The Angel of Death, and Cake

Sadly we said goodbye to Chop Suey, our baby goat. I went down to the paddock yesterday and saw her laying down looking dead. I ran down yelling at Myles for help - he didn't hear. Upon arriving I noticed she was still breathing but looked very sick. I discovered a HUGE tick on her neck. Usually goats are immune to a tick bite but I am guessing because mum didn't feed her all that much in the beginning her immune system was weak.

I picked Choppy up and ran back to the house - again yelling at Myles. He still didn't hear me until I actually got to the house. I removed the tick with a special device and began giving her some water. She threw up on me and then farted. A few seconds later she died in my arms.

So that is that - I am the Angel of Death!

You might be feeling sad so I will share my Cheery Ripe Cake recipe with you. I have been playing around with the ingredients for this Karangi favourite and have mastered it. People may remember my first attempt with this old family recipe - I forgot to cook it! Or more to the point I didn't know I was meant to.

Cherry Ripe Cake
1 Packet of cheap biscuits
100g of melted butter
3 tspns of cocoa
2 cans of sweetened condensed milk
200g of glaze cherries, chopped
3-4cups coconut
dash of red food colouring
50g of copha
1 family size dark chocolate bar

Crush up the biscuits into really small pieces. Add the butter and cocoa to the mixture and then press into a greased spring form round tin. Place in refrigerator until the base has set - add more butter if your mixture is dry.

Mix the condensed milk, cherries, coconut, and food colouring in a bowl. Mixture should be stiff so add some more coconut. Spoon into the chilled tin. Bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 30 mins or until parts of the top are slightly brown and the mixture seems set.

In a double boiler or heat resistant bowl over boiling water add the chocolate and copha until the mixture is runny. Poor over the the top of the cake. Place the cake in the refrigerator for a couple of hours until the chocolate has set.

Remove from the fridge and use a hot knife around the side of the cake and then release the spring form tin.

Dust over some cocoa powder and your cake is done!

The Fritz Video

We said goodbye to our favourite pet on Thursday. Fritz had been struggling with  back complaint and finally became incontinent. I don't want to talk about it anymore but here is a video I made to commemorate my favourite dog

Slip 'n Slide

Slip 'n Slide Karangi style

You may remember that last year during Summer Myles had to brush-cut a bank that was close to the house - he kept falling down the bank and ended up covered in leeches. This year it is going to be different - maybe?

We have decided to cover the bank in weed mat and then grow a native plant from the top of the bank over the top of the plastic. This should retain the bank and mean Myles doesn't get covered in leeches. We bought the plastic and metal prongs to hold the plastic down - from the landscape shop. Myles then poisoned the weeds on the bank. After a day we rolled the plastic over the bank and started securing it to the ground. This was marginally difficult as I kept sliding down the plastic towards the barbed wire fence!

While sliding down the plastic I was reminded of the 80's. At one stage my family lived in Whangarei, NZ. My parents had bought a piece of land on the side of a mountain and set about building their then dream home. This was done over a long period of time because they didn't have all the funds up front - well it seemed like a long time to me anyway! The garden was last to be finished so we kids had nowhere to play. Contrary to belief but NZ does get pretty hot so in summer we had difficulty keeping cool. Mum bought a Slip 'n Slide - the hot toy at the time. It was basically a long wide strip of plastic with a hose fitting on one side. You would put it on the lawn turn it on and slide down it. But we had no lawn!

Myles cuddling Chop Suey

So the ingenious Jones family put the slide in the park behind the house and ran the hose up. The only problem was the hose only reached a certain distance. So the slide was put on a bank a couple of meters away from the main fence. Water turned on, children in togs (NZ word for swimmers), children pumped for some water fun. The first kid had a big run up and slid down - smiles all around until the plastic ran out. There was noway to stop and you would hit the grass that was full of prickles and gorse. Your chest and bum would be scratched, and you would get grass burn. If you were skilled you would have so much speed that only the wire fence would stop you. And that hurt!

So I could recreate my childhood memories on our new bank - but I think I will leave it or now!

And for those following our new goat - she is doing well and loves a few cuddles.

I Just Died in Your Arms Tonight

On Wednesday I woke and looked out the bathroom window and saw our Nanny goat, Lou, in one of the animal shelters all alone. Lady animals often want to be left alone when they are about to give birth. I rushed to wake Myles and let him know the news. He got out the camera with the telescopic lens and spied on her for a couple of minutes. Something caught his eye and he rushed to put on some boots and see what was happening.

Ninja at the back and Chop Suey freshly born

In the back corner of the shelter lay a little bundle of joy covered in blood and poo. Myles and I were ecstatic that a new member of the family had arrived. A couple of minutes later Lou squeezed out another kid. Mum wasn't that interested in her kids and kept walking away. So, with the advice from a neighbour, we wired them into the shelter, with food and water. Hours later we hadn't seen Lou feed the babies but we assumed it was happening - as we couldn't watch the whole time.

Myles left that night on a business trip. I made a final inspection of all the animals - Lou still wasn't interested in her babies. I went to bed but then got up early to check and feed them. Lou rushed to get the food I was carrying down. The babies were crying and the white kid walked out of the shelter in rather a wobbly fashion, getting close to the sheep thinking they were her mother. I decided that the babies couldn't be left alone anymore and I would have to intervene. I picked up the two kids and placed them in the holding pen near the house. Lou didn't even notice they had gone!

The balcony sun umbrella was used to shade the kids because it was rather a hot day. I knew that Lou would still have to fed the kids somehow but I wasn't in a position to hold Lou and milk her at the same time so I called for some help. Lou came into the holding pen quite easily - could have been the food! We lay her on her side and managed to get the male kid to drink a very tiny bit of milk. Both kids were very hungry but unable to find Lou's teats. I then set about milking Lou - something I had never done before! It was relatively easy and I soon got about 30ml of milk. We then fed the kids via baby bottle. But it was not going to be easy to milk Lou every 2 hours so I decided, after talking to a vet, to get some substitute milk from the local co-op. Lou freaked out once we left the pen and trampled on the kids but they seemed OK.

