herbs and the value of people

Kate has flown off to Brissy and it was rather interesting going to the little airport... only on Flinders would you end up meeting and chatting to 4 sets of people (I think there were 3 people there we did not talk to or know) when seeing off a friend. It was an interesting view of the dynamics of what makes the island work. It is its community. It is a very fragile social environment and is actually enormously dependent on the general goodwill and 'mate-ship' of a relatively small number of people. Any society has its share of bludgers who put in as little as possible. Shrug. Those we have with us always. It's the others that matter, and the island is lucky to have a good few of them - but unlike the city, that's a fairly small and very finite resource. The Doctors and their son, who have managed to bind into the community, were on the plane out. So was the vet. So were some of the island's small population of children. The knock ons to three of the community things we belong to just from that handful are dire. The children are leaving and that is dreadful for the school, the others, to my relief, will be back. But it does remind you that this is an island, an isolated place on the edge. People have value, the way that they do not in the city, or even the mainland.

We went and made 'tea' AKA lunch for a sick friend (yet another person the island simply has no replacement for), and then took up an invitation from Peter to come see their place - which is off grid, powered by a wind-turbine we can see from here. Dave spent the afternoon being hopelessly envious of the tools. Sigh. We're a long way up from nothing (like when we started) but a long long way from where I need to be. Their house on the hill is beautiful - made of solid double-tongued cedar... from Canada. Ah well. One day. I will say that their wind-turbine is quite loud. That hadn't occured to me. And then they gave us some rosemary plants which I hope will establish. We've now got rosemary, sage, thyme, mint, oregano, lavender, parsley (moss curled and italian) tarragon and fennel growing. Obviously we still need basil and a bay tree, but fresh herbs are making strides. Garlic chives might be another experiment. The tomatoes are growing from seed in my study, but I have had no other major seed-growing experiments come up yet, but you can see spring is stirring.

Doggy blue (means 'fight'?)

Well, doggy updates -- they are in Sydney. And Wednesday and Puggles had a 'blue' and both needed to be checked out by a vet. Ah well. They're all fine. Expensive but fine.

We've had a couple of sets of visitors today. The 'drop in' is something we miss a bit, but maybe we're starting to get there. We had young Jeremy and his son Harry this evening(who is the sort of toddler that could encourage childless couples to have 6. Good natured, friendly, easy going and bright.) B and I are fond of kids anyway, so we did the pre-grandparent turn-to-goo.

The olives are all bottled and labelled and put in the back dark corner. They're in strong herbed brine, and should spend at least a couple of weeks in that before we possibly re-brine (less concentrated salt) or transfer into olive oil and vinegar/lemon and/or various aromatics. Now is the hardest part of the process - waiting to see if it all worked out. We have to wait at least a week before trying them.

We did a big freezer clean-out/ sort with the two secondhand wire baskets we bought - the freezer is full. We're doing our best not to overstep any of the fisheries regs with forgotten stuff in corners. Of course some like squid is just damned awkward. We divide squid into tentacles, tubes and wings. Wings are mostly for bait, and the others are cut into serving amounts. So Barbs's battle mother is in 7 bags. (3 tube, 2 tentacle, 2 wing). They're all dated, but not all together. We're supposed to have a personal possession limit of 15. So... 15 what? At the moment we're using bait slowly, because we have our near our quota of wrasse, and we haven't been after flathead for a while. I'm sure we have less than 15 tubes(I'm not even sure that's 15 each -which makes sense or 15 total - which doesn't, but we try and abide by). I'm still a Fisheries Scientist at heart and try and keep to the rules. They're not really designed around (or for) people like us. Gee. What a surprise. We don't fit again.

I've started drying some bunches of herbs against the cold killing off our stock. I need to take Quilly's advice and move some indoors or at least into shelter next to the house... but well, writing, visitors. There is a finite amount of time - speaking of which, back to work. Vet bills to pay :-(

Dangerous stuff

... in very small quantities. My friend Pete Hawkes who is an Entomologist who works on ants has sent me a bunch of sample bottles with preserving alcohol (do not drink this). Ant size of course. From South Africa. It got opened by Australian customs, before being sent on (there is a sticker on the envelope). So I am now probably listed as highly suspicious and dubious person, if I wasn't before. Pete didn't even put a note in the envelope, to explain why he was sending 10 little jars - like 3 ml in each, and a bunch of sealing plastic envelopes. Must have puzzled the customs officer no end. I think I might try a note in the ant-return (they're for specimens of the various local ants - particularly big (maybe 3/4") solitary seeming things.) Of course it has turned icy - wind off the snow on Tassie I reckon so not an ant to be seen. Or maybe it was me sneezing at them. The snot will not GO AWAY.

On the garden front - I finally gave up and pulled out the cucumber plants - we got 4 cucumbers (accidents) and a couple of jars of gerkins (what I had hoped to get off them). Not bad for planting in mid-January though. Tomatoes should be dead... but I got 3 more little coctail ones which will be welcome. This year tinned tomato is kind of 'allowed' as really we only got here after the season. But we're being sparing on it. Reality allows the Zucchini a few more days tops and they too will go to the compost - one of them just flowered and 3 of 5 have little Zucchini. And hold thumbs - 4 jalapeno chilis FINALLY going red. Veg is slowing down though. I still have sliverbeet (swiss chard), carrots, fennel, beetroot, leeks, spring onions, a little lettuce, very very peppery chinese cabbage, some parsnips, snow peas, feeble spinach (curses) and broccoli. And potatoes and broad beans -- the last two not looking anything like ready yet. I think I'd better harvest some thyme and parsley (the parsley just LOVES this place - thyme - which I use a lot of less so. We will politely avoid mentioning mint as it has all DIED. What kind of gardner can't grow mint? And I have a severe lack of rosemary, a situation only forgivable by the price of lamb here.