Watch Your Brass Monkeys Mateys!

Brrrrrrrrrr! I had forgotten how cold it gets here. The children didn't suffer for they all slept in the kitchen next to the fire. Like a litter of puppies sprawled over two mattress; feet, legs, arms and heads every which way. But they were warm. I, however, was not. I'll be spreading yet another blanket or two tonight on my bed.

I remember talking to Diana about this particular saying, and I feel it is not indecent to use it. Apparently, according to Di, cannon balls were stored on triangular metal frames known as brass monkeys. The metal of the balls was different to the metal of the frame, and when the cold weather hit, the metals would contract at different rates. Hence, the brass monkey became too small to hold the cannon balls which ended up rolling all over the deck. It indicated that it was extremely cold, and a sailor should watch his toes lest his balls squash them. :-)

However, Wallaby Scrub looks beautiful with its white covering of frost, and centimetre thick ice on any still water. It is the last day of May, and winter starts tomorrow. We all hope for snow this season, and with the weather as it is now, I think we have a pretty good chance.