Jodie nurses Ninja

After the trip I made up a batch of the milk and we all bottle fed the animals. The female kid was very enthusiastic, but the male was struggling. When the weather started turning bad the kids were brought inside to keep warm and feed them some more. Again the neighbours helped out and even brought dinner down to me. The male didn't have any sucking action and had to be syringe forced feed - he was also unable to stand. Everybody knew where this was going but wanted to give him the best chance. By 8pm Ninja Turtle, male kids new adopted name, was having trouble breathing. Ninja had been cuddled, fed, and kept warm by Jodie for hours but she now handed him to me.

The neighbours left by 9pm and I was left with Ninja. His breathing became more shallow and occasionally he chain breathed. At 10pm he passed away in my arms. In the movie Donnie Darko there is the line "Everybody dies alone" - Ninja died in my arms, warm and loved - I don't think he was alone...

The final hour of Ninja

Mum has been reunited with baby and they have bonded well. Perhaps Lou was unprepared, scared, and in shock after giving birth. But she is making up for it now. The kid is called Chop Suey.

We believe that either Ninja died due to some sort of birth defect or, his Mother trampled on his head.

The Harvest of Myles

The last couple of days have been very productive. I think a long weekend in Brisbane gave me a new lease of life (more on Brisbane later)

The pen is so you can see the size

As I have this new lease on life I have been turning over garden beds, fertilising, weeding, trimming, and planting the summer crops. I learnt a lot last year and am now using those learnings to perhaps have some descent vegetables and some actual fruit! My herb garden has now been moved to a shady spot, and I have quite a few lettuces, spring onions, parsnips, Daikon and Pak Choy ready to go. We also have strawberries this year! My Rhubarb has been looking  little sorry for itself, and hadn't yielded a lot of fruit - but I wacked on some fertiliser and it is going berserk!

It is almost time to plant the tomatoes and basil. I'm not a lover of tomato but it is good to cook with and I still have basil and pesto leftover from last year so we had been get eat before the next lot comes in. So I am clearing the garden beds ready for the tomatoes which means removing the winter crops. Myles hasn't had a lot of time to garden but one weekend he planted some carrots. He didn't do anything with them afterwards and I refused to look after his crop. So today I pulled the carrots out. Ah! not much of a meal there but I will still cook with them tonight so he feels special!

Brisbane

Not sure what sort of pose this is?

We drove up to Brisbane for a long weekend. Myles was going for work so I thought I would tag along seeing the accommodation was paid for. We went to a REAL Picture Theatre, ate at a fancy restaurant, E'cco, had Yum Cha, saw the Surrealist exhibition and did a bit of shopping. We also got our hair cut - which was long overdue! We were lucky to also be in Brisbane for their annual festival.

So in summary of our trip, the movie was terrible, the restaurant was a little average and the people sitting next to us annoying, loved the Yum Cha and Chinatown experience (oh how I missed it) and all I bought was a suit for work - my others were a little tight! The exhibition was excellent! On the last night we ate BBQ duck in our hotel room with a couple of bottles of wine and watched the fireworks and laser show. Overall a good little trip - it was nice to get home though.

Spring, ducklings, fishing, and the return of an enemy!

Driving around the neighbourhood I can spot blossoms on the many fruit trees. That can mean only one thing... my trees are duds! Well that is actually not true - when my parents stayed they bought me a few fruit trees. These trees were planted in a paddock and my goal was to only allow the sheep into that paddock. Sheep don't eat trees... do they? Well yes they do and I am left with sticks in a grass paddock. Hopefully the new warmer weather will allow the trees to sprout some leaves so I can transplant them to a safer spot. But as in an earlier post - I found some fruit trees hidden amongst some long grass in a forgotten paddock. So I trimmed and fertilised them a few months ago, and behold I have some blossoms on my mulberry tree. I also noticed some on my Lemonade tree. So perhaps I will have some fruit - not a lot though.

The Dam while I was burning off

Finally we went fishing in our biggest dam. The neighbour came down with a few fishing rods, worms, and handlines. "There has to be something in here" everyone agreed. A few beers later, we were still waiting for even a nibble. Someone then said "There has to be at least eels here" FAIL! Nothing the whole fishing trip but we decided some fish could be bought and released into the dam so we fish anytime we like. We might not have caught anything but we did see some ducklings and a Long Necked Turtle.

Long Necked Turtle - not one of ours

Towards the end of the fishing trip Myles went to a more deserted part of the dam with a handline. After 20minutes he suddenly stood up, looked slightly white, and swore. The neighbour and I yelled across the dam asking him what the matter was. Myles didn't answer but had the 'frightened' look on his face. Finally he came back down to plant Earth and let us know a Red Belly Black snake had moved close to him. We thanked him for finally letting us know the situation and commented that he wouldn't be very good at communicating in a disaster situation <note sarcasm>. We packed up the fishing gear and left for the afternoon with nothing.

Red Belly Black - again not that one we saw

While putting some tools away we noticed a fresh snake skin next to our car - oh joy!

Myles and I lit a bonfire and the neighbour came back down to help clean-up the piles of branches for the fire. Many many many beers later our neighbour struggled to get up the hill to his house to eat dinner ready for his wife.

So Spring is here and so are the snakes. The only good thing is my garden is now ready to plant tomatoes, basil, and zucchini.

The Great Karangi Roast Off

We often eat out - not at a restaurant but at our neighbour's house. This means we don't need to drive miles and we can have a few drinks. On Friday night we were invited to a flash dinner party with at our neighbours - with their parents, Fran and John (actually Jean-Paul - but some people don't understand that he is a boy and call him Jean).

I rejected this invitation because I was planning to cook a roast - I had defrosted the chicken earlier. Our neighbour told us to bring the chicken up the next night and we could have a roast cook-off. So I agreed and was up to for the challenge.

