News: I have a lovely new camera, thanks to Len, which is capable of taking half decent pictures of the moon - one of my first attempts above - I'll keep working on it! Mangoes Galore: today we've harvested about 30kilos of mangoes from our two lovely mango trees. Much of the fruit left high on the trees or already lying on the ground is going to local wildlife - flying foxes, possums, bandicoots, echidnas - which seems reasonable to me, especially as we've done nothing other than let nature take its course.
The mango trees are mature and were here already - we've never pruned them or fed them. Until this year we thought they were too shaded to actually fruit. However, it happens to be a bumper year for mangoes in Australia, so its mango chutney, mango smoothies, dried mango, mango tart, frozen mango... yum!Here's Milly exploring the delightful spider lilies beneath the mango tree on the drive. Unfortunately there's a jumping ants nest here - little did we know - we've all, Tam, Jenny and Milly, now been bitten - such are the risks of mango harvesting!
Flaming Trees: aside from the mangoes, this has been a particularly good year for Flame Tree blossom. We'd heard about their stunning display but never seen it. We happen to have a couple of flame trees in our garden which this year gave us much delight for a couple of months, given their particularly striking blossom. Guess which tree's the Flame tree! 
And Blue Knob, our local mountain was dotted with Flame Trees for months. According to the locals, it was the best display for many years. Our veg garden is coming along, after a very slow start this spring. Here's our proud if humble first harvest some weeks ago:
We now have lots of fresh basil and parsley, as well as various peppers. The aubergine has suffered a serious setback from some kind of pest. We've got more basil, tomatoes and rocket coming along. The soil is not very fertile so Tam is developing a wonderful compost system including two worm farms. I bring home big buckets of kitchen waste from Nimbin Organics which is helping to boost the compost. Gradually we hope to make the garden more fertile and more productive.Demolition Time: here's Tam demolishing a wall in our rather small shed to allow easy access for the ride-on mower:
An iris-catching photo, taken on my lovely new camera:
Escaping the Jungle: we recently enjoyed five fabulous days on Moreton Island, c/o the Moreton Island Protection Committee. We were well and truly fed and looked after in return for 3 hours conservation weeding each day. Whilst coping with the heat we swam in Blue Lagoon, a nearby fresh water lake. We danced on the beach under the full moon and slept in our huge tent (marquee) lulled to sleep by the rhythms of the Pacific surf. My knees may never be the same after removing large quantities of invasive Glory lily rhizomes, but there you go! Sunsets are always a glorious time on islands!
As promised in the last post - for yet another Cringeworthy Production, entitled 'Early One Morning', please go to:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQHlJwhjELU
As usual, we'd love to hear from you - drop us a line, however brief, to let us know you've had at look at this: jenmartin@aapt.net.au and/or tamyeld@aapt.net.au.
Bye for now, Jx
