Our guides at Uluru

this is Robert. He was adorable!

Stevie is fantastic to travel with because he does it right. When we were to take a tour around the Rock he said we will get aboriginal guides. And so we did. There were 6 of us "whitees" and a wonderful family headed up on this tour by Jenny the mother, telling us the story of 2 serpents, one male and one female, and showing us the Rock features that corresponded with each detail. This, by the way, must have been a non- secret story, because so many of the Aboriginal myths are never repeated to outsiders. Robert, their son was a regular 5 year old , I would guess, interrupting, running around, smiling for the camera. Cameras--pictures, interesting footnote.

We were advised that taking pictures of aboriginals was rude and unacceptable. Jenny, at the start of our time together, said we had paid for our tour ($116 per person -3 hours) and we were welcome to take pictures. As we walked around the Rock, other tourists would snap a picture of her and she was warlike--stop! we are not animals! --

Uluru (Ayer's Rock)

Uluru (Ayer's Rock) stands by itself, out of no where, about 4 hours out of Alice Springs. It changes colors red to purple, white to gray.

the Aboriginals have complex stories that relate to all the features of the Rock. Most are secret. The men and women go through a Masonic-like stepping stone system, only learning the next story after they have completed the ritual and initiation of the one before it. they ask visitors NOT to climb on the Rock, since it has a spiritual significance ( most fat americans couldn't do it anyway--39 people have died climbing the "stairs"-- mostly heartattack or heat exhaustion) but the Australian government/northern territory park service have not taken down the chained steep path although signs are everywhere asking you not to climb. We didn't. ( I wouldn't have been able to do it, though I am not that fat-- I didn't want to.)

the red center of Oz

Outside our cottage

This is our back porch! See my garden in the sand ( not much dirt here, lots of sand)! In the right corner is a red bottle brush tree under which is my worm farm. By the door is a three layer sign," bee happy, bee fruitful, bee blessed".

Outside our cottage

this weekend we added these shades to the back. It is so hot and the sun heats the back bricks to the extent you can not touch them with your bare hand.--so imagine what the kitchen feels like! These shades have lowered the kitchen temp 10 to 15 degrees. In front of the shade is my lemon tree. We have harvested one already! Lemon trees grow really well in pots and do best if some one pees on them weekly--no kidding!

outside our cottage

Our outhouse was built at the same time the cottage was built--beautiful brick! Stevie says well into the 40's the outhouses had a bucket and the Night Cart Man came dressed in a rubber suit and emptied the bucket. All the homes in the older part of our village have alleys behind them. When a flush toilets was added to our cottage, the owners at the time, also added a flush toilet into the outhouse. it is pink!

Outside our cottage

this is my own personnal beehive! a few weeks ago we saw a feral swarm on the fence across the street.

Stevie captured it. Yesterday, we killed the queen and this morning we added a new queen. The bees are very black

Queens cost about $15.

Outside our little cottage

This is our shed out the back. Stevie made the table. Everyone here names their homes--so we named our shed. On the left are the beeboxes we had irradiated. they had to be double wrapped in black plastic