So the next day I prepared my roast chicken knowing that Fran was making some sort of super duper 40 garlic clove chicken.

Steve's Roast Lemon Chicken

Ingredients

1 Whole Chicken
3 Tbspns Chicken Stock Powder
2 Tbspn Honey
2 Handfuls of Almonds
1/2 cup Flat Leaf Parsley, chopped up
1/2 cup Mint, chopped up
1/4 cup dried Rosemary
8 Garlic Cloves
1/2 cup Duck Fat
1 Whole Lemon
6 Quaters of Preserved Lemon, chopped up
3/4 cup of Couscous
1/4 cup white wine
8 Potatoes, peeled and quartered
1 cup of Sherry

Clean out chicken cavity trimming off the fat. Rub some duck fat into the cavity. Mix together couscous, 1/4 of the herbs and garlic - add the white wine to make the couscous damp. Chop up a handful of the almonds and add along with 1 tspn of honey. Clean the lemon skin and squeeze the lemon against the bench - do not break the skin - this will make the juice freer in the cooking process. Cut holes in lemon using a knife. Put half the stuffing into the chicken cavity and then pop in lemon - then squeeze the rest of the stuffing into the cavity. Use roasting spears to close everything up.

Mix the some of the preserved lemon, fresh herbs, 1 tspn of honey, and a mined garlic clove. Gently push this mixture under the skin of the chicken. Then rub duck fat all over the chicken. Put in a roasting dish along with the potatoes (cover potatoes in the fat too). Cover chicken in chicken stock, almonds, rest of the rosemary, and preserved lemon. You could add salt and pepper to the top.

Roast at 250 degrees cent for 20 minutes then turn down the oven 180 degrees making sure the roast is basted. Once cooked, about 1- 1 1/2 hours remove the chicken and potatoes from the pan. Add the sherry to the pan and create gravy.

Myles and I wore a pirate hat and sailors hat to dinner. Upon arriving we let everyone know that we had been informed it was a fancy dress party - which generated a laugh. Fran made a steamed chicken with cloves of garlic - something I will have to try. You make a crust on the top to keep the steam and juices in.

At the end we all agreed it was too difficult to judge each other's recipe because they were so different.

The Birds and the Bees, and a Frog in the Toilet

Something has started to happen in the valley - while the weather is cool it feels like it is getting warmer. The Liquid Amber tree in the side yard has started gaining leaves, and there are a bees everywhere. There are Black Cockatoo munching on the native trees and the grass has started getting greener. There is also movement on the reptile front, one neighbour has seen four snakes, and another has seen Goannas on the hunt. We have only just started to hear the frogs and have been washing them out of the homegrown cabbage. When the snakes wake I think they will think Jamie Durie has done a makeover while they were shopping. All this means we are having an early Spring.

The Cottage's Living Room

As mentioned before, Heather stays with us every two months. While vacuuming the cottage where she stays I heard a very strange noise. I called Myles over so he could hear it - it was some sort of animal, and sounded like it was in the bathroom. A quick search revealed nothing and so we decided it must have been from the ceiling cavity. I got a broom and banged the ceiling to see if this would reveal anything. Nothing. We got the ladder out and gingerly peaked through the manhole in the ceiling. Nothing - but new insulation! I decided that it might have left because of the noise we were making.

Back in the house, while surfing the internet, I wondered if there was a site for Australian wildlife noises - there was. And after hearing some samplers I realised the sound was from a East Corn Froglet. Myles joined me in the search for the critter - who was going to be in a wet part of the bathroom. Careful studying of shower revealed nothing. I looked into the toilet and commented that it would need a spruce up before Heather arrived. I flushed it a couple of times. Out popped a huge frog from the toilet rim - giving me the biggest scare. To say I was 'dignified' would be unkind to that word - I screamed like a girl grabbing my heart. For gods sake it is just a frog!

Myles attempted to flush the frog into the septic - he was successful. When Heather arrived we told her about the frog - she was unimpressed with Myles flushing the frog. "What a way to go - could you imagine dying in a place like that?" She commented,and Heather had a very good point. The next day when Heather was leaving she informed us the frog was back in the loo. Whew!

Now I know why the cottage is completely free of insects and spiders. The frog has been doing it's work and eating everything. As such it will be left in peace until the next person stays with us.

How to Clear a Country Pub in Less then 10 Seconds

The Art Deco styling of the Coramba Pub

The town in which we live nearby has, one general store, one primary school, and an old church. That is it - the rest is pasture and scattered housing. So when we want to have a night out we have to travel into the main centre of Coffs Harbour, or the closer but much smaller town of Coramba. Coffs Harbour has everything but I would hardly call it 'a great night out'. Coramba has only one small country pub - but they have a new chef - and it is Russell Crowe's local!

Heather, the book rep who travels up to our way every two months and stays with us, arrived at 5:30pm. She drove up the driveway very slowly to check out the lambs, especially her namesake. At 6pm we picked up the neighbours for dinner. We had decided to travel to Coramba, about 10minutes away, for dinner and drinks. The first time I had been to the pub meals were a ridiculous $30 each. But the new owner had meals from $11.50!

Our group of 5 was the best dressed in the pub - hardly surprising when usually there is a load of workmen with mullets - and that is just the women! We sat down to our meal and drinks and had a few laughs. One member of the group wanted to play the pokies and I commented what a waste of money and they are boring. So I took my $2 to the jukebox. Normally a person would choose a tune and then put the money into the slot, but I put the money in straight away and then stressed about the music. I knew that once I choose one song it would play with everyone looking at me should the choice be strange. My eyes scanned the lists and I saw that they Danish music, R&B, Rock/Folk.... wait up! Danish music in a country Australian pub? Then they had hits of Finland? The choice was then too easy. I picked two Finnish songs and then a normal folk song.

