Possum Galore
A life ‘Down Under’!
River Country.
Today we drove down to Ashby in New South Wales to stay with our lovely friends Trace and Jen who live beside the Clarence River near Maclean. The journey took about 3 hours and we arrived safely about 4.00pm. Â We have just had a wonderfully relaxing day in great company.
Boiling in Brisbane!...
...Actually it is less like boiling and more like steaming.We went to the cinema last night to see The Secret Life of Walter Mitty....it was very good...but we were lulled into a false sense of comfort by the air conditioning in the cinema. As we walked out into the street at midnight we were met by a wave of fuggy heat and gasped for breath.We had a fan blowing on us all night as it was 26 degrees at 1.00 am under the house. I managed to get to sleep despite the whirring and switched it off about 5.00 am. I immediately wished I hadn't because the room heated up again quickly. It was 30 degrees by 9.00.It got to about 36 degrees today but the forecast said it felt like 38. It was hot. I am already in my third shirt of the day.Will drove Dulcie to the doctors while I waited at home in case the engineer for the air con rang...he didn't.We are off down the coast to our friends Trace and Jen at Ashby, by the Clarence River tomorrow. Dulcie is supposed to be coming down with us to stay with Shirley who lives nearby in Maclean for a few days. It is still uncertain she is going. We will have to wait and see.Will and I went off to Sunnybank to the air conditioned comfort of its mall. Dulcie stayed at home sat under the ceiling fan with another floor fan just in front of her. We wandered the asian supermarkets looking at their weird and wonderful delights before heading home.The inevitable storm rolled in about 4.00 pm. It was the best one yet. As it passed over the sky did not stop flashing and one clap of thunder was overlapped by others all around. Looking north from one end of the front verandah the clouds were moving west but looking south the clouds were moving east. We were in the centre of the storm cell. Twice the thunder made my insides jiggle and my legs wobble...it was that close! It poured down and we had to shut up all the windows and doors which are usually constantly open. I reckon about 15 mm fell in about 30 mins. It is still raining now thought the thunder is very distant and there is finally a cool and welcome breeze blowing into the man cave.Dulcie said "The frog was right." She heard it yesterday croaking in the down pipe. "...And the ants," she added.The ants have definitely been more noticeable in the house and downstairs. It seems they too know when rain is coming and seek higher ground...It's a bad move! They get squashed by me and Dulcie when we see them.
The 'Gurko' and the comb.
Yesterday it was 43 degrees here in Brisbane. Today it only got to 33 but tomorrow threatens 37 degrees.It was 36 degrees at Frogknot but without the humidity. Here you just constantly sweat...and the air con is broken.Dulcie and Danny arrived not long after we got back to Celtis St and watched England finally lose the last Ashes test match.It seems that the air con broke because a gecko short circuited it. Dulcie calls them 'Dirty Gurkos.' When she had it serviced about 18 months ago they found 5 'gurkos' dead in it then. It is safe to say she is not fond of 'gurkos.'After tea we were sat at the table and Will's eyes were drawn to something at the window. I looked up and saw a gecko on the mesh screen...it was on the inside! It was a pale colour and about 6 inches long with black eyes."What are you both looking at?" said Dulcie looking up. She saw it. "A dirty gurko!" She got up. "I'll spray it with 'Baygon'"'Baygon' is the cockroach spray Dulcie uses.Will pleaded for the geckos life and she relented. I Â said I would try and catch it. I failed miserably. I hardly got close with the plastic container before it leapt 5 feet to the floor with a loud thud and scuttled off under the furniture. Will and Dulcie appeared not to notice as they were concentrating on something on the Ipad."Did you catch it?" she asked a little later. I admitted defeat.I don't know where it went...but I don't rate its chances if Dulcie sees it again.She got up for a drink of water and I noticed a large comb stuck in her hair at the back of her head.I whispered to Will. "Your mum has a comb stuck in her hair."We both thought she must have been combing her hair and been distracted and forgotten it was there.She sat down at the table and Will said "Mum, did you know you have a comb in your hair?""I know dear." She said.She said she had lost it and had finally came across it in her bag and stuck it in her hair until she got to her bedroom."Did you think I was losing my mind?" I had to admit I thought she had forgotten it was there.She just looked at me and shook her head disapprovingly. I should have known better!
******************
NEWSFLASH
*****************
I just spotted the dirty 'gurko' climbing up the wall again so I carefully opened the back door, crept round behind it and chased it out. I just saved its life!
The Fire Escape.
