Ingredients
2 cups brown rice flour
1 Tablespoon activated charcoal (find this at drugstores, not the briquets!)
3 Tablespoons canola oil
1 egg
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
2/3 cup lowfat milk

Method
Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly oil a cookie sheet. Combine flour and charcoal. Add all the other ingredients. Drop teaspoonfuls on oiled sheet, about 1 inch apart. Bake 15-20 minutes. Store in airtight container in the refrigerator

Gourmet Dog Biscuits

Ingredients
12-16 ozs. raw liver
1 1/2 lbs. white flour
8 ozs. Quaker Oats
3 bouillon cubes, (meat or chicken flavored)
Approx. 1 cup water
2 eggs, beaten

Method
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 3 baking sheets. Chop the liver finely, by hand or in food processor. Mix flour and oats, crumble
in the bouillon cubes, add eggs and the chopped liver. Add enough water to make a firm but slightly sticky dough. Spread evenly on the sheets about 1/2″ thick. Dip a small dog-biscuit cutter in flour before cutting out each portion. Remove uncut parts. Spread out on another cookie sheet and repeat.Bake 1 hour. Store in airtight container in fridge for 2 weeks.

Apple Treats

Melt the 2 tablespoons of margarine at a medium temperature in a sauce pan.
Add brown sugar and stir until it starts to boil then bring to a simmer.
Dip apple slices in the sugar mixture, then roll them in the oats.
Let cool.

Golden Syrup Treats

For those that were not able to attend the May Platypus Habitat Workshop, here are some fun Platypus Facts.

Starter Fact

Not a mammal but a monotreme (an egg laying mammal with reptilian qualities such as variable body temperature), these amazing treats of nature weigh in between 1 to 2.4 kilograms and have an average lifespan of 12 years. Despite being pint-sized, (30cm to 45cms in length with the tail measuring about 10 to 15 cms), platypuses can consume their own body weight in food in a 24 hour period!

Amazing Fact

If you thought this was just another cute and cuddly Australian mammal, think again. The male platypus has hollow spurs about 15 millimeters in length on the inside of both hind legs. These spurs are connected to a venom gland that produces poison strong enough to kill a small dog, or cause excruciating pain among humans…and there is no antidote to ease the torture. So best not to mess around with these little guys.

Cute Fact

A baby platypus is not called a puggle, which seems to be a common misconception. There is no official name for a baby platypus, but a common suggested name is “platypup”.

So next time you’re out riding or walking near Ourimbah Creek keep your eyes peeled for one of these extraordinary co habitants of Hidden Valley.

Image courtesy of National Geographic

After so much bad weather we were unsure if the One Day Event would go ahead but with our hopes for clearing skies realised and a huge last minute effort from our Manager, Adam Little, Trish and Bruce Hardy and their teams of hard working volunteers, we once again ran a successful event for over 100 participants.

Our congratulations goes also goes to Kylie Hardy who managed to ride four horses in this the ODE and placed well in all events, taking home the Hidden Valley ODE Trophy and Madeline Goldsmith who participated in her first ODE and took  home the Hidden Valley Encouragement Award.

In the evening, Chris Hardy returned for his second ODE catering challenge and produced a delicious meal for 100’s of hungry eventers, marshals, judges and spectators.

A special thanks Chris and  members like Sylvia and Dave Gordon, Trish and Bruce Hardy, Jane and Ian Fergusson, Maree Pickering and, past member, Jenny MacMahon for their constant contribution to this event over the years.

Kids Easter Camp

What an exciting and eventful two days we had! All the children and adults alike had a blast.

We started with some very bright colourful t-shirt tie dying where the children created their own spectacular designs and colours. (see pic L/R). We followed with Mini HV Master Chef cooking capers with Maree and Madeline (see pic L/R). By the way Madeline your lunch menu was an absolute winner!

Determined to renew the ‘Scare’ in our ScareCrow, we collected some scrap metal from the skip along with a few assorted additions and re-created the scarecrow and vegie garden, as seen in the newsletter.

What an arty crafty group of members we have. Well done everyone, it looks great! We haven’t seen a crow since Easter!

The children made their own pizzas for dinner and after a huge day they sat down for a movie before bed.

Pictured here, Dad Steve, Mum Melissa, and Abbie 5, Imogen and Cleo 3.

Steve works as a stockbroker at Ord Minnett while Melissa is a housewife/student, currently studying Counselling part time. Abbie has just started school, and Immy and Cleo are at pre-school.

When asked why they wanted to join Hidden Valley, Melissa responded; “We wanted to show our kids that life’s not all about cafes, traffic, TV and keeping up with the Joneses. Its about being in touch with nature, and appreciating the simple things. We really liked the spirit of Hidden Valley and the chance to escape the rat race regularly! The girls love the guinea pigs and horses and love the freedom of wandering on the farm, and hanging out with all the fun kids! We hope to spend time up on the farm in school holidays and really look forward to taking part in the holiday camps! Steve and I love the outdoors and are really enjoying the horseriding – hopefully its something that we can both get better at and enjoy even more!”