The music was loud with the strange tones of a female Finnish singer blearing out. As I walked back to our group I saw the looks on their faces "What the f#&k is this music?" The workman grabbed their hats, finished their beer, and left the pub. We were the only people left in the bar, seriously the only people left! The bartender started cleaning up and someone in the group apologised for ruining the bartender's night. He smiled and thanked us for clearing everyone out - he even commented that perhaps I could be used in the future to get rid of the stranglers.

Finnish music is the way to clear out men in a pub. A lesson to you all.

The Last Cut is the Deepest

Before - trees taking over driveway

Bella inspect the work

We have been scrambling to get a few projects finished before summer. Once summer hits it will be 40 degree days, rain, and leeches. We want to be in a position where a quick mow of the lawns and some feeding of the animals are all that needs to be accomplished - the rest will be eating, and drinking beer from the tap.

Let there be light

From the beginning we knew the driveway needed some attention. The driveway has been cut into a hill with nothing but Mother Nature to retain the exposed bank. Along one side of the driveway Jacaranda trees and Hibisticius bushes have been planted - when they flower it is fantastic. However native trees have been allowed to grow too close to the exposed bank blocking the light and forcing the bushes/trees to grow in weird shapes, while creating mould on the plants. While one would think the trees growing along the bank would retain the bank, you would be wrong. The trees fall into the driveway once they get too big and cause even more erosion. So we basically knew that at some stage the native trees along the bank needed to be cut down leaving about 1 metre clear along the bank.

The trees start growing

Myles and I started on a weekend and made some fantastic progress. The driveway is about 500 metres long and we cut 100 of them. Using a chainsaw and handcutters we freed the good trees and removed the lantana strangling the area. The naive ferns will be allowed to grow along the bank greening everything up. I was still pumped the next day so got some help to continue down the driveway. Myles was working in the office so hired externally. We both ripped the guts out of the driveway and finished another 300 metres. To say we were both stuffed was an understatement - I slept well that night. There is only another 100 metres to go but I think we will wait for the RFS to complete a burn off in the area.

But the good trees and the sheep are enjoying a bit more sunlight.

Cutting Grass

Well we have almost been here for one year. I don't feel we have accomplished an awful lot but when people visit, make a delivery, or inspect the property people are amazed at what we have done. The grass is short in the paddocks, the house is now clear of trees and the potential for fire hazards, the drive way is no longer over run by native trees, and we have visible fruit trees.

The new tires

The paddocks used to have extremely long nasty grass that the animals could not eat. We naively thought that putting animals on the land would shorten the grass - thus keeping away the many snakes. WRONG! The sheep and goats hated the grass. Myles bought a ride-on mower from eBay - usual I know but he did get it 2K cheaper than retail. The unfortunate part was that this mower could not go up slopes, actually unless the ground was completely flat you would get stuck. This pretty much made the mower a white elephant and was only used to make the grass around the house look pretty. A neighbour told us to employ the services of a slasher (tractor with massive blades on it) but we had thought that was going to be pretty expensive. Myles called in March and we were surprised to learn it would cost a meagre $200. Why didn't we do that in the beginning? - 'cos we were dumb!

Nicely Mowed

So after the slashing the grass was still a little mangy and we knew that slasher would be required in the next few months to ensure we had great grass for summer. Mick, Myles' father visited last month and looked at the problem and advised that if we changed the tires on the mower we could get the traction we required. Mick used to run a retail lawnmower business so he must know what he was talking about. We had been advised earlier that changing tires would not make a difference. Anyway we took his advice and changed the tires - and what would you know - I can now mower the paddocks with the ride-on. While $200 wasn't much - neither is $10 worth of fuel. Thanks Mick!

Frosty Boy

Those who are, or were, living in New Zealand will remember the ice-cream truck traveling down those suburban streets to the tune of Greensleeves while children ran for miles around with a 50cents to buy a cone, or if they were lucky to get one with a Flake chocolate bar stabbed into the delicious soft ice cream - mmmmm. That is not what I am talking about today - but I am reminded of the mental torment I was put though with those so called protectors of my youth, my parents :)

No it's no a youth on the streets of London

The truck could be heard traveling down the street and my siblings and I would beg our parents for an ice cream. Usually, my Dad would say "Ask and you don't get" so we would remain quiet the next time the truck came around - still we didn't get an ice cream and when we said something my Father would look all innocent and say "You didn't ask, so you didn't get". We questioned his logic but at our tender age we didn't realise that he was just playing with our minds and there was no way of getting an ice cream. And that is why today I am often seen running behind the back of a truck that has loud classical music blaring from the stereo - not very often there is even ice-cream in that truck.

But onto today - I got up very early and put the fire on. It was pretty chilly and the dogs didn't even stir. The fire warmed the house up beautifully and I had breakfast - homemade bread with homemade marmalade. Myles and I then set off on our walk down to the fire station, and back. As the door opened a cold blast of air hit as fair square in the face. Fritz had long decided that mornings were too cold and he refused to get out of bed and Bella is just plan crazy and will walk anytime. Myles dragged Fritz outside and we started our walk commenting that it might have been a good idea to bring gloves. We just walked faster to keep warm. At the bottom of the hill we noticed the neighbours property had a bit of frost - it was not crunchie like in New Zealand but still impressive. At the end of the walk Fritz and Bella got to play in a field not even noticing they were rolling in ice - it's nice to be an insane dog!

Fire Fire Fire!

I'm not taking about the recent riots in London but a few fires that have been lit on the property. While you might think that is a little scary they have actually been either lit by us or the RFS (Rural Fire Service).

Having a fire is the most efficient way of cleaning up old branches and leaves or for ensuring in the fire season there is less fuel to potentially cause some damage. We had 2 rather large piles of branches that we had been waiting for the RFS to burn, for 6 months! They were obviously busy and we were rather impatient. Rather than wait we took the initiative, and the match to the piles. The first fire took 5 days to burn all the branches with both Myles and I raking the fire onto itself to ensure it kept burning. Myles wanted to leave the larger fire unlit until his father arrived - as some form of entertainment.

