May days

The month of May is slipping away and we have had 3mm so far. It is very dry here.

We walked at Stringybark, on hills south of Helidon on Tuesday 13th.

Jim came up for the following weekend and played golf with Dick on two mornings - nice and chilly. I planted out more Xerochrysum seedlings and some lilies I got from Ann. On Saturday night, the wind faded and we were able to have a campfire with roast lamb and vegies cooked in the camp oven. It was very quick, cooked well and tasted delicious. It also used minimal wood, consisting of old garden prunings.

Our tank project is happening quickly. Last week I posted the contract and deposit and the hole is already prepared, and the tank will be poured this week - unless we are washed out!

Last Monday I met up with a Clark second-cousin, Neal Price, who was visiting Toowoomba for work. We have corresponded for a few years.

On Tuesday we walked in the Grapetree creek area, descending below the cliffs into a creek in the reverse direction to our last visit. In the evening we had a sunset/full moon campfire. I cooked chicken drumsticks with vegetables in the camp oven. It worked really well.

On Wednesday I hurriedly cleared the tank site of remaining vegetation and mulch. In the evening we had a Twilight Recital at USQ featuring Collusion and modern music.

On Thursday the hole was dug.

On Friday we had an extra working bee at Franke Scrub.

Yesterday we walked from Peppers Resort to Spicer's Peak, just south of Cunningham's Gap. It was a perfect day. The morning was cool with fog on the Downs. We descended a razorback with nice views of the Main Range to the east, then climbed through rainforest to the western peak, where we had lunch on sunny rocks in a small saddle before some of us continued out to the escarpment above the Cunningham Highway. The views to the east extended to Mt Warning.
It was a long day ending in quite a steep climb back up to the resort and a drive home into the sunset with a hot bath to look forward to at home.

Eucalypt identification

We have over 40 young eucalypts on our acre and I have been slow to identify them.
I have decided that the two just above the shed are Narrow-leafed ironbarks Eucalyptus crebra. They are just forming flower buds for this year. I have also discovered that the two volunteer gums at the top of the bank above the house are also ironbarks. I had assumed that they had come from the box tree on the path just above them.
A woodlot is a natural addition to a sustaining lifestyle and ironbarks are the best firewood, so we can look forward to more campfires, and perhaps an outdoor wood oven in future. Bees and koalas are also welcome.

The vegie garden

We are clearing the lower vegie garden to install a tank this winter. The bean screen is almost finished with the scarlet runners cut off and just a few purple kings providing odd nibbles.
However the end garden now has strong tomato plants producing a lot of fruit, as well as carrots ready to pull, spring onions, and garlic.

Behind the house, the broad beans, leeks, ruby chard seedlings, rocket, and peas are all going well. We made a pea screen yesterday.
I also have a circle of strawberries around the septic. There is some competition with kangaroo paws and paper daisies - to be resolved.
I also have some chillies and capsicums in the corner bed, where they have done well in previous years.

Relatives

I have been back into the Patterson family history and hope to finish the revised edition soon. Richard and Laraine Patterson came up from the Gold Coast with their son Brad on Saturday and we had lunch at Oxygen Cafe in town with Fran and Peter, and Alan and Julie Hohne who were up from Sydney for the day to visit their father. It is nice to have this extended family.
It was a tough tennis match on Sunday and I went down 5-6. The new bouncy tennis balls were hard to handle. It is quite a contrast playing singles on a hard court, compared with doubles on a synthetic grass on Fridays.

Basket Swamp

We camped at Basket Swamp near Tenterfield on the May Day long weekend with Ann and Keith. The days were clear and calm and the nights frosty. We rock hopped down creeks and had quick dips in rock pools. It is worth going in a second and third time as it is not so cold - relatively speaking. There are also good waterfalls and it is a real treat to spend the day around running water.
We were able to have a campfire and produced some good camp oven meals. We had the place to ourselves and also had nice walks along the road and fire trail. This is granite country - a southern extension of Bald Rock area and the vegetation is diverse and splendid.
On the way out we climbed the rocks around Timbara Trig Lookout where the views are stunning and the vegetation resembles a botanical garden.

More music

Dick has bought a new amplifier. Our stereo system is going to be a 100 year old axe. We bought it in Honiara in 1975. The turntable and tape deck went a few years back; the speakers are going to get new fabric shortly; the tuner dates from 1979 in Brisbane and the CD player from mid 80's in Innisfail. We have made a new double shelf of CD's in the bookcase and now have a comfortable music room. It's good to have the CD's all in a sensible order.

Twilight Series

This year USQ is better organised with their Twilight Series and has offered a subscription. The first performance was Marilyn Meier-Kapavale playing piano. She has been lecturer in piano there since last year, and once again she gave a very good performance. It was also nice to see the theatre almost full.

the Walrus said

Yes the time has come for an update. The Anzac thing got a bit depressing as we watched three very good TV programs on the Gallipoli submarine, a Turkish one based on letters, and one on soldiers missing in action on the Somme in WW1.
We went to a pumpkin harvest party at PalmTree that weekend and enjoyed the moon rising as we drove home later that night.
Brew 26 has been made with a mix of Tom's New Zealand malt and my dry malt. It will be interesting to see how malty it is.
We have had a series of short weeks, with Easter coming early in March, followed by Toowoomba Show holiday, Anzac day and then the May Day long weekend. It is good to get back to normal life.