Vincent

6th June - 4th July

Vincent stayed with us for 3 weeks. Three weeks was not enough! He was wonderful company, a good wooker and wonderful cook! Thanks for your great energy and humour.

Slowly but surely Vincent made his way through our big pile of firewood. Splitting and stacking it in the front of our house.



He chops wood like a pro!




Vincent also helped us put a new roof on the community building.



Here he is with the roofing crew.


Hamish, Ants, Dan, Vincent and Stewart.


And of course there is always the dishes...

Vincent and Dan help Hazel with the washing up.

Elise and Geoffray

29th April to the 10th May.

Thanks to the volcanic activities in Europe, Elise and Geoffray found themselves stranded in Australia as their flights were cancelled. Lucky for us!




We have been refurbishing our community house. Here are some shots of Geoffray and his fine contribution...







Meanwhile inside Gary and Dan are hard at work sanding the floor.

Maria

25th March to the 12th April

"I just met a girl called Maria!"

Maria comes from Spain. She is a lover of opera and musicals. West Side Story is a favorite!

She spent many reflective hours weeding our "Love Tube".



She also replanted some garlic that had sprouted. The beginnings of our garlic crop. This year we aim to plant over 200.



Maria, Dan and i also collected firewood and cleared some tracks around the forest.

BEFORE



AFTER


Thanks Maria for your work here. When we harvest our garlic I will cook a Paella in your honour, with extra garlic - you can never have too much!

EIJI

Eiji stayed with us from 19th February until 4th March.

His arrival coincided with the blackberry season.


Eiji picking berries.

The local soccer club had a family fun day, Dan played and Eiji watched from the side. Both of them got in the local online paper THE CASTLEMAINE INDEPENDANT, check out the article http//www.castlemaineindependent.org/sport/



Eiji cleaned up the dead wattle all over our lot and bundled the kindling and firewood into beautiful stacks. We will think of Eiji when we light our fire this winter.



Cath and i enjoyed our daily walks with Eiji to the top of Fryers Forest.

Thank you Eiji for your calm and focused energy.

DAN

Dan joined us from the UK, Manchester in fact.

Dan is a plumber, suddenly we have alot of plumbing work to do.

Here he is contributing to the barn (our WWOOFER accommodation).

ELODIE and CARO (and the return of NICO)

Elodie and Caro arrived in late January from France. They spent 3 weeks in Australia before arriving at Fryers.

ELODIE
"Elodie, like Melody but without the M. Firstly I would like to say thank you for this adventure.You are a wonderful family, with you we have learn a lot, sometimes when we live in a big city with all inconvenience, we forget the most important things like family, united family, love, community, i never seen a hapiness family like yours. I hope to see you again."
E



Nico, Elodie and Caro build a lean-to, something for the grapes to grow on.

SAM and JOE

Sam and Joe stayed for only three weeks, but they left their mark on Fryerstown.

They arrived in time for the Fryestown Firepersons Frolic. Which has become Fryerstowns premier social event. Every year in December the local CFA (Country Fire Authority) puts on a party. There is food, drink and music. Even Father Christmas makes an appearance on the back of a vintage fire truck.

As Sam and Joe are illustrators we suggested their WWOOFING time be used to paint a backdrop for the event.



The backdrop now proudly hangs on stage at the Fryerstown Hall.