Introduction Workshops and garden tours Biography Awards Childrens' books Gardening books Which book Information for projects How to buy books mentioned Complete(ish) list of books More about some of the books [Useful stuff for assignments] Browse online book catalogue at HC Read extracts from some books Advice for writers How to get your first novel published Writing for kids Writing tips Recipes Links Wombat Dreaming

Jackie's September message . . . Wombat News Inspiring Schools A Few Wombat Jokes Latest books Awards What's on this Year September Garden What to Plant A Garden for Pets Avoiding Spring Allergies! A Few Recipes          Secret Chicken Business          Aunt Jackie's Genuine Cold Repelling Lemon Tarts          Hummingbird Cake          Marshmallows- for kids or the adults only version.....          Chinese Chews   Wombat News          Mothball has a baby!          We thought she had a baby in her pouch two months ago..but then there was no sign of it. But suddenly today, after I fed Mothball her oats, she disappeared - and came back with a small bouncing wombat!          Maybe Mothball learnt her lesson with her last baby, Hark...he refused to come out of her pouch till he was so big the pouch dragged on the ground. But for the last two months Mothball must have been leaving the baby behind while she came out to eat at night.          We've called the baby Fuzztop, because he is . . . fuzzy, I mean. He is sooo cute- almost totally round and still has a pink nose. He spends most of his time under mum, not in her pouch, just hidden under her tummy, where he's warm and out of the wind too. He even ate a few rolled oats, but he likes grass the best. And I don't know if he IS a he or not...haven't got close enough to see. No wonder Mothball has been stroppy and hungry. Apologies to the wombat.........just wish she'd realise that biting the ankle that feeds her is counterproductive.          It's fascinating watching Mothball find her oats...she can smell if I have put them out 100 metres away. There's no use calling her, or crackling the packet, it's the smell that she is waiting for. And the bowerbirds and currawongs wait for me to put the oats out too, but they don't dare come near when Mothball is eating- just crowd around a few metres away and hope she leaves some. She is a messy eater, so there are always a few left around her dish.   Other news          It's still dry..we've had about 40 mm of rain in the past eight months. But the shower of rain last week left everything green- new grass for the wombats and a shine on the leaves. The daffodils are blooming and their air smells of perfume and wombat (which is a really weird combination). The navel oranges are stunningly delicious, and so are the mandarins, blood oranges, tangelos, lemons limes chinnotto, Kaffir limes Japanese raisin fruit tamarillos chestnuts chilacayote melons avocadoes, a few tiny custard apples and I can't remember what else, which isn't bad for the middle of a drought.          Things will get much harsher of course as soon as it gets hot. but just at the moment it's pretty much paradise...baby wombat and all.   Inspiring Schools          I've been to lots of schools in the past few weeks- Book Week lasts for most of August! All of them have been wonderful- and great kids. But each one was very different, and great in different ways. So I thought this month to perhaps include the most inspiring ideas from each school!   . A dance instead of a bell or siren to go indoors          This was stunning- the school played dance music, the kids lined up, and danced into school- and the teachers danced too as the music was so infectious. It wasn't formal dancing, just jigging and whirling as you felt like it, and this meant that the kids came into school laughing and twirling , and were wonderfully 'debounced' so they happily sat down to rest and concentrate for the next hour. Have never had such young kids sit so still and intent .. I think mostly because they had just been dancing!   . A flying break          This was for very young kids...after each hour the kids went outside and flew around the playground, flapping their wings or twirling with the wind, all in a line about the garden. Result: happy energised kids ready to sit down again and listen!   . Dancing through the twentieth century          The school divided into 10 groups, one for each decade, with kids of different ages in each. Every group had a decade and had to find out about it, dress in their fashions and sing and dance a song from that time. It was the most wonderful energetic history I have ever come across!   . Fancy Garbage bins          Every garbage bin in the school was painted with anew design each term   . Teachers library day          Once a fortnight teachers came for morning tea into the library and chose books from a selection put out by the librarians. . and had the most gorgeous morning tea..and all the kids peered through the windows and envied them and as they came out asked 'Miss Miss, what did you get to read this time!'          