originally posted June 13^th  2012

The snakes have gone into hibernation for the winter. The wombats are coming out earlier. Saw a big beautiful adult in great condition at dusk a couple of days ago. Larry managed to get the old ferguson tractor going and slashed our flat paddocks before winter set in. The grazing animals are loving it and the paddocks are full of roos and wallabies when I when I go for my early morning walk. We have 3 resident Wedge Tail Eagles that give us a flight show nearly every day at the moment .It never fails to mesmerise me and I can’t believe how high they soar.We also have a Sea Eagle visiting so the river must be good fishing currently

sea eagle visit

poor cold little finch

We were bought a yellow breasted finch that had fallen into a tub of water and couldn’t get out .He was wet and cold but we revived him overnight keeping him nice and warm in a container by the fire ,gave him a teat flight in the lounge the next morning and then released him back where he came from making sure the outside tub had a climbing perch in it!

release

mum and babies

We have had some new additions ,not native but very welcome. Our rooster who we call “Handsome” who is also very nice natured ,treats the hens with respect and was also born here has had some babies with “Little Black Hen” who is a really good mother.

mum taking babies for a walk

A couple of months ago I applied for a small grant to assist with some equipment to start removing tiger pear from the property.

tiger pear

I had a successful outcome so that  is now an ongoing task. We spray some  and dig some out by the roots .We have iron rectangle enclosures that Larry has constructed .The tiger pear gets put in to these which have a cochineal bug living in there which feeds exclusively on tiger pear. This was introduced by NPWS to help land owners dispose of the pest. Some of it we burn .Tiger pear is an invasive pest, It was bought into the Hunter region many years ago by someone who thought it looked “nice” It is now spread through the Goulburn river NP and peoples properties and is a dreadful thing to get rid of. We can get some control over it but I believe eradication would be impossible unless everyone was constantly working at it

Chris posing for a write up in the Muswellbrook evening paper.

Larry spraying tiger pear in the grazing paddocks

originally posted April 17^th  2012

It’s been a while since you heard from me but we have been busy! Things are moving along now and we are working on control of tiger pear and thistles………a never ending chore but very rewarding once you see that progress happening.

We have spotted quite a few barking geckos  and got a photo of this young one. They grow up to about 15cm from the snout – tail tip.

barking gecko

We have the materials for our large flight aviary now delivered and Larry is starting on that this week. The truck that did the delivery managed to get bogged about 1k away from the property and that was a days work for Larry and one of neighbours helping the truck driver jack up the truck and digging out around the wheels! Such is life out here sometimes.

There are quite a few snakes around at the moment. They are  stocking up on some

death adder

food getting ready to go into hibernation for the winter months. We see mainly death adders and eastern browns. Larry moved a large adder out of our house paddock the other day and we got a good photo of him.  Our dog Misty found him and she very wisely quickly stepped back !

We spotted a brown snake going into the chicken pen but he emerged and headed off down the hillside much to our relief as they don’t like feeling that you have them hemmed in and that’s when they are likely to strike.

Originally  posted March 13^th 2012

It seems like 5 minutes! It’s very easy to sit on the veranda and just look out over the river and hillside watching the birds and marsupials for hours. We watched a pair of wedge-tailed eagles hunting the other day ,a great sight. We also see sea eagles here hunting fish out of the river. Larry snapped  this one flying between our veranda and the river.

visiting sea eagle

At the moment the conditions are favourable and food is plentiful so all the wildlife is really healthy. The recent rain drove the river up a good 30 ft which was sight I haven’t witnessed before. It happens very quickly. The force of nature is very powerful and it was something to see our small river turn into a raging torrent taking trees along with it and anything else in it’s path. We were unable to use our road, or goat track as I call it for about 4 days, but had plenty of supplies here. It’s so good to see so many healthy wombats  without mange so we are hoping the favourable conditions will continue with  steady rain rather than the erratic we have just had. We felt very sorry for all the people that got flooded  and hope they don’t have a repeat anytime soon. It must be devastating and so difficult to recover from. The frogs of course have loved all the rain and there are lots around which is good sign.

green tree frog in garden

We are starting to get organised and work will begin on the large bird avairy hopefully next month.

Originally posted on February 20th 2012

Due to unforeseen circumstances I had to move my blog to a new server but was unable to move the posts over. I will attempt to recreate our developments for those of you are new to the blog.

Misty hiding from the storm

Misty in favourite pastime- earned privilege which comes with being a 14yr old

also favourite pastime of 20yrs+ puss

It seems like 5 mins but we have been here for 12 days today. There is so much to be done it almost feels overwhelming but just to sit on the veranda and listen to the birds with no other sounds is a glorious feeling. That’s not to say that it’s always tranquil. Last night we had a storm which I found quite scary. Larry opened his eyes when I poked him in the ribs then snored all the way through it! The thunder is so loud when your just one house surrounded by wilderness. I guess I will get used to it. The lightning lights up the whole house. The dog “Misty” finds it scary and she  goes into the walk-in wardrobe as it’s the smallest space she can lie down in. She is 14yrs old. The  19yr old cat “Feather” took it in stride .It was a big move for her. This is not a place I would really have a cat but when you have had a cat for 19yrs she is part of the family so anything other than bringing her would be unthinkable .She loves the big house and is quite happy just to come out on the veranda with us when we are out there. We have to be very careful as the goannas here are about 3 feet long and puss doesn’t know about them and could get crunched or she could sniff a snake close up and personal !! Not a nice way to go after making it to 19 which in human yrs is 181.The rescued cockatiels from Sydney Fu, Man and Chu think they are in bird heaven now in a large aviary flying  with lots of other birds around them. A couple of days ago I saw my first  Brush-Tailed Rock Wallaby which is now a threatened species. It’s incredible as once you see one you can’t mistake it with any other. The colour is gorgeous and the tail magnificent .They have a majestic way of moving. Larry has seen some and has told me but seeing one made me realise how special they are. Larry took these images.

Brush- tailed Rock Wallaby

Everything is green so the grazing animals are looking really healthy.The wombats are coming out at night as they should and we are not seeing mange ones out during the day at the moment but they are around .I saw a fox a couple of days ago on my early morning walk.They really are beautiful creatures but not good for our native species to have around. In their natural environment I hope they are cared for.

Brush-tailed Rock Wallaby

There is a lot of organising to be done so I better get on with it .