Drainage .. not the most exciting of topics for a blog post, but something that is necessary to protect the property, and it documents some history.
Fred and I were aware on purchase that we would need to address the drainage at the back of the house, because the concrete was sloping in such a way that forced all the rain up against the house causing rising damp. 
The advice we received was that the concrete close to the house needed to be dug up, drainage installed, and then the channel filled with stones.  All easier said than done because the back of the house is difficult to get to with the digging equipment. 
One week and lots of noise from the jackhammer (sorry!)  later, the new drainage system was in place, and works! No longer does the wall of the house get wet even in the heaviest of downfalls.

and muddy There were enough stones left over to provide a good cover for the churned up back pathway.

We recently had some solar panels installed ... hopefully not too visible from the street. The initial plan included a battery to store excess power, but we were advised by the supplier to monitor how much power we were able to generate over a year before making that additional investment. The issue is, or course, trees, and the lovely shade they provide which is generally desirable, but not for solar power generation.  We have 2 arrays, on different parts of the roof, and they manage to take turns being able to generate power as the sun moves across the sky. 

One of the lovely aspects of Bickleigh Vale village are the property names, with most houses having a sign displaying its name. Whistlewood is no exception. However, the sign that has probably been in place since the 1960s when the house was first built couldn't be read because it was pointing to the sky, and its chain was threatening to  ringbark the tree it was placed on. 
One of the first things I did when we moved in April was to loosen the chain and a few weeks later I took it down. The timber was rotten, so we decided to replace it.

At the same time we discovered that having a address in one street (lane), while the driveway was on a different one confused just about everyone who came visiting, and apparently had done so for a number of years.
​So... some research into sign makers lead us to have a new bright and shiny sign made out of recycled Australian cypress, leaving no doubt about the address, and the property name. We are expecting it to last the next 50, if not 100 years!

I started to digging in a spot to plant a shrub, when I struck stone! Beneath 10 cm of bush litter I exposed a long covered pathway. And with a bit more digging of another sort, I found a photograph of the original pathway. See photos 'now and then' below. The bridges have disappeared, as has the waterway or pond  that presumably  flowed under it. 

I also a discovered a rock retaining wall along the edge of the property just beyond these photos. 

Two galahs recently spent some time checking out the possibilities of this nest hole - I am hoping they'll move in!