TUESDAY 30 JULY     FORREST BEACH

It was a lovely sunny day, with no wind at all.

Usual morning activities, then walked Couey on the beach, right on low tide. So there was a wide expanse of firm sand, with occasional small sea channels and pools of water. For me, this is just the best sort of beach walking there is.

Dog was very bold with the water. She seemed to have realized that sploshing around in the water was great fun.

Now that dog was venturing into water, we had to take off her tick collar before going to the beach, then replace it when she was dry.

We walked to beyond the south houses. My ankle was much happier with the flatter, firmer going, but John’s legs were sore and he said he wouldn’t walk tomorrow.

Had my hair cut by neighbour A. She took a lot of care with it and only charged me $15. I was very pleased with the outcome. Wished  she lived near me at home.

I drove up to the local SPAR supermarket, leaving John and dog napping. The supermarket wasn’t great, and was not going to be a substitute for regular trips to Ingham, unfortunately. I was able to get the milk and jar of apple sauce I wanted, but couldn’t get any decent fruit.

Had soaked Couey’s bedding, which was starting to smell distinctly doggy, in a bucket, this morning. After lunch, went along to the laundry and washed it out in one of the troughs. Hung out on a nearby clothesline, it didn’t take long to dry.

I read for a while, then finished a letter to M, begun back in Charleville. Wrote some postcards. Started the next lot of knitting – another dog coat.

There were lovely blue winged  kookburras about. We’d heard them making their raucous calling, periodically, resembling a chainsaw more than laughter! That sound still amused me, even after years of encountering these birds in many places across northern Australia.  One perched for a while on a nearby flag pole, so I tried to photograph it, not very successfully. Should have used John’s camera with its big zoom lens.

There were also some thick knees calling at nights, making their scary screaming noise. I sometimes saw one, when taking Couey out at night. She acted like she’d like to chase them, but that was definitely on our forbidden list of dog activities.

Since the wind stopped, there were now some mozzies about, at dusk. Only to be expected with the swampy areas  on the inland side of the park.

When I unwrapped the pork steaks destined for tea – use by date 31st – I didn’t like their smell. John said he would eat the meat, regardless, so he had pork, but I threw out my serve and just had the accompanying vegetables. John survived the night, so the meat must have been alright, after all. Sometimes vaccuum packed meat does have a distinct smell when opened: maybe Queensland pork smells different to the Victorian product?