My big fire at night

We lit the second fire with the help of the neighbour, some beer, and a bottle of wine - plus a packet of Doritos. I started the fire from the bottom of the gully using an old Girl Guide trick while the neighbour started up top using some accelerant. Mine ended up wining the biggest flame competition and I can now say mine was bigger than his. Mick, Myles' Father tried to help out but fell down the bank and he was banished to the safety of the track. We still haven't finished that fire but are damn close to seeing it gone.

Te RFS hard at work

On Sunday we arranged to go fishing in the bottom damn - we think there are eels and possible some fish down there. Unfortunately the RFS turned up a couple of hours beforehand and asked if they could practice fire fighting on one of our banks that had a lot of fuel. Naturally we agreed, and were excited that this also meant a large area was going to be burnt later in the week - ensuring some of the houses in the area would be safer in summer. As soon as the fire was started we heard a mighty rumble from out Dorrigo way - the clouds were getting darker and we knew some rain would eventually drown us out. There had been no rain for 5 weeks making it an ideal time to burn all the properties - making them safer. So naturally when a burn off was arranged it was going to rain so it couldn't happen. Not only did it rain 30mins later but it also hailed and we rushed undercover to the safety of our beer.

The burn off might happen on Saturday now - or it could continue raining. With our luck it will continue raining!

The Mining Problem

So it has been 1 month since my last update. The weather has been so good that every spare second has been spent getting the property ready for summer - summer is all about beer and fishing! Everything grows so quickly in Summer that you might as well just let it run wild - in winter everything stops growing and you can make some real progress.

The Driveway
The driveway has been completely overgrown for years. The bank on one side has been slowly eroding pushing trees onto the driveway. Myles and I have always had plans to clean it up but have always been weary because of the chance of snakes and the fact that it is just plan hard work. So 3 weeks ago we just decided to go for it and trim everything back - the snakes are still sleeping but for how long? Together we cleared a quarter of the driveway. I then enlisted some help and cleared up to the 3/4 mark the next day. Already the Jacaranda Trees and Hibiscus have started re-sprouting meaning wonderful colour during the summer months.

Mining Time

The Dams were used to hold water to clean the gold

We have been informed the area is being surveyed and could be mined in the next few month. Originally this area was a small gold mine with some features still evident with the layout. I guess with the price of gold going up areas that were not financially viable are now profitable. We find out whether the mining company is going to start buying land in the area and I guess things could change around here.

There is so much to catchup up on so will try to update everyday.

A Day at the Fair

The Frost in the Paddock

The last few mornings have been rather cool. We are lucky because the house is rather exposed to the sunlight so when we wake the sun has done it's work. However the roof has had ice on it which is pretty neat! This morning was slightly different - we had frost in the paddock! I haven't seen, or felt, frost since leaving New Zealand and love how the grass crunches under your feet. So the neighbours are not entirely incorrect that it gets cold up here - but it doesn't feel freezing.

After seeing the frost I started making lunch for a couple of people visiting - overnight I decided to make a potato and leek flan/tart. As usual it was all guess work and again I made the pastry from scratch. Just as I finished cooking we received a call cancelling the lunch - hmpf! So while I was rather disappointed it gave us the opportunity to visit the Orara Valley Fair just up the road.

Potato and Leek Flan

Caramelise a finely cut leek using butter and sugar. Deglaze with some white wine and then add finely sliced potato, fennel, and chicken stock. Cook until the potato is tender and the juices evaporated. Let cool and then add 3 eggs and 1 cup of grated cheese. Mix around pour into a pre-cooked pie base. Add some chopped parsley and bake in the oven for about 30mins or until the top is crispy.

The Fair

We had been told that in previous years people have been bogged in the Fair carpark so we took the ute down. Upon arriving we saw our neighbours Renae and Andrew getting their kids ready to visit the fair, so we joined them. Entry was $5 with proceeds going to the local RFS and we were greeting by Elvis (honky tonk style minus the hamburger gut) singing some tunes. It appeared that people from the whole area had come down to see the fair. Unfortunately there wasn't a lot to see or do, and as it happens, eat! I immediately came up with 3 ideas of low cost activities that could have been implemented and think I should get on the committee. Andrew got a pizza that took approx 15 minutes to arrive and Renae got an ice cream for the kids which took about 10 minutes - so not well organised by the owners! We were told there were kebabs around the corner so Myles and I waited.

I'm not sure if his parents have taught him how to get food in his mouth?

There was a demonstration of old farm machinery where it was difficult to stay awake for both the demonstrators and the spectators alike. Next door was a sign promoting 'Hay Rides' a rather large lady was sitting on a bale of hay next to the sign - I naturally thought that was the ride but was disappointed to see a tractor with a trailer on the back packed with hay. Needless to say I thought it was a pretty lame ride seeing I could get into the back of my little tractor for free - and yet there was a huge queue!

The little shops were crap and commercial. Where was the Country Women's Association's stands, where was the cake?! We all lined up at the kebab place and the cashier yelled out "Who wants to order?" The whole queue got rather annoyed that he had to ask because we all wanted to order, about 30 people! 15 minutes later Myles placed our order and waited at the serving area. About 20 minutes after that we worked out the staff were feeding their friends and weren't making our kebabs. Something was said, in not a nice way, and another 10 minutes later we had our kebabs. Not Happy Jan!

After the kebabs were finished we looked around the rest of the fair and then went home to clean the solar panels and cut down some more trees. A rather nice day.

Our First Bonfire, Docking Tails, and Gender Bending

Well Myles is back to work today after getting the all clear from the Doctor. Apparently he had Pneumonia which is much better than getting some weird flu from an animal. My back seems to be getting better thanks to some core muscle exercises - I swear they are hard though. The Physio told me to imagine pulling my balls into my stomach WTF! My fitness ball is ready for use this afternoon so I shall be watching TV etc while sitting on the ball.

