25th november

Didn't sleep well.
The garage is so full of stuff that it has obviously been a long time since it has seen a vehicle. It is more of a tool shed now so I thought I’d have a rummage around and see what I could find. There is a workbench down one side full of tins and jars containing various sizes of nuts, bolts, nails and clips and a multitude of still useful and once useful stuff. Beneath the workbench are tubs and pails full of similar, but larger, utensils. Above the bench against the wall is bolted a rack, carefully laid out with pegs, clips, hooks and slots for a variety of tools such as pliers, hammers, cutters etc. Along the opposite wall are shovels, hoes, rakes and spades, piles of empty sacks, reels of copper and fence wire, sacks of fertiliser and various other implements that you might find on a farm. There’s a strimmer and some spare parts, a couple of ladders and a supply of dog food for Negra with one bag already open by the door. There is some fishing equipment and the battery that is charged by the solar panel on the roof. That’s interesting – I may fiddle with that and see what happens.
I find a long saw. That is to say, it’s a fifteen-foot long pole with a saw blade strapped onto the end and bound tightly. I free it from its age-old resting place on the stays on the wall and take it outside into the trees where I saw down the nearest Palmito nut I can find. I slash the pulp away with a machete and bare the large nut within, one sharp blow with the machete cracks it and I empty the contents into a mug and drink them down.
Who told me to do that? I can’t remember, but it was a certainly a worthwhile suggestion. It tastes like melon juice but a little bit more syrupy. It is nice but I wish I could chill it – that would make it so very refreshing. There are some large black plastic planters begging to be used – now I know where they are.
The copper wire could be interesting. I cut myself a short piece, grab the portable radio, and head for the aerial cable that hangs redundantly in the bedroom. Doing a botch job, I manage to connect the radio to the aerial on the roof using the copper wire and hey presto, short wave comes alive. Almost immediately, I find BBC World Service proper and discover the winner of the gargling contest. Being more interested in the world service, it is just after ten o’clock and there is a news programme being broadcast. Then at ten-thirty they have a fifteen minutes sport extra and they talk about sport in England, giving updates. Football and cricket - unquantifiable bliss! If I had known the aerial was here, I’d have brought my Mini TV.
Feeling flush at my suddenly improved record at utilising things from the roof, I want to check out the solar panel and maybe clean it. From the ground, I look at the house roof from every conceivable angle and it actually takes some time. I need to look at all of the roof so I have to move away, at one stage to halfway across the swamp to get a clear view of one side. I can’t see the panel. I’ll use the ladder later.
Walking around the house it suddenly occurs to me… and I back away to get a good look to be sure … yep, this place is the Bates motel –the house on the hill! Obviously, it’s not a motel but it looks an ominous place with its fading black paint and wooden overhangs. Backing away doesn’t help either. The farther away I get, the more it looks as though it’s going to retreat into the forest at any moment and then eat itself and anyone in it.
There's an orange tree outside but the oranges aren't ready yet and a few pineapple plants behind the nursery were. Unfortunately for me, I don’t like pineapple but I do like oranges.
My bites are going down from spots and pimples to just blotches and the previous blotches are disappearing - am not going to bother with repellent unless I have problems or unless I am going into dense foliage. I’m going to replicate my own insect repellent in my body. Its another decision I’ve made.
Had spaghetti and omelette for lunch - DE-LICIOUS! Need to cut down on cigarettes - am up to over twenty per day (and the days are shorter!)
The ladder doesn't reach the roof. Actually, I could say the same about one or two of my ex bosses (and girlfriends).
The weirdest thing -it rained from a clear blue sky and with the sun out. It was a very fine rain, falling very slowly but not exactly a haze. It was sort of a vapour cloud, I suppose. It almost stopped falling altogether and hung suspended in the heated air. It was most odd. It lasted three or four minutes.
The monotone bird is at it again. It gets up to seven or eight consecutive beeps and then stops. I can picture it coughing and wheezing as it gets out of breath each time.
I briefly wonder why I am here and why I came. What happened to Sinai Wildlife projects? When is Jim going to get his act together? How difficult is it to send an email to someone, perhaps Dave Gardella Snr. and just tell people what’s going on? Very rude.