Unusual Nesting Animals

With all the hot weather lately we have discovered some new nesting spots where animals are keeping cool.
This is in our shade house under the birds nest ferns so it is nice and cool, the ground stays damp and there is plenty of overhead shade.

Can you guess who owns these nests?

Yep this is a Jessie nest.  And she was none too pleased to be woken up for a photo.

Jessie has made two little cool nesting spots and she can often be found asleep there during the day.

How are your animals coping with the heat?

A Quiet Long Weekend

Here in Australia we have just had a long weekend to celebrate Australia Day.  I really needed some down time and Hubby has an injured knee (he is off for and MRI tomorrow) and needs to take it easy.  So we planned to get our jobs done early each morning and then spend the day just chilling out without any guilt.

We watched DVD's, read, had a few nanna naps, did a bit of of house work and a bit of baking.

We also made another batch of pickled jalapen'os.  This time I got Hubby involved since he is the one who eats 99% of them.

How did you spend your weekend long or otherwise?

Do You Make New Years Resolutions?

Do You Make New Years Resolutions?

I generally don't but I do set myself a few general goals at the start of the year which is possibly exactly the same thing.

This year I have decided to be more selfish and do more things for me and look after me.  This thinking is in part due to the fact I am having an operation in February and there will be a quite a bit of down time afterwards where I need to take it easy.

Over the past few years as well as working full time, I have dedicated a lot of time volunteering (about 10-15 hours a week) and this year I am scaling that back.  I will still be volunteering but only about 3 hours a week
I am also going to try and read a book a week.  So far so good with 3 books down already.
I am also going to go back to doing yoga and meditating.  I feel like my body is all knotted up and my mind is too noisy.  So I will be seeking to unwind and quite my mind.
The yoga portion will be on hold until well after my surgery so will probably not be something I start until April or May.

So what about you?
Any plans for this year?

A Call To Protect The Great Barrier Reef

Please sign the petition if you believe our reef should be protected.

The countdown is on. In just two weeks, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority will make the final call on whether to allow millions of tonnes of toxic dredge spoil to be dumped in Reef waters. 

Environment Minister Greg Hunt has already given his approval, and now the Reef Authority is the last group who can stand up to the mining industry and protect our Reef from this dangerous project. 

This Friday, GetUp members will be hand-delivering a giant petition to the Reef Authority in Townsville, urging them to reject the proposal for good. Click here to add your name and make sure your voice is heard on Friday: 

http://www.getup.org.au/reject-this-project 

We already know what dredging can do to our Reef. Just this week, Minister Hunt ordered an inquiry into the dredging project at Gladstone Harbour. As The Australian reported, it "coincided with mass deaths of fish, turtles, dolphins and dugongs inside the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage area."¹ 

This project would make way for the world's largest coal port at Abbot Point, turning our Reef into a coal shipping superhighway. To help imagine the sheer scale of it, the dredge spoil they plan to dump in Reef waters could fill 150,000 dump trucks, enough to line up bumper to bumper from Brisbane to Melbourne.² 

Under immense community pressure, the Reef Authority has already delayed their decision once - but Federal legislation means they can't delay it again. With exactly one week until the decision deadline, this Friday's event will be a timely reminder that the world is closely watching their next move. The more people who add their name to the petition, the more pressure decision-makers will be under to stand up for our Reef. 

Click here to sign your name in support of protecting the Reef, and we'll hand-deliver it straight to the Reef Authority: http://www.getup.org.au/reject-this-project 

Our iconic Reef is one of the natural wonders of the world, and it's up to us to protect it for future generations. 

Thanks for everything, 

the GetUp team. 

[1] Greg Hunt orders inquiry into reef dredging project. The Australian. 20th January 2014. 
[2] Has the Great Barrier Reef just been approved for destruction by the Australian government? The Guardian, 19th December 2013.

Beef Stock

We are still working our way through the first cow we had killed way back in December 2012.  It takes a long time to eat a whole cow even when it is not a very big one.  We have also shared the meat out with family and friends
Most of the bones we had cut up as dog bones but some I kept for stock.

Over the weekend I used up the last of the bones to make beef stock.
I like to make my stock after roasting the bones in the oven first until they are very dark.  Only then to I put them in a stockpot with carrots, onions, celery and herbs.
I usually have my stock on the stove top for the entire day so that I can get a nice concentrated batch.
This time I ended up with 5 litres which I packed in to takeaway containers and froze.  It joins the chicken stock in the freezer and will last us quite a while as we do not use beef stock that often.

How do you use beef stock?