An early start to the day

Philip gets up quite early (5am) on Saturday mornings to go for a bike ride with his Port Douglas Cycling group.  He tries to be very quiet (and he is) but I just sense the movement in the bedroom and inevitably I wake up.  I try very hard to go back to sleep but this morning I just gave in to the wakefulness.  I am pleased that I did because it was a glorious morning.  The fog had rolled into the valleys for a short period of time so I quickly grabbed my camera to get a quick couple of photos.  By the time I got dressed and ready for my morning walk the fog had lifted and I was greeted to a beautifully crisp winters day. While I was donning my joggers I took some photos of the sun shining through the trees next to the cattle yards, and I quite liked the effect. 

When I arrived home after my walk I went straight to the garden to pick some flowers to adorn the house.  The winter garden is somewhat bare of colour but the roses are spectacular.  I thank God everyday that I live in the tropics where I can grown roses all year round!

Winter Cattle Work

Philip has just arrived back from Julia Creek after being out there for the last week or so helping Marco with a few jobs including a full stock muster and count.  That is not as big a job as you would think as our stock numbers have sadly dwindled with the ongoing drought.  It was cold out west, as cold as it gets.  The temperature got down as low as one degree but with the wind chill factor it is probably equivalent to minus five!  The atmosphere at this time of the year is also extremely dry so hubby has come home with very dry, cracked skin.  Poor body needs a bit of love and moisturiser!
I was looking through my image vault today and came across these photos that I took a few years back....2010.  It was winter and it was very cold, not unlike this year.  The good news is that the wet season of 2011 was excellent so maybe 2016 will bring us all a good wet season. Fingers crossed.  A lot of the locals say that you need a cold winter to bring a good wet summer.
These photos were taken at the "Caleewa" yards before Marco rebuilt them.

It's Show Time!

I have been living here for almost nine years but I have never been to the Cairns Show.  That changed this week when my friend rang to see if I wanted to go with her.  I jumped at the opportunity.  We have the same likes so I knew that I was going to enjoy it.  Not everyone wants to wander through the various pavillions to look at the exhibits but it is what I enjoy the most about a show.  We started off nice and early on the first day of the three day show.  It was a good move as there were not a lot of people and we were able to move around freely.  The first place we visited was the Cat, Dog and Guinea Pig building. The day we visited it was the cat display.  They are so beautiful and I really would love to have a cat again but we just don't need the responsibility at this stage in our lives.  The next stop was the commercial pavillion where businesses set up there stands.  It was huge and we had a great time entering our names in all the giveaway competitions......will let you know if we win anything!  After that it was on to the flower, fruit and vegetable hall.  The flowers were just gorgeous and gave me lots of great ideas for the garden.  The fruit and vegetable section was well subscribed and I am once again in awe of the wonderful produce that can be grown in our area.  The final exhibitions we visited before lunch were the photography and art.  Such talent!
Lunch was always going to be "show food" so we munched our way through dagwood dogs and chips.  Mmmmmm!  We both looked a real sight with tomato sauce from one end of our face to the other but boy they were good!
During lunch we realised that we had not seen the craft, cake, jam and relish exhibits that turned out to be just under where we were sitting in the grandstand so after lunch we headed there. It was great and apart from the fantastic exhibits there were lots of talented ladies demonstrating their crafts.
Our last thing to do was visit the farm animals display where the children are allowed to get in amongst the little animals.  They were so cute.  We watched the duckling slippery slide and thought how much fun the little ducklings appeared to be having until we realised that they didn't really intend slipping down the slide into the pond. There were enticed to get some feed from a tray at the top of the slide that was just out of reach meaning that they really did "slip" down the slide.  Poor little things....
We finally started making our way back to the exit gate via the "Heritage Walk" where we tasted damper the was cooked over a fire in a camp oven.  It was the best damper I had ever tasted.  The lady that served it said the secret ingredient was powdered milk.
I had a great time and will go again next year with hubby who I'm sure will love it also.

Miss Show Girl 2015

A colourful display at the entrance to the show

A glorious day to sit in the grandstand and take in the view

Just a few of the jams and relishes!

