May Rain

G'day!
Nearly half way through May, which means the wet season is finished, and now it doesn't stop raining. However, the wish for cooler weather has been granted and now we are in the woolen socks and cardigan time of the year. Hm, very cozy!! Good news: the middle section of the house has been sanded and recoated and looks fabulous. I love the colour and marking of the Turpentine Pine floors. Beautiful. Work is progressing in other area except the bridge.
Don't get me started, maddening business for a B&B.
Well, we can only hope that the repairs are done sooooooonest, and make more phone calls....
Until next time.

Cow Bay --The Name

G'day !!
Right we are in April and seeing the weather is always topical, we did have cool days and nights before Easter, and since then it is very HOT and HUMID, and we are all waiting for the cooler days to come.
In the Mossman library the other day, looking for suitable books to read in the heat of the day,I came across a reference book, " Behind the name" by John Walters, 3/ 2006.
Mr Walters has researched numerous place names of the region and put it together very clearly and concise. On page 14, I found Cow Bay:
" Cow Bay is so named because William ( Bill) Smith, ( incididentally after whom Smithfield was named), pastured some cattle near there, whilst he was a Hotelkeeper and Packer in Cooktown around 1874. His cattle were known to wander down to the Bay and were often spotted by passing Mariners, who gave the area its unusual name."

March ? 2009

Good Day!
i wish it is March!!!! Not long to go, and hopefully the sweaty/ wet season is over. As much as the vibrancy of a good wet is just amazing, it is also quiet enough sweating by now!!
And what a wet we have had! 4 weeks ago it rained rather hard, long and heavy and the result was a big wash out on our bridge, which is the only access to the property. Scary!! The creek actually rose so high that it went over the bridge and the force of all that water washed nearly 1 meter of the bridge surface away and exposed the pipe underneath considerably. We can still drive over it though, after some work to holes etc. However the repair has to be done and hopefully soon. We were not the only people having flood damage after that night. Fortunately we did not have any more heavy rains after that night, however aeas south and west of us had lots of rain and much more flood damage for extended periods. Meanwhile the south of Australia, Victoria and New South Wales had devastating bush fires going on at the same time. This continent can be very extreme.
Now we are hoping for a drop in humidity and an increase in human activity as a result. All that rain, sun and heat make for a great recipe for explosive plant growth, in particular to lawns and weeds. I think some of the weeds grow more than 300mm in 2 weeks. Impressive.
Right. I had better get a plan of attack drawn up to get started on it or we will find ourselves in a wilderness of the kind we are not appreciating.
Hope all the readers will have a great 2009

Hot Hot Hot

Hello!

Yes, it is HOT HOT HOT!!!

But the creek is my retreat! Last week my friend and I cleaned some of the upstream pools of branches and leaves making it easier to sit on rock ledges with a cool drink and soak in clear pools with cold cold water. It bring the body temperature right down to the point of goose bumps-marvellous!!

We had a bit of wind the last two days and even rain and that brings a cool break.

Our guests are enjoying the hot steamy tropics, taking plenty of siestas and reading books and 'chilling' out.

The B&B is closed for Christmas and for any bookings just click on this link

http://www.cowbayhomestay.com/

Enjoy your December and Christmas break and celebrate the NEW YEAR!!

Marion

Cow Bay Oktober News

Good Day!!
and here we are at the end of October and things are going well! The garden is booming away, the latest guests were able to sample Mulberries and Jaboticaba, picked minutes before breakfast!! We had good rains and didn't have to water much and vegetables and flowers are doing very well. Even the pagoda plants are in flower and I am waiting for the Cairns Birdwing Butterflies to come around and sample. The sunbirds are very busy building nests all over.
Brian has been on his much anticipated 8 day gamefishing trip. The boats went right north to the Papuan Passage and then made their way down along the outer reef back to Cow Bay. They had good weather, loads of laughs and even some fish to keep. It seem Christmas is not far away, and I will plan a big dinner this year, making full use of our brand new oven. Hm... bring out the recipe books! Got to run.
Marion

Spring in Cow Bay

Good Day!
As usual it takes all of one day to go from winter to spring. The woolen jumpers stay in the boxes, the sarongs are out and I even had my Cow Bay Srub. This involves going to Cow Bay beach, with the sunscreen on, armed with the latest favourite book and some time. Warm up in the sun, then take some soft sand and go to the little creek, which runs into the sea. Rub dry and wet sand all over wintery body , especially feet and go into the sea to wash it all off. A little swim can be added. When back home wash off salt and lather with cold pressed almond oil. Wow, all that old skin is gone and spring is in my step and in the air. We have real great flowering plants right now, and all the birds are very busy mating and feeding and chirping. At work the other day, 3 orange footed jungle fowls had some fights, and two of them ended up in the pool. Very funny to watch. And the cassowaries are out and about again. Busy times

July update

Good July news!

Simon the local stone specialist designed and constructed this low rock wall to create a new entry to our house. Power - Phillip assisted by moving all the rocks into position and did part of the foundation work. All we need now is gravel and it will look very nice. This finishes the stone work session for this year, and I think it looks stunning. Meanwhile we have had rather chilly weather but now it is rather pleasant and beautiful. The gardens we put in last year are coming along nicely and I just 'discovered; the colour of the last hibiscus, which took all this time to flower. Well, until next time. Take care of yourselves. Bye from Marion