Hot Cross Buns

I've been feeling a little under the weather thanks to a flu which is lasting too long! However today I was feeling well enough to do a little baking.

Easter is around the corner so I thought I would bake enough for a few families in the street.

Steve's Eastern Buns (I can't be bothered putting the cross on the top)
Makes 24

8 cups of Plain Flour
1/2 cup Sugar
3 tspns of Dry Yeast
Milk
4 Eggs (lightly mixed)
250g of Mixed Dried
80g Butter
2 pinches of Salt

Put all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl - except the milk. Mix together. Then add milk to make a firm dough.

Cut in half. Then knead each section until they make smooth balls. Place in a warm dry place and allow mixture to double. Approx 1 hour. Then punch the air out of each ball. Divide up mixture into balls approx the size of a tennis ball or smaller. Place on floured tray with 1cm seperation. Allow to rise for another hour. Then bake in oven for 30mins or until brown.

In a pan put in sugar and water. Boil for 5 minutes and then use as a glaze for the buns.

I Hate Mieces to Pieces

 Our Nanny, Loo, hasn't been very well. Worms again. <See multiple past entries> So we have penned her near the house. She has shelter, is given a delicious aray of different foods, and water. I would braid her tail but I think that is going to far. This morning I mucked her out, gave her new food, and just as I was going to change her water I saw something jump. A mouse had managed in fall into her bucket of water.

As I looked down into the bucket I saw that it was actually a pretty cute mouse. DAMN! Too hard to kill myself - they have those eyes. If I let it loose it would just steal more food. So I have left it in the bucket out in the open for the Kookaburra to eat. It's the great circle of life!

Meanwhile I made up this cake - it could also be used as a pudding.

Lemon-Lime Cake with Burnt Marmalade Topping

250g butter
3 eggs
2 lemons
1 lime
1kg self raising flour
1/2 tspn salt
150g sugar
milk
for topping
1 cup marmalade
100g sugar

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

Cream butter and sugar together. Then add eggs and salt, mix well. Add zest of lemon and lime and then add the juice of both. Mix well. Finally lightly mix in the flour. The less the flour is mixed the cakier the mixture - but ensure fully mixed. Add milk to ensure it is a runnish mixture. (soft peaks)

Grease a cake tin and pour in mixture. This amount of batter made two bread loafs for me. Put in oven until brown on top and mixture has cooked all the way through.

On a stove top, heat the marmalade and sugar together. Add water and stir until the mixture is syrupy. I make my own marmalade and usually have a mix of burnt and regular marmalade.

Pour topping over the cake. Serve hot or cold.

Pluck a Duck

I scared it off after it attacked

A few weeks ago, while I was in Sydney on business, Myles called me and asked me if I wanted a duck. I wasn't that fussed and told him if he got one he would have to look after it. When I returned home a few days later someone proudly showed me a HUGE duck.

The Chopping Block

Apparently the previous owner was having trouble with the duck. It had been trying to have too many 'relations' with a female duck - it was also very aggressive towards humans. Myles was keeping it in the unused chicken coop and was feeding it chicken food. A few days later Myles set it free and it spent a few days swimming in our many dams. At night Myles would collect the duck and put him back in the chicken coop - for protection. But then it attacked Myles...

We flipped a coin to decide whether we would kill the duck or just set it free. The duck was lucky and was set free. But then he got hungry...

The duck would arrive each morning and tap on the door - wanting food. Myles fed him each morning but that damn duck would keep attacking us. So we decided that for the safety of visitors, and us, he was going to have to be eaten. Because it was Myles' duck I told him he had to kill it.

So on the fateful day I spent an hour researching how to kill and prepare a duck.  I cut the corner off an old potato sack. The plan was to put the duck in the sack and when he popped his through the opening Myles would chop his head off. So Myles caught the duck and I put the sack around him. His head popped through and Myles placed the head on the chopping block. It wasn't the cleanest chop but Myles managed to do the job. The body was flapping around in the bag - so it was a good idea to place him in that bag. The worst bit was the mouth was opening and closing as though he was still alive. It totally freaked me out so I buried the head quickly.

Myles then hung the bird upside down and allowed the blood to drain. A few minutes later he had stopped bleeding. We had read, and seen, people pluck ducks and there are two methods; a dry pluck, or wet pluck. The dry pluck is more hygienic but more difficult. Basically you just pull the feathers off it. To wet pluck a duck you need to put the duck in hot water for a couple of minutes - then the feathers come off easily. Myles and I plucked the duck and found it wasn't too hard - just messy. But towards the end we realised the down from the duck was going to be a little difficult. So we dunked him in hot water and the down came off fairly easily. I then put on some rubber gloves and gutted the duck - it was not a pleasant experience!

We hung the duck in an old fridge to rest.

The next day we called the neighbours and asked them to dinner - to have the duck. They agreed so I started prepping the duck. It still had some small feathers on it so I got a disposable razor and shaved it. Inventive? It looked ugly so I trimmed off the wings and then roasted it for a couple of hours - chinese style. When it was cooked it looked even uglier. I couldn't serve that. So we sliced it up and boiled the bones to make a duck stock. I then made a duck noodle soup and added the duck meat at the end. It tasted OK but the meat was very dense.

I don't think we will ever do it again. I felt like Hannibal Lecter.

We another another two ducks who run wild on the property - they have only attacked me twice.

"I have taken us so far off our course. But now it is time to return."

The heading has to be my favourite line from one of my favourite movies, 'House of Sand and Fog' and sums up how I am feeling at the moment. In the movie a Persian Military Officer, who escapes revolutionary Iran takes his family to America, he succumbs to greed, and pride, at the expense of his family - naturally it ends in tragedy. A highly emotive and wondrous film - please watch it if you haven't already.

Myles and I moved up this way to start a new life. And over the last few weeks I believe we didn't really change anything. Sure we have learnt so much, and stepped out of our personal comfort zone. But from a personal perspective we didn't change our mindset on life - at least in the way we wanted.

Upon arriving at our house we were befriended by the neighbours. But somehow we were brainwashed into thinking we wouldn't have a life outside our property. That we had chosen a new life that only included staying on the property, drinking, smoking, and gossiping about our new small world. How stupid were we? In defence, having animals does prevent such freedom.

Some tension in the street has re-opened my eyes. Refocused what we need to achieve - what are goals are. The house is almost finished, the gardens basically finished - now it is time to have a life. To learn more about each other, about other people, and enjoy things we have missed out on since moving here. It looks like the DVD player will again be used, the stereo will pump out the volume, and we will visit friends and family.

And I will update this blog much, much more. 6 months with no entry is not appropriate.

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!