Heat and flies!

I think I am getting some understanding of what it must be like for a turkey resting in an oven though, I hasten to add, I have not been stuffed!It was very warm last night and I was a bit disappointed because the nights are supposed to be cooler up here on the Granite Belt. I suppose I should be thankful for up here at least the heat is dry whereas in Brisbane the humidity makes it so much worse.I don't know if it was the heat but something certainly caused far more insects than normal to invade Frogknot. They were buzzing round the lights and getting to close and dying and falling onto the table beneath...cooked. There were three bull ants, that I sent back to the great anthill in the sky, and a couple of nippy spiders and just hundreds of flies of all sizes.When we got into bed under our net, which I have never been more grateful of, we saw a frog hopping up on the outside of it too! I think it was attracted by all the flies in the house.I managed some sleep despite the heat.It was already 30 degrees outside at 9.00 am this morning. We opened all the windows that still work and the flies that had joined us the previous evening must have sent out invitations to all their friends because lots more came in. They didn't buzz about or anything. They just lazed about. It was too hot even for flies to fly except when you walked past them and they rose into the air out of necessity.We decided to clear some more cassinia...yes there is still lots left! Our project is to clear a roadway over to our neighbours property as an extra escape route in case of bush fire. There is an old track there but it has just become overgrown in the years Will has been away.We started about 10.30 but gave up at 11.30 as it was just far too hot. I even had a cold shower! I never have a cold shower...although I must admit the water from the dam was not exactly cold but it was lovely and refreshing.We stayed inside with the flies. I went to Middle Earth to remind myself of what really happened to the Hobbit. We saw the second film the other day and I did not recognise anything of the story I knew!Will did some knitting and then I did a bit of tidying up. There was a large dragonfly hanging under one of our lamps...a gate crasher!

A lot of the flies were resting near the 'Pit of Despair'.Have I mentioned the 'Pit of Despair?'It is a corner of the house that has not yet been 'Nickified'. There is a bed up above and underneath, behind a flimsy curtain and an old ABBA wall hanging, are cupboards and a hanging rail for all Will's old clothes. Heaven knows what else lurks there...I have seen him bring out a box of encyclopaedias that had become a termite mansion and I suspect that when Rambo was around he was quite at home in the 'Pit of Despair.' Perhaps that's why there are so many flies...Rambo is decomposing in there!

Sorting out the 'Pit of Despair' is on our list of jobs to do. The idea is to remove everything from under the bed and lower it back to a more normal altitude that I may be happy to sleep in...as long as it is still netted!We headed off about 3.00pm to Girraween, a nearby National Park. It is about 20 minutes drive. We parked up and wandered down to the creek for a swim. Lots of other people had had the same idea but it was not too crowded. We swam for awhile in the lovely cool water before going in search of a more secluded swim spot. There were a few kangaroos about.

We found another pool off the beaten track and had another quieter dip. We could hear the rumble of thunder in the distance and suddenly there was a rushing sound which got closer and a strong wind passed over and around us and then it started to rain a little. The rain was warm.We headed back to the car but found another spot for one more swim before we headed back home. We stopped on the way for an ice cream and when we got back to Glen Aplin were pleased to see that while we had been away there had been a heavy rain shower. The rain gauge said there had been 2mm...better than nothing.It was much cooler now so we headed out to attack the cassinia again. Will had a phone call from Wendi. They had been unable to fix the air con at Dulcie's, something to do with the parts they needed and couldn't do it until next week. Dulcie had gone to stay at Danny's houseI was stung by a paper wasp which had made a nest on one of the bushes. It was really sore but by the time I had walked back to the house for my trusty paw-paw ointment the pain was going away. We worked until about 7.00pm and then had another cold shower.It is too hot to light the fire to heat water.I think it is cooler than last night, there are still flies about. I just realised I had put my drink on the table in the wrong place...directly under the light...and just picked it up and found a moth and two flies having a pool party in my cordial and soda water!