A Tree for Georgia

A very good friend of ours, Georgia Paton, who I used to work with at University of Newcastle, died in December 2011 from lymphoma. Georgia, originally from Scotland, died in Germany where she, her husband Andy, and their three boys were living. Georgia was also a close friend to several of my friends who read this blog.

Georgia was a beautiful person - kind, creative, very bright, collegial, friendly, and she had a great sense of humour. I used to give a guest lecture for her popular culture class on Mardi Gras each year and she provided me with valuable feedback on several of my draft articles. We had a hoot travelling around Malaysia together in the mid 90s sometime ostensibly doing a reccy for a student fieldtrip that didn't end up eventuating.  She was not really used to the kinds of accommodation I tend to stay in and we sometimes encountered rather large spiders in our room. I can still remember her admonishing me in her broad Scottish accent for suggesting that she be more rational about her irrational fear of spiders.

Steve and I planted this magnolia for her today.

Some of Georgia's publications are as follows:

Young, G. and Brown, P. (1993) 'From bushmen to Bondi Beach: the social construction of 'malestream' images of Australia in tourism advertising', paper presented at the Leisure in Different Worlds International Conference, University of Loughborough, UK.

Rowe, D. and Paton, G. (1998) 'The beach: Image and environment', World Leisure and Recreation, 37, 2:38-41.

Stevenson, D. and Paton, G. (2001) 'Representing decline: the role of the arts in framing discourses of deindustrialisation', Media International Australia, No.100:129-146.

Victor's handiwork

Victor, our HelpXer (see posts below) proved himself in the kitchen last night, making a big batch of croque monsieur followed by crepes. There's something very delicious about warm crepes with banana and Nutella!  Anyway, there was still plenty of batter left over this morning, so he made up some more crepes, this time creatively inserting a K into mine. He's quite the clever chef!  One of the wonderful gains for us from hosting HelpXers is enjoying different kinds of meals that they make for us.

Nimbin Bowlo...

There's just something that doesn't sit right for me with this sign...Nimbin, the epicentre of alternative lifestyles and the home of the Aquarius Festival in 1973, and now popular for other reasons, has a bowlo...and it's called Nimbin Bowlo....and it happens to be on the corner of the main street with 'Alternative Way'. Agh it's such fun living in the Northern Rivers!
After our bushwalk, (see post below), Victor and I spent half an hour or so in Nimbin, so that Victor could take in the sights, sounds, smells and whatever else happened to be available at this colourful village. (He just asked me if he could use my computer later tonight - probably while Steve and I are in Eurovision mode - Victor's taste in music are a little more trancy and electronic, so he could upload his photo of Nimbin on to his facebook, god love him). We had an interesting moment in Nimbin Museum and he seemed to make a brief friend of a very off-her-face woman just down near the pub. I bought a card at the art gallery and lusted after a beautiful painting.

Nightcap National Park

 Meet Victor, our current HelpXer, again, from France. I left poor Victor stranded at Lismore transit centre last Sunday as I had misunderstood his emails to me and had thought he was arriving last Monday and not last Sunday. Oops. I was on my way to give Cal his final massage from me when I just happened to check my phone and saw to my alarm a couple of texts from Victor like 'I've arrived' and 'Where are you? I had to postpone Cal's massage and head down to Lismore at around 8.30pm to go get Victor. He seems to have forgiven me, however. Yesterday was a brilliant day so Victor and I headed up to Nightcap National Park, 35 minutes from our place and about 15 minutes north of Nimbin. Steve, Cal and I had been to the entry to the park last December but we had never walked in the park apart from some spotlighting that Cal and I did later on. Anyway, I decided that Saturday would be the day that Victor and I explored some of the park. Steve stayed home and enjoyed the house to himself.

 We walked for about 2 hours - the rainforest is very dark on ground level (as rainforests often are) but every now and again there would be a break in the canopy and a plant would be lit as if it were a dragqueen in a spotlight.

 After about an hour the particular track we took wound its way through a drier forest dominated by New England Blackbutt (yep I can read interpretive signs with the best of them). This pic was taken from a big blackbutt that had been hollowed out over hundreds of years I guess, but it was still alive. The insides of its guts was fire-blackened.

