Bushfire!

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The challenges of country living continue! In the space of four weeks we left a pump on running the water tank dry (our only source of water)- fortunately the pump wasn’t damaged. The following week was the snake in the house, then the fox attack….and this week a bushfire!

We were awoken around 5.30am with the strong smell of smoke, soon followed by the sound of numerous fire engines. It was obviously close by.

Water bomber in action

The view from the back door at 6.00am

Sunrise through the smoke

Thanks to the Bushfire Brigades! Now hopefully the unsavoury person who lit it (FESA say the cause is ‘suspicious’) will get caught.

Fox Attack!

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Yet more death and destruction at McCarthy Park this week……went out to feed the animals one evening, and came face to face with a mangy looking fox actually curled up IN the chook run. It had obviously got in earlier and killed three chooks, but couldn’t get out again.

It is so, so distressing….and annoying, to lose our animals in this way. Foxes tend to just kill for the sake of it rather than for food. This fox was very skinny, and must have been hungry, yet had killed three chooks and just left them.

After much searching, we found a possible entry point – a very small gap under a gate, not at all something we would have thought a fox could fit through. Fortunately all the other animals free ranging at the time were unharmed.

There’s a snake in the house!!!!

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Well, we do talk about the welcome and unwelcome wildlife that we encounter on a 10 acre property…..but this week we had a snake in the house! Ok, it was only a juvenile, about 30 cm long, but it was a Dugite!

Fortunately the yelling ‘there’s a snake in the house’ (while determinedly keeping eyes on the snake so it didn’t disappear off into a bedroom) finally had some effect on those outside. A net was grabbed, the snake caught, and then it was released in the ‘snake lake‘- the first repatriation of a snake there since we created it.

Juvenile dugite in the house

Releasing the dugite into the snake lake

Dugite's herringbone skin pattern

Everyone is cooling off!

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It has been a very hot period, and we have had to work at keeping the animals cool and the garden watered sufficiently. We have discovered that turkeys love to get wet! In this hot weather, they have gone into the duck’s water for a paddle and splash around!

Is it a duck? Is it a goose?......No, it's a turkey?

Bush foods garden!

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We have just finished planting out a native/bush-food garden at the front of the house. Previously there was a massive philodendron that was starting to look tatty, way too big, and was burnt by the sun every summer.

This was pulled out (no mean feat!!) with the poor, long suffering 4WD dragging the  boat anchor (many times) through its roots until all were removed. Then the area was landscaped with a truck load of soil and another of bark chips, and then planted out. We purchased three grass trees from Replants, then numerous other natives from Australian Native Nurseries (choosing bush foods as much as possible).

Some of the  philly still lives in pots, the rest ( like all our branches and cuttings) went down to help re-greening elsewhere by covering some bare sand in one of the back paddocks (the old horse arena)—there to act as a temporary sunshade and catchment for self-sowing native plants to  take hold and thrive in.

Newly planted bush foods garden

Now we just need it to grow!

Ducklings!!

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We finally have ducklings!! After two previous failed sittings, and despite having to move the mother duck and eggs a week ago, we now have three ducklings! We are keeping them separate to the other ducks, as sometimes the drakes can be a bit aggressive apparently.

It is amazing how strong they are already!

Regular visitor

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There are a family of King Skinks that live near the fish pond. This beauty was a good 40 cm long! They live in the rocks, but frequently get into the roof space and wander around up there where we can hear them dragging their tails.

 

Now for the perch…..

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Well, with the trout out for this year, in go the perch. We put two sizes in- fingerlings that will take this and next summer to grow to eating size, and some larger (approximately 300 grams) that will be ready during this summer. This means we won’t have to wait a full 18 months before we have any fish ready to eat. The plan now is that each spring we add more perch fingerlings and this should enable us to maintain a steady supply of fish without the need to completely harvest every 6 months.

silver perch fingerlings November 2011

300 gram silver perch 12 November 2011

We are looking forward to the perch getting bigger and eating all the string algae so it is nicer for swimming!