Fred Baker

Returning to Tuggerah

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Librarians are some of my favourite people, being book lovers like me. However, the grey-haired spinster in a drab cardigan no longer fits the bill. Nor are libraries just places of shush and half-asleep old men.

Take young, cheery and goatee-d Adam Holland and his Wyong Shire Library in the enormous Westfield Tuggerah Shoppingtown on the NSW Central Coast. 

Adam’s author talks and events welcome the community in, seat them in comfy armchairs, feed them tea and chocolate bickies and grapes, while writers like me talk about my books and read from them.  For free!

My visit there for my first book was lovely, so I was happy to return last week for Mountain Tails. And, as I had grown up on the Central Coast, and my sister Robyn has retired there, it almost feels like coming home.

It was a delight to see faces in the audience familiar to me from my last talk there.

I always enjoy the interaction during question time and the chats afterwards when I sign books. Rick Finucane from Borders bookshop in Westfields not only sold my books there but took the photos for me on my camera. Thank you, Rick!
tuggerah-rosesAn extra treat was that Adam presented me with a bunch of yellow roses and some chocolates.

Back home in my cabin that night, having just beaten nightfall and the rain, I lit the fire, arranged the roses, poured myself a glass of red wine, and indulged in a chocolate or two. You could say I felt appreciated.

Next day was grey and cold and windy, but the roses bloomed golden on my windowsill, extending the pleasure of my author talk well beyond its actual time. Thank you Adam and Tuggerah!
 

Teen Mag

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Lately the harrassed mother magpie has been closely shadowed everywhere she goes in the yard by her overly large and overly vocal teenager.

Not yet black and white but greyish-brown and white, he is bigger than his mum and always a bit behind in copying whatever she is doing.

The other day she had landed on the bird feeder to check it out.

Finding it empty, as it often is, she quickly took off again.

He sat in it for a while longer, looking confused as to what he was meant to be finding and eating there, and whingeing half-heartedly — but continually.

Then he plunged off after his mother — still whingeing, of course.

Autumn decor

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When the wisteria leaves begin to turn their beautiful clear yellow, they suddenly justify my colour choice of bright yellow for the painted wooden chairs on the verandah.

It’s what I see through the window in front of my desk, so I’m very aware of the transition.
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My verandah is as big as my small cabin, and its ‘decor’ and colour co-ordination is very dependent on the natural exterior world for which it is the transition zone.

I just love it when they work together like this and give me such new visual pleasure for even a brief time.

Author on the move

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After a week on the move, talking about the new book, Mountain Tails, I was glad to be home in the quiet of my natural world, especially in such beautiful Autumn weather.

But I am off again next week, as I am speaking at Tuggerah Library on the central coast of NSW.  This will be at 10.30 a.m. on Wednesday 20th May, and if you live in that area,  it would be great to meet you there.

The first round of talks were in quite varied venues, some more successful than others, but as always it was terrific to get feedback from the audience afterwards. 

First talk (below) was at Parramatta Library, back in the area of my birth, the western suburbs of Sydney! It was a good venue and a receptive audience, with Borders bookshop coming along to this one, for the first time.
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Next was outdoors, at the café in Heritage Gardens near Maitland, where what you might call an intimate group shared afternoon tea and conversation afterwards. Thanks to Helen of Angus & Robertson at Greenhills and Jenny at the café for their support and the idea.
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On Friday I spoke at the environmentally designed Wallsend Library, in their spacious multi-purpose room.

Despite the heavy rain outside, it was a good turnout, with several familiar faces and, as always, a pleasure to meet new ones. Sue-Ellen and Catherine from A & R at Kotara  were there to sell the books and give support.  

I went there the next day to sign books and was delighted that, while most people bought one or the other, at least four discerning young men bought both my books for their mothers!
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On Mothers’ Day itself I was up early for a great guided walk around the Hunter Wetlands (which they do every second month). A beautiful spot, and the rain held off just long enough.
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 Most striking sight was the endangered desert species, the Freckled Duck (photo by Dael Allison), which were raised from eggs as part of a conservation programme and are now managing to breed on their own.
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Back at the Wetlands Centre we had breakfast, and then a small group patiently tried to hear me (mike and all) over the many other Mothers’ Day breakfasters in the café’s deck area. Clearly a favourite spot.

