nice rain !!!

Right ! November is nearly over. Looking at our drizzle of a creek today and I am very happy with the current downpour. Little too heavy as the ground is very dry, but good penetration down to the rainforest floor. I bet everyone loves it. Not so busy this November even though the weather is very pleasant- ' balmy ' the latest guests called it. Time to work on some yearly jobs and others.
We finally have 'obtuse' glass louvres  in the little bathroom window. Some people do have reservations with clear glass louvres even though no one really can look in. Then we cleaned the outside of the B&B ready for another coat of timber protection. And did the same on our house, but that doesn't need painting. Hooraay.
Some pictures of our boy cats and some other bits. Enjoy !
...and we had 25 mm in 45 minutes or so

 

September already !

A great day to all!
This is it: we are in  Spring and it did turn warm rather quickly. Still cool nights - but back to cosy blankets and the down doonas are packed away until next year! Today it is little overcast with little rain: good for long walks on the beach or exploring the rainforest board walks in the area. The Orange Shrimp plants are in fully flower - the little sunbirds just love them. The Mangoes are in full bloom with a strong scent right throughout the garden. The Torres Strait Pigeons are back  feeding right up high in the trees and even the Grey Whistler is busy practicing his/her little song over and over again.

 

Wintery !

A lovely Sunday to all. Yes we are in the middle of winter and so far it has been quite good, neither too cold or warm with sunny days, blue skies and cool nights. The B&B guests definitely loved it all and all their activities  north of the Daintree River: kayaking, jungle surfing, snorkelling on the Great Barrier Reef, walking on the beaches , doing the walks and just reading or day dreaming on our hammock. Which, -- the hammock- has been replaced and is looking good. The 'old' one is now in our Garden House-yeah! Well best be gone to do a little more gardening until the new guests arrive today !

This is the flower of a great bush called Cat Tails !  

Mangosteen: a First in this B&B

Hi,
 before I leave it too late:
 Our one and only Mangosteen tree had some flowers this year and then made lots of fruit. This is nothing brand new but took 17 years for this tree. This year was a very good year for mangosteens here in the far north and I stopped counting after 60 fruits. I should have gone on though. I think in the end we had over 130 mangosteens to enjoy. They don't ripen all at once; so I checked the tree everyday. 10 fruits one day; 4 the next ;15 after that. This is nice in a way, as one does not get totally overwhelmed by it. They don't

 freeze too well, so I was busy eating lots, giving some away and sharing with visitors.They don't last that long and become rock-hard after 14 days or longer. But they taste absolutely divine. Yum..mmmmmmmmm
Our guests certainly liked to eat them and we just ate LOTS.
PS the pink grapefruit were also very good

driveway all done

Hi,
 yes, the driveway has been redone and smoothed out and redressed. Plus we have a larger pipe now from the road to the property, which makes it less easier to drive in. These jobs always take some time to coordinate and then the weather has to be suitable as well.

New website

Hi, yes it is done!
 Cow Bay Homestay B&B has a brand new website
www.cowbayhomestay.com
I am interested to read some comments.
The pictures are all brand new as well. And I should be able to make changes myself now, once I have the log in...
Meanwhile back in the B&B the shy young cassowary dad is getting around with his ever growing chick. They are making surprise visits for the latest family and a young couple later on in the week much to everyone's delight. Now they discovered the papayas, I have covered those or there is going to nothing left for us!
After a bit of windy and wet weather the sun is back out and it is a great time of the year.

 

Working hard

Hi and hello!
working hard on the new website, even this post is written on the new space.
I only do the little things like choosing photos , from all the new photos, which were taken recently, and correct text and all that. The web designer does all the hard work to make it a mobile friendly as well as do a

very 2015 style site.
Once it is ready I will post the new link here.
Watch out!

Online bookings

Hi to all the readers,

online booking is a very convenient way to book accommodation, no doubt.

For small B&B's like this one it is BEST to use our own website to make the booking.
The cost for this service is very good for us, nearly the same as processing credit cards ourselves- yes we pay for all this.
Also, we don't have to pay commission to big online booking machines, and they can add up!

The best thing is though that on our website's online, secure and life facility is a very good 4 night stay special, which guests can only book with us. Check it out:

http://outlets.bookconfirm.com/?preview=cowbayhomestay

 

http://outlets.bookconfirm.com/cow-bay-homestay-queen-room-(sleeps-2)-packageid-100

http://outlets.bookconfirm.com/cow-bay-homestay-queen-room-(sleeps-3)-packageid-101

Anyone can still phone us direct to make a booking and that is just perfect. We will ask for credit card details and charge the card and email the receipt.

Wishing you a great day from sunny Cow Bay!
and Cow Bay Homestay B&B
 

In the Wet

Hi,
 well it is the Wet now, we think.....
The forecast is for lots of rain over the week end. We have had some , up to 100mm on a day, but really it is just drizzly and then very heavy rain with big wind gusts. This makes it hard to do anything, as I have to be ready to run---yes run, very quickly-- and collect all the tools at the same time.
Sometimes also the kittens....
We have 2 boy cats , kittens: Ginger and Tabby, we picked up from Daintree Village on 3. Jan this year. They are truly delightful and now big enough to do some gardening with me. This really means that they run around a lot, run up any tree in the way and generally have lots of fun chasing each other. They keep close and/or come back after short excursions. After these outings, they are totally exhausted and have a big sleep! Great.
We have lots of fun with them and they even do some things we insist on: no sitting on tables!

I will post some more photos as they do grow quickly.
Well, in other news:
 the creek is running really well, the crocs may have left the beach now, and the stingers should be swept out to sea with all the fresh water in Cow Bay. Guided walks are good now with the animals very active in this wet and cooler weather.