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anonsally · 1 year

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Day 10 of Australia vacation, part 2: Quoll Patrol

We drove to Scottsdale, checked into the heritage B&B where we would stay for the next couple nights, and then set off on a private wildlife and scenery tour--just the four of us with a local guide.

Some of the places we went were spots we might have visited on our own, but some we wouldn't have had access to, and a lot of the driving was on unpaved back roads so we got to see quite a bit of territory we certainly wouldn't have seen without the guide. And we really enjoyed it and saw many birds and marsupials! The guide was knowledgeable, identifying many birds by sound and many with only a brief glimpse. That said, I'm not sure this is the tour company I would've chosen if there hadn't been itinerary negotiations with Brother-in-law during the planning stage for the trip. Still, they get points for the rhyme-y name of Day's 10's tour!

He first took us to private farmland with a large pond so we could spot some birds. We saw many that were new to me, including a white-faced heron, a black-fronted dotterel, musk ducks (including some ducklings riding on their mother!), chestnut teals, Australian shelducks, and, in a field, an Australian pipit. Then, while driving to the next destination, we pulled over when we spotted a white-bellied sea-eagle soaring overhead! That was really exciting! A majestic bird. We also saw a gray currawong on the drive, though I'm not sure I could distinguish it from a black currawong and I just took the guide's word for it.

We drove up to Ben Lomond National Park (named after the mountain in Scotland). There were some gorgeous views from the foresty part, and then when we got just above the treeline, we could see the dolerite peaks. It was beautiful! We spent a few minutes there before driving even further up, to the ski village (which was of course closed as it is summer there now and there was no snow). That area was somewhat reminiscent of moorlands in northern England, and all of the bushes were in bloom. There were lots of wallabies around, and some fantastic views before the fog fully rolled in--though it was already too foggy to see the ocean on the other side. We also heard and spotted some crescent honeyeaters. There may have been other birds too--I heard a lot of birdsong (including one that kept singing "figaro figaro figaro"), but I couldn't find any more of them and the guide had set us loose on a short-ish walk without him.

We then drove back down out of the fog, eventually stopping for a few minutes in a forest clearing where we could hear dozens of birds, but none of them showed themselves. Since I'm the only one of the four of us who is obsessed with birds, we didn't wait too long before moving on.

Finally we drove on some back roads, including crossing through a small river, to a large pasture with a sort of shack and an outdoor fireplace. The tour company leases this spot from a timber company. It was getting to be evening, and many kangaroos, wallabies, and pademelons (smaller wallaby-like creatures) were grazing on the pasture. It turned out, however, that the guide feeds them when he brings people there, so the kangaroos all came right up to us expecting food. Kangaroos are tall! I was a bit intimidated, and I also felt that it was not a good thing to feed wild animals and make them more tame. It was just not as much of an eco-tour as I would've preferred.

On the other hand, it did mean we had a close look at the animals, and Brother-in-law actually spent a while scratching one of the kangaroos, to their mutual great delight. The wallabies and pademelons were very cute and much less tame.

The guide started a fire (I had to put on all my layers of clothing as it was chilly and a bit drizzly) and prepared us a picnic meal; we ate and chatted and admired the various macropods. Eventually, as it got later, the quolls that live under the shack emerged. They were ridiculously cute! And then, once it was dark, the brush-tail possum turned up. So we certainly saw plenty of nocturnal creatures, particularly as we spotted some wombats grazing on our drive out. We also passed (by the side of the road) a darker colored quoll of a different species.

It was pretty late when we got back to the B&B. We arranged to meet our guide at 10am the next day for Wilderness and Waterfalls.

#personal #travel #birdwatching #wildlife

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kiunlo · 1 year

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top 5 birds you've seen and top 5 birds you hope to spot someday

ARRRGGHHH FUCKING BIRDIES I LOVE THEM. i'm including pictures because i want people to see them instead of just having to look them up. also putting it behind a readmore cuz this shit got LONG

BIRDIES I'VE SEEN 🐦

NUMBA ONE: a fucking wedge tailed eagle family that was hunting/preying upon a flock of little corellas. i saw them diving and shit and it was the coolest thing ever. also one of them flew right over me while it was a bit low and it was fucking massive.

NUMBA TWO: rainbow lorikeets <3 they are literally everywhere. they also like to fight other birds.

NUMBA THREE: eastern rosellas! only see them occasionally but they are really cute and cool

NUMBA FOUR: blue-faced honeyeaters! fun fact, the blue part of the face is entirely featherless skin, and when they are young, it's more of an olive green colour which eventually becomes blue when they're older!

NUMBA FIVE: superb fairy wrens! they are very tiny but also very cute! the left is a male and the right is a female!

now...onto birdies I would like to see in the future!!!

BIRDIES I WANNA SEE 🐧

NUMBA ONE: This stupid motherfucking yellow tufted honeyeater. i have HEARD this bird many times but it is an elusive bitch and i've yet to actually see it with my eyeballs. i just want to see the yellow bird please...

