Heat and flies!

I think I am getting some understanding of what it must be like for a turkey resting in an oven though, I hasten to add, I have not been stuffed!It was very warm last night and I was a bit disappointed because the nights are supposed to be cooler up here on the Granite Belt. I suppose I should be thankful for up here at least the heat is dry whereas in Brisbane the humidity makes it so much worse.I don't know if it was the heat but something certainly caused far more insects than normal to invade Frogknot. They were buzzing round the lights and getting to close and dying and falling onto the table beneath...cooked. There were three bull ants, that I sent back to the great anthill in the sky, and a couple of nippy spiders and just hundreds of flies of all sizes.When we got into bed under our net, which I have never been more grateful of, we saw a frog hopping up on the outside of it too! I think it was attracted by all the flies in the house.I managed some sleep despite the heat.It was already 30 degrees outside at 9.00 am this morning. We opened all the windows that still work and the flies that had joined us the previous evening must have sent out invitations to all their friends because lots more came in. They didn't buzz about or anything. They just lazed about. It was too hot even for flies to fly except when you walked past them and they rose into the air out of necessity.We decided to clear some more cassinia...yes there is still lots left! Our project is to clear a roadway over to our neighbours property as an extra escape route in case of bush fire. There is an old track there but it has just become overgrown in the years Will has been away.We started about 10.30 but gave up at 11.30 as it was just far too hot. I even had a cold shower! I never have a cold shower...although I must admit the water from the dam was not exactly cold but it was lovely and refreshing.We stayed inside with the flies. I went to Middle Earth to remind myself of what really happened to the Hobbit. We saw the second film the other day and I did not recognise anything of the story I knew!Will did some knitting and then I did a bit of tidying up. There was a large dragonfly hanging under one of our lamps...a gate crasher!

A lot of the flies were resting near the 'Pit of Despair'.Have I mentioned the 'Pit of Despair?'It is a corner of the house that has not yet been 'Nickified'. There is a bed up above and underneath, behind a flimsy curtain and an old ABBA wall hanging, are cupboards and a hanging rail for all Will's old clothes. Heaven knows what else lurks there...I have seen him bring out a box of encyclopaedias that had become a termite mansion and I suspect that when Rambo was around he was quite at home in the 'Pit of Despair.' Perhaps that's why there are so many flies...Rambo is decomposing in there!

Sorting out the 'Pit of Despair' is on our list of jobs to do. The idea is to remove everything from under the bed and lower it back to a more normal altitude that I may be happy to sleep in...as long as it is still netted!We headed off about 3.00pm to Girraween, a nearby National Park. It is about 20 minutes drive. We parked up and wandered down to the creek for a swim. Lots of other people had had the same idea but it was not too crowded. We swam for awhile in the lovely cool water before going in search of a more secluded swim spot. There were a few kangaroos about.

We found another pool off the beaten track and had another quieter dip. We could hear the rumble of thunder in the distance and suddenly there was a rushing sound which got closer and a strong wind passed over and around us and then it started to rain a little. The rain was warm.We headed back to the car but found another spot for one more swim before we headed back home. We stopped on the way for an ice cream and when we got back to Glen Aplin were pleased to see that while we had been away there had been a heavy rain shower. The rain gauge said there had been 2mm...better than nothing.It was much cooler now so we headed out to attack the cassinia again. Will had a phone call from Wendi. They had been unable to fix the air con at Dulcie's, something to do with the parts they needed and couldn't do it until next week. Dulcie had gone to stay at Danny's houseI was stung by a paper wasp which had made a nest on one of the bushes. It was really sore but by the time I had walked back to the house for my trusty paw-paw ointment the pain was going away. We worked until about 7.00pm and then had another cold shower.It is too hot to light the fire to heat water.I think it is cooler than last night, there are still flies about. I just realised I had put my drink on the table in the wrong place...directly under the light...and just picked it up and found a moth and two flies having a pool party in my cordial and soda water!

Happy New Year at Frogknot.

We hope you have had a good start to the New Year.I know that the weather in the UK has been pretty terrible with storm after storm these past few weeks. We honestly have not been gloating and hope you are all untroubled though probably fed up!There is a heatwave passing over Australia at the moment and it is finally reaching us. It's been hot but it is going to get hotter. The forecast is for 40 degrees on Saturday. We will be up here at Frogknot where the air is much drier and more bearable. Will spoke to Dulcie tonight and the air conditioning has broken. Hopefully it will be fixed tomorrow.We have had a lovely few days so far here at Frogknot. Just after we arrived on New Year's Eve Andrew, his sister Trevanna and her husband Steve and their children Molly, Georgia,Theo and Coco the dog arrived too. It was rather a dramatic entrance as Steve and Trevanna's car got stuck on the road up to the house. The road was very dry and the tyres kept on spinning in the dust so Steve tried to reverse back down but got stuck again blocking the road.

We tried to push him out for awhile before Steve decided to leave it and worry about it the next day.Andrew, who came up behind, reversed his car back down the track and parked it at the bottom but not before we loaded Roxy with all their gear to bring up to the house.