The kids had their own library- and morning tea mornings, but this was a wonderful way to show kids that everyone likes books, even the sport's master.   . Books on the ceiling          A picture book photocopied and each page pasted on the ceiling of the library- and at lunch time the little kids come in and lie on cushions and read the story, relaxing as they read.   . Alphabet hopscotch          A big square painted on the concrete with the letters of the alphabet painted in the middle, not in order. The aim of the game is to hop from a to be to c...etc. and as they are all mixed up this is quite a game!          Another square had numbers..the same sort of game.   . Shrek in the library          A big stuffed model of Shrek sits in the corner of the library, and every day the kids take turns reading a story to him. Shrek never corrects them if they get something wrong, and always grins at the best bits.   . Walking and talking          All the kids outside ambling along while they recite their times table   . The Lunchtime Book Club          Every lunchtime there is a half hour book club in the library, with platters of cut up fruit and lots of cushions. The kids lounge and listen to the books and the teachers take turns reading the first chapter of a new book every day .. a good way to tempt kids to read the rest .. or associate books with fun food and relaxation, instead of things that are good for them.   New books . To the Moon and Back...with Bryan Sullivan, otherwise known as Him Who Mutters at the Wombat. This is the true story of Australia's role in the moon landings. . Tom Appleby, Convict Boy . My Dad the Dragon and My Uncle Gus the Garden Gnome   Coming soon!          Rocket Your Child into Reading          Pete the Sheep (with Bruce Whatley...and the rest of the team who brought you Diary of a Wombat! )          Phredde and the Vampire Footie Team   Awards          I think for the first time in over a year there are no new awards or short listings this month! Last year was thick with awards- Bryan would come in every lunchtime and ask 'Any new awards this morning?' I think I'm spoilt...   Wombat Jokes How do you know that wombats are smarter than chooks? Have you ever heard of Kentucky Fried Wombat?   What do you get if you cross King Kong with a wombat? A GIGANTIC wombat hole!   What do you get if you cross a wombat with an owl? A hairy bird that doesn't give a hoot.   Why did the toilet paper roll down the wombat hole? It wanted to reach the bottom.   Why don't wombats fly north for the winter? They can't afford the plane fare.   What happened when the mad scientist crossed a vampire with a wombat? It bit his neck then ate his carrots.   What's a wombat's favourite movie? WomBatman   Kid: Hey mum, there's a wombat in my dinner! Mum: Don't worry, it's only eating the carrots.   What happens if you cross a wombat with an elephant? I don't know- I just hope it doesn't dig a hole under my house!   What happens if a wombat tries to dance with a cow? Udder chaos.   What's the hardest part about milking a wombat? Getting a small enough bucket   What should you do if you find a wombat sitting on your seat at school? Sit somewhere else.   Why was the mother wombat angry at her baby? Because it ate hot pizza in bed!   What's brown and hairy and makes a lot of noise? A wombat with drums!   Schedule for this year so far: September 11 (Saturday) -free talk in Braidwood on how to create and publish picture books. Contact the ACT Writer's centre for more details.   September 14,15,16 West Moreton Anglican College Festival of Literature, Karrabin, QLD. Contact Megan Daley, West Moreton Anglican College for more details. There'll be an evening talk on kid's reading problems too, and how to get all kids reading, plus talks on chooks, self sufficiency, how to build your own house, generate your own power and grow everything except chocolate.   Sept 26, 27 : Kids Festival in Sydney .. Ill be giving talks on the Sunday and Monday   September 29 (not the 30th!) : free Club Cool talk on WOMBATS!!!!, at Woden library Canberra, from 11.30-12. 30. All welcome! Contact the ACT library service or just come along!          I'll also be answering questions on Louise Maher's Show live at Floriade from 1.30-11.00- everyone welcome to come to that too!   October: Release of Rocket Your Child into Reading- how to fast track your kids to reading success   2 October (Saturday). Songlines Festival Blue Mountains. (No details yet but sounds wonderful).   17-19 October- talks at Bordertown, SA, and nearby towns, on everything from books to chooks   20 October: Bolinda School comes to visit! (watch out for a rampaging wombat)   November 1-5 Talks throughout New Zealand on Rocket into Reading and Pete the sheep   November: release of Pete the Sheep with Bruce Whatley, a picture book about a sheep who does things a little...differently   November 11-14 Ourimbah Campus Children's Literature Festival, Ourimbah NSW   Release of Phredde and the Vampire Footie Team- a story to eat with an orange at half time   November 21. Open Garden Workshops in our garden. Bookings essential through the Open garden Scheme.   