Savage dealings.

So...we woke in our tent after a night beside Lake Clarendon.

(not exactly what I would call picturesque)

Not long after we had packed up and headed off. I spotted a sign that, at first glance appeared to be warning about 'Giant Rats!' I was just thinking 'Heck! And we were camping in this area last night!'...when I  realised it actually said...We drove to Esk (yes, Esk) for breakfast.Esk is the home of the Kransky Sisters...(L to R) Dawn, Mourne and Eve...as Mourne says "Dawn is not of the same Father as Eve and I. Her Father came when our Father left."We ate breakfast at 'Enigmas'. I suspect it is owned by the Mother of 'Enig'. We ordered Eggs Benedict which was surprisingly on the menu with the usual sausage and bacon sandwiches. I don't think it is ordered very often as people who were served after us got their orders first. I suspect ours took so long because they were looking for someone who could read the recipe.It was a popular place and seemed to be frequented by people wearing Ugg boots and shorts and the local Somerset Valley Women's Mafia who were moaning about the lack of 'tart cases' on offer at the local Supermarket.

Will getting an earful from the local 'Mafia'.

We arrived home safely and got the van, which is not 4WD, up the drive to Frogknot.Her reg is SKN...so we are going to call her 'Sky Blue' formerly known as 'Bing Bong.'

A little jaunt.

So...we are off on a little jaunt for another possible purchase. Tonight we are in Gatton for dinner at an Indian Restaurant festooned with Christmas decorations!....A tad early methinks. Our waiter squeaks "you're welcome" after our thanks. It is not exactly buzzing....we are the only people in the place.We go from here to camp for the night by Lake Clarendon... possibly ' Mosquito Central'.... oh joy!Tomorrow we head further North to view a possible new addition to our ever growing family of acquisitions.

Back breaking.

So...today we made a start on the the foundation trenches for the new bathroom tower. It was hard work but it felt like a real beginning of the build.

Sssssssssswimmer!

So...I saw the first snake of the season today.I went down to the dam, to see how much it had risen since all the rain yesterday, and spotted a line of bubbles racing from the edge away towards the middle.I assumed it was one of the turtles that live in the dam but no, a few moments later I spotted a snake swimming across the surface of the water. It stopped amongst the tops of the flooded reeds and was watching me as I was looking at it.It was black so I was relieved that it was not the deadlier Brown Snake. It looked a bit less than a metre long. I moved closer to get a better look but it dived under the water and disappeared.I didn't see it again.

Eek!

Will nearly stepped on this today.He said he actually leapt in the air when he saw it in the garden.We think it is a Trapdoor Spider.Happily, it was already dead...old age?..or is there something out there even more terrifying that scared this beast to death?!