We had quite a deluge over the past week or so and my records indicate 150mm so far this month, compared with 29.5mm last year and 5.5mm the year before. All this rain will be great for plant growth during spring, however, so the valley should be restored to its green hues within weeks and the grass in the paddock will soon be making the boys happy again (not that kind of grass, pulease).
We had a great weekend in Sydney, primarily to attend the 50th birthday do of our friend, Keith, then dinner with Puppy before the three of us saw Hairspray (lots of fun) and then ended the night with a cocktail or two back at our hotel. Pup got home to Elizabeth Bay OK and we headed to bed. Brunch the next day was with my bro, Brett, at Newtown, followed by a spot of bookshelf assembly back at his new apartment in Camperdown. Back out to the airport and up to Coolangatta, and, after helping a couple of friendly Byron Bay musos start their battery-dead ute, and receiving one of their CDs in return, we headed home under clear skies and the reassuring form of Wollumbin/Mt Warning.
We had left the house and animals in the care of Jules, our current Helpxer who did a very good job of house and animal minding while we were away. Jules is a French lad who comes from Reunion Island, a French territory off the coast of Madagascar, and seems to be loving his time here. He made friends with a racing pigeon today and, after taking a pic of its leg band rego number, was able to find out, via the Internet, that the pigeon had set off on a race from Newcastle two years ago. Is there anything you can't find an answer to, anymore?
Meet Jules, who tonight cooked us a delicious chicken dish from his homeland, Reunion Island, called Corry Poulet. After dismembering the free range chook he fried it in a little olive oil, then added onion, garlic, tomato, tumeric, thyme and then simmered...
Here it is in the pot as the liquid reduces....
Jules concentrates as he dishes up
And there we have it, Poulet a la Jules....it tasted as delicious as it looks
Sometime last year I noticed a couple of Indian mynahs along the Rock Valley Road, about 15km back towards Lismore from our place. I wondered when they would find their way up to our place. So far we are yet to see any, but on Sunday there were four of the wretches near Cawongla, which, is only a few kms from our place towards Kyogle. This doesn't look good, and so it will only be a matter of time before we see them at our place. I will try and trap any that I see to try and head off an invasion of the brutes.
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