November 25. Talk on herbs for the CWA Goulburn, NSW. 6.30- contact the Goulburn CWA for more details.   September Garden Now is the time to: FEED EVERYTHING! Give native plants low phosphorous fertilisers, encourage young flowers and veg with liquid seaweed based tucker every two weeks; tuck slow release pellets into pots; mulch fruit trees and give them a good dose of old manure or Dynamic Lifter. Feed bulbs now before they die down for summer for good blooms next year. DESTROY oxalis, onion weed and soursob with a touch of Roundup- it's most effective if applied now. Or do what I do: plant a daisy or French lavender bush over them, to choke them out. In twelve months you can either remove the bush or decide to keep it! POISON: snails and slugs with baits in old margarine containers, with the lids taped down so pests and kids can't get them, and small 'doors' cut in the sides to attract snails looking for day time shelter. IGNORE: winter and spring bulb leaves- leave them alone till they die down naturally. Don't mow them! WATER: everything well- things grow FAST in spring, and they need moist soil to get best results PLANT: evergreen fruit trees (every house needs a lemon tree, even if it's just in a pot on the patio) like citrus, avocadoes, tamarillos, macadamias, lillypillies, paw paws, bananas and shrubs like hibiscus, gardenias, fuschias, poinsettia, oleander, non invasive bamboos, ornamental bananas etc SOW: flower seeds! It's tempting to just pick up a punnet or two for summer colour, but planting seeds may give you hundreds of plants for the same price as a dozen seedlings. Most seedlings germinate in a week or ten days, and are ready to plant out a week or two later, so a punnet is really only saving you a little time. MOW: Set the mower on a high setting to begin with, so only the tips are shorn, then gradually lower the mower height over the next few months, though never so low you cut bald patches. Taking too much off the grass in early spring will weaken the grass, so it's less hardy in summer's heat and drought. CUT OUT: dead leaves or flowers before summer growth smothers them.   What to plant: Kitchen garden: Cold: strawberry plants, rhubarb crowns, olive, bay or strawberry guava trees, a lemon verbena bush, Chinese cabbage, wok book, silver beet, parsnips, potatoes, peas, snap peas, spinach, turnips, broad beans. Temperate to hot: citrus, bananas, avocado, macadamia and other evergreen fruit trees, passionfruit, asparagus (seed), basil, beans, beetroot, carrots, capsicum, chilli, Chinese cabbage, choko, cucumber, corn, eggplant, corn, pumpkin, lettuce, silver beet, spring onions, okra, parsnips, rosella, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, zucchini and melons. Flower garden: flowering shrubs, scented geraniums, cacti and other succulents, alyssum, ageratum, amaranthus, aster, balsam, calendulas, Californian poppy, cornflowers, carnations, daisies and everlasting daisies, dahlia seeds (well drained soils only) impatiens, dianthus, geraniums, gerberas, marigolds, nasturtiums, petunias, portulaca, rudbeckia, salvia, snapdragons, sunflowers and zinnias Cool areas only: sweet peas. Hot areas only: heliconias, celosia, coleus.   A Garden for Pets! To design a garden to keep your pets happy you have to understand who they really are. No, that isn't a King Charles Spaniel snoozing on the sofa, it's a wolf surveying his territory. And Fluffy over there, doing her fuzzy slipper imitation, is really Bast, ancient Egyptian Goddess, waiting for her devoted followers to open the can of Tuna Yum.          A garden looks different to a dog or cat. How many of us have ever considered a garden from the point of view (30 cm high) of a miniature Fox Terrier? To your pet tall bushes loom larger, colours are more monochrome; and smells are a far more important source of information too, as well as being more intense.          So what do pets really need to keep them happy in a garden? A Place from which to Survey the World          The first necessity in any territory designed for your pets, sorry, domestic wolf and furball Goddess, is a place to survey the world. I'm serious. When you're only 30 cm tall you really need to get up high to check that there are no invading burglars or currawongs after your dog or cat biscuits.          Cats love the flat roofs of garden sheds, and while it might be going too far to put up a shed just for your cat (though I'm sure Fluffy would take it as her due), there are alternatives: flat topped stone walls, benches, garden tables for the cats and chairs for the dogs, so they can practise being human for when the sausages are handed out at the next barbecue.          All joking aside, your cat and dog will feel much happier if they can see the whole of their territory, because it IS their territory (it's just your real estate) and they need to know who is doing what in it, especially if it involves a can opening or the Schnauzer next door.          