Sweet sweat

She felt as though they were linked by an invisible elastic band

Was it by design, manipulation or sheer chance that whenever their lives drifted apart, she was snapped back, if not by her own instinct or a random sighting, then by a call from an unexpected third party such as a bank or a doctor.

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During the cyclone cleanup around here, I lifted a pot plant into the house, forgetting momentarily that underneath that particular pot plant there is a water well and that water well is the home of my pet frog, Nicky. After an hour or so in its new location, I noticed a small inquisitive face peering out of the hole in the water well. Not wishing Nicky to be lost inside the house, the pot plant had to go back on the verandah. Cyclone or no cyclone, I definitely didn't want to find that small, green body lying shrivelled in a corner somewhere. Nicky hopped out of his refuge once it was returned to the verandah and I moved the pot back into the most sheltered corner, hoping he would find his way to it and that it would remain standing in the cyclone. Last night, to my great relief, I saw his dear little face again peering at me from his doorway and found his little muddy footprint tracks leading to the pot.

The end of the wet season must be near. This morning I saw a frill necked lizard running across the park. They tend to engage in mating rituals at this time of year and are much more visible than at other times and they are so amusing to watch. This one stood at least a foot tall. They run with their bodies at a 90 degree angle to the ground, very stiff and tall, with their long tails trailing parallel to the ground. They remind me of a stiff English butler with a poker up his bum!

Daisy asked me, what is a prawn? Prawns are sea creatures and I believe they may be called 'shrimp' in other parts of the world but I'm not sure whether 'shrimp' are exactly the same or a smaller relative - the word 'shrimp' in Australia is most often used to mean small or undersized anything as in "That kid is a shrimp!"

I've caught prawns in salt-water lakes and estuaries along the east coast of Australia during the summer months. Standing up to your knees in the water, scoop net in one hand and torch (flashlight) in the other, they swim out of the darkness towards the light; their eyes lit up like red coals. It's quite exciting to see how many you can catch, then arrive home at midnight to boil them up in a big pot of salty water. The sweetest, most delectable flesh you'll ever eat.

The live prawns are a translucent greyish/green colour and when boiled for a few minutes, they turn a brilliant salmon pink and are ready to eat. School prawns are fairly small, about 1.5 to 2 inches but king prawns are the most desirable at anything up to about 6 inches in length. I found this link to over 7,000 different prawn photos on a google search.