Got by the Glochids!

We forgot to bring some of the delicious mandarins from Frogknot back to Brisbane but Will did bring back 2 of the prickly pears he found in the garden.You are probably not surprised to learn that the prickly pear is an invasive plant species introduced from Brazil in 1788 for use as a natural agricultural fence and as a dye. It quickly spread and in 1925 a moth Cactoblastis cactorum was brought in, also from South America, whose larvae feed on the prickly pears and the plant was almost wiped out.I tried the fruit at Frogknot. Will handed me a spoonful of the bright red fruit scooped from the prickly pear. It was quite pleasant but a bit tart for me.Today Dulcie and I stood in the cool of the air-conditoned kitchen happily watching Will bringing in the washing from the 30 degree heat of the garden. I looked down and by the sink was a plastic box holding the pair of purple pears. They didn’t look prickly; in fact their skin looked perfectly smooth. I reached out and picked one up...big mistake!You would have thought I would have learned by now that nothing is as it seems here on Danger Island!The Glochids got me!Glochids are the tiny, and on this prickly pear, almost invisible hair-like spines that penetrate the skin of unsuspecting British numpties!Attacked by a fruit!I had to scrape the skin on my fingers and palms of my hand with a scourer to get most of them out but every now and again... I still feel a prick!

Back to Brisbane.

Rat Run!

I had the worst night’s sleep, so far, last night but I don’t know why. I was really tired. Will was in bed first. I was writing ‘Clearing Out!’ for the blog and wanted to finish it.When I was finished I unplugged everything except the rat repellers but they wouldn't work. I don’t think they were drawing enough power from the battery but I didn't want to plug anything else in, in case I then drained the battery. Such are the considerations I now have to make in my new life!I crept under the net and snuggled down and I cannot have been lying there quietly more than two minutes before I heard rattlings and skitterings coming from the kitchen area. I ignored it and tried to go to sleep...but couldn't. Whenever there was a particularly loud clatter I would shine my head torch in the general direction and things would go quiet but as soon as I switched it off, the noises would start again!At one point it sounded like something was being dragged and I began to wonder if it was something bigger than a rat! Could it be a possum?Finally I could stand it no longer. I crept quietly out from under the net. I didn't want to light my head torch until the last moment so left it off and tiptoed, barefoot, round the piano until I was in a good position to view the kitchen. I could still hear rustlings in the darkness ahead. I braced myself and switched on the torch.Something with a long tail bolted towards the door. It was a rat but it was a bit smaller than the rats I have seen in the UK.There was a slight gap under the back door but I had stuffed some dirty tea towels in it before I got into bed. The rat headed to the door and disappeared.Foiled!I went to have a closer look and found a small circular tunnel, that I had not noticed before, heading underground. I stuffed one of Will’s empty beer bottles in it, firmly, and got back in bed.I lay there, triumphant, for about 5 minutes before the rustling started again! It had another way in! Defeated I turned over and tried to get to sleep again...but couldn't!I got out my phone and googled ‘bush rats’ and was convinced I had found the culprit!The noises continued so I decided it was time to chance draining the battery and switch the sonic repellers on. I crept out of bed again and waited until the last minute to switch on my torch. As soon as the light flashed on the rat shot towards the back door but found the hole blocked by the beer bottle. It leapt into the air and headed back straight towards me! I didn't lift my leg fast enough and it skidded into my bare foot, leapt again (I thought it was attacking me!) then fled back again and disappeared under the fridge.I couldn't see where it had gone. I put the sonic repellers right in the centre of the kitchen area and switched them on. Nothing! I plugged Will’s mobile phone in to charge and the sonic repellers started flashing. Success!I got back in bed and tried to sleep...but couldn't.The noises started again about ten minutes later.Round one to the rat!..but like Wily Coyote, I will not give up!Bring on round 2!

Clearing Out! (introducing Gordon the Gecko.)

(This post is brought to you in association with Bent Road Winery : http://bentroadwine.com.au/   )Did you ever watch ‘How Clean is Your House’ with Kim and Aggie?They would have a ball here at Frogknot!I’m not saying it is a dirty old hovel because it is not. It has just gathered a little dust, a fair few cobwebs and is in need of some care and attention. It has a wonderful feel about it, even as it crumbles and those of you who have visited will know what a special place it is, special if a little untidy! All around the house, under the verandah and around the back are just piles of junk and old decaying furniture which needed to go and today was the day to do it!

 

Destined for the tip!

We put the seats down in Roxy and lined her with a tarpaulin to keep her tidy and started filling plastic bins with all manner of rubbish. Will went through the old cupboard that stood outside at the corner of the house where we found the mushrooms, and had a pile of things to keep and bins of stuff to dump.Late morning we were visited by Glen and Robert. They kindly brought their trailer for us to use. Glen and Robert own Bent Road Winery, down the road at Ballandean. We shared some chat, gossip and some of Dulcie’s biscuits before they left.With Roxy loaded we went down to the local waste dump at Glen Aplin on a trial run and found that the dumping of large items and furniture was prohibited. We know that lots of other people ignore that and we were tempted too but decided that we would take all the bulkier items to the Stanthorpe tip.We went back to Frogknot and had lunch then loaded up the trailer with an old sofa bed, the ‘mushroom’ cupboard, 2 lawnmowers and a variety of other junk and headed off to Stanthorpe Refuse Tip.