Cats like nice wide windowsills to doze on, especially if there is a bush next to the wall they can lurk behind. Rather than renovate the house just for your cat you could put in an above ground garden, at least waist high, edged with bricks or stone or sleepers ≠ a good place for any cat.   Shrubbery and good smells          What next? Bushes. These make a garden interesting. You can lurk under a bush to ambush intruders, mark the leafy ground underneath with your scent, use it as a dunny or just have a scratch around and see what's new since last time.          Don't forget interesting smells, too. Make your garden sniffable. Grow hedges of lavender for your cat to sleep under or cat thyme (Teucrium marum) for an irresistible aroma.          Cat thyme can be irresistible to cats - they'll roll in it or just sit there, drinking in the smell. A word of warning though - cat thyme is only really fragrant in hot weather when the volatile oil evaporates, and some cultivars are much more potent than others. Of the seven bushes we've grown here, only two were attractive to cats - they just ignored the others.   Paving          Paving helps wear dog's claws down. It also gives pets a warm place to sleep on cold but sunny winter days, or a cool damp spot next to large pots in summer. I suspect there's some ancestral memory there as well - in the wild cats and dogs both like rocky ledges or warm stone outcrops high above the world.   Grass          This should be short, because it feels nice when you are dog or cat sized, and because dogs prefer the feel of urinating on short grass, though they can be trained to urinate in the gutter when you take them for a walk.   Things to avoid          Long grass with grass seeds, cane toads, and make sure your pet can't get to empty (or full) containers of snail bait, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides. Keep dogs away from recently sprayed areas too for at least 24 hours, including lawn that has been treated for bindiis. Keep unplanted bulbs away from dogs as well - they may chew them and they're toxic.          If your dog is a chewer, give them toys to chomp so they're not tempted by poisonous plants like oleander, poinsettia, azaleas, wisteria, tomato plants and many others. The sticks you throw for your dog shouldn't be from poisonous trees either! Nor should they be brittle, as many dogs wind up at the vet's with nasty mouth injuries caused by sticks that snap and splinter.   How Gardens can Help Correct Pet Problems          Give a little thought to your pets when you design your garden (and its furnishings), and you may find that most of the problems with cats and dogs in the garden disappear.   The dos and don'ts of doo doo.          Most pets are creatures of habit. Train your pet to use a certain area by creating a nice fresh dirt spot for your cat, or plant bushes with soft leafy soil below. If the only patch of easily scratched earth in a sea of bowling green turf is your newly dug garden bed, then that's the place that the cat will use.          Cats will assume you have seen their need and with great labour, care and understanding created that spot just for them. Being cats, though, they're unlikely to think of thanking you.          Cover vegie gardens or sandpits with bird netting - available at all garden centres. You can just drape it over the garden, or stretch it tight between two pieces of wood to cover sandpits. The cats will get tangled if they try to scratch - and go elsewhere. Bird netting lasts for years - and is easily rolled up till you need it again          Most dogs like to mark where they or another dog have been, so if you can stop them in the first place you're nipping the problem in the bud. If a dog does use your place as a loo pick up the dropping at once or water the spot to eradicate the smell. Soaker hoses along the front garden, where passing dogs may be tempted, are good for this - especially if you turn the hose on while their leg is lifted.        Take your dog for a walk at the same time each day, if you can. Dogs don't like to foul their own living space and will keep their legs crossed if they know they're going out soon. (Take a pooper scooper and a plastic bag with you, so you don't decorate the neighbourhood as you go.)   Getting Rid of Droppings          Dig a very deep hole, insert each day's droppings, then scoop in at least 30 cm of soil to keep off flies. When it is nearly full add more dirt and plant a tree or shrub or rose bush. Whenever you enjoy its bounty think of your pet.   Wandering Cats          You CAN keep cats in - or out - if you are prepared to go to enough trouble. A LOOSE stretch of wire netting, at least 100 cm wide, on top of your fence will stop cats - structures that aren't rigid make them nervous. So will two or three taut wires angled inwards over your fence - a bit like fences around car yards. If you want to modify an existing fence buy tall 'star pickets' and get the store to bend the tops of them slightly, so you can thread the wires through the bent bits.          