 Lovely view at the end of this walk.

An interesting rocky outcrop which I suggested to Victor would make a great climb (Victor is into rock-related activities) but he thought it was more of a stroll than a climb. Really nice afternoon and I shall be returning to do the other part of the walk that we didn't get a chance to walk. We have four, maybe five national parks within 45 minutes of our place - how's that for luck hey. If you enlarge the pic you can see the ocean behind the mountain range.

Late afternoon on Hanging Rock Creek

Today began quite cold. So cold that I had my dressing gown over my trackydax and jumper (yep, a pretty good look) while I spent the morning marking 1st year essays. By the time I'd spent 4 hours doing this, I was ready for some physical work. So I spent the afternoon planting, weeding and collecting some stones from the 'beach' of stones and rocks that the creek has deposited during the last big flood earlier this year and carting them up to one of our gardens. I took this pic at about 3.30 this afternoon. The day had warmed up and it was very enjoyable to be doing a bit of hard, physical work.  I love that we have Hanging Rock (or Leycester Creek, take your pick, I prefer Hanging Rock) as one of our boundaries. I just wish we had platypus in the creek.

See ya later, Cal

This was a big weekend for us. Not only were we hosting Ladies who Lunch@LarnookIII, (see post below) but it was Cal's final stay with us before he flies back to France this coming Friday. So we were really happy to spend time with Cal again but we were sad knowing this would be the last time for quite a while that we got to enjoy his company. Cal's been living the high life in a camper van in Sydney for the past four weeks or so, and prior to that he and his mate, Ludo made a surfing trip from Sydney to Melbourne. But he decided that the time was right to go back home and we were glad that he came back to us and his beloved Larnook for a visit before leaving.

Cal arrived on Wednesday and was able to spend the next day with Julia and Cub who were down staying with us, which he loves doing. Then we had a very enjoyable Friday night at Cawongla Store getting a little bit silly and eating their yummy wood fired pizzas. Saturday was spent doing the Ladies Lunch and then Cal borrowed the car to go pick his friend, Margeaux, up from Murwillumbah. Margeaux is based at University of Queensland for the next few months studying the DNA of corals. So when they arrived back home we had some wine time in the spa watching the sun slip away, Glen came over, and we had a jolly night of eating and drinking and a little Catherine Tate to finish the night. The weather was again brilliant on Sunday so after breakfast and waving Glen goodbye (he had to go to work), we headed up to Border Ranges National Park. First stop was Pinnacle Lookout which gives brilliant views of the Wollumbin caldera.

 Then a walk through some ancient, well 2000 years old anyway, Antarctic beech forest.

And here's Super-Cal with his 'gay daddies' under the mango tree. Cal left this morning (Monday) with Steve - I'm staying here at home for a couple of hours this morning before heading to work. It's not good bye, Cal, but just see ya later, matey.

Ladies who Lunch@Larnook III

 Saturday was The Big Day. The day that one of our Larnookian traditions was to take place. The Ladies who Lunch@Larnook III.  As you can imagine, the past weeks have been filled with all the preparatory work that is involved in hosting a mega-event such as this. Menus prepared, the best wines sourced, the risk management plan prepared....This year was our largest with 11 ladies, Cal (who was visiting before returning home to France - and who, of course, proved a big hit with the ladies with his French charm and boyish good looks) and Steve and me.

 We began in a traditional way of course with a glass or two of bubbles...

 and between courses we strolled down to the creek and enjoyed the stunning weather and beautifully mown lawn (thanks Julia)...

so, yes, Ladies who Lunch@Larnook is now well and truly a fixture here at Larnook - we have already begun planning for LL@L IV!  It truly is a lovely, leisurely with everyone in fine form, all the ladies bring a plate of luscious food and we all have a very fun time. Thanks, Ladies!