A special treat was meeting fellow nature blogger Gaye whose site, Snippets and Sentiments, has provided me with insights many a time.

I’ll certainly go back to the Wetlands on a quieter day and walk around to the many birdwatching spots.

Weird woody worm

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I have an old wooden stepladder that I keep in the shed. Last time I used it was to trim the ornamental grapevine on the verandah.

The other day I fetched it and placed it under a grey gum where I was mending a swing. Perhaps an hour later I went to fold it up and return it to the shed.
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That’s when I noticed the bit of woody vine tendril stuck on one corner of the top step. I went to flick it off — but then it moved. It looped its way along the step, such dressed timber not allowing it to be as well camouflaged as it ought.

It had bark-like patches and twig-like knobs; it was beige and brown and grey, with tinges of pink and green — just like a living twig. An amazing little creature.
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When it raised its head to suss out where to go next, it was almost rabbit-like with such thick antennae and a sloped face; but the rest of it was more caterpillar-ish, with three pairs of feet at the front and then a long stretch — the loopy part — before the end, where there seemed to be several pairs of feet separated by a sort of velcro gap.

But I could only catch glimpses of this occasionally; I could have sworn I saw blue under there — blue velcro? Or had its velcro picked up one of the very rare dots of old blue paint from the ladder?

It would appear to be a caterpillar of some moth of the family Geometridae, according to my Animals in Disguise book by Paul Zborowski.

I said it ‘looped’ along, but I could have said it inched along. Not surprisingly then, their common names are Inch Worms or Loop Caterpillars.
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I could only assume it had fallen from the branches above; when I placed it on the rough bark of the trunk, it stood out straight like a twig, but soon dropped to the leaf litter at the base, where it looked much more at home. Just look at those markings!

Lemon? Or leaf? Or…?

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I was walking around the lemon tree, which has several generations of fruit on it at present, trying to decide which might be the oldest and best to pick.

Then I caught a glimpse of something not quite right hanging there.
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It was green and nobbly textured like the young fruit, but shaped more like the leaves and with small paler dots on it like them.

But a closer look from several angles showed it was neither deformed fruit nor leaf.
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It was a beautifully camouflaged nursery case, a pupa, for some sort of moth or butterfly.

No wonder I find nature a constant source of wonder!

Autumn fungi

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In the forest, after rain and while there is still some warmth in the sunshine, I am bound to find some stunning fungi popping up amongst the leaves or blooming on the tree trunks.

What amazes me is that each season I find new ones, at least, never before seen by me here. In just one week here’s some of the treasures I spotted without walking very far or looking very hard.

The black object on the bottom left is my gumboot-shod foot, just so you get the scale of this rosy trio that erupted right beside the path up to the loo.

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This rather slimy little chocolate cap came with tiny choc chips, a dollop of whipped cream and an insect visitor that I didn’t even see until I blew up the photo. It was spotted from the loo itself, which has no door to inhibit nature watching.

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Like orange sherbet ice blocks, these dainty fungi look good enough to eat, and there were hundreds of them scattered throughout the grass in a small area. I resisted.

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As if orange sherbet wasn’t tempting enough, just inside my house yard a batch of half a dozen freshly baked chocolate cakes, un-iced, had appeared overnight.

Plump and smooth and bigger than cup cakes, two of them looked as if someone else had already taken a bite. I could almost smell chocolate cake!

Any ideas of the identification of these fungi will be very welcome; I have looked in my books, but have given up!

Echidna pair

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Last year I was delighted by seeing two quite different echidnas here at the same time. One had been in my yard, the other just outside it. One was big, one small, one dark, one lighter.

