For so long, it seems, we have had dry mornings. Sometimes cold and sometimes not, but never dewy and certainly not shrouded in white wetness like my favourite wake-up sight: Cloudland. I’ve been missing them. As I returned from a walk up the hill to release the bush rat from my live trap (he’s destroying [...]
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I can’t help rushing out with the camera on the rare mornings where light overnight rain or heavy dew coincides with a brighter morning. It can’t be too sunny, or the precious jewels thus revealed will have been dried up. Then all I’d see would be a spiderweb, miraculous in itself, but more common. On [...]
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My friend Christa doesn’t live in the bush, but on her rural suburban riverside block she observes an astonishing amount of fascinating natural phenomena. The key is that she is keen to watch — and to wonder. Plus she takes great photos. As her wildlife is often quite different to mine, she sees things I [...]
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I am a sucker for miniatures, natural or man-made. Having taken many photos of large and impressive webworks, presumably by large spiders, I was charmed to come across these creations by smaller artists. Jewelled perfection slung between two twigs, yet smaller than my thumb. Awe-inspiring. I walked about the garden seeking more treasures, and on [...]
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Late summer, and the smooth-trunked gum trees here have shed their bark clothes– perversely, just as it’s getting chilly. This one near the path to the outdoor loo astonishes each time I walk by with the amount of bark strips from just one tree. No wonder we build up such a good fuel load for [...]
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Following a brief but heavy shower of rain, I spotted this little arrangement in the climbing rose that hangs beyond my kitchen window. I probably only did so because the radiating central part of the web was delineated with raindrops. So was the leaf that hung at its heart. I knew this was a Leaf-curling [...]
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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 [...]
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I’ve been on the road a bit lately, researching for a book. It means I get to use my cute little tent, camping in new places. I do like the freedom of being able to stop as and where I like — affordably. My first night was spent at Coolah, where for $7 I got [...]
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One afternoon in this recent wild hot November that broke records and threatened many places with fire, I ventured out of my dim cabin to see what the sky was doing. It was dim because I was trying to keep the heat out with the curtains drawn; in any case the winds were too strong [...]
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Last week gave me a morning of perfect synchronicity between light and water. A dewy night, mist lifting in time for the morning sun to illuminate the thousands of spider webs strung through the trees. They are probably always there, but invisible until diamonds are added. There were elaborate and intricate multi-storey webs, webs that [...]
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I usually don’t inspect a dish of grapes for animate occupants. But after this discovery I certainly shall. Having eaten a small cluster of sweet black grapes, bought from a regional organic farm, I was about to select another bunch when I glimpsed hairiness where there ought only to be glossy fruitiness. I blinked: was it [...]
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Lolling on the couch the other evening, I happened to glance up. In the low rays of the setting sun, an odd bump showed on top of one of the bracing rafters. It was the biggest spider I have ever seen, with a very fat, light brown body. As its legs were bent around the [...]
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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.