NUMBA TWO: yellow tailed black cockatoo! what is it with black and yellow birds and me being unable to see them even though i can fucking hear them??? their calls are very distinct and i love hearing them but they're a bit rarer in my area.

NUMBA THREE: a fucking emu. do i even need to put in an image? i guess i'll do it anyway for consistency. emu's do not live in our area but i kinda wish they did. it would make living in my town a bit more challenging and dangerous but i kinda like danger anyway.

NUMBA FOUR: the scary ass dinosaur bitch also known as a cassowary. i would like to see them but only from a distance.

NUMBA 5: a penguin! i really love penguins a lot. i would elated to see any species of penguin, but i really like emperor penguins because they are big as hell and their sounds are cool.

okay that's it <3 hope you enjoyed the birdies

#ask #sandwyrm #asks #birdies #aussie birds #ash's personal tag

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jeanhm · 3 months

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Great Ocean Road Day 2

Today was very much about the famous sights on the GOR, in particular the 12 Apostles. However, when I did this before as part of a tour we really only7 got to see Loch Ard Gorge and the 12 Apostles so this time was the opportunity to see ALL the main sights and travelling from east to west was also much better given that the sights improved as we went along.

Starting from Apollo Bay this morning we started our westward journey with a trip to Cape Otway National Park to see the lighthouse primarily - not fantastic as we couldn't get close but we were rewarded by seeing both kangaroos who bounced out in front of us and a red fox - even if they are trying to kill them in the area. Then it was on to Castle Cover lookout for some great initially scenery, then the big sights loomed into view.

The first we went to was Gibson Steps, 88 of the blighters which took us down to the beach from where we could see the Apostles temptingly in the background. The climb up and down was well worth it and provided a great start to the 12 Apostles which followed. As before I find these stacks stunning and the day was clear and bright, although very windy. Despite the carpark being pretty full the area wasn't as busy as I expected and we were able to get some great shots.

We then moved on to Loch Ard Gorge, which sadly is shut so we couldn't go down onto the beach as I've done before but we did get to see the Razorback rocks and Island Arch. I hadn't appreciated just how may shipwrecks had occurred along this single stretch of coast but I'm not surprised judging by both the wind and the shallow lying rocks extending well out to sea. It is easy to see just how the ships got pushed onto the rocks to their doom.

Our next place to visit was London Bridge - doesn't really look like it but I can see why it is named this and then The Grotto. This was a real find....again a short walk and steps and we just expected to go down to see more rocks but there was a fab archway and pool with bright blue water and was a real gem of a find. We then stopped briefly at both the Bay of Martyrs and Bay of Islands before making our way to our overnight accommodation in Warnambool.

Having checked in we set off again to a couple of more local sights, this time Stingray Bay, stunningly beautiful waves and Logans Beach where paragliding was taking place and then we headed to Tower Hill wildlife reserve where I was rewarded with my first koala sighting, though the pictures weren't good.

During the day we also saw some lovely birds, in particular the Australian Kin parrots (female has the green head), honeyeaters and many seabirds which I can't identify. Great day but I am now sunburned!

#great ocean road #12 apostles #the grotto #bay of islands

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livingcorner · 3 years

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Tom’s tips for attracting native birds to your backyard – ABC Everyday

The highlight of my work-from-home day is watching the rainbow lorikeets, honeyeaters and occasional kookaburra in my backyard.

It’s calming watching them nibble away on our plants and take a dip in our bird bath (although more often they bomb dive our pool).

You're reading: Tom’s tips for attracting native birds to your backyard – ABC Everyday

And attracting native wildlife to your backyard or balcony benefits them too.

I spoke to bird fan and ecologist Tom Hunt from Adelaide for his top tips for bringing all the birds to your yard — no matter where you live.

Why attract native birds?

Where you live and whether it’s an urban or regional area will dictate what native birds you can attract.

But Tom says most of us have the potential to see birds like rainbow lorikeets, magpies, honeyeaters and finches.

“Depending on the city you are in, and the amount of bushland around, you have the opportunity to attract a really wide range and variety of bird species. Especially if there is some habitat nearby like a park or green spaces.

“But that’s not to say if you live in the most urbanised concrete jungle you still don’t have an opportunity. Even if you have a balcony you can create a habitat in pots.”

It’s always exciting to spot a kookaburra in your backyard.(

Pexels: Valeriia Miller

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Tom says creating a safe haven for native birds at your home can help them survive.

“When we clear habitat there are species that disappear. Attracting birds to your garden is an opportunity to try and redress some of that imbalance we’ve created.”

Birds can also increase the health of your garden — as well as your mental health.

Read more: Organic Garden Soil: Use Organic Compost +more | Gardeners.com

“Nature has proven to improve people’s wellbeing,” Tom says.

Five ways to attract native birds

Plants

Choosing the right native plants for your garden is one of the best things you can do to attract birds, says Tom.

