Time flies when you don’t update the website…. However, I can claim that my time has been used wisely. I have been putting down loads of chilli, herb, fruit and vegetable seed. I have been loving the rain, and even having to cut grass!!!
I have also started looking after orphan bats. I am with Bat Rescue Gold Coast which is an organisation dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation and release of orphan and injured bats. I currently have two babies, Ziggy and Gypsy,who are growing at an alarming rate, and are keeping me very busy. They will be released in the new year and start their real bat life. Bats play a major role in the distribution of seed and pollenation, and the threat to them by destruction of habitat is scary. Should you find an injured bat, please don’t touch it, as it MAY carry the Australasian Bat Lyssavirus (ABL). It is far better to call Bat Rescue (in Qld), the RSPCA (1300animal) or any other wildlife organisations in your area for guidance and assistance. All rescuers have been vaccinated against ABL. For more information visit www.batrescue.org.au.
The Chillies are also growing at an alarming rate. This year we are bursting at the seams with fatali, congo trinidad, serrano, inca berry and aji limon, just to mention a few. The nagas are coming along, they are always slow to grow. The bhuts however, have not performed as well as I had expected. We will keep trying however. Hopefully soon they will burst forth with flower and fruit and surprise us all.
School is almost over here and we are all busy with preparations for end of school year and Christmas. I keep finding new recipes for all things chilli and have to keep reminding myself that my christmas visitors won’t necessarily be as excited by eating and experimenting with chilli as Jim and I are.
The school markets are on Sunday December 16 opposite Tamborine Mountain State School on the corner of Curtis and Long Roads, North Tamborine. I couldn’t make the last markets as I was not well, but I will be there on the sixteenth with loads of fresh and smoked chillies to try. Hopefully we will see you there.