Summer Rain and the Fringe

Classic Australia Landscape

I woke to an unusual sound of rain, not the typical opossum or seed pods plunking on the tin roof. It misted and soaked the plants but without leaving puddles. During recess an unknown 10 year old, or so, tapped me on the shoulder and pointed all around whispering, "foggy, very foggy!" I believe it was his new word of the morning and he certainly enjoyed sharing it with me. Then during line-up time the children pointed out the rainbow lorikeets not feeding on nectar like usual but trying to stay dry. Like stopping everything for the first flakes of snow at home we gathered under the tree and felt mystified by the noisy parrots.

During my evening walk, the fog had settled just above the trees and skimmed the Worrabinda pond. It captured the essence of smells. The air was like opening unlabeled aromatherapy bottles to strange unfamiliar scents.

The rain did not last for long, (but just read my friend Debbie's blog from Sydney and they are having the wettest summer in 25 years) and on Saturday Kate, Del and I traveled the coast to Goolwa for the wooden boat festival. I thought of you, Andy and Lynn and your canoe building. There was a great variety of boats- from kayaks to paddle steamers.

 

Warrawong has been a sanctuary in the hills close to my home with SA wildlife including woliyes, bandicoots, and perhaps the only wild platypus in the state. It closed down days ago and went back to the Aboriginal Ngarrindjeri. The sanctuary had succeeded in boosting some endangered species and actually saved some animals from extinction. The area didn't meet fire standards, nor did they have the money to do so. I went on the very last tour, and our guide had a good sob following our nocturnal/ close-to full moon walk.

There is a platypus there somewhere

 The information the young biologist shared was great. I have a ton of new knowledge about animal adaptations. Koalas have a dip in the back of the head so that when they sleep in the tree, their heads are cradled in a branch to prevent them from falling. A potaroo, a rodent looking marsupial, has its pouch on its back so that when it is digging the pouch does not get full of dirt. Some ants separate light from dark grains of soil depending on the season. They make a mound of white sand above the tunnels to keep cool, and in the winter or when hatching eggs and want to keep them warm they pile the darker grains. The platypus and a few other Monotremes, and dolphins of course, are the only mammals known to have a sense of electroreception. They locate prey in part by detecting electric fields generated by muscular contractions. They can't see in their waters which are filled with tannins to create excellent camouflage.

On the weekend, a group from Seaford High School and some of us exchange teachers took a trip cycling around McLaren Vale. It was all about stopping to taste wines at celler doors, cycling a bit, stopping to taste varieties of almonds on the Almond Train where I learned all about Dukkah originally from the Mid East and made with hazelnuts. Someone in the valley discovered that Dukkah was tasty using local almonds, and it has since become a staple for dipping. Saturating a local bread in a local extra virgin olive oil needing to be pressed within 48 hours of picking, then breading in the Dukkah is wonderful. I purchased the traditional Dukkah with almonds, Sesame Seeds, Herbs and Coconut. 

Then we cycled a bit more, but of course stopped by another winery for more tasting. Then there was the local lolly shop where you could purchase any lolly and the candy makers would run the candy through the conveyer to cover your choice in their homemade chocolate. I have become rather selective with my lollies, my favorite being honeycomb covered in chocolate. Actually it is my second favorite next to Sees' Candy. Thank you mom for sending me a box around Valentine's Day.

 Then we cycled a bit more in time to stop by for more wine tasting and to have a local platter for three.

I started with the fig and walnut patty. Later we picked figs.

After trying every type of olive possible, we cycled a bit more than had to stop for coffee. I don't intend on calculating the input and output of calories. I already know the answer. But, I loved going out cycling and really want to get my hands on a bike for the year! The cycle tracks all over the area are the best that I have ever seen in any area- perhaps there are more than in Holland. Is that possible?

On the way home we stopped at the mouth of the Onkaparinga River National Park area (above): 

And when I get tired of driving the highway home, I go through the Belair National Forest
through the windy hills

And here I sit just before dark at the Organic Cafe since my dongle seems to have quit again. I am getting eaten by the mossies, but don't want to winge, so I had better head home before I am too tired tomorrow for work and feel gob-smacked.

Glossary:

dongle: USB
Mossies: Mosquitoes
Winge: whine 
gob-smacked: overwhelmed
dobbing: tattling

cocky: cowlick

rashee: swim shirt
making: doing crafts

Happy Spring, almost. Here Autumn officially started on the 1st of March. 

 Up next: Kangaroo Island and the  Fringe, Adelaide Festival, Barrio, Pop Ups