 

Frogknot Campsite.

The rest of the day was lovely. We helped put up the tents and then had a relaxing afternoon before heading out to the rocks to watch the last sunset of 2013 and spent the evening, chatting, playing games and enjoying a roast lamb dinner.

 

The children went to bed early but the adults stayed up to see the New Year in. At midnight we stood outside under the Milky Way with champagne and waved sparklers. A shooting star raced briefly across the sky.We finally got to bed about 2.30am. The children were up at 5.30am!We spent New Year's Day morning trying to rescue the car. We jacked it up and put rocks under the wheels for a better grip but try as we might the wheels kept on spinning and we could not get it out. Steve rang the RACQ and they arrived just after we had breakfast about 10.00am. The RACQ guy was also called Steve .

He couldn't get past the car to pull it out forwards but decided to pull the back round instead from the side so that it could just reverse back down. We all kicked ourselves after that we had not thought of doing the same thing. With the car safe back at the bottom of the track we spent the rest of the day again playing games,napping and swimming in the dam. We went out to the rocks for the first sunset of 2014 but it was a little disappointing with it being cloudy on the horizon. We had a much earlier night after a lovely curry feast.This morning the children said they had heard the Koala calling. It's good that it is still around...I just wish we could see itAfter a lovely cooked breakfast Trevanna and Steve packed up, shipped all their belongings down to their car in Roxy and headed off back to Brisbane. Andrew went after lunch back to Toowoomba.

The New Year Gang.

It was very quiet after everyone had gone.This afternoon just before dusk Will and I went for a walk from the house up the hill, into the bush. We crossed over into neighbouring properties but Will reckons people rarely go there if ever. We found the massive flat granite rock we were looking for with the view out over to Mount Tully. There was the rumble of a distant storm over  before walking back and out to the rocks but had just missed sunset.

We just heard a possum on the roof and took our lamps out to see it but could not find it. It is very warm tonight and moths and flies and beetles are coming in, attracted by the light, because we have the doors open.  I am covered with Aeroguard Tropical Strength to keep the 'mossies' away but have my Pawpaw ointment handy to rub on my itchy bits from previous extractionsWe are here until Sunday and have no plans.

Happy New Year!

Will and I wish you a Happy New Year from Frogknot!

We hope it is going to be fantastic for you and for us.

We  watched the last sunset of 2013 from the rocks and saw in the New Year with friends outside under the Milky Way...with sparklers!

Sending huge hugs across the miles.

XX

Parkin but not parky!

It was the hottest day so far today...it got to 34 degrees this afternoon. They had predicted up to 37 degrees!As soon as it gets to 30 degrees Dulcie shuts up the house, all the windows and doors, and switches on the aircon. We left her upstairs watching England get defeated for the fourth time and stayed under the house where it was a bit cooler than outside. We had the windows and doors shut and the blinds down to try and keep the heat out.We went for some shopping in the afternoon. It was very humid and it almost made it difficult to breathe. It felt like you were in a cross between a steam room and an oven.I made a parkin in the afternoon. We could not find oatmeal here so Will ground some oats up in a coffee grinder. Dulcie's weighing scales were not very accurate so I ended up guessing the amounts. The final mixture looked good though. I lined the bottom of the oven with baking paper just in case it overflowed the tin and I didn't want to mess up Dulcie's clean oven. It was a bad idea. I nearly started a fire. When I opened the door, to put the cake in, the paper was all blackened and charred and the kitchen filled with smoke. Luckily she was having a shower and has little sense of smell so by the time she came back the smoke had pretty much dispersed.After such a hot and humid day it was pretty inevitable that the storms would roll in later in the afternoon. There was a brilliant lightning display and lots of thunder and a short sharp downpour but not very much rain all in all.[gallery ids="1201,1200,1202,1203"]Here is the recipe for the Yorkshire Parkin that I make. I do recommend it.Ingredients:

• 8 oz/220g soft butter
• 4 oz/110g soft, dark brown sugar
• 2oz / 55g black treacle/molasses
• 7oz / 200g golden syrup/ corn syrup
• 5oz/ 120g medium oatmeal
• 7 oz/ 200g self raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 4 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 2 tbsp milk

Preparation:Heat the oven to 275°F/140°C/gas 1

• Grease an 8" x 8"/ 20cm x 20cm square cake tin.
• In a large heavy-based saucepan melt together the butter, sugar, treacle, golden syrup over a gentle heat. Do not allow the mixture to boil, you simply need to melt these together.
• In a large, spacious, baking bowl stir together all the dry ingredients. Gradually add the melted butter mixture stirring to coat all the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
• Gradually, beat in the eggs a few tablespoons at a time. Finally add the milk and again stir well.
• Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and cook for 1½ hours until firm and set and a dark golden brown.
• Remove the parkin from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. Once cool store the Parkin in an airtight tin for a minimum of 3 days if you can resist eating it, you can even leave it up to a week before eating and the flavors really develop and the mixture softens even further and becomes moist and sticky. The Parkin will keep up to two weeks in an airtight container.

So Australian!