Jackie's February message . . .
Contents:
A Letter to Our Wildlife
Mothball News
Awards
New Books
What's on so far for 2004
In the Garden
How to Grow Damsons, Cape Gooseberries and Capulin Cherries
What to Plant in February
A Few February Recipes
.Raspberry
Cordial
.Naughty Bites
Six Wicked Things to do with Garlic
How to Cope with Ants
A Letter to Our Wildlife
Dear Wildlife.....
Hi, it's me. The human
in the gum boots who pinches your apples just as you are about to peck them,
munch them, or tear them off branch and all. In case you haven't noticed-
well, I'm sure you all HAVEN'T noticed- we humans are supposed to boss the
planet. This means that I am supposed to be boss of the garden too.
I know some of you may
dispute that. Okay, ALL of you would dispute that, especially Mothball wombat
and Lacy goanna. So I just thought we might have a little friendly word or
two.....
To the Wild Wood Duck who Lives on the Bathroom Roof
While
accepting that our roof is unoccupied space- except for the possums, the bush
rats, the currawongs and a few others- and that our bathroom roof is a great
perching place for ducks, as it is safe from foxes, feral cats and the odd
wombat who objects to wood ducks eating their grass, please do refrain from:
. quacking at me through the window when I'm on the loo. Sitting on the loo is
a quiet contemplative time and not improved by quacks;
. perching on my shoulder when I go out to the rubbish bin.
I know Walt Disney made
cute movies where the heroines have little birds perched on their shoulders
singing, but you are a duck, not a tweetie bird, and 'quack' is not a melody.
Plus I can't see where I'm going when you flap your wings in my face.
I really like ducks. I
LOVE ducks. Just not sitting on my shoulder.
PS if you poo in our gutters, it goes into our rainwater tank. I'm just
mentioning this, not really objecting, you realise. I am sure that duck poo in
the water is great for the complexion, and is probably high in calcium,
phosphorous and all sorts of trace elements.
But if by any chance you
could bring yourself to poo on the side of the roof away from the rain water
tank, I'd be really grateful.
To the Possum who Dances on the Roof at 4 am
Have you ever considered
jazz ballet? So much QUIETER than tap dancing.
To the Bushrats
Me human. You rat. Me
plant that corn. Therefore me eat that corn. Not you. You want to eat sweet
corn, you develop opposable thumbs.
To the Wallabies
News flash! Roses are
the most beautiful flowers in the universe.
So how about it? Leave
the rose bushes alone for two months and they may just produce some flowers.
You may even find you like eating rose flowers as well as rose buds. Just let
me sniff them first.
To Lacy Goanna
I'm not sure how the
local police would react if I called them to pick up a goanna for being drunk
and disorderly, but I'm warning you: one more act like yesterday on the chook
house roof and I'm calling them in!
Fermented fallen
peaches may be delicious, but you're going to get a heck of a hangover at the
end of peach season. Don't say I didn't warn you.
To the Red bellied Black Snake who Lives Under the Orange trees
Look, I'm sorry I
screamed. Really. I thought you were a stick. I know sticks don't have red
bellies, but all I can say is I was thinking of something else ie picking some
oranges. Plus I didn't get much sleep last night. There was an earthquake at 2
am. And another at 4 am. And one more at 4.30. though come to think of it...
To Hark the Wombat who Lives under our Bedroom
To you it's a scratching
post. To me it's the floor joist under my bed, and it feels like an earthquake
every time you scratch. One earthquake a night is okay. Two is excessive.
Three means I can't get
back to sleep and bump into doors an trip over my toes the next day and upset
the black snake by trying to light the stove with him. Or her. Who can tell
with black snakes? Especially when they've had three hours sleep.
Please please please could we keep it down to one scratch a night?
To the Duck again
Look, when I said I
loved ducks I didn't mean I wanted five of them on my roof. A friend or two
visiting is fine. But not four of them. It's only a small bathroom!
