Sometime between 11 and 12

"Whirr, took, took took" I hear the wind turbine spinning in the breeze that is rising. The distinctive and awkward songs of crows and butcher birds are overlayed with the the rousing of a willie wagtail. Sitting in the doorway I am surrounded by 5 pairs of shoes, some are dirt encrusted boots, some whatever was found at the time, none however are mine. There is a young girl perched on a paint tin, using another two stacked as her desk working away on a recount of times gone by. A young boy is fiddling distractedly with a ruler while planning his work. I firmly call out "Mr R" and he puts pencil back to paper. I can here the occasional foreign sounds of Japanese filling the schoolroom sometimes punctured with "Mr E finished!" as both Miss S and Mr E are completing on airs. This is a quiet time, working time. A plume of dust can be seen coming up the road. Dogs break the silence with insistent barks urgently telling us "visitor, visitor." A dusty, splattered ute comes to a stop outside the main house. The mail has arrived. I wonder what is in that canvas bag today?

Nothing to do with the above but here is the newest arrival ... a new billy