Wildlife Moment: 14 May

Coincidence is a funny thing. On the way home on Monday night I was chatting to Steve (yes we still chat during our daily car journeys to and from work - OK, well for part of the journeys anyway) about how the brush tail possums that I'd seen up here were all very dark furred, unlike the grey furred brushies we are used to seeing down south. I went on to say that I'd seen one just the past week on the Rock Valley Road coming home late one night and had to swerve to avoid running it over. (As you can imagine, Steve was rivetted to my every word as I waxed lyrical about brush tailed possums). Anyway, as we drove up our driveway 15 minutes or so later, Steve shrieked that he saw some large black animal moving away from the driveway in amongst our little orchard. (OK so he didn't actually shriek...) So I turned the car around and drove the 10 metres or so back and there was our very first brush tailed possum at our place, caught in the headlights. Very black furred, pink nosed and gorgeous. Luckily we don't have a roof cavity or maye we wouldn't be thinking it's so gorgeous.  Anyway, another mammalian addition to our fauna list. Not sure though whether it is the common brush tail or whether its the northern brush tail or Bobuk. Will have to find a possum expert.

Wildlife Moment: 12 May

First echidna for the 'season' (this means the breeding season which up here in the Northern Rvers is May through to Julyish I think). And, I think only the second echidna I've seen in Rock Valley. This little guy was seen Saturday 12 May at about 3.30pm as it wandered along the road in between Glen's parents' farm and the bridge over Leycester Creek. It wasn't squashed on the road when we returned later on so that was a relief. The number of echidnas which get run over up here during the breeding season, when the boys are wandering around in hot pursuit of the ladies is very sad.

Big leafed and also luscious...like a passionfruit

I'm pretty sure this is a type of Allocasia (tarro is a member of this genus) that promises to grow rather large (almost 1 metre long) leaves. (Well at least that's what the photo suggested on the label when I bought it). It's doing quite well - I planted it at the entry into our place where it is shaded by some jacarandas and it's setting its roots into the water-sodden soil of this drain that runs under our entry. Just perfect for this kind of plant.  I'm hoping it will become a spectacular feature plant as you enter our place. Stay tuned.

Once there was a bower....

So, after I got so excited about our bower bird bower in the Big Bush Garden, I discovered to my disappointment on Saturday that the bower is no more. It could have been destroyed by a rival male or maybe our bower bird decided he'd pull up stumps and move somewhere else. Interestingly, when I checked the bower last week I was surprised to see that only one blue object remained, so perhaps this shift of blue things (or had they been stolen by a rival bird) was the precursor to the total dismantling of the bower. But who knows. All part of nature's great mysteries, perhaps?  Hopefully he will establish another bower in the Garden, it was kinda cool. I liked it. A lot.

Luscious passion fruit

I planted this panama passionfruit about two and a half years ago and it didn't really do much and I basically gave up on it, even thinking it had died. In fact, passionfruit plants up here don't usually survive the winters with their frosts, but this one has proved to be quite hardy. So a few weeks ago I looked up into this tree growing in Marissabelle's yard, but along our fence-line, and was really surprised by all the pendulous passion fruits literally dripping off the vine. Let's hope they ripen now that the nights have started to turn cool. There are a couple on the turn already so here's hoping.

Memo to self: swamp snakes mating

Tyagarah Lagoon
10 May
1500hrs
Temp around 24 degrees

Just off the track on the western side of the lagoon. First noticed one swamp snake as it was being dragged off the track. Initially I thought the other snake had it in its mouth but then I saw that they were attached at their cloacas and that one snake was moving off the track with the other one being pulled along.

A little puzzle solved

About five or six years ago I drove up from Newcastle to a Wildlife Tourism Australia Workshop that was held at Binna Burra Lodge in the Lamington National Park. The route I took took me through places that are now very much part of our lives up here - Casino, Kyogle, Cawongla etc. But I have had this memory of this lovely little cafe nestled in rainforest somewhere that I've not been able to locate around here. And it's always puzzled me as to where it actually was. But today, as I was looking through my photos, I found this one that I took of that very cafe - and it is at Chillingham which is about 20 kms west of Murwillumbah, so a bit over an hour from our place I guess.  Looks like we'll need to go back and have a look - I have very fond memories of my little stop to have a banana smoothie at this place at the foothills of this lush, rainforest-clad mountain.