To Grumps the Hairy Fiend who tries to Bite me as I go down the Steps
To
me it's a doormat. To you it is a tasty snack. I put that doormat there so
visitors can wipe their boots on it.
Humans get all sorts of
things on their boots, doggy doo doo dust, fly vomit. If you eat the doormat,
then bite me .. well, you get my drift. How about you bite me FIRST, then chew
the doormat.
To The Rosellas
Bryan put that bird
feeder there so we can enjoy your colourful gyrations as you eat the bird seed.
He did not put it there so you can eat the windowsills if he's ten minutes late
putting the seed out.
PS it would be appreciated if you did not perch on the clothes line just when I
have put out the clean sheets. Not when you've been eating mulberries, anyway.
Do you think if I planted some white berries you might stick to those for a
while?
To the Duck Yet Again
How can twenty two ducks
fit on a bathroom roof!? This is not funny! Plus there will be no room in our
water tank next time it rains for anything other than duckie doo. Enough is
enough! And twenty two ducks are more than enough....
To the Flying Termites
Yes, I know all about
the birds and the bees and why you need to fly to mate and establish a new
home. But trust me, you will not be building a new termite colony down my bra.
Nor in Bryan's underpants. So there is no point crawling down there once you
lose your wings.
To the Clouds
Hey, it's really simple.
You gather together, nice and high up where it's cold. And then you rain, damn
it. You rain!
Eviction Notice: To The Duck
Dear Sir or Madam,
Our client would
appreciate it if you would immediately vacate......
Mothball News
We
haven't seen Mothball now for a couple of months. Hark still lives in the
wombat hole behind the bathroom, but Mothball has moved elsewhere. Though it's
difficult to tell as the wombats come out after we've gone to bed now- it's too
hot in mid summer to tempt them out earlier, unless they are starving.
So maybe Mothball is
munching down on the flat by the creek. But being Mothball, I am sure she is
quite comfortable, thank you, and is living exactly the sort of life she wants
to!
Awards
It's
been a good month for awards in the USA! HITLER'S DAUGHTER has been named a
"Blue Ribbon" book by the Bulletin for the Centre of Children's
Books. In 'The Cuffies' in Publisher's Weekly Diary of a Wombat was awarded
Best Picture Book, and tied with Funniest Picture Book , and has also been made
an honour book- though I'm not quite sure what.
New Books
I've
been working on the final version of the reading book- which still doesn't have
a name! At the moment it might be How to get All Kids Reading, but I dunno!
It is about how to find out why kids are having reading problems, and what to
do about it plus how to find a perfect book, have a perfect library and a few
other matters. Look for it in August. (it's something I feel passionate about,
as I am dyslexic too.)
I've just finished
writing Phredde and the Vampire Footie Team too- had enormous fun with it. It
won't be out till November though- has to be edited and illustrated and all the
rest of it.
And the final cover of
Tom Appleby, Convict boy has been decided upon. It looks stunning- just
beautiful and totally right for the book. That one will be out in march, after
Blood Moon- the third in the 'Outlands' trilogy that began with 'In the Blood.'
A War for Gentlemen
seems to be going well. The reviews have been great- and an extraordinary
relief, as it's my first adult historical novel. I feel like sending every
reviewer a large box of apples, but that might be bribery. Also, to be honest,
I just want to get rid of some apples.....
Schedule for this year so far:
March 18/19 Somerset Literary Festival, Somerset College, Gold Coast, QLD. Launch
of 'Flesh and Blood' the third and final- and grippingly terrifying- book in
the 'Outlands series'
February 28. Open Garden Workshop in our garden- how to grow every thing except
chocolate in your garden. (We have about 260 types of fruit growing here,
including avocadoes, custard apples , cinnamon, coffee, tea and macadamias,
even though our climate ranges from minus 9 to 49C). Bookings essential as
places are limited. Contact the Open Garden Scheme for more details and
bookings.
March 26th Children's Services Resource & Advisory Program Conference,
National Press Club Canberra
April 15 11.30-12.30 How to Write your own Bushranger Story Workshop (For
anyone 8 and above!) National Museum, Canberra. Contact National Museum for
more details.
