Rain finally arrives two days before Christmas

What a great relief and a wonderful Christmas present.

We have suffered severe drought for the last four months with virtually no rainfall even though the average is around 100 ml a month in the dry months. We received nothing. The Mangosteens are dying- these are 18 year old trees that I am very attached too - we went to Bangkok to collect the seeds, and then nurse them in the nursery for two years and then plant out into the orchard. At 18 years old, they should be providing us with at least 100 kg of fruit. Instead there has been no crop as the trees are too stressed. There are 20 trees which loook like potato crisps - dead brown leaves - and unlikely to recover even with the rain.

It started raining last night and now we have had 50 mls or two inches with lots more on the way from the look on the radar screen. A great website to view the actual rain storms approaching at http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/qld/cairns. Select Observations and scroll down to radar images - Cairns region - to see the storms approaching Cape Tribulation.

I feel like a drowned rat - working in the rain spreading mulch all day - so that the moisture can be trapped under the mulch once the heat returns.

Netting the Davidson Plum Trees

Here is Digby's first attempt to build a net for the Davidson Plum trees - it needs to about 20 metres high - quite tricky. I doubt whether it will stop the cockatoos, but think of it as mark one 

Stripey possum at creekside cottage

I have only had two sitings of a stripey possum in the 16 years I have been living here, and both of these were in the early days. So you can imagine how gobsmacked i was when the guests staying at Creekside described the stripey frolicking on a palm frond just off the balcony of the cottage the other night. They had no idea of the significance of the siting. It's so great to know they are still around and so close to us.

Catch up

The last few months have been quite hectic. So this is a catch up of what has happened since I last posted. More than 40 pigs have been trapped and shot in the valley - but we are still getting serious pig damage in the orchard.

The second cottage opened at the end of June and it has been fully booked ever since. There are a few vacancies still available in November. This has been a major change to our lifestyle. A bit like having a second child I expect. Breakfast is now a major production - we have split roles and I get to walk the dogs and Digby tends to cook the breakfast. Guests still keep us entertained and amused - such interesting backgrounds with great storyies.

No flowering on the mangosteens yet - we live in hope. Have a crop of Abius and Star Apples and Soursops at the moment.

The weather has been wet - much to our joy and guest chagrin - but you can now feel the change in the temperature - more humid and loads of sweat after working in the orchard for a short time. Not really looking forward to the next few months, but the ocean is finally flat and great for sea kayaking.

Wild pigs stampede through the fruit tasting tour

A herd of pigs was rooting around in the Breadfruits as I walked into the orchard with 12 fruit tasters. We got to within 30 metres before they stampeded. Luckily they ran away from us - some of the pigs were huge, and there were lots of piglets.

Our two dogs - Kimmy and Mia - took off after them. It all seemed to happen in slow motion - the dogs were loping, the pigs were trotting. And it was EXIT - Stage right. Then ENTER - Stage left. Pigs first, followed by dogs. EXIT - stage right again. It reminded me of a Keystone Cops movie with the police chase.

And the next afternoon they were there AGAIN! Our neighbour has started shooting them and is killing 3 or 4 a day. They are making a huge mess in the orchard turning over the soil looking for worms.

Door squashes treefrog

The green tree frogs are back in the house after a long absence. I was so excited to see him on the back of the toilet door. Some of the fruit tasters needed re-assurance to visit the toilet - we had a few frogphobic people last week. He settled in well, going out at night to hunt and then returning with muddy feet and making footprints all over the toilet wall.

He was hanging out right on the edge of the open toilet door next to the hinges, and then the door closed. His eyeball got caught in the space and got squashed in the socket - it's still there, but it bulges a lot. It looks like you could just push it back in, and it would be OK, but Digby's sister is here - she's a vet - and she said the nerves would have been detached so the eye no longer works. So one eye looks like it is out on stalks watching things coming from behind.

So now we have a disabled frog. He seems fine - he still comes and goes - but I am worried about how his predatory skills have been damaged and wonder if he can catch enough food. At least we will be able to distinguish this frog from all the others.

Digby checking out the local fruit markets in Dili, East Timor