If cats stalk along branches, make a 'collar' of Colorbond, rigid plastic or wire that they can't get over.          Never let your cat outdoors at night, when birds and lizards are asleep and vulnerable. Avid cat lovers and wild bird fanciers can turn their whole backyard into a cage, with netting above head height to keep the cats from the birds.   Digging          Bored dogs will often dig. Leave your pooch with a plentiful supply of balls toys and puzzles - and make your garden as complex and interesting as you can, or you may find that they have invented their own amusements. (You however may not be amused.)          Two dogs may dig less than one lonely one, or you may just double your problem! Dogs that are 'companions' - often with their humans - rarely dig as much. If your dog HAS dug up your vegie garden don't yell when you come home - the poor pooch will associate your anger with your coming home, not the dug up bed. Buy bird netting - see above - and drape it over favourite areas till they forget about digging them up. Rolling in smelly stuff.          Golden Labradors especially love smelly stuff, as do most dogs bred for hunting. It makes sense - a stinky dog is less noticeable to its prey. Unfortunately it's much more noticeable to you.          Mix manures like Dynamic Lifter with water rather than put them on dry. Or only put fertiliser down when you can put a sprinkler on afterwards. (This is better for the plants too!)   Avoiding Spring Allergies! While plants and mildews are flowering in spring: . wear a proper mask and eye protection when cutting lawns, handling potting mix or mulch - or get someone else to do it... if you don't mind looking a drip (So you DON'T drip). Wear them riding bicycles through flowering grass or pine forests too! . use a dryer for sheets, pillowslips and clothes while pine trees, cypresses, grasses and spring weeds are flowering, or you'll be sleeping in a bed full of pollen; . don't plant a wattle near the clothes line! Wattle pollen is too heavy to travel far, but a line of wet clothes can trap a surprising amount of it; . mow often so grasses near you don't flower; . plant great big gorgeous flowers! Most pollen comes from inconspicuous flowers that rely on wind for pollination, so they don't have to be big and bright to attract birds and bees.   A Few Recipes Secret Chicken Business 10 bits of chook- thighs, legs, wings, or chicken Maryland 4 cups orange juice juice of two large lemons or three limes 10 tbs honey 10 tbs soy sauce 10 cloves garlic, chopped optional: 3 tbs cornflour mixed with a little water            Bung everything except the cornflour into an oven tray. Bake till chook is cooked- anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour and a half depending on size of bits. Baste a few times or turn bits over if they brown too much. Ten minutes before you want to serve it mix in thickening- but it's good unthickened. Serve hot, or leave to cool and scrape off any fat then reheat. Great with spuds in any form whatsoever...mashed, baked, Idaho, with parsnip and garlic mash......   Aunt Jackie's Genuine Cold Repelling Lemon Tarts 2 cups cream juice 3 lemons (or mandarin juice) half cup castor sugar 3 eggs          Mix; bake 200C for about 30 minutes or till firm, can be poured into small or large pastry cases, or just eaten as a most superior lemon custard. PS have made these six times in the past month and none of the family has had a cold....which just goes to show we are a glutinous family.....   Hummingbird Cake Mix: one and a half cups plain flour 1 cup brown sugar 1 tsp ground cinnamon half tsp bicarbonate of soda 3 eggs three quarters of a cup bland cooking oil 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans 2 cups mashed bananas half cup crushed pineapple in syrup- don't drain          Bake one hour at 220C or till just firm. Cool then ice with lemon icing or leave plain.          Also makes great muffins!   Marshmallows- for kids or the adults only version          Place one and a half tbs gelatine in a bowl; cover with half a cup cold water.          Boil one and a half cups sugar with three quarters of a cup water for three minutes, then pour over gelatine, and beat till it turns thick and white. Add a few drops of colouring and flavour, pour into a tray and leave for 24 hours to firm. Cut into squares and roll in icing sugar. Store in a sealed container.   Or..replace all of the water with grape juice, or orange juice. Replace half the water with raspberry juice. Replace 1 tbs water with rum, or vodka- the latter is great with raspberry juice! replace 3 tbs of the water with lemon or lime juice and another 1 tbs with gin   Chinese Chews Mix 2 oz SR flour 4 oz plain flour 1 cup chopped dates half cup chopped walnuts 1 cup castor sugar 2 eggs 1 tbs milk 1 tsp vanilla 4 oz melted butter          Place in baking tray; bake 200C for 40 mins or till light brown. Cut into squares while hot; leave to cool in tin; store in sealed container.