Although it was a little strange celebrating Easter with
leaves changing colors and without spring buds, we have really enjoyed the
autumn festivals and cooler temperatures. We have even had to wear knitted
jumpers (sweaters) a few days.
Beautiful colors on MP12 School grounds, waiting for big sis and bro to get out:
Cooler temperatures and rainfall mean that the fire
restrictions have been lifted and farmers are burning off their waste piles and
the land managers are scheduling prescribed burns. Eucalyptus trees contain a
high amount of oils in their bark and burn easily and hot. To try to avoid
large, devastating fires, land managers (government and private) burn off
portions of land every year in controlled burns. These are kept low and “cool”
to burn off the undergrowth – fuels that could help wildfires reach the
overstory. The state forest to the north of us was under a controlled burn for
about 4 days, creating a lot of smoke for us and impressive sunsets and
sunrises. One night we were able to look out and see flames on the hillslope.
Controlled burn on the hillslope north of us:
Kangaroo silhouettes in the morning smoke and sunrise:
We have had to have our own fires as well. Our home is
heated by a wood stove! Most homes in the area are. When night time
temperatures started to dip into the 40s just after Easter we realized we
needed heat. This means we (Eric mostly) have been busy loading, chopping,
stacking, and moving wood.
Our friends, Al and Marg, have been kind to share wood with
us and we won a raffle at the kids’ school for a trailer of wood! It is amazing
how much we can go through in a week.
When we picked up the wood, Al took the older kids on a mushroom picking adventure as
well.
Farm life could grow on us all:
Last weekend we went to the Giant Pumpkin Competition and
Festival in nearby Murmungee. I entered a pumpkin pie but had a hard go of it –
stores here do not sell tinned (canned) pumpkin so I pureed my own using the
only pumpkin I could find: butternut squash and kent squash (green and orange and kind of pumpkin shaped). The judges liked the flavor but said it wasn’t orange enough.
hehe.
Tuesday, April 25 was ANZAC day and the kids did not have
school. This is a national holiday to remember those who have served in the
military, similar to Memorial Day in the states. ANZAC stands for Australian
and New Zealand Army Corps and is celebrated on the day that the ANZAC soldiers
landed on Gallipoli in World War I. We went to a service held on the main
street of town near the town’s cenotaph – a monument/empty tomb for soldiers
whose bodies are buried elsewhere. The main street of town was closed to traffic
and it was a very somber ceremony.
Town out for ANZAC day services in the rain:
The Cenotaph with remembrance flowers:
Another part of ANZAC day is eating ANZAC biscuits (don't call them cookies). I’ve
been asking around for a good recipe and tried out 2 already. This is our
favourite so far but if you try it out, remember that 1 cup (metric) is NOT
equal to 1 cup US – just use the weights instead of volume measurements.
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