Southern Cross Creations

An Australian Woman's Journal
about life in remote, rural
Far North Queensland

28 August 2002
Instead of writing a journal entry this week, I published a few photos and an account of our weekend experiences at Lake Tinaroo where more than 100 fibrecrafter attended: Focus on Fibres

22 August 2002
August is usually our driest month. Unexpected rain and damp weather over the past few days is good for the land and bad for our telephone line. The phone stopped working as long as it was raining. When the sun came out, the phone started working again. More rain is forecast. We better get this problem sorted out before the Wet Season!

I hate to whinge when we do need the rain, but I felt isolated when deprived of phone calls and email. And Jerry was away for a few days in Cairns with the car. What to do with myself....

I decided to work in the yard. Does anyone else get that excellent, virtuous feeling from weeding? It's a bit like the way I feel after I've had my teeth cleaned and I spend the rest of the day smiling. I'm pretty sure my aloe vera plant smiled at me after I removed those weeds hiding it. I also admired the blossoms of a native orchid. Each blossom is about 11mm (1/2").

I appreciate Joan Rivers' comment: The problem with housework is that six months later you have to do it all over again.

However, in the Tropics, Spring Cleaning must be perpetual. Any crevice, hidey hole, clothing fold, drilled hole anywhere in the house - any object that hasn't been used or moved recently - these all get claimed by: white ants, black ants, red ants, bull ants, grease ants, moths, cockroaches, geckoes, skinks, bats, spiders, possums or wasps that build mud nests. It's a constant struggle to keep ahead of disintegration and disorder. Maybe the answer is to get over having so many possessions?

I started clearing my work bench, only to get distracted by my fibre supplies. I sat down at my spinning wheel to try out a purchased batch of brown merino roving. The small amount of vegetal material scattered throughout did not worry me. However, I began finding very short lengths of fine black plastic fibre enmeshed in the roving. I assume I am seeing evidence of a mounting problem that I've only heard rumours about: the plastic fibres may be from the bindings put around bales of hay. The plastic fibre bits get caught up in the sheep's fleeces in the paddocks. In a soft merino yarn, such plastic fibres can act as prickle points.

Spring Cleaning, fibrework, cyberwork... there's always plenty to do and I find most of it is fun!

15 August 2002
Saturday night Jerry and I drove to the Walsh River Community Centre for the Leo birthday/dance party. Our river valley has a high population of Leos! DJ's called the Burzerkly Brothers provided the dance music for the party. (I may have mispelled their name which in fact they do spell creatively - as many people do as I discovered when I lived in so-called Berserkly (Berkeley), California while attending university).

There wasn't a big crowd at the party, but a wide range of ages appeared, from 3 years old to over 60.

Black lights provided visual entertainment as locally made glowing mobiles swayed in the evening breeze. Suspended between two sets of three tall poles, mirrored balls threw fragments of light and magic. Children walked that realm in delight.

The DJs introduced a new set of rhythms and Razi appeared: an exotic, tribal-fusion belly dancer. She wore a Gawahzee/Turkish jacket over a tiered velvet skirt overlaid with a camel belt festooned with tassels. Harem pants peaked from beneath her skirt. She danced joyfully on a rug spread on the ground as the audience gathered closer. Her sideways glances captured beating hearts.

After her performance, Jerry and I headed home as young people took over the dance floor and the party continued into the evening. While age is no excuse for going home early, we do enjoy our quiet nights at home in front of the fireplace now that we are both 60.

7 August 2002 - An auspicious day!
Jerry and I followed JagoDog on a morning walk. As we walked up the back paddock, Jago raced ahead and began barking. We couldn't see her but figured she had found a snake or lizard. Determined to avoid any harm to reptile (or dog) Jerry strode ahead on his long legs as I hurried after as fast as my short legs could manage. Before I could catch up, Jerry waved me back in warning and called Jago firmly. Jerry warned that it might be a big taipan in the long grass beside the track ahead as we had seen one in that area several years ago. We backed off slowly.

The grass almost concealed the snake except for the glisten of its body in the morning light. Glancing around for an alternate path, we then saw a second snake: a big carpet snake, lying motionless on a dead log less than six feet away from us. Wow. Now we checked more carefully on the first snake and found that it was also a carpet snake. Both snakes are as big around as my arm. It's an early Spring. We think they're courting!

(8 August 2002: We saw one of the snakes again this morning, near the dead log. I bet the other one may have been somewhere nearby. How long do carpet snakes hang out together when they're mating?)

(9 August 2002: Saw snake again this overcast, windy morning. Coiled in grass near same dead log. Left it in peace.)