Our Queenslander

I've been practising some night photography and the perfect subject is my beautiful home. 

We moved to Paradise (and our new home) almost six years ago.  To build and design my own home was a dream come true.  After thirty years of marriage I had some very strict criteria.......there should be a large entertainment area off the kitchen and the house should be small enough on the inside to not take me days to clean!  I ended up with two and half bedrooms (the other half became an office) two bathrooms a nice big laundry and open plan living area. A verandah on all four sides plus a rotunda made it just perfect!  

Sunbirds

I had to stand very quietly inside my house to take a photo of these little sunbirds.  They were having a lovely time taking nectar out of the flowers in my pot plant.  The plant is on a glass top table and I love the way the little sunbird is looking at a reflection of himself.  

Further to my post yesterday regarding the scammer I have a feeling of satisfaction that I have reported the scammer to the authorities and have contacted yahoo who will close his email account.  At least it will slow him down a little.  Still doesn't help my wallet but I have put it down to a very expensive lesson.

I've been SCAMMED!

Today I was scammed.  I am so angry with myself and even more so with the scammer.  How could I let this happen!  All the warning signs where there, but I chose to ignore them.

This is how it happened.  I had advertised an outdoor setting on a reputable website.  It had been advertised for three months and I was getting frustrated that it hadn’t sold.  I received an email from someone called Jacob Luis who asked if the item was still for sale.  I replied that it was.  He then emailed back that he would like to purchase it for his father and could he pay with PayPal.  As I had a PayPal account I emailed him an invoice for the agreed amount.  He then emailed me back to say that he had deposited the funds into my PayPal account plus an extra amount of $500.  He asked that I take $400 of this money and send via Western Union to a freight company that he was dealing with.  He couldn’t do this himself because he was at sea.  (I know……it’s starting to sound dodgy, but I really wanted to sell the furniture!)  He also said that he had advised PayPal of the Western Union deal and PayPal would release the funds when I sent them a copy of the Western Union receipt, which I did.

Now, through all of this I was receiving emails from PayPal confirming each and every step and when I sent the WU receipt PayPal notified me that the funds would now be released into my PayPal account.

It was not until I received another email from Jacob Luis telling me that he had deposited an additional $500 into my PayPal account and would I please also send this money to his freight company via WU to cover insurance that I started to smell a rat.  I rang PayPal and they asked me to send all the “PayPal” emails to them for verification.  My worst nightmare, they were all fakes.

So, I am out of pocket many $$$$$$’s with no way of tracking this man and his accomplice Lynn M Smits. 

I am posting this on my blog in the hope that I may save someone else the heartache that I am feeling.  Not only for the loss of the money but the loss of trust that I now have.  I will NEVER be fooled again and it will take me a long time to trust emails, PayPal and online sale sites.

PS

I did respond to the last request for money.  I gave him a phony WU receipt number and I gave him the local police station address for the supposed pick-up.  I also gave the police station phone number as my contact.

Just for everyone’s interest, here is a copy of the document I received from “PayPal”.

De-Cluttering my Wardrobe

It had to happen.  It got to the point where I would stand in my wardrobe and look at the all to many clothes and couldn't find anything to wear!  I started reading (a lot!) about how to start the enormous task of de-cluttering.  Most said to just take everything out of the wardrobe and lay it on the bed.  I new this wouldn't work for me as I would be totally overwhelmed so I just started to work through methodically. Dresses first, then trousers, Jackets, good tops and then the cubes where I keep t-shirts, yard clothes, PJ's etc etc.  Surprisingly, it didn't take as long as I thought it would and after getting rid of three garbage bags of clothes I am really happy with the result.  I even have three empty cubes!  I will sell some of the clothes on e-bay to give me a little cash to replenish but the majority of the clothes will go to Vinnies.
Here is the end result.

Hercules

Paradise......right where I live, and today was amazing.  Beautiful clear skies with just a hint of winter in the air this morning.  
We had such a lovely lunch yesterday at the Tin Shed in Port Douglas with our friends from the UK.  Over quite a few beers, white wine and fish & chips we discussed all the things that we have in common.
Quiet day today as DH packed his suitcase for his trip to our Julia Creek property tomorrow and contemplated the trip ahead of him....a very long 12 hour drive via Townsville. 
However, DH can't sit still for long so he decided to spray the weeds in our house paddock that have got out of control after the very wet season.  DH has nicknamed his tractor "Hercules" as it does a mighty job.