Safety first - hose nearby

Meanwhile in the valley...

We finally decided to light our huge pile of trees and branches on fire. When Myles and I arrived the whole property was overgrown and we spent months trimming and chopping down trees. We asked the local Fire Brigade to burn one of our piles but they are yet to show up even after 6months! So we spent a fair amount of time trying to get the fire going but it didn't seem to catch - too wet. Finally after a few nice days we have been able to light it and have been enjoying watching the fire at night. Myles says it reminds him of his childhood which is interesting because he apparently never had a bonfire. However, I am reminded of Guy Fawkes in New Zealand. I have no idea why they celebrate Guy Fawkes in New Zealand? I am reminded of the Guy being dragged into the street on the back of a wheelbarrow, the bonfire being built and the guy being chucked on top of it. Originally it must have been a first to burn an effigy as you see in protests now. There were always loads of fireworks on that night too - New Years Eve was nothing in our household but Guy Fawkes held a special place. There is probably only another night of the bonfire left then we can move to the next one!

I read that you must dock the tails of lambs in their first week of life. Naturally Myles and I had never done such a thing and were a little apprehensive about hurting the cute things. It is necessary to complete the task or the sheep will be in more pain in the long term. So like all good farmers we Googled how to do it and saw this awesome little video. Myles and I spent a couple of hours running around the paddock trying to catch the lambs and slide the rubber thingie on tail. Many old crumpets were used to get the sheep to go where we liked - they LOVE crumpets! It is all done now and the lambs appear not to feel anything - WHEW!

Finally a neighbour came around to check on our bonfire and saw one of the goats in the paddock. He commented that the goat must be pregnant because of her size. I was looking into the paddock commenting that you can't tell if a goat is pregnant but it was indeed possible because the Billy had been a little randy. Myles wondered over and overheard the neighbour and pointed at the brown goat and asked if that was the pregnant one? The neighbour confirmed he meant the brown one. I had thought the neighbour was talking about the white goat - the brown goat is a boy! And proved that he couldn't be pregnant by standing up and showing us his jewels!

The Catch-Up

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I know it has been sometime since my last post. I seem to have lost enthusiasm since I hurt my back which also means not a lot has been happening around the property.

Myles is Sick

Myles still has time to wave hello from hospital 

Last week I had a meltdown and told Myles I was pretty bored - mainly because all I was doing was sitting in a chair watching TV due to the back-pain. Myles told me he would book me into a Physiotherapist the next day to sort the problem out... Yes I know I could have done it myself but sometimes I need a push. At 1am the next morning I was woken by Myles getting up to put on his dressing gown and getting back into bed. I asked him why he was wearing the dressing gown to bed and he commented he was so cold. I took his temperature which was slightly raised but nothing to worry about. I feel back asleep and was again woken at 2am with Myles sweating profusely, shivering and claiming he was freezing. I took his temperature again and he had hit 38.4 degrees. OK know I knew there was a problem.

At 7am Myles' temperature had hit 38.8 degrees - I booked him into a Doctor's Surgery as an emergency patient. The Doctor referred him to hospital because of his symptoms. We saw a ED Doctor almost straight away - a young Doctor who hadn't had much experience. Blood was taken from Myles and he was put on a saline drip. While he was lying there I commented that today was meant to be about my back and he was just stealing the limelight - that produced a giggle. The blood test showed he had an infection but not what was wrong - so the Doctor decided to administer a lumber punch. Everyone was concerned that he had Meningitis and a spinal tap is the only way to find out.

The Junior Doctor tried 3 times getting the needle into Myles' spine and finally had to call a more senior Doctor to complete it. I couldn't watch! The outcome was that they didn't know what was wrong and that he would have to ride it out with painkillers. So we got home and I made a huge batch of Chicken Soup.

Myles is getting better but not normal yet.

My Back

The Before Bedroom Shot

I went to my first appointment with the Physiotherapist on the Friday and discovered that my bottom 3 discs are not moving as they should be. I am not allowed to sit down for more than 15minutes and have some back stretching exercises to complete. Next appointment today so hopefully I will feel better soon.

A Room Finished
When we moved into this house the interior design was not to our liking. It may have taken sometime but we finally finished one room - the Spare Bedroom. I will probably finish the Office in the next day or two - which I must say is looking pretty darn good.

After - using a bad camera

When a Child is Born

After harvesting the Lemonades I made cordial and marmalade. Both of which are delicious and should last a few months. Each day I check on the sheep in the hope they will give birth. The udders have been getting bigger and bigger - so I know the time is nearing.

Last night the lovely Heather stayed over once again, but arrived just as it was getting dark. Over some low-alchollic wine we talked about the sheep and decided to check on them before Heather left - praying there would be a birth. Yet that morning we had breakfast and Heather left without paying the animals a visit - which was a total shame! I finally went down at mid-day and what did I see? Mascara had given birth to a beautiful lamb. After so much death this year I am over the moon.

If the lamb is a boy it will be the most fantastic lamb roast. If she is a girl we will call her Heather - because she was here when the little critter was born.

The Start of the Winter Harvest

About 5kg of Lemonades with Turnips and Daikon

Myles did his first bit of vegie gardening and planed Broccoli, Lettuce, Beetroot, and Rhubarb in the newly turned over garden beds. We both weeded a few areas, got our first harvest of Lemonades, and pulled some more of the root vegetables. I pruned the Lemonade tree right back and removed all the moss that had been allowed to grow on it - hopefully it will mean the next harvest is bigger and the tree healthier. I gave the goats the prunings off the trees - a little treat.

Last night we heard 8 gun shots at about 11pm at night. Rumour has it that there is a dog on the loose which has already killed 5 chickens next door - perhaps someone was protecting their animals. Hopefully when we have lambs the dog won't have a go at them.

