Life and Wildlife on the Banks of the Murrumbidgee
At the start of the planting season, I'm so excited to see my new young plants. I spend a lot of time sorting them, checking them out, figuring out where exactly I'm going to put them, and admiring them fondly. At the end of the season, I'm equally excited to see my piles of empty... Continue Reading →
A few years ago, I went to a workshop on erosion control, which gave me a number of tools to use against soil erosion. One of them involves using logs and brush to make multiple leaky weirs, which slow water and sediment moving down a slope, allowing the silt to drop out instead of being... Continue Reading →
I know we’ll need all the water we can get for another summer of heatwaves, coming in just a few months. It’s also perfect for this year’s tree planting that the soil moisture is good. However, the flooding is beginning to become just a little tedious – especially the creek. When Mullion Creek goes up... Continue Reading →
I have a love-hate relationship with fences. A good fence is essential for stock management and control. On the other hand, I hate having to get over barbed wire, as I’m not good at the seamless leap over. Barbed wire is particularly important if you have cattle who like to lean on them. Sheep don’t... Continue Reading →
While we were collecting last year's corflute covers and drainage discs down in last year's Big Gully planting, we found the young trees mostly well grown, a few bowled over by wombats, a few being chewed on by insects - those I'm hoping will provide food and attract birds in the future. The thistles were... Continue Reading →
Bloom of rust on an old disc I love the texture of old rusty iron, the subtle ripples of its surface where air has nibbled it away over decades. I love the red-orange colour which is earthy and natural, a far cry from primary colours and shiny galvanized silver of new metal. I have quite... Continue Reading →
After months of weed control, plus stripping tree covers among the Stinking Roger and Saffron Thistle, we’re finally into the planting season, despite being still surrounded by the post-drought thistles. My mini-forest sits outside our bedroom door reminding me to keep it watered and fed. Mini forest The retrieved covers are stacked high in the... Continue Reading →
Living at the farm, I’m often reminded that we are surrounded by other life that insists we make way for them. Hundreds of cockatoos have been screeching at the bottom of the garden for weeks, while they strip the walnut and olive trees. Moths beat at the windows at night, flies do the same by... Continue Reading →
Since the drought broke, we've had lots of rain and most of it was gentle enough to soak into the ground without causing flooding. The most recent lot, though, was a reminder of what it's like when the river and creek both swell and take over the land around them. A reminder of how the... Continue Reading →
After the drought ended in February last year we were so excited to see the green tinge creeping across the landscape. But of course, a lot of that was weeds that had been allowed to germinate in bare ground – left bare by the drought. Because the ground cover was still fragile, it was necessary... Continue Reading →
Since the end of the drought there has been a spate of sheep and cattle thefts ("duffing") particularly by thieves using empty caravans to stuff suddenly valuable animals into. It's suspicious if an apparent grey nomad has a trailer that bleats or moos. That's not the sort of stock-taking I'm doing. With my mother's death,... Continue Reading →
In May, during the Covid lockdown, my mother Barbara Hamer, died. While she was much luckier than many others have been at this time, (a painless fade, with family to support her), it is still a loss. She was always busy, tending to rush full tilt at life expecting it to get out of the... Continue Reading →
When the whole world is sharing a pandemic, I thought it would be nice to share some of the beauty we're "locked down" with, including the dragon's breath sunset above. Our friends George and Rosie from Berkeley also gave us some wonderful long lens photos of birds and kangaroos, stars and sunsets. And of course,... Continue Reading →
There's not much competition between a long-necked turtle shell and a heavy duty truck on a gravel road. Sadly the turtles (chelodina longicollis) don't know that, and set off as soon as the rains came looking for romance in alternate ponds and dams. This one I saw after dodging dozens of excited frogs flaunting themselves... Continue Reading →
We got 40mm, plus a few beetles, in our rain gauge. It’s not enough. While we were getting monthly rainfall in the single digits, I found myself begging the clouds for a single millimetre to take the edge off the damage from the heat, and maybe keep a few things going that would otherwise die. ... Continue Reading →
I'd given up watching the local radar loop for rain. It's been a long time since we had water falling out of the sky. This year's lambs will be very confused when it happens. The land around us is dimmed by the smoke haze from the fires on the coast and to the south. Jessie... Continue Reading →
After sunset, most birds are prepared to get some sleep. The volatile sulphur-crested cockatoos cease their screeching, the galahs "zip-zip" their way to bed, and even the restless flycatchers actually take a rest. But the Masked Lapwings (vanellus miles) are always on guard, giving out alarm calls day and night. That’s because they live and... Continue Reading →
Thistles and brooms, ryegrass and goosegrass and vetch. The more I learn about the weeds that infest our paddocks, the more I find myself spotting them when we travel. Fancy names, multiple names, "Great Mullein", "Salvation Jane", "Horehound" and "Pellitory of the Wall". Some are clearly at home, well controlled by the climate, or insects... Continue Reading →
A scratch at the door. The dog knows to come around to the laundry. Another scratch at the door. Finally I get up to take a look. It's the termite inspector. I know there are many types of termites all around us, just waiting to have a little chew on the timber parts of the... Continue Reading →
Having a river in your backyard is a lovely idea, not always so pleasant in reality, as fences and dead animals go swirling past in a flood, or when you find out that a city upstream is putting something in the water that shouldn't be there. Waterwatch has been a great way to find out... Continue Reading →