Lately I have had an echidna doing a very thorough job of poking into my whole house yard.  Each day I have seen it in a different area, getting about at a great pace. I have had to keep an eye out when sitting weeding for any length of time as it’s given me a few shocks by silently turning up quite close to me. I wouldn’t want to step on it!

It has golden brown spikes and medium brown fur and has been putting its snout into the air more than I’d seen before.

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Perhaps the reason was the proximity of another echidna, as the other day, after taking some photos of my regular one, I spotted a darker one ambling along just outside the fence. It came under the gate and began its beat.
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This one has darker reddish-pink spines and very dark ‘roots’ showing in between; the fur seems blackish rather than brown. 

They kept their distance but traversed sections of grass well within sight of each other, seemingly having no problem sharing territory.
Seen together like this, their differences are obvious, and I have taken to calling my regular the blonde and the visitor the brunette. 

So far the blonde has been the more conscientious, not missing a day aerating my damp ‘lawn’ whilst feeding.  The brunette, contrary to popular opinion, is more flighty, and comes and goes at will.

Red Dust — sheep rustlers and strong women

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Have just read the first novel of my fellow writer and rural blogger, Fleur McDonald. Fleur and her husband run a cattle station in Western Australia, but this novel, Red Dust, is set on a sheep station in South Australia.

I’ve never been to a sheep station but I feel as if I could almost run one after reading Red Dust, as the settings and daily operations are so vividly and clearly described. Fleur knows what she’s writing about and it gives real credibility to the whole work.

But that’s only incidental to the rattling good yarn of sheep rustling and stock squad detective work. This story is interwoven with the difficulties and discoveries of the widowed Gemma as she keeps the sheep station running despite all predictions, following her husband’s death in a light plane crash — right before her eyes.

Yes, there’s romance, but it’s suitably subtle in its development in Gemma’s case — although for her best friend Jess, the riotous redhead, there’s no holds barred! Fleur’s ear for dialogue and idiom is spot on, and adds much to the characterisation.

It’s great to see a story of contemporary rural Australia by a female writer who can write equally well about the practical and the emotional sides of the business, of living well out of town and of running a farm. And who can use that grounding to spin a tale of intrigue where you don’t know who dunnit until she chooses to tell you!

I’m betting this will be a film or a TV special in the not-too-distant future. Bravo Fleur!

Red Dust is published by Allen & Unwin and will be in bookshops from 4th May.

More Newcastle book events

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wallsendAs well as the Mothers’ Day ‘Breakfast with the Birds’ at the Hunter Wetlands, as previously posted, I am speaking about and reading from my new book, Mountain Tails, at two other events in Newcastle that week.

One of these may suit some of you better than arising so early that day!

Hope you can make it to one of them and please pass on if you like.

 2.30 pm, Thursday 7th May
Garden Table Café — Heritage Gardens Nursery, New England Highway, East Maitland.

 An afternoon tea book event in a charming garden setting, organised by Angus & Robertson, Greenhills, and The Garden Table Café.

$10 per person for the delicious afternoon tea  – being entertained by me is free! Wonderful lucky door prizes on the day.

To make a booking or for more info please contact Jenny Benning on 0419 420 775.
 
1.00 pm, Friday 8th May
Wallsend Library, Bunn Street, Wallsend.

 A lunchtime book event in the fabulously designed, environmentally friendly Wallsend Library.

Light lunch provided, free  — being entertained by me here is also free!

Call Wallsend Library on (02) 4985 6680 to book or for more info.

Possum presents

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A Crepuscule rose climbs along my verandah railings, the blooms of which I am very fond. Unfortunately I only get to admire them on the far branches that hang suspended in mid-air.

The rest are eaten by the brush-tailed possum.
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No doubt it thinks it makes a fair exchange. It munches on flowers and leaves and breaks off stems and branches, makes a deposit on the railing by way of payment and waddles off to the next rose bush.
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But whether currants or coal, I haven’t yet found a use for these little black offerings, so am not happy about the exchange at all. I could do without the presents and the presence — of any possum!