Cake decorating demonstration

Its hard to believe that these flowers are not real.

I loved the lacework demonstration.

The duckling slippery slide

Heritage Walk

Camp Oven Damper is delicious!

Josephine Falls

Tropical North Queensland would have to be one of the most beautiful places in the world if not THE most beautiful.  We are fairly well travelled and in all our travels we have never come across a place quite like it. The tropics have it all. On Saturday I went for a drive to Josephine Falls that is just south of Mirrawinni.  My daughter in law had spread her fathers ashes around a tree at the base of the falls and as it was the anniversary of his passing she wanted to revisit his resting place.  I tagged along.  

We all meet at 11am and made the short uphill walk into the falls.  There were a lot of young tourists swimming in the rock pools and we all agreed that they must be from a very cold climate because the water would have been chilly!

We stayed for about an hour and a half, taking photos, watching the antics of the young and simply taking in the magical tranquility.  The falls had a lot more water falling over them compared to my last visit but there has been a lot of rain in the catchment area in the past week.  

We decided to have lunch at Fishery Falls Hotel on our way home.  It was a delicious meal and very cheap.  I had the crumbed steak, chips, gravy and salad all for $10!  I highly recommend it.

It was a lovely day and all the better for spending it with family.

Josephine Falls from the second lookout

Marco and Suzie found a good spot for photography

The falls from the top lookout

A young adventure tour group enjoying the rock pool and vine "swing"

Can't pass by without taking a photo of the different fungi.

 

July Photo Club

Our photo club meetings come around so fast or maybe it is just that our lives are so busy.  It is, once again, the first Saturday of the month and also once again it is a mad frantic rush to get photos ready for the monthly challenge.
This months main challenge is "I Love.....".  When I saw this challenge I immediately thought of liquorice all sorts.  I love them and they would make a great photo but of course I did not have any in the pantry.  (I love them too much to keep any on hand!) So, the only thing left to do was go to my photo library to search through my photos.  I have almost 30,000 images in my library so it is not a quick job but I did have a photo in mind.  The other three photo challenges were "Food", "Furry Animals" and "Old People".

These are my submissions.

"I Love....."  dinner for two in a romantic setting

"Old People" - photo taken in Peru

"Furry Animals" - photo taken on Sun Island, Bolivia

"Food" - Paleo Chocolate Mousse

The healing powers of Yoga

I've always thought that yoga practise was beneficial to the body and when we lived out west, not having any classes nearby, I purchased a yoga video.  I tried very hard to follow the instructor but actually did myself more harm than good by trying to watch the TV AND manipulate my body into the correct pose! The video eventually got gobbled up by the old VHS player (remember that!) and I was secretly relieved!
So when we moved to Julatten I was pleased to see that there was a yoga class each Thursday at our local community hall. I am a shy person and found it a little intimidating to front up to that first class not knowing a single person, but to my relief, everyone was so welcoming!
So,  I have been practising Yoga ever since....more than 8 years!  I really enjoy it and try very hard to get to practise twice a week but life gets in the way sometimes so I probably only average once a week...."sigh"... but I really love every single practise.
Yesterday I hurt my back.....really hurt my back....to the point that I could hardly straighten.  I did a stupid thing and lifted a box without bending and holding in the tummy muscles.  I spent most of yesterday on my back.
Today is yoga day.  My back was still really hurting but I decided to go along to the yoga class anyway.  When I arrived I talked to my instructor about the problem back and she advised to just do what I could and rest if there was any pain.
We always start our Hatha Yoga practise very gently with lots of stretches before we get into the stronger poses.  Today we started with some gentle spinal twists.  Three in all.  The first twist is with knees bent, feet hip distance apart, and twisting from side to side with shoulders firmly on the floor, the second is with knees to chest, twisting from side to side with shoulders firmly on the floor and the third is a full body twist with knees to the side, shoulders to the floor.  As I relaxed into the third twist I felt a click in my spinal area.  My first thought was, "Oh my goodness, what have I done", but as I came out of the pose I realised that my back was miraculously back in alignment.....NO MORE PAIN!
Years ago I used to go to a chiropractor to "re-align" my back.  I always felt pretty good afterwards but now, years later, I remember that what he used to get me to do, was exactly what I had done today in my yoga practise.  How ironic.
Yoga is a beautiful practise.  I always leave my class feeling about six inches taller and I love it.

