Category: Posts

A frog expedition …

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Last night Bellinger Landcare  ran a field evening for frogaholics … and I discovered that I am definitely not the only lunatic in the valley !!

After a facts, photos and frog calls briefing by local ecologist and frog enthusiast Brian Hawkins, we disinfected our boots (to avoid spreading the deadly Chytridiomycosis virus) and ventured up to Tamarind Drive in North Bellingen to track down some local frogs.  If you didn’t know what we were doing, you’d swear we were discovering gold nuggets the way we carried on when we spotted a frog.  I’m amazed that they didn’t all panic and hop away.  But they didn’t, and we recorded eight different frog calls, including the endangered Giant Barred Frog.

Not bad for a small stream and lagoon system right in the middle of town.  It seems that the Bellinger Valley is the second most frog diverse spot in Australia, with over 30 species and a relatively stable population. This all bodes well for the future of my frog pond…

DSCN3308 (1024x768)

Lilly Pilly Cocktails …

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DSCN3872 (1024x768)Lilly Pillys are probably my favourite australian native tree.  Usually fast growing, they are attractive to birds and bees, the flowers are beautiful, and now I’ve discovered that the berries make the most delicious cordial.  Not that I actually drink cordial … but I can tell you that on a hot night, a slurp of chilled Lilly Pilly Cordial and a sprig of bruised mint in a glass of dry sparkling wine is a wonderful thing. And I’m sure this still counts as “bush tucker” !!

This batch of cordial was made from Cascade Lilly Pilly berries.  The Cascade being a cross between two stars of the lilly pilly world – the Powerderpuff (syzygium willsonii) and the Riberry (syzygium luehmannii).  I planted both Cascade and Powderpuffs when I moved in, so the next batch will come from one of the many un-identified and slightly tarter lilly pillys growing at the back of the property.

Lilly Pilly Cordial

Just double or triple the ingredients according to how many berries you have
I had only a cupful and this made up approximately 650 mls of cordial

1 cup of lilly pilly fruit – rinsed to remove bugs and twigs
2 cups water
½  teaspoon tartaric acid
1 cup sugar & the juice of 1 lemon

Sterilise an empty clear wine bottle by filling it with boiling water in your sink.  Leave it for a few minutes then empty and put in the oven on a low heat to dry.  Use mitts of course!!

Meanwhile put all the ingredients into a saucepan and boil for about 5 minutes. The colour will gradually seep out of the berries and into the liquid turning it a delicate pink.

Remove from the heat and spoon the fruit into a strong sieve over a mixing bowl. Mash the berries gently with a wooden spoon, removing the seeds with a fork as they pop out.  Continue mashing until you force all the paste through the sieve.  Then pour the hot liquid through the sieve and into the bowl to remove the last of the paste.

Take the bottle from the oven (mitts again) and pour in the hot liquid using a funnel.  Seal and turn upside down for a few seconds.  Allow to cool.  As there are no preservatives (other than sugar) in the cordial, it should be kept in the fridge.  You can make a “virgin” cocktail by adding fizzy lemonade instead of champagne.

Powderpuff Lilly Pilly

You can’t fool a frog …

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This frog hiatus idea is not really working is it ?

RSCN3701Since I first thought I heard him calling in the rain two months ago, I’ve made a few attempts to simulate a tropical downpour (stop laughing!!).  But you can’t fool a frog, especially when he comes from the precipitous North.  Only a genuine tropical downpour will do.  And finally, last night, following a week of oppressively hot and humid days, we had a spectacular thunderstorm followed by heavy rain.

His call was hard to distinguish from the calls of SIX other species, but I was pretty sure it was him.  So out into the rain I went, and now I have it … a confirmed sighting of a Dainty Tree Frog, also known as a Banana Frog for its habit of stowing away in boxes of bananas transported south from Queensland.  This apparently happens so often that there is a Lost Frogs Home  set up to rescue shivering frogs who have been accidentally relocated South.

So … I’m thinking that SEVEN species of frogs in one pond is probably the maximum that  I could reasonably expect ???

A bucket of frog spawn …

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Yes I know … I promised not to mention the “F” word for a while.  But last night after a week of hot humid days, it finally rained and there was once again pondemonium. So I couldn’t resist a nocturnal photographic expedition …

Unfortunately my camera battery gave out mid-way so I had to rush back into the house to get my iPhone – which took an suprisingly good photo of what is probably an immature Dwarf Green Tree Frog.  It is sitting on a blade of grass, which gives you an idea of just how tiny it is.  My first baby sighting – very exciting!

As usual the Common Green (Dunny) Frogs were at it again.  They obviously don’t understand the meaning of “ornamental” because this morning I had to relocate a bucket load of frog spawn from an ornamental pond to a more suitable location.

There’s frog spawn in the big pond, in the overflow pond, in the ornamental pond near my front door and now in what was intended to be a bird bath.

I wonder if this is getting slightly out of control ??????