Dinner Party on the Hill

Last night we invited some of the neighbours over for dinner - which naturally means I am cooking. I chose to cook my Moroccan Lamb Cutlet dish for mains - which has proven to be popular in the past. I had no idea what to make for dessert but looked through my fridge and cupboards for inspiration. I had the Whites of 2 eggs left over from the day before so some sort of meringue was on the cards. Eventually I narrowed the dessert down to a Rhubarb Tart with Meringue Topping.

I thought it was a Single Seater? Some of the neighbours

We ate, drank, and chatted while the kids watched Toy Story and the Muppets.

Steve Moroccan Lamb Cutlets
1 finely diced Onion
3 Cloves of minced Garlic
2 pinches of Chilli flakes
6 or more Lamb Cutlets
1 tin of chopped Tomatoes
1 tin of lentils - dried is better but quicker using a tin
1 tin of Chickpeas - you can soak the appropriate amount of dried Chickpeas and use
1 Chicken Stock Cube
1 tspns of Turmeric
2 tspns of Tarragon
2 tspns of Paprika
1 handful of Almonds
1 handful of Dried Apricots
1/2 a Preserved Lemon
Salt and Pepper to taste

Season the lamb with salt and pepper. Use a dish that can be used both on the stove and in the oven - or just use more dishes and use two different pans. Heat some oil and cook onion, garlic and chilli until the onion is translucent. Then brown the lamb cutlets. Once browned take off the heat and add the tinned items ensuring the lamb is covered with moisture. Then add all the herbs and mix around. Put the stock in hot water and dissolve. Pour over the dish to ensure even more of the lamb has moisture. Then sprinkle almonds, lemon and apricots over the top and bake in the oven for 1 hour or until bubbling and cooked although.

Serve with couscous. Please note that the measurements are not exact - I make it up as I go.

The Rhubarb Meringue Tart

Rhubarb Meringue Tart
2 Egg Whites
1/2 cup sugar
1 tspn of Cream of Tarter
approx 7 plain biscuits (smashed into little pieces)
50g of melted butter
200g of rhubarb

Mix melted butter with biscuit crumbs and press into bottom of ramekins. Refrigerate until set. Bake the rhubarb with some sugar in the oven until cooked and moisture has mostly gone - jam like consistency. Put this mixture in ramekins. Then beat the whites, sugar, and cream of tarter until a stiff mixture is formed. Spoon into the top of the ramekins and bake in oven from approx 20mins or when the meringue is just browning.

All the Leaves are Brown

The Liquid Amber - Photo by Andi

The property is really starting to look like winter is arriving. The Liquid Amber trees at the front have almost lost all their leaves and the grass hasn't been mowed for a month and doesn't look like it needs to be mowed for a wee bit. And all my winter crops are coming along wonderfully.

I have already began harvesting my winter crops of turnip, daikon, silver-beet, and rhubarb. The huge bed of sweet potatoes needs digging up, and my lemonade tree is almost ready. That means more homegrown food will soon be ready. The next lot of vegies goes in tomorrow - that should include Broccoli, garlic, leeks, more turnips, and cauliflower. And then of course our winter lambs should burst out of the chests of the sheep as in Aliens - that is how they give birth isn't it?

The spare bedroom should be finished this weekend if Myles braves the ladder - it will be the first room in the main house completely finished.

More Autumn Trees - again photo by Andi

Finally with the weather turning, and warmth needed from winters shadow, Myles and I would like to pass on our sympathy to Missy's parents who are grieving her loss. Missy was a remarkable 19yo cat who, like Cher, still looked like a kitten. We will be having a toast to you tonight Missy.

And so the Queen Takes Her Rightful Place

A couple of years ago I offered to buy a female Daschund as my Mother's Birthday/Christmas present. My Mother accepted the gift on the condition that when she moved to the U.K. to live for 5 years that I would look after the dog.

Bella Arrives

Myles found a tan Daschund online and visited the breeder in Western Sydney - our usual breeder had dropped off the face of the planet. Myles instantly feel in love with the little puppy and brought her home to stay for a couple of weeks - while we arranged the flight to Adelaide so I could present my Mother with the gift. Like all puppies she was extremely noisy for the first 3 days. Fritz even begged not to sleep with her in the same room - alas we forced him to look after her. Myles and I had just watched 'Elizabeth - The Golden Years' (bad movie) but I really liked the name Isabella from the movie. So we temporarily called the dog Bella.  Mr Grumpy (Fritz) did eventually bond with Bella on the last day.

Love at First Sight - My Mother with her new baby

So as promised my parents delivered the dog to me before they moved to the U.K. We were all a little worried how Bella would fit in - especially with Lily (monster dog) being such a huge dog. After a rough couple of weeks both Bella and Lily adore each other - biting and playing all day. Meanwhile the Grumpy Old Man, Fritz, watches with distain.

Secretly I think, like Fritz, Bella was spoilt but now she has to compete with 2 other dogs - that hasn't stopped her. She jumps on ANYONE'S lap and has worked out that at 5am in the morning our bed is the warmest place in the house. After 2 weeks here she has worked out she is the boss - Fritz second - then me - then Lily - then Myles. Sorry Milo!

A Stranger in the Valley

A couple of months ago a family friend named Leti stayed with us (there was a post about her). She had been travelling around Australia CouchSurfing www.couchsurfing.org Couch Surfing, for a traveller, is about staying in someone's home for free - usually you do something for them in repayment - like clean or cook. The traveller gets to experience the real Australia and not just the Harbour Bridge. For the host it gives the warm feeling that you are sharing, and you get to meet some great people. Leti loved the farm so much and recommended we give other people the chance to visit. Myles was a little wary but I liked the idea because often I am here alone and only speak to the neighbour, or occasionally friends and family - and even though I am a hermit I do get lonely.

I set up my profile quickly and suddenly was flooded with requests to stay - thought that was strange.  I accepted a couple and then they cancelled on me.  Then Myles' Mum passed away and we had other visitors so the place wasn't free. Finally I young guy called Andreas, from Austria, requested the opportunity to stay. His profile looked OK - he had positive reviews - so emailed him my contact details. Andi told me he was arriving on Wednesday by bus from Byron Bay - I got the impression that Byron wasn't all that entertaining for him.