We were halfway down the drive when Will stopped the car and said ‘I’ve forgotten my wallet. We might need to pay to dump stuff.’I said I would run back and get it. I headed back up the road. As always I was on ‘King Brown alert and at the top of the hill noticed some large red ants on the ground. I kept on going but noticed they deliberately changed direction to run at me. Heck! I thought they might be Fire Ants!I got the wallet and headed back. Sure enough at the top of the hill there were the red ants again and again they aggressively headed towards me! They couldn’t catch me though.I asked Will what they were when I got back in the car. He said they were Bull Ants.http://australianmuseum.net.au/Bull-ants(As you would expect...they are quite nasty!)We arrived at the tip and noticed a large price list for dumping certain items. We had to drive through a large covered warehouse type building and here we were flagged down by a chap in Day-Glo orange. It was his job to check over everything that was brought in. He seemed more interested in what he could salvage from us than checking if we were dumping anything illegal. The warehouse had a store area that was full of stuff that people had brought to the tip which this fellow had rescued and was now selling it. I thought he might have wanted the lawn mowers but he didn’t.‘What about that big water container?’ he asked.‘Oh, it’s got a crack in the bottom,’ said Will.‘So have I,’ he said wittily, ‘but I’m ok.’He directed us to the different dumping areas for metal, wood and landfill and we duly visited each one and added to their piles.

At the landfill dump we picked up a lovely rug and a pair of shorts for Will and sneaked them out past the Day-Glo comedian.Back at Frogknot we loaded up the trailer again, with a gas fridge, a very heavy kerosene fridge, a washing machine and an old water boiler. The fridges and the washer we had to drag to the trailer but the boiler we rolled there. As we were about to lift it up a gecko fell out and just sat there. Gordon, for it was he, was missing his tail from some misadventure but you could see that a new one was growing.  I think it must have been dizzy from rolling over and over because we were able to get very close to it. I was a little wary at first half expecting it to suddenly roar like a lion or spit venom or even leap up and sink its teeth into my nose but it just sat there. In the end I had to pick it up to move it out of the way. I was worried we would stand on it or it would head into the shade under Roxy and get run over.

  

Gordon the Gecko

We piled three old armchairs into the trailer as well and headed back to the tip. Will tried to interest Day-Glo Orange man in one of the armchairs.‘It is retro,’ he said but it ended up as landfill with the others.On the way out we passed a ‘mob’ of kangaroos. How typical of here that they should be called a mob! Why not a ‘cuddle’ or a ‘curtsey’? Actually one did look pretty aggressive, so perhaps ‘mob’ is appropriate after all.

Don't mess with me, mate!

I shall look forward to seeing a ‘killing’ of koalas and an ‘entropy’ of echidnas, a ‘pillage’ of platypuses and a ‘battering’ of budgies.We knew it was going to be a fantastic sunset so decided when we got back to head out to the rocks to view it but as we pulled up at Frogknot we were greeted by someone clearing their throat a little too loudly and out of the bushes stepped Dave who lives next door. He had heard the trailer clanking up the road and had come to chase, whoever it was, off. He was so pleased to see it was Will and gave him the biggest hug. He was followed by his wife, Jenny and little Nate. The mystery of why the area we cleared at the front of the house still looked so good was solved when Dave said he had been mowing it. He and Jenny were shocked to hear about the theft of the solar panel but he did say that he had heard people riding around on motorbikes and had warned them off. They invited us back to their house for a drink. We said we intended to watch the sunset at the rocks but they insisted we go so we did. We walked through the trees a short way to their block of land. They have a beautiful house and their view was just fantastic.Little Nate beckoned me into his bedroom to show me all his books. We ended up reading ‘Wombat Stew’ together while Will, Dave and Jenny caught up.It was so lovely to finally meet the neighbours and they were absolutely delighted that Will was back.

Possums and Owlies and long legged beasties and things that go 'clink' in the night!

 You could say we had already had our ’trick or treaters’ calling before we arrived here at Frogknot. We didn’t like their trick! Strangely no one made the 1 km journey up our drive to knock on our door last night.Answering a call of nature before bed I crept out into the darkness with my trusty head torch (Thanks be to B.B. x). I noticed its beam reflected back at me from a small clump of grass by the corner of the house. It was the eyes of something. Imagining it to be one of the many frogs calling in the night I crept closer to investigate. It was not what I expected. It was a spider! The spiders here have eyes that glow like those of cats?! Although I was a little freaked by this revelation I also took comfort from the fact that I will now be able to see where they are lurking in the night, as I inevitably make more frequent nocturnal forays as my aging bladder weakens.I slept much better than the previous night although before I dropped off I was aware that the rodent repeller, which we left on last night, was not doing its job. Something was definitely rattling and clinking things in the kitchen area. I felt safe under the net though...it is my impenetrable force field.I dreamt I could hear a cuckoo and in the dream I looked out of a window and my garden and the neighbours garden were filled with lots of cats and their kittens all playing. I don’t know why I woke up but I could still hear the cuckoo.‘What’s that?’ I whispered to Will who I could sense was also awake.‘It’s a Mopoke,’ he said.The Mopoke is actually the Southern Boobook Owl and gets its name from the sound it makes ‘mopoke’ or ‘more pork’. It sounds very much like a cuckoo to me.Sometime later I was awake again and heard what sounded like heavy breathing. I thought it was Will having a bad dream so reached out a comforting hand to his shoulder.‘It’s a possum in the tree outside,’ he said in the darkness.Heck! A possum?! Yes, that cute thing at the top of this page sounds like an evil phone pervert or aging pensioner resting at the top of a flight of stairs.Even the cute creatures have a sinister twist up their pouches!