I will remember this stretch forever and a day......

Laura Campdraft, Races and Rodeo

Last year our friends from Mossman were telling us about their trip to Laura for the annual camp draft, rodeo and races.  They loved it and we all decided that we would go in 2015.
For those that don't know where Laura is, it is about a three hour drive from our place at Julatten.  Laura is a small town with a population of about 120 and is north of Lakeland in Cook Shire, North Queensland.  It is on the only road north towards the tip of Cape York Peninsular and is the centre for the largest collection of prehistoric rock art in the world.
In order for us to get the best camp spot, our friends drove to Laura on Thursday and we did without a doubt, get the best spot.  We had a huge mango tree on one side of us that gave us beautiful shade in the afternoon and we were camped right on the race track, well,  as close as we were allowed which was about five metres from the rail!  We did have a rowdy young mob camp to the other side of us and the police were called to them Friday night at about 1pm to ask them to turn off the music but other than that the camp was perfect.  The rowdy young mob turned out to be from Mossman and one of them did come and apologise to us for the noise.  Saturday night they were as quiet as lambs!
Friday and Saturday morning is the camp draft and barrel races and Saturday afternoon is the races.  Saturday night sees the bull ride under lights and then all day Sunday is the Rodeo.
We enjoyed the weekend very much and will be back in 2016 although next year we will arrive on Wednesday and leave on Monday morning.   We both love the rodeo and it was a shame to only see half of it on Sunday.
Some photos:

The "Tardis" 

Our lunch stop was at the entrance to somebody's property.  We had a chuckle at the sign beside the tree.  Really?  Do people really use his gateway for their toilet stop?

Laura Campdraft

Our camp.  Just visible on the right is the branch of a giant mango tree.

Campsites are all along the racetrack where campers gather to watch the races if you don't feel like getting glammed up!

 

And at the end of the day......nothing better than a campfire to tell yarns around

Bull ride action

Saddle Bronc 

Young fellow cheering his mates

Well that's one way to dismount from a bucking bronc!

And there is always the inevitable cowboy that gets his hand caught in the bull ride as he comes off.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

I know, it sounds weird but in my quest to find uses for the excess of zucchini I stumbled across this cake recipe.....a CHOCOLATE cake recipe!
The first thing that struck me was that it was low carb (sugar) and secondly it was (almost) paleo.  The frosting recipe I adapted slightly because I don't keep almond milk in the pantry.  Instead I used organic whole cream milk.  The recipe called for Stevia that can be purchased at any supermarket these days.  The sweetness of stevia comes from the leaves of the plant making it also a healthy choice.  I didn't have enough stevia for the frosting so I used coconut sugar that I absolutely love.
The cake is beautifully moist from the addition of the zucchini and so delicious.  The cake is not overly sweet so the frosting is just what the cake needs for that little hit of sweetness.  You can enjoy this cake because it is low sugar and healthy!

So here is the recipe.

GERMAN CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE

from www.lowcarbyum.com

Cake:

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 cup cacoa

1/2 cup Stevia Sweetener

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup coconut oil, liquified

4 large eggs, beaten

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups zucchini, shredded and drained

Pecan Coconut Frosting:

1 egg yolk

1/2 cup almond milk

1/4 tsp xanthan gum

1/2 cup sweetener (I used coconut sugar)

1/4 cup butter

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Method:

Stir together coconut flour, cacoa, sweetener, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

Mix in eggs, coconut oil and vanilla until well blended.  Stir in zucchini.

Pour mixture into greased pan (I used a springform)

Bake at 180 degrees celsius for about 40 minutes or until skewer inserted into centre comes out clean.