Weeds are almost as high as Hercules!

Adelaide to Darwin on the Ghan

We had a wedding to attend in Darwin so we decided to fly to Adelaide and board the Ghan to Darwin.  What a wonderful experience.  Three days and two nights with stopovers in Alice Springs and Katherine.  We went Platinum Class and would recommend anyone contemplating travelling on the Ghan to look at the upgrade.  

Our Cabin

 This is the cabin.  The first thing you smell when you enter the room is the wonderful aroma of polished timber. The cabins are compact (it is of course a TRAIN!) but have a very well thought out plan.  Where DH is sitting folds down into a quite comfortable double bed that is made up for you each evening while you are eating dinner.

The Ensuite

Each cabin has its own en-suite. This is also very compact but well designed with a full size shower and toilet (NOT fold-down).  There is only room for one person at a time, but hey, what the heck.
The ensuite is cleaned every morning to its sparkling best and of course we are issued with clean towels if you so wish.  We decided against this.




The food was quite good considering the size of the galley that the chefs have to cook in.  The dining room itself was very plush with lots of gold leaf and of course the views from the windows as you travel along are amazing.

Dining at its best

We meet some wonderful people on board the Ghan. It became the norm for us to meet in the bar for drinks each evening prior to dinner and to chat about our day before dinner.

The Alice
Our first stop was Alice Springs.  The tour we chose took us to the original Alice Springs goal and to the Overland Telegraph station just outside Alice Springs.  We also had a photo opportunity at the highest point in Alice where this photo was taken. 

The next day was Katherine where we had chosen a trip to the Katherine Gorge.  Unfortunately for all onboard, we were given the news by the head steward that we would not have enough time in Katherine to go on our chosen tour.  The Ghan was slowed down the previous night by a slow moving freight train in front and would not arrive in Darwin on time if we had the allotted time in Katherine.  It didn't make sense to me but who was I to argue. We did however decide to come back to Katherine the day after we arrived in Darwin.  We booked a bus tour and were very glad that we did.  Katherine Gorge was amazing.

Katherine Gorge

Darwin is a lovely city and has changed dramatically in the years since cyclone Tracy.  We were told by our bus tour guide that Darwin was completely re-designed after the cyclone with many more high rise buildings able to stand the brunt of a cyclone.  The new harbour area is beautiful and we enjoyed coffee and cake at one of the many restaurants.  We stayed at Cullen Bay Apartments that are looking a little bit tired but nonetheless still a nice place to stay.  This sunset photo was taken from one of the many restaurants at Cullen Bay. 

Sunset at Cullen Bay

Delila

Let me introduce you to Delila.  
She lost her mother when she was very young and was hand reared by our head stockman and his wife on our Julia Creek property.  As she grew it became apparent that she had special qualities and would fit nicely into our Droughtmaster Stud so she was brought over here to our property at Julatten.  She is growing out nicely and will be joined to our stud bull when she is at the right size and weight.  She is very quiet and when we go for our morning walk she almost always comes up to say hello.  This photo was taken this morning.

Police Beat

Almost every Sunday morning the road that we live on becomes a speedway for motorcyclists.  Today the sun is shining and it is undoubtably the perfect day for motorcyclists to get on their motorbikes in Cairns and travel north to Port Douglas along one of the most magnificent scenic drives in the world.  They have breakfast in Port and then travel inland to Mareeba and down the Kuranda range to Cairns.  It is indeed the perfect ride.  
Gee, I really used to love motorbikes.  I rode pillion for many years and found it exhilarating.  But now that I'm in my fifties I can see the danger in riding these coffins on wheels.  Our house is situated on a straight stretch of the highway and when the motorcyclists reach this section I guarantee that most would be doing at least 160kmh.  It is an accident waiting to happen.  But this morning as I looked out to the road, I cheered, because right outside our gate are our wonderful Police Force (I refuse to use the word Service).  They had a hand-held radar and  they didn't fine anyone that I saw, but just their presence clearly slowed the traffic down.  Well done Queensland Police Force!  You have my utmost respect for a job that is clearly one of the hardest.

