Being independent of the electricity grid, as I have been for eighteen years, is great. Not that, remotely sited as my place is, there was any choice. And my solar system, designed and installed by Dave Bartley of then-Sunrise Solar back in 1994, has been trouble-free. Dave tells me that my BP batteries have lasted [...]
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With the recent news of an aunt’s sudden death, just five months after her husband’s, endings are on my mind. I now only have one aunt, and no uncles, left. I was reminded of a short piece I wrote a few years ago, when a favourite uncle was terminally ill in hospital. I thought I’d [...]
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These two young male Red-necked wallabies were dancing about like prizefighters, in a clinch, trying to land a punch — or a kick. They careened along the fenceline, looking very serious in their aim to hurt each other, leaping up while balancing on their tails, or trying to. But as one or other lost their [...]
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Older joeys, so big they are jack-knifed into their mum’s pouch to fit at all, still get to ride in comfort when they like. In this cold weather, they like. This Eastern Grey Kangaroo mum keeps feeding along, levering her large back feet forward as needed with no regard for the small feet and head [...]
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I have finally gotten around to cutting back the verandah’s vines of wisteria and ornamental grape. They have twisted around themselves and each other to form very strong and sculptural outstretching limbs. This year I am experimenting with leaving more of their extremities, their claws, poised to shoot green fingers further than before perhaps. Beyond them, against [...]
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Early morning, sunshine after days of rain, the grass still soggy. The kangaroo family has decided that just inside the forever-open gate, on the hard-packed clay track, is the driest place to rest. They know my car only moves out of the shed every few weeks — the track’s more for them than for me. [...]
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In my wallaby world, there’s been a fair amount of girl-chasing going on lately, and as there always seems to be a lot of competition amongst the males for a female on heat, inevitably that leads to arguments. These two males were in a group that was following a young female down the hill past [...]
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I was delighted to see my Welcome Swallow couple back, swinging on my verandah fairy lights and re-occupying their nest on the rafter. I meant to do a post for you when the eggs hatched, as she seemed to be sitting most of the time now. However after a few days away, no sign of [...]
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As you might expect, given that I live in forest country, I love trees. On my place I keep planting more where they haven’t managed to regenerate by themselves after the clearing and burning and grazing of years ago. Mostly I look at the forest as a wall, I suppose—and thus miss the individuality of [...]
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On my small dam the waterlilies are blooming, their large circular leaves so abundant that they are overlapping, curling up at their edges. There are two green floating islands of them, one bearing pale pink lotus-like cups, the other such a pale lemon as to seem white. Since these aquatic plants had all but disappeared [...]
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Here's the cover of my new book — Rich Land, Wasteland — How coal is killing Australia — which is now in bookshops.
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?'
Stories about the wild things who allow me to share their living space — and a plea to look after them before it's too late.
