Last Saturday morning a few locals got together and tidied up the side of the road outside our place with fire. The grass was very long and thick. It hadn’t been cleared in anyway since it was last burnt 10 years ago. The smoke was quite spectacular, and they did a good job, keeping it under control, and not doing too much damage to the living trees.
On Saturday evening we saw a whole lot of quail walking across a cleared area towards our house yard. It was a shame that they also saw us, and they flew back into the long grass in the paddock. We have never seen quail near the house before. We thought that maybe they had lost their home in the fire.
[audio:http://carmeljames.com/myblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Cleaning-up-with-fire.mp3|titles=Cleaning up with fire]
Besides being very tasty to eat, I like having basil in the garden because it tells me when we get the first frost. That’s because it’s the most sensitive to the cold.
So, that’s my news, we’re into the frosty season. Woopee!
At least our slow combustion fire is keeping the house warm. We have a fan on it this year, and the warm air is spreading right around the house. So there is plenty of inspiration to cut fire wood. J has already cut up some thick wood, but we have a ton of smaller branches that fell off trees in the stormy season. I don’t mind that chore, it’s exercise, and I can listen to stuff while I’m doing it, so it’s not too boring. And if it’s a cold day it is certainly a good way to warm up.
Pile of fallen branches and a load of fire wood
[audio:http://carmeljames.com/myblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/that-time-of-year-again.mp3|titles=that time of year again]
I love this time of year. It is not hot, and not yet too cold to spend our evenings outside. Last week we had our fire burning all day so it was just natural to want to cook on it.
I have a bit of trouble when I cook. I don’t use recipes, I just look at what food I’ve got and throw a selection of it together. So sometimes it works, but other times it is a bit strange. Luckily, neither of us is too fussy.
I’m also not very good at cooking a meal until I’m hungry, so of course I want to cook it quickly. That might be why I’ll eat anything. I’m hungry!!!!
[audio:http://carmeljames.com/myblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Cooking-in-the-backyard.mp3|titles=Cooking in the backyard]
J's hibachi is about 40 years old and still going strong
J has had this hibachi since before I even knew him which was a long time ago. It has lasted that long! I just love the face on it. We used it today to burn a little bit of garden rubbish. We can do this because we don’t have any neighbours!
A short note straight from wikipedia: The hibachi (火鉢 “fire bowl”?) is a traditional Japanese heating device. It consists of a round, cylindrical or a box-shaped open-topped container, made from or lined with a heatproof material and designed to hold burning charcoal. The traditional Japanese hibachi is a heating device and not usually used for cooking.
[audio:http://carmeljames.com/myblog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/cleaning-up-with-a-portable-fire.mp3|titles=cleaning up with a portable fire]
I have too many blogs... so for the time being I will be posting all of my new work on my other blog: shirleypeters.blogspot.comPlease jump across there now to see my recent work.And maybe subscribe, so that you get notified when I upload a new painting.Cheers!Shirley. […]
We are proud to be able to republish the following blog post written by former Vice President of the United [...]The post 400 ppm appeared first on Climate Reality. […]
On Monday Feb. 11 the O’Farrell govt. approved the expansion of BHP’s Dendrobium coal mine in Sydney’s drinking water catchment Special Area. This was despite overwhelming evidence of significant environmental damage from past mining and predictions of more catastrophic damage, … Continue reading → […]
And here’s the English translation of what I tried to say today. I wrote this after I made the recording, which, except for “一个单词列表 － Yīgè dāncí lièbiǎo”, I ad-libbed the whole thing. Shocking eh!!! Room for improvement you say? Me too … I’m working on it Direct Link to mp3 file Hello everyone, today […]
It was a fun filled day at the University of Sydney Union International Festival, with about one hundred mono prints done by the Uni students. Everyone was delighted by the magic of the painting coming up almost instantly onto the rice paper. It was a success and art filled day. Photos by Trevor Vale. […]
Quipolly Dam & Bird Hide
butterflies in the garden
Sat 16th - swapping boats, and no lunch
Huntsman spider
grass
Aquarium update
Pond progress
DO NOT buy from this company!!!!
How quickly does winter come!
weeding
Tuesday 19th - le greve
Aerial spraying from a helicopter.
Sorting stuff at my old school
King parrot
Hay making at Dungowan
Fallen branches