Frosting:

Combine milk, sweetener, egg yolk and butter in a saucepan.  Heat over medium heat.  When bubbles form, sprinkle in xantham gum. Continue heating until thickened.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla, coconut and pecans.

Spread mixture over cooled cake.

A bountiful supply of Zucchini.

The gardener has built another vegetable garden, this one up against the cattle yards.  It is probably the best possible spot for a vegetable garden.  The cattle yards are slightly uphill from the garden so when it rains we get all the beautiful run-off of liquid manure!

Trudi has planted cucumber, tomatoes, eggplant, sweet potato, pumpkin and zucchini.  All of these plants require minimum water but a lot of space.  The zucchinis are huge plants and we have three of them.  You can imagine how many zucchini's they produce!

Tomorrow morning I am going to get up early and harvest the zucchini flowers.  I will stuff them with a ricotta mixture for our lunch and will let you know how they go.  But for today I made a Beef and Zucchini Lasagne.  This recipe was once again from "Clean Living Fast Food".  You can purchase the cookbook HERE.  The zucchini takes the place of the usual lasagne sheets and it is very delicious without the calories.  So here is the recipe.

BEEF AND ZUCCHINI LASAGNE

2 tablespoons coconut oil

500g beef mince

2 large red unions, chopped

1 tablespoon dried mixed herbs

6 overripe tomatoes, chopped

1 cup homemade beef stock

1 bunch basil, leaves picked and chopped

4 zucchini, sliced lengthwise

BECHAMEL

50g butter

1 tablespoon arrowroot

1.5 cups almond milk (I used full cream organic cows milk)

1 egg yolk

Preheat your oven to 200 degrees celsius.

Melt the coconut oil in a large deep frying pan over high heat and add the mince.  Cook, breaking up any lumps with the back of a spoon, for 10 minutes or until cooked and deep golden.  Add the onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes or until softened.

Reduce the heat to medium-low.  Stir in the dried herbs, tomato and beef stock.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes or until the sauce has reduced by two-thirds.  Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the basil.  Season with sea salt and ground black pepper.

Layer a third of the meat sauce in a 6cm deep, 22cm square baking dish.  Top with a layer of zucchini. Repeat the layers twice more making sure you finish with a layer of zucchini. Set aside.

To make the béchamel, melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat.  Stir in the arrowroot and cook for 30 seconds.  Pour in the milk and whisk together for 3-4 minutes or until the sauce thickens and is smooth.  Remove the pan from the heat.  Season with sea salt and ground black pepper.  Whisk in the egg yolk until well combined.

Pour the béchamel over the zucchini in the dish and level the surface.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the zucchini is cooked and the béchamel is golden.  Rest in the dish for 5 minutes, then serve.

Cairns Ironman 70.3

All the hard training that Philip has been doing over the past six months culminated this weekend in the Ironman 70.3.  Philips team, Tri-Umphants, do the half ironman that comprises of a 1.9km swim (Tracey) 90km ride (Philip) and 20km run (Mark).  The day was wet and windy but that did not dampen the team enthusiasm.
Tracey set the pace for the team with a cracking swim of 37.35 mins, breaking last years time by almost 5 minutes.  The transition of swim to cycle was just 3 minutes so I did not have enough time to get to the bike exit to take a photo of Philip before he left!  Philip did his ride in just over 3 hours.  He had a soul-destroying head wind for a lot of the way home so his time was fantastic.  Our new team member, Mark,  who arrived from New Zealand just days before the race ran a great race in 1 hour 42 mins.  So team Tri-Umphant registered a final overall time of 5hrs 27min 38sec which brought them in at 48th position out of 213 competing teams and 26th in their category.  This was a wonderful result for the team and I am so very proud of each and every one of them.

The half ironman bike transition area......just a sea of bikes

The swim leg at Palm Cove

Tracey looking good after the swim.  Two of her children, Jasmine and James were right there to cheer her on.

Philip crossing the finish line of the bike leg

A wave for the photographer!

The team runner, Mark, crossing the line with Philip and Tracey joining him for the last 50 metres.

A triumphant Team Tri-Umphant!