Release of Tom Appleby: Convict Boy
April 24/24 Falling leaves Festival Tumut NSW
May 28/29 Charter's Towers All Souls Literary Festival, QLD.
June: release of
My Dad the Dragon and My Uncle Gus the Garden Gnome- the third and fourth Wacky
Family books
Release of To
the Moon and Back with Bryan Sullivan - the story of Honeysuckle Creek and the
journey to the moon.
July 2,3,4: Shoalhaven Literary Festival. No details yet!
August 16,127, 18 Book Week talks in Sydney. Contact Lateral Learning for
details.
Release of Read it Right( or whatever its name will be!) - the book on
reading difficulties and how to get all kids reading!
August 23, 24, 25. Book Week talks in Melbourne. Contact Booked Out for
details.
September 14,15,16 West Moreton Anglican College Festival of Literature,
Karrabin, QLD. Contact Megan Daley, West Moreton Anglican College for more
details.
October: release of Pete the Sheep with Bruce Whatley, a picture book about,
well Pete the Sheep!
Late October:
Bolinda School comes to visit!
November 11-14 Ourimbah Campus Children's Literature Festival, Ourimbah NSW
Release of Phredde and the Vampire Footie Team
November 21. Open Garden Workshops in our garden. Bookings essential. Details
and subjects still to be confirmed.
In the Garden
I
think just about every other part of Australia has flooded this month apart
from us. It's rained once here; not much, so it's dry again. The trouble is
that after three years of drought we need about 400 mls to top up the water
table again so the springs flow and the creek keeps running.
But even if it's dry
most days have been cool; no howling winds and no bushfires on the horizon as I
write this, so we are definitely better off than this time last year!
And this time last year
we were about to get a glorious wet thunderstorm, so maybe, possibly, next week
or the next...
I'm going into garden
withdrawal symptoms though; haven't been able to plant much for years and
badly want to, and there is no point putting in winter veg if we don't have
water for them.
But it's still been a
good month for fruit: great boxes of apples (Bella Vista, Beauty of Bath and
Gravenstein as I write this, with another six varieties about to ripen) and
masses of plums and a few peaches, the last of the navel oranges lemons, a few
late limes, strawberries, damsons, cape gooseberries (See below) and Capulin
cherries.
This has been the first
crop of Capulin cherries and they are delicious- like a more powerfully
flavoured cherry, but much smaller and with a larger stone. Quite superb. Will
now plant another six trees!
How to Grow Damsons, Cape gooseberries and Capulin Cherries
Damsons
Damsons are small 'wild'
plums, about the size of a mutated cherry. The skins are purple when ripe, and
a bit tougher than other plum skins, and the fruit needs to be very ripe to be
sweet. A fully ripe damson though is delicious- kids love them as they are
small.
Slightly green damsons
make the most wonderful jam or jelly, and damson gin is superb. Prick the skins
each damson about ten times. Place in a jar, fill with sugar, then fill again
with gin. (I know this sounds mathematically impossible but it works). Shake
every few days till sugar dissolves. Leave a month in a cool place; filter.
Drink.
Damsons are grown just
like plums, but they are hardier even than plum trees, tolerate any amount of
drought and heat once established ie. after about three years, don't need
pruning and the skins are too tough usually for fruit fly attack. Ie. plant,
mulch, water once a week for one year, once a month for two years, then pick.
Birds also love them as they are a small easy to carry fruit, but damsons fruit
enough for all comers.
Most damsons are merely
sold as 'damsons' but there used to be at least three varieties about. If you
can get hold of the pointed rather than the round ended damsons they are more
piquant, and give a better result in gin and jelly. but all damsons are great.
Grow in full sun or light
dappled shade.