I left early to pick Andi up from the bus station so that I could also go food shopping in 'Glamourous Coffs Harbour'. I picked up a few things that I thought a visitor might like, Kangaroo Steak, some German biscuits (I love them too) etc. I left the supermarket early as I thought I would be late and texted Andi what clothes I was wearing. He arrived and we awkwardly said hello. He didn't know me and I didn't know him - there was no other way of meeting. We loaded the ute up with his bags and he broke 5 of my eggs - I thought it was actually funny. I drove Andi to the farm and tried to let him know I wasn't an axe murder and that driving 20minutes wasn't an Ivan Milat thing. When he got out of the ute, on the farm, he just said "Wow". I showed Andi to the cottage and let him get comfortable before showing him around the property. I got the impression that he liked the place. That night I made Kangaroo Steaks for him and he cleaned up - he asked me how I got the steak to taste like butter - I didn't use butter BTW. He also helped me make  Käsknöpfle - the dish of his region - if he eats Kangaroo again I hope it will taste even better. We then watched Kick-Ass - a favourite of mine. I had been feeling sick all-day and now felt boring - surely there were better things to do than watch a movie.

When I finally went to bed I wondered what we would do the next day - Coffs has some sites but I wasn't prepared to travel too far away. However when I woke I was feeling better. There was even a koala near the cottage that I knew Andi would think was fantastic. When he did get up (10am) the koala had left but we made our way into town to see the Big Banana and Jetty area. Andi then bought me lunch and we ate it watching the sea - he commented he could watch the ocean for hours because Austria is landlocked. I then found out he liked electronica music. We came back home and built a fire and made some cauliflower soup while he updated his blog and applied for university - and booked his bus down to Canberra. Andi told me his bus was at 12pm and asked if it alright for me to drop him off. I put on some music but in true Steve fashion never let a song finish. We watched 'Scott Pilgrim vs the World' which he thought was strange - agreed.

Myles arrived the next day and we both picked him up from the airport and again Andi bought me lunch - Maccas. Then I almost got booked for parking illegally at the airport. I made Crispy Pork Belly with Coconut Chilli rice for dinner with home-grown vegetables and watched 'Terminator 2' - Andi hadn't seen it. All through the movie we asked Andi to repeat some of the lines - and what do you know - he sounded like Arnie. At the end of the movie Andi said the movie wasn't as bad as he expected. We dropped him off to continue his adventure - but Canberra?

A fork in the foot is worth a band-aid in the bath

I'm looking after my parents home contents for a few years as they are moving overseas. Even though most of the furniture is being stored I have been given a few things that may not be needed in the future, or that I could use on the property. My Father gave me his gardening tools, apparently some of those tools are older than me, but in good condition - at least I thought.

I've injured my back somehow and so are restricted to light duties. Cleaning up the garage was high on my list along with washing Myles Jag. I drove the oil dripping Jag out to the spare water tank and washed it with my Father's help. I mentioned that I would clean the garage out and again my Father offered to help. In my hast  I didn't change my thongs(flip flops) to normal shoes and started pulling all the tools out of the garage to sort it out. My Father offered to hang many of the tools on the walls to free up floor space and to keep it tidy in the long term. We attached a plank on the wall and hung the gardening tools that were given to me. Dad was knocking in a nail when the handle of a garden fork detached from the metal head. Naturally my uncovered foot was directly underneath the garden fork. A few very bad words were yelled by me - something about a mother? I hopped into the house to put a band-aid on it and noticed a large amount of blood was streaming from the wound. I called out to my Father stating that a band-aid might not be sufficient. Dad helped me inside and put my foot in the bath and poured water over the cut - that mother word was used again by me. Once the cut stopped bleeding a band-aid was applied and I put a proper pair of shoes on and continued working.

My Mother missed the commotion and entered the garage a few minutes later.

"Careful with the garden fork" she commented when seeing what we were doing "my brother put a garden fork through my foot and you wouldn't want that pain."

My Father and I just smirked at each other.

My Father Maybe Many Things but...

he has never been known for his culinary skills.

Many year ago, while living in New Zealand, my Mother travelled to Sydney to visit her Mother, my Grandmother, for a week. This left Dad in charge of the house, and us kids. The household was run with military efficiency. We kids were lined up for parade duty at 6am, followed by Guantamo Bay style showers - minus the sexual abuse, and rushed off to school by 9am. Being at school was heaven compared to what we were to endure after school - and I'm just talking about the dinner! I'm not sure what recipe book Dad decided to gain inspiration from but I have yet to see Weetbix Stew repeated - although it certainly repeated on the household for the whole week. Cooking in bulk is efficient! When Mum arrived home 7 days later we rushed her to the kitchen and begged for some high sugar, low fibre cakes.

There is an exception to my Father's failure as a chef. He has always made the most amazing fudge. "He boils the crap out of it" so the rumour to his secret goes. The fudge comes out chalky and sweet and after eating it you won't want that sludge that the CWA makes. Whenever he visits a family member he is asked to make the fudge so when I was fortunate to have a visit from my parents I asked if he could make the fudge for me. Now the secret has been passed to me - however I wasn't very good at making it and actually burnt my hand with scolding hot fudge. Next time I will be better.

My Father's recipe actually comes from the most famous New Zealand cookbooks 'The Edmonds Cookery Book' with some modifications that I will not share with you.

A mixture of Coconut Ice and Fudge

Chocolate Fudge
2 cups of sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1/2 cup milk
25g butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

Basically boil the stuff up and pour into a tin to set. Make sure you cut the mixture before it hardens.

Because I was in the sweet making mood I decided to make a childhood favourite, Coconut Ice. Although the colouring is a little pink my sweets turned out very tasty - enhanced with time. Again I got the recipe from the Edmonds Cookery Book.