Well at least the chook's house is getting built! S's ex aunt-in-law has come to stay, being a veteran chook woman herself, and has declared she is not leaving until its finished! And it is going quite slowly... so in the meantime we have a very full house and are creeping around in the mornings and shushing all the kiddies so they don't wake her up at the crack of dawn.

Don't ask - we are still waiting for more quotes for tree removal and the construction certificate from the council - they made us pay another few hundred dollars and produce 18 copies of our plans with the new location of our water tank marked in red to warn all the neighbours. S is now in doubt as to whether she will be able to stay in her house after all - a property settlement with the ex is looming. So the humans are in accommodation limbo, but at least the poultry will be safe and warm!

We've discovered treasure in the bush across the road from us - Pine mushrooms! aka Saffron Milk Caps, Lactarius deliciosus and Blue Mountains blood mushrooms. "Up to 20 centimetres in diameter, the cap is orange and bears distinct concentric zones of a slightly darker shade. Its gills and flesh are orange-red to pinkish-apricot and, when broken open, exude a bright orange latex. Those of a melancholy nature say this fungus weeps orange tears." (from the State Forest website). Well, we were weeping tears of joy (well, almost) when we stumbled over these gourmet goodies! S. took one along to the chemist to get a positive ID on it and they sent her to the local veg shop who happily confirmed the edible nature of this particular fungus. We have very fond memories of wandering amongst the pine trees in the Spanish sierra with our many cousins and poking among the pine needles for a glimpse of the orange delicacy. "Niscalos!" we would hear someone crying out in excitement every few minutes and we would come running, hoping to unearth a few more under the same tree. I must admit though - I actually found my first one only the other day - I guess I just wasn't persistent enough in my younger days. We carried them home carefully in buckets, removed the stems, gave them a wipe and tossed them quickly in hot olive oil with garlic and salt - mmmm mmmmmmm! Even kids who are dedicated mushroom haters will succumb to these tasty morsels.