired and second rate.

Laurine being reborn from a tree in the rainforest

Laurine at Peter and Shelly's Fountain Party

Laurine giving the outside of the house a good clean

Laurine making a batch of Mangana Cider

The new look back deck after Laurines handywork

Laurine the singer at the weekly music night

As well as her painting duties Laurine also washed down the entire outside of the house, painted the rain water tank stand, made a batch of Mangana Cider (which is delicious as well as very strong!!!) fed the animals, did gardening and heaps more. I hope that she will return for a visit before she returns home to Belgium.