“As members of Hidden Valley we are looking forward to making life long friends, teaching our kids about a rural life and to love animals – especially horses! We also want them to learn positive things from the older kids at Hidden Valley and to become a LITTLE QUIETER!!”

Tracy Gallagher and Jamie Dargie

Arriving in Australia just over two years ago, Tracy (from the West coast of Ireland), had to travel half way round the world to meet Jamie in Brisbane. Originally from Birmingham, Jamie moved to Australia 5 years ago after falling in love with the Australian lifestyle on a holiday. Happily for Hidden Valley, Tracy and Jamie moved to Sydney in April last year and quickly discovered our little paradise.

Both working in recruitment, Tracy has traveled and worked in Europe and the Middle East before arriving in Australia and specialises in recruiting for Accountancy & Finance at The Emerald Group. Jamie is General Manager of the Mining & Resources team for Randstad.

Tracy says, “We joined because of my love of horses and Jamie’s long term ambition to have his own farm some day. We both are keen cyclists, have motorbikes and love taking our 4×4 out on some fun tracks – most recently Fraser Island. We are really looking forward to improving our horse riding, enjoying the mountain bike trails and meeting new people.”

The Keurs

After enjoying Hidden Valley on our ‘Try Before You Buy’ option, we congratulate Antal, Lindsay and the girls’ decision to convert to a full membership – particularly given that their first experience of the Valley was last Easter when it was so wet the closest thing the girls got to a horse was riding the ‘pole pony’ in the toy box. It was a wet weekend – but happily that Hidden Valley magic called them back.

While most of the family were happy to have a picture taken for Campfire,
the youngest, Katrina, flatly refused. Antal explained “she’s 5 going on 12″!

Pictured here is Antal and Lindsay Kerr with their girls Eliza 11, Natalie
10 and Katrina (in the background).

When I asked, “what do you like most about Hidden Valley?” Antal replied “No
mobile phone access”, (a common theme from busy Valley Dads). The
girls unanimously replied “EVERYTHING!”.

Sue and Phil Johnstone

Sue and Phil Johnstone first joined Hidden Valley in 2002 when their daughters Laura and Bec were 10 and 7 respectively. During the following five years the girls not only learnt to ride, but also to event and participate in our own Hidden Valley ODE. As is the case with many members however, juggling the schedules of young adult’s weekend commitments, such as part time jobs, Sue and Phil decided to leave Hidden Valley – but happily for us only temporarily.

Now independent young women, Bec and Laura both have their own cars and as Sue says, “Phil and I, ready for a life after running teenagers around, thought it may be time to rejoin the valley. We missed the farm environment, being with the horses, sitting around the fire and having fun with great people. There were too many reasons not to get back on the horse so to speak.”

At the time of publishing Sue was trying to find a current picture of the family, (those of us with older kids know how hard it can be to get everyone in the one place at the one time), so no picture accompanies this article. Although most of us are already very familiar with Sue and Phil since they rejoined in February this year and are already both active members at working bees and committees.

We are happy to see you both back in the Saddle!

As a co-op we know that the well-being and upkeep of our property relies on the collective effort of our membership. During their long membership, Trish and Bruce have been actively improving and maintaining our cross country facilities, clearing our trails, whipper snippering’ our yards, painting our cabins and stocking our firewood.

A diminutive 5’nothing, Trish can be seen recently, under a compliant issue of safety equipment, swinging her new ‘Whipper Snipper’ along fence boundaries and around cross country jumps. (Unfortunatley we were unable to secure a picutre of Trish kitted out in her goggles, ear muffs and chaps – but we trust you can evoke the image.)

Even when she’s enjoying a ride on her beautiful horse Lucy, Trish is no slouch. Fallen Blackwattle and hanging vines across trails are efficiently cleared, in saddle, with her trusty ‘folding hand saw’ or pruners while Lucy stands, mostly compliantly, as pruned debris falls around them.

Neither is Bruce Hardy-by-name-hardy-by-nature a stranger to maintenance equipment at the Valley. A past Treasurer/Board member and core contributor to the development and maintenance of our beautiful Cross Country course, Bruce has spent countless hours making sure our jumps are a worthy challenge for our members and ODE participants. The latest contribution to our course is the Sextagon pictured right. The challenging jump compliments last years contribution, “The Good Hardy Bridge”.

And while you may be forgiven for thinking that is more than enough from any one family, the work ethic of the Hardy’s is not limited to one generation. Please catch up with the recent contributions of Chris and Kylie Hardy in our social committee report below!

Of course, Trish and Bruce are not alone in their commitment and input to maintaining Hidden Valley, but their shoulders are well and truly at the wheel of our wellbeing and we thank them for all they have done and all they continue to do!

If you know of any Rescue Chickens needing a free range lifestyle and good food please email newsletter@hiddenvalley.com.au