Southern Cross Creations

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

14 November 2002

We're having a very dry year. Bushfires burn in the hills behind Herberton and sometimes along the Walsh River. The smoke makes me cough and wheeze until the wind blows it elsewhere.

Both the native sandpaper fig tree and its companion, the lollipop tree (which the bees love) seem to thrive in these conditions. For the first time two young fig trees growing alongside the driveway are bearing fruit and the mature fig trees have heaps, too. The spears of grasstrees (Xanthorrhea) are covered with little blossoms.

I am spinning and plying a colour blended yarn of Romney wool that I bought at the Tinaroo Fibre Festival where I couldn't resist the colour blends in Cherry's carded batts. Once spun into yarn, the colours have a different look which I also like. This yarn is destined for a weaving project.

As the seasons changed, so have our activities. We stopped gathering firewood, packed away winter clothes and have started stocking up the pantry for the Wet Season with a prayer that we get rain soon. A new energy arises. Let's call it Spring Cleaning! It's time to discard the worn out and re-discover treasures. I found my fabric paints and feel inspired!

The past month got hectic when we experienced more computer virus attacks in three weeks than in the past three years. Keep your anti-virus programs up-to-date, mates! We even installed a firewall. Following on the heels of these eradication and preventative measures, we had to re-archive a heap of data before a loaned computer went away. No wonder it feels like the season for Spring Cleaning!

This mystery spider below settled for a short while on the side of a cool soup pot. He's about 2 cm long (3/4").