According to Steve Maginnity, stingless Australian native bees are more laid-back than their busy European counterparts. They won’t work when the temperature is under 15C or over 35C. They don’t swarm aimlessly, rather they send out scouts to locate and prepare a suitable new nest. And instead of supplying the larvae continuously with food, they seal the egg in a cell with pollen and honey and the larvae just eats its way out. She’ll be right mate !!
All this and more I learnt at the Botanica Fair, part of the Coffs Coast Sustainable Living Festival which was opened on Sunday by the hugely enthusiastic and hirsute (or is that hugely hirsute and enthusiastic ?) Costa Georgiadis of ABC Gardening Australia fame.
The hirsute one himself
Costa Gorgeous the scarecrow
A Bush Tucker walk along Coffs Creek with Ranger (and comedian in disguise) Mark Flanders, a member of the local Gumbaynggir tribe, convinced me that no-one would ever get fat on an indigenous diet. And all that hunting and gathering certainly worked up an appetite for some carbohydrate-rich locally grown food … Thai chicken satay, raspberry sorbet and organic coffee. Oh well, at least the food miles were low !!
Now back to the bees … it seems that I have everything I need to induce solitary bees to nest in my garden. Bamboo prunings, left-over lumps of renovation timber and a drill with three or four different sized drill bits. Yet another project to add to the list.
I know it’s a little unusual to list your neighbour’s house on your blog, but when you read on you will see why I’ve taken this course of action.
Here’s the story … My neighbours are in their mid-70’s and not in the best of health, they are reluctantly thinking of selling up and moving to Coffs Harbour where they will be closer to suitable facilities. Several years ago they were offered $500,000 by a developer who wanted to sub-divide, cut down their mini-rainforest and build 5 more houses on the block!! Understandably both they and I were horrified at the thought of their rainforest being destroyed.
In February 2014, they plan to list their house with a local agent. Unfortunately this agent overprices properties in order to win the listing. He is talking of listing at $575,000 but they are more realistic and are hoping for around $550,000. The house is quite well maintained and easily rentable in its current condition. When sold, Brian & Averil would be interested in renting back whilst they look for a place they like in Coffs Harbour.
Living in this street is like living in the bush but with the facilities of a small town (3,000 people) nearby. Every property in the street is between one and two acres and so far, no-one has sub-divided. The street is home to frogs, birds, bandicoots, bats, possums and even a few wallabies. We would all like to preserve our little piece of paradise.
Here are the good and bad points of the house :
Good …
extremely quiet, flood-free, cul-de-sac location
one of the best streets in Bellingen
underground street power and lighting
1.3 acres of land
rainforest trees and a nice basic garden surrounding the house
views of the mountains – the house is North facing
a veranda runs the full North side of the house
walking distance to town
almost flat block
town water and sewer and rubbish collection
large workshop/garage under the house
brick construction – inoffensive cream/stone bricks
room to extend either up or out or to convert the workshop under the house
3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and a separate toilet
walk-in wardrobe
raked ceiling in the lounge giving the illusion of more space
9 foot/2.7 metre ceilings in the rest of the house
great rental proposition in its current state if you didn’t want to move in yet
fabulous neighbours – especially me !!
Not so good …
the house is small and could do with updating as it was built in the late 80’s
being an 80’s house it’s not architecturally attractive – but it’s not ugly either
the galley kitchen is quite small
the veranda needs some maintenance work – painting or oiling of timber
the under house garage/workshop is open on one side
some other general maintenance required – not major
ride-on mower would be required unless you are a fitness-fanatic!
Brian & Averil are not yet ready for inside photos, but if you want to be kept updated or would like further information, please use the Leave a Comment button to let me know. And feel free to forward this information to any of your friends whom you think might be inspired to buy a house in this particularly beautiful part of Australia.
When approached, they freeze, stick their heads in the air and shut their eyes. Mostly this form of disguise works because their plumage matches the bark of the tree and their shape is almost indistinguishable from that of a branch. But the pair that has taken up part-time residence in my banana tree hasn’t caught on to the fact that brown stands out quite well against a background of green!
These two de-camped when their roosting spot, a huge old turpentine tree on my neighbour’s property, was cut down. I won’t get into the “which was there first the tree or the house?”, or even the “should you have built your house under a massive tree with branches as thick as a small human?” arguments …
Anyway, their loss is my gain. So I mow, clatter around with my wheelbarrow and even use my leaf blower a mere three metres below them, and apart from a few reproachful looks, there they sit with eyes resolutely shut.
My second visit to the Sticky Rice Cooking School in the Adelaide Hills several years ago was just as delicious and enjoyable as the first. The Sticky Rice school is situated in an old converted shop and residence in Stirling. The premises have been beautifully decorated in a modern Asian style with a smart dining room, a huge well equipped catering kitchen and a small shop selling spices, cookbooks and accoutrements. Thankfully, I managed to resist the temptation to buy yet another cook book !!
This time instead of a Thai Banquet, we cooked a Moroccan Feast …
Using ingredients sourced locally and mostly at Adelaide’s famed Central Markets, Barossa Valley chef Mark McNamara guided us through the preparation of nine Moroccan dishes – preserved lemons, harissa, warm green olives with pickled lemons, fresh sardine tagine with harissa, chicken & almond pastilla, Moroccan country style bread, tagine of lamb with saffron & thyme, couscous with green peas & butternut and a coiled almond and rosewater pastry. Every dish was a delight, simple to prepare and will probably be added to my repertoire.
The unexpected highlight of the day was the tangy warm green olive dish … which as Mark said, would convert an olive hater to an olive lover.
We cooked for a while, ate and drank for a while, cooked a bit more and ate and drank a bit more, then stumbled out into the late afternoon sun, satiated and thinking that a quick nap might be next on the agenda …
A Bellingen Diary 