Tuesday, November 14, 2006, 09:26 PM
Both of us were woken by the noise of subtle scratching on the 2 seater outside our open bedroom window to the verandah. I remember looking at the clock radio which said 3 am & thinking I haven't heard any thunder so why is the prowler there. This prowler always comes with thunder in the night.
In the darkness I knew those brown eyes, brown eyes that can just see over the window sill peering in moving left & then right.
Only having hearing in one ear I assumed with this good ear to the pillow there must have been some distant rumblings I was oblivious to...Rain was expected but not storms surely
I drifted off to sleep for a time but was woken again by what was obviously more urgent sounds coming from the 2 seater with its wooden boards. Then I heard the heavy breathing & this took me back for a moment to a time years ago when the sheep got in around the house one night.
It is funny now, but at the time it sure was a jolting shock to ones system. That morning we woke to the sounds of heavy breathing outside this same bedroom window on the verandah. Talk about spring into action when it dawned on us what it was !...Luckily though little if anything of the garden had been eaten & a hurried bare foot run on a cold dewy dawn by yours truly rounded up the culprits to be herded back out the opened gate.
This breathing was different & as I lay there listening not wanting to move it turned into huffing & puffing with sounds of more anxious scratchings....Toenails on wood no less
Jen the wren then said in the darkness "You forgot to shut Mo in the garage can you do something please!"
It was now about 5 so I got up & went out to the family room knowing Mo would leave the 2 seater & follow me round to the back. In he came all relieved at being inside away from the scary thunder. Mo just about shakes himself to pieces with 2 things in life ...One is thunder & the other is standing on the Vet table waiting for something to happen to him. I grabbed a blanket & lay down for a sleep on our very comfy lounge whilst he took up a close safe position on the carpet nearby.
Rain did arrive with the coming of dawn & some rumbling, later in the morning when I was driving down the paddock with his Lordship lightning & thunder struck over towards the direction of Junee....Mo could not get down onto the floor quick enough to inspect the underside of the dash with much trembling & that look of despair.
Keith Lord phoned that night to tell me of a tremendous lightning hit on a tree at his farm "Homeview" towards town from us. I went to investigate this morning with Keith & was astounded to say the least by the power unleashed with this lightning strike on a big old tree. It was completely destroyed & broken into bits & pieces, some quite large scattered around in a circle from where for so long it had dominated the landscape. Even the main trunk had been blasted & splintered out of the ground breaking off the roots that held it aloft for so many years. I took some photos as Mo trotted about the debri not knowing this was a result of his fear with thunder.
It certainly served as a sobering reminder to me not to take the danger of lightning strike lightly as is often the case when about farms during storms.
This large slab of main trunk has been driven out some 40 M along the ground as evidenced by the mark
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( 3.1 / 1754 )Friday, November 3, 2006, 11:41 AM
It was pleasing to know it can still rain after not having a fall for well over a month. With the lunchtime Dust Storm & accompaning 5 spots I was beginning to think we were to be denied anything at all.
With the severe drought conditions of late most of course were hoping for a substantial amount to at least fill some grain of late sown crops in a landscape now sadly consisting mostly of all types that have died. To little to late as the saying goes with just 7mm around the district
At this time of year with rain at night the Giant Pobblebonk Frog will come out from underground to rejoice in the wet. I set forth in light drizzle under my big umbrella with torch in hand to see if I could find one of these amazing frogs. After much looking about I was finally rewarded to find a "Bull Frog" which is the local term. Closing in on this one quietly sitting there in the rain one can not help but wonder how these frogs can survive such long dry spells. They mostly burrow along creek banks, or near dam banks but can be found well away from any water source often down beside fence posts. Males can be heard calling with a deep "plunk" or "thud" from Aug through to Dec then again in Mar after the summer.
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Away in the darkness of the field came the bleating of a sheep & as I am expecting twins to be born from the last of my White Dorper ewes, me first thougt was it is her in the pains of labour. A hurried investigation revealed all was well however, it was Dolly (she has a lamb) who was making this baaing. She for some reason baas to me both from afar & near not so the others. Dolly can be seen in the centre of the photograph & I think she even has her mouth open.
On return the Giant Pobblebonk was gone, not frightened by my earlier flash which would be taken for lightning but I expect from the sound of Dolly....No place for a frog to be amidst the trampling of feet.
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( 3 / 1768 )Thursday, November 2, 2006, 01:49 PM
If ever there is a sentence uttered by someone that gives you an instant sense of fright over the summer months it is this one. Or worse still on most occassions one will be caught completely by surprise when you come around a corner or look down & there it is, right there on the ground in front of you like it has been there all the time.
During one summer not so long ago we had the added excitement of having one of these Brown Snakes get into the house. We determined that it must have been in the garage at a time when Jen the wren went out through there from the laundry to garden. This snake then got up the step into the laundry remaining there untill the next day when it went on into the family room, possibly looking for a way back outside. Mo found it under the dining table with much barking to my great surprise....Luckily for him the floor was a slippery tiled surface so this snake whilst striking at the little fellow could not get a grip. I had time to grab one of Mo's back legs pulling him to safety silly little bugger, but then again he is an Aussie Terrier & that is what they do.
So having this visitor to our garden in the top photo taken only a few days ago means Mo is confined to barracks unless strictly supervised. As it is a half hr dash to the Vets if he were to show symptoms of being bitten it would be to late
Symptoms in Pets will vary depending on the type of Snake invenomation
Dogs usually get bitten on the nose whilst cats on their paws.
Brown Snake bite symptoms can be presented with trembling, salivation, vomiting, & dilated pupils.
Unsteadiness paralysis & coma can follow.
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( 3 / 1667 )Tuesday, October 10, 2006, 08:31 AM
I seem to have accumulated quite a few bird photos taken here at myozspot since the Autumn & with not concentrating so much on nature they were crying out for a posting.
Stubble Quail by the hundreds loved this field cover in April
Apostlebirds just love togetherness in May or anytime !
Female Fairy Wren surveys the garden in August
Masked Lapwing Plovers take security near farm houses all year round to live & nest
Red-capped Robin in September was a cheeky little fellow
Flame Robin who liked to keep a safe September distance
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Superb Parrot (Endangered) however more sightings this Spring
Oct Emus embrace an early end to Spring
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( 3 / 2311 )Tuesday, September 26, 2006, 09:49 PM
Ouch it must be for Mums pouch when joey is about big enough to begin coming out for little excursions into life on the outside.
This family mob of Eastern Greys that have been seeking shelter here show 2 Mums with joeys at about this stage. These Mothers cannot hop at the speeds of the others naturally but do well in keeping up. This series of photos shows how they will break away from observation to flight & in particular how a younger animal takes the lead creating a wonderful overlap in passing two others. The mob will follow the leader whether this happens to be a young or older member...mostly the very young are speedy enough to be out in front & don't necessarily go the right way to safety. Later it is learnt to follow Mum who knows best.
Later I managed to time a hop over a fence with one of these Mums showing that extended pouch of carrying a larger joey. She will approach the fence & slow, going right up to it before jumping more or less straight up & over. Her juvenile joey from last year is seen following close behind.
Whilst we have lost forever the likes of the strikingly marked Bridled Nailtail Wallaby that ate exclusively native grasses. Eastern Greys are reputed to number more than when European settlement occurred....from, it is said land clearing & pasture improvements, along with more availability of water from farm dams.
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