Capulin Cherry (Prunus salicifolia)
Our
tree has just given it's first crop and they are delicious! Like dark red to
black small cherries with large stones, but a much richer intense taste. The
tree is very fast growing- ours cropped in four years from seed-ignores drought
(Those four years were dry as the Nullarbor), tolerates frost- the trees loses
its leaves in winter. The fruit crops over about two months, with green and
ripe fruit at the same time, not all at once like most fruit trees, which may
be why it hasn't been commercially developed yet. Really fantastic tree.
Grow in full sun.
Cape Gooseberry (Physallis Peruvian)
These
grow easily from seed into waist high bushes with papery 'lanterns' with fruit
attached inside- big soft orange fruit- the unripe ones are green. Very
fragrant, great fun for kids to pop the lantern. They are perennial and will
live about 3-5 years in a sheltered spot away from severe frost- or take them
indoors in a pot, but grow so fast they can also be grown as an annual. Likes
dappled shade and moist soil but survives drought reasonably well. And if not,
keep the seeds to grow when it rains.
What to Plant in February
Hot climates.
Plant to eat: garlic, macadamias, avocados, bananas, custard apples, lychees,
sapodilla, star fruit, paw paws, mangoes, passionfruit, citrus, strawberry
plants, capsicum, carrots, chilli, cauliflowers, eggplant, okra, potatoes,
silver beet, sweet corn, zucchini.
Plants for beauty: hibiscus bushes, calendula, poppy, primula, snapdragon,
sunflower, salvias; fill bare spots with ferns.
Temperate:
Plants to eat: garlic, macadamias, avocado trees, citrus, strawberries,
beetroot, broccoli, broad beans, cabbage, carrots (mini or 'French round'
carrots mature fastest), cauliflower, garlic, leeks, parsnips, spinach, celery,
fast maturing Asian veg like tatsoi, pak choi and mitsuba.
Plants for beauty: bulbs, including liliums, agapanthus, iris; multi stemmed
jonquils, heat hardy tulip varieties, flowers like alyssum, dianthus, pansies,
primulas, salvias, poppies, sweet peas, stock. Grevilleas for nectar for the
birds (Superb and Robyn Gordon and her relatives bloom throughout the year)
Cold climates:
Plants to eat: garlic, strawberry runners, broad beans, spinach, onions, seedlings
of broccoli, cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, fast maturing Asian veg like tasto,
pak choi and mitsuba.
Plants for beauty: bulbs like daffodils, jonquils, tulips, anemones, hyacinths,
freesias, ranunculi, seedlings of Iceland poppy, primulas, pansies, polyanthus,
sweet peas.
A Few February Recipes
Raspberry Cordial
4 cups raspberries, or 1 packet frozen raspberries and 1 Pk frozen blueberries
4 cups sugar
juice 4 lemons
4 cups water
4 tsp tartaric acid.
boil everything for 4
or 5 minutes. Strain out the seeds. Store in clean bottle for up to three
weeks. throw out if it goes mouldy or cloudy or fizzy.
Passionfruit cordial: use 4 cups passionfruit pulp instead
Lemon cordial: use 4 cups lemon juice
Naughty Bites
These are definitely naughty! I love them.
2 cups fruit cake, crumbled
6 tbs apricot or other jam
half cup crystallised ginger(only if you like ginger) or crystallised
pineapple, chopped, or 1 heaped tsp powdered ginger, or just leave all this
out!
100 GM cooking chocolate, melted
Combine all but
chocolate. Add half melted chocolate, mix well, then take walnut size mounds,
roll into a ball then roll in the melted chocolate. Leave to set. (Not in the
fridge.) Keep in a sealed container in a cool place for up to a week. (If only)
Six Wicked Things to do with Garlic
1. Garlic
liniment to ward off colds: 2 cups goose fat seethed with ten cloves garlic.
Rub nightly on chest. Works a treat by keeping everyone away so you don't get
the infection.
2. Cleopatra's garlic: that bath of donkey's milk she bathed in almost
certainly contained crushed garlic. Try a face mask of half cup natural yoghurt
with 6 crushed garlic cloves; also good for pimples. (Am serious here)
4. Ancient Roman garlic: a crushed poultice for haemorrhoids (have not tried
this and suspect it may only increase your suffering!)
