Well sad news – the lying rodent Howard [John Howard] is back in power with more seats!!!!

How can I ever go back to Australia in the next 4 years when my fellow ozzies cannot see thru their wallets and understand the ways that this rat Howard used to win another term (his 4th!!) (as Prime Minister). Throwing dollars at swinging voters and promising that rainforests will only be half destroyed by chainsaws. I am ashamed that people can vote for a party who’s leader lied about so many things and will not admit he was wrong or can never bring himself to say sorry to the Aboriginal people for the sins of the past.

Well Conrad it is up to the USA to stop Howardís boss -from being reelected!!!!
Can they do it?????

Now back to the weather and surf report: we took a quick trip up to the surf beach and a few hardy souls were braving the 15c temps to ride a .5 metre swell, while this morning itís drizzle in the valley as the sun wrestles with the clouds to peek thru and shine down on us.

When it stops drizzling I will walk up to our block of dirt and check out the fruit trees – lemons, fejios (planted by us last year) and the hardy guavas planted by seed-eating birds!!

By the way, in Oz:

A term for Mr. Howard is 3 years, and it is preferential voting. Howard heads the Liberal Party-arch conservative. They seem to have won a majority in the senate-our upper house where pre election the minor parties controlled the senate and therefore were the watchdogs on legislation. I voted labor and gave my 2nd preference to the greens who held the balance of power in the senate with the democrats. Sadly the democrats were decimated thus giving control to the Liberal party, so they can pass legislation without any checks and balances. Such as labor/workplace reform – watch out unions!!! Also sell off the rest of the 51% of the government Telco, and watch prices take off like an exocet missile!!!

Anyway, the thing I have to learn to get used to is the cold.
After the tropical heat of Darwin.
Cold toilet seats, not a problem before.
In Darwin. I always liked to drip dry after a shower, now I do not wanna get out!!! And I really want a heated floor and heated towel rail.

Otherwise the changes are the green green countryside, after the parched tropical scrub country of the top end of Oz.

The block of land we intend to build on has views out to Matapouri Bay, and in the distance the Poor Knight’s islands, a protected marine reserve which catches the last traces of the warm currents of the Great Barrier reef of OZ, and so has abundant fish and coral.
Anyway off to hunt for a job,

Till next time
Luv all round

FEIJOA SELLOWIANA – Feijoa, Pineapple Guava

This evergreen shrub or small tree from South America is a useful landscape ornamental with its showy flowers and grey-green leaves. It is hardy and withstands 14?F. The fruit has green skin covered with white powder, is oblong to 3″ and has sweet/acid white pulp. It should be harvested immediately after it falls. (Holding out your hand is the “tongue-in-cheek” recommended method.) It is eaten fresh, makes a good jelly or the pureed pulp dries to a flavorful leather. See Feijoa

A line from All’s Well that Ends Well: “He will lie, sir, with such volubility that you would think truth were a fool.” from a NZ paper.

Till next time
Phil