From the category archives:
While the wallabies have more than made themselves at home here in my yard-that-was-once-a-garden, the kangaroos have been wary, staying over in the far orchard end and taking off if they saw me. But I recently spotted this young one through my window; being up near the shed, it was unusually close to my cabin, but [...]
{ 0 comments }
In my last book, Mountain Tails, I wrote a piece called ‘Kookaburra kingdom’. They don’t actually rule amongst the birds here; the magpies do. But I have a penchant for alliteration, as you see. At least this post is more accurately named. There are a lot of kookaburras here. For big birds, I am often [...]
{ 6 comments }
Out in the real forest it is always a matter of double-take with our cleverly camouflaged creatures; I think I see a dark shadow sway, a tree trunk bend. Kangaroo? Wallaroo? One blink and they might be gone. As majestic as the trees that give them cover, this is how I best like to see [...]
{ 0 comments }
Now that all the Refuge animals have free run of my house yard, it’s been interesting to see the sharing arrangements develop, both with me as the sole human, and with the other, better adapted, species. Eastern red-necked wallabies have the majority, as this small gang of young bloods shows. But they are an amiable [...]
{ 4 comments }
My house wallaby’s joey is venturing more than its head out now. From the low-slung safety and warmth of the pouch, it projects its front legs and paws, touching the grass. Big soft ears turning, nose sniffing, eyes alert, our joey is growing up fast. Its fur is still fine, not enough to keep it [...]
{ 4 comments }
The wallaby Mum I mentioned is still coming in and resting by the house wall. Despite my erratic comings and goings, sometimes away for days, she seems to feel quite secure there and doesn’t care what I do. Her joey has its head out of the pouch more often, although not when Mum stretches out [...]
{ 6 comments }
This young wallaby mother has taken to sleeping up against the western wall of the cabin. As the eaves are wide, it is usually dry and warm there, with heat reflected from the mud walls and the rock base further along. She is quite relaxed about me walking up and down the nearby steps. The [...]
{ 2 comments }
Brisbane to Canberra 13th March—26th May 2010 My friend Christa is part of the group of women undertaking this walk — she designed the great fundraiser postcard too. FootPrints for Peace is a global community of friends who are dedicated to creating change through peaceful action. They organise events throughout the world that bring people [...]
{ 0 comments }
I am happy about this Huntsman because it is on the external wall of my house, just under the verandah’s tin roof. Using the Findaspider website I discovered recently, I now realise that there are several different species of Huntsman spiders. This is, I think, Holconia immanis. It’s apparently one of the larger Huntsmans. The garters [...]
{ 8 comments }
It hasn’t taken long for the wallabies to make themselves at home in the house yard. The roses are the main feeding attraction, with them stripping all the smaller bushes, and making considerable effort to reach up and pull down the stems of higher ones, like the old shrub rose, Autumnalis, and the Banksia Rose. [...]
{ 5 comments }
During the recent wet spell and see-sawing temperatures, my resident skinks must have had trouble finding warm dry spots. I have what I think is a mother and child as the smaller one is getting bigger and less nervous of my approach. I often see them on the steps, where they dash under as my [...]
{ 0 comments }
Lately, with the aytpically tropical afternoon storms and heat, the grass had been growing at such a rate that I couldn’t keep up with it. I had to wait until afternoon before it was dry enough to mow and by then it would be raining again. A bout of illness which took away any energy [...]
{ 7 comments }
Exisle, my publishers, have made a special arrangement for my web site visitors — you can buy Mountain Tails at a special 20 per cent discount by ordering from the Exisle website and quoting the coupon number MT2009; you can use that coupon any number of times.
A candid meander through my life up here on my remote mountain wildlife refuge, answering the oft-asked question 'Why do you live way out there?'