4. Use it to repel serpents and mad bulls: suspect this may not work either
5. Baked garlic: prick each clove with a skewer so they don't burst; bake at
200C for 30 minutes; spread on grilled bread
6, poached garlic: place peeled cloves in a pan; cover with chicken stock;
simmer ten minutes; add beans, broad beans or chunks of raw peeled beetroot.
Simmer till they are soft. Use only enough chicken stock to cover: it should be
reduced and sauce like at the end.
7. Extraordinary Tomato and Orange Sauce
Serve with road chicken, pork, turkey, or duck. I make the sauce first then
take the meat out of the roasting pan, pour off the fat, add a cup of water
and boil for five minutes, then add that to the pre-prepared sauce. Incredibly
good.
Also good with fried or
grilled chicken breasts.
6 tbs olive oil
6 chopped garlic cloves
1 kg ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped
4 tbs ground almonds
juice of 2 oranges (not navels- it will turn bitter)
half tsp orange zest ie thin peel with no white at all.
Saute garlic till soft
in olive oil; add tomatoes; simmer ten minutes or till quite thick. Add other
stuff, bring to the boil again then take off the heat before the peel and juice
can turn too bitter.
PS for garlic breath, vanilla milkshake, for garlic hands 2 tbs bicarb with
juice of a lemon. Keep in a jar. Use like soap.
How to Cope with Ants
For
some reason even those of us who love rhinoceroses, Bengal tigers and the
disappearing hairy nosed wombat don't feel so kindly towards ants in our
kitchen. This is possibly because hairy nosed wombats rarely invade the sugar
bowl. Nor are you likely to find a Bengal tiger in your potted geraniums.
The question with ants
is how to get them out of the sugar bowl without exterminating them- a subtle
hint like an eviction notice doesn't work with ants. Well, a human eviction
notice doesn't.
What you need is an ants
style eviction notice ie peppermint oil. Pennyroyal works too, but not as
well,. Even peppermint essence works- it's the smell that does it, not the
subtle taste and fragrance of the genuine article.
Step 1. get rid of interesting crumbs and sticky residues on the jam jar, at
least for a week or two till the ants remove themselves elsewhere
Step 2. Wipe all ant ridden surfaces with peppermint oil etc
Step 3. Add a splodge of peppermint to all washing water. the house should
smell freshly minty- not overpowering, but a definite odour.
Worse Case Scenario ie you are allergic to ants and they have built a new nest
by the car port.
Pour down turps. This
will kill a few ants, but not the nest. but it is stinky and oily and the ants
will decide to move to a more desirable residence.
Mildly Annoying Scenario- ants under the clothes line or pot plants.
Put a few drops of cooking
oil in the saucers under the pot plants- the ants can't wade through it and the
oil will float on any surplus water in the saucers, but will still be there
when it evaporates.
Or mix talcum powder and
white pepper and strew it in the paving crevices under the clothes line. if you
were an ant, would you like wading through talc and white pepper?
Absolutely last Resort.
Kill a few ants with an
ant bait. Different species of ants like to eat different foods, and some ants
eat different foods at different times of the year. But a fairly safe bait is
half icing sugar and half peanut butter, though if they won't come at this try
half mince and half icing sugar.
Plus, of course, the ant
poison. I use boracic acid- half bait and half boracic acid. But if you have
any other convenient household killers about- I don't mean arsenic for an
unwanted lover, but sprays that are supposed to kill other households pests-
you can use those CAREFULLY ACCORDING TO DIRECTIONS ON THE CONTAINER too.
You can also make a wet
bait: mix 4tb boracic acid with 4 tb sugar and 8 tb water. Place in a jar,
put the lid on, poke a hole in the lid and poke through a wisp of cotton wool.
I know that all sounds inexact, but have a go! Lay the bottle so the 'wick'
just touches the ground where ants are roaming.