A Foggy Morning in Paradise

The dogs and I, and sometimes DH, go for a walk every morning.  On this morning it was a particularly beautiful walk as the fog formed a glorious halo around everything.  My labrador, Hudson, was very photogenic in this shot.  He and Lily (the collie) are forever searching for little lizards in the long grass, and they bound along in front of us sniffing at everything.  DH says the dogs are "reading the mail".

We walk about three kilometres and it takes us about half an hour.  If I have the camera with me it takes an hour!  We walk as far as the paddock we call Two Tree.  This photo most certainly depicts the name of the paddock.  The two trees are dead and they are huge.  When we muster this paddock we are very careful not to got too close to them for fear that one day they might just fall over!

This is a photo of the dam below the house.  I don't usually take a photo of this because we have high voltage power lines running right behind the dam but this morning, thankfully, you couldn't see them because of all the fog.

A most beautiful flower.....

This is what it looks like before it opens....nondescript

About a month ago, a friend gave me a cutting for my garden.  She said that it was a very rare ginger and the flower had a lovely perfume.  You can imagine my utter joy and astonishment when this magnificent flower emerged.  It is one of the most beautiful flowers I've ever seen and the perfume is  wonderfully heady.   I simply had to cut the flower and bring it inside so that I could enjoy both the flower and the perfume that wafts through the house.

My arrangement

And this is what it opens out to.....Mother Nature at it's incredible best!

Dog Wash Cafe

It's that time of the month again... dog wash day!  As soon as our border collie "Lily" sees the shampoo bottle she puts her tail between her legs.  She looks so forlorn, but the strangest thing is that once we start lathering her up she gets this wonderful look of contentment on her face, ahhhhhh!    

Lily is a working dog.
When the quad bike starts up she jumps on behind DH and away they go to muster the cattle.  She understands most  commands but likes being at the back of the mob or "tail".  It is a rarity to find a dog that likes to go to the lead of a mob of cattle, but most working dogs can be trained for to do that. It just takes patience!






Our other dog is "Hudson", a much loved golden labrador.  He is my dog and extremely loyal.  I take, or rather he takes me, for a long walk each morning.  Sometimes, if DH is also walking, Lily tags along but as she is very loyal to DH  she is wherever he is.
Bath time for Hudson is extremely enjoyable.  The only time he moves is if you get water near his ears.....he doesn't like that much.

To Market To Market

The Malanda Showground Saleyard

We sell our cull weaner heifers and steers at around 12 months of age.  This is a premium market plus I love the fact that they are going to someone else to fatten before being sold to the butcher.  I have always disliked fattening an animal for a couple of years and then having to say goodbye to it.  Yes, I'm a softie! Our market for the weaners is at Malanda on the Atherton Tablelands up here in tropical north Queensland.  We take them over to Malanda the day before the sale to allow them to be feed. watered and to settle.  The day of the market they are brought into the arena, a pen at a time, for the bidding to begin.  Our breed of cattle are Droughtmaster, and they are well liked on the tablelands for their ability to fatten at a fast rate. We were happy with the sale results, but then again quiet cattle always bring a premium.

This is a photo of some of our weaner steers - "the boys"

Our babies

We have just done a "wean" here on the farm.  We take the calves, who are now almost a year old, away from their mothers. We keep the weaners in the yards for two weeks and feed them a mixture of weaner meal and hay.

  We start tailing them out into a nearby paddock after the first week.  This is our way of training the weaners. DH goes out on the quad bike each evening to bring them back into the yard for a feed. 


 Eventually they get so used to the sound of the quad bike (which means feed) that when they hear the sound of the quad bike starting up they come  into the yard automatically rather than DH mustering them in. 
The mothers will now be joined to the bulls to (hopefully) fall pregnant.

We love our cattle sooooo much!  We have names for each one of our weaners (given at birth).  Here is a photo of Bayle.  We will grow her out to approx 350kg and she will eventually be joined to one of our bulls.