You want to include a variety to suit different bird types. For example, dense shrubs to provide cover for smaller birds, nectar plants like grevillea (spider flower) for nectar feeding birds like honeyeaters, and eucalyptus (gum trees) for rainbow lorikeets.

“Make sure you include dense plants and have different structure in the garden; that way the more aggressive species won’t out-compete the smaller birds,” Tom says.

Native grass will also help attract insects for birds who like to forage.

If you’re working with a balcony, Tom recommends potted natives that produce nectar.

“Some that might do well are a compact form of candle banksia, kangaroo paws or a hardy grevillea species.”

Water

All birds need to drink, especially those like finches and pigeons which have a dry diet, says Tom.

“But in hot weather all species need water, and providing a clean source of water like in a bird bath or trough is a great way to help the birds out.”

Make sure it is off the ground so birds feel safe, and have cover nearby so they can make a quick getaway if a predator does appear.

Tom says to add sticks in your water source to make drinking easier for the birds, and allows lizards and bees to crawl out so they won’t drown.

You’ll need to clean the water each day to prevent the growth of algae and bacteria.

Nectar mixes and sugar water will attract honey eaters and rainbow lorikeets.(

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Nest boxes

If you have large trees, consider adding a nesting box where birds, possums and reptiles can live.

“We are the only continent other than Antarctica that doesn’t have woodpeckers and they create hollows just by drilling into tree trunks,” Tom says.

“Our hollows form over long periods of time, [like in] very old gum trees through fungus rotting them out. Yet we have so many species that need hollows — parrots and cockatoos [for example].”

You can buy pre-made boxes or kits from gardening stores, or look up designs online and build your own.

Food

Many of us like to feed wild birds, yet it is discouraged by many bird groups.

Tom and some other bird experts say it’s OK as long as it’s done the right way.

“We know from research, regardless of what you tell people, they are going to do it. People like to see birds up close — and that’s a good thing. It’s engaging people in nature,” Tom says.

Read more: How to make compost

Seed will attract birds including finches, pigeons and doves. But Tom says there is also the risk of attracting non-natives like house sparrows — the little brown birds you see in food courts.

Nectar mixes and sugar water will attract honey eaters and lorikeets.

Other birds like currawongs, magpies and kookaburras prefer high-protein food.

Many people put our raw mince which can be dangerous because it can spread bacteria.

Tom says to instead purchase meal worms or native insectivore mixes, which have the perfect mix of macro and micronutrients, fibre and protein.

Fruit will attract wild birds like rosellas, lorikeets and king parrots.

It’s a good idea to not put out feed every day, and mix up the times you do it.

“That will prevent huge flocks of predators like magpies coming in,” Tom says.

He also says you need to keep the feeding area clean and hygienic to avoid spreading bacteria that can be fatal to wildlife.

Be mindful of pets

Attracting native birds to your garden means you have a responsibility to keep them safe.

“It’s on the pet owner to ensure their pets don’t harm our wildlife,” Tom says.

Pets like dogs and cats can kill birds and other wildlife.

Tom suggests keeping cats indoors or building an outdoor cat run.

With dogs, you may choose to supervise or limit their time in your backyard to give birds a chance to visit.

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Posted 23 Jan 202123 Jan 2021Sat 23 Jan 2021 at 9:00pm, updated 22 Jan 202122 Jan 2021Fri 22 Jan 2021 at 3:43am

Source: https://livingcorner.com.au Category: Garden

source https://livingcorner.com.au/toms-tips-for-attracting-native-birds-to-your-backyard-abc-everyday/

#livingcornernews

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vegetacide · 4 years

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TaG: Bloodlines (Part 9 Bit 1 )

Veg • notables: Due to the length of this part I am splitting it up into two bits.

Any errors in this are strictly my own

Ty to @gumnut-logic and @scribbles97 for the brainstorming help and the encouragement.

Also a special thanks for Nutty for letting me borrow Gordon's talking bird from her fic "The Dentist" (Part 11)

Rating and General warning: Mature content head. If you are not a fan of medical issues of a female nature in relation to pregnancy please proceed with caution.

Characters: Virgil, Kayo, (V/K), Jeff, Scott

Location: TaG-verse AU | Tracy Island

E N J O Y

8-8-8

Part 9 - Dipisahkan (Bit 1)

Week later...

“...and now for international news. A suspected homicide and fire in an internet café in Istanbul has been downgraded to Death by Misadventure as autopsy reports conclude the presence of a high concentration of narcotics found in the remains of the establishments proprietor, Berk Demir The café has long since been suspected as being associated with several black-market smugglers groups and dark web anarchist but to date authorities have been unable to obtain the necessary proof to back the claims...”

Kayo groaned and rolled her eyes as she flicked off the holo-fed. She was not in the mood to listen to criminal reports and activities when there was nothing she could do to help.

There were criminal elements the world over like that cafe, some of which she’d had an active hand in shouting down over the course of the last few years. From human trafficking, to the sales of banned chemicals or other components that could cause a loose of life and had on some occasions.

She’d helped where she could, always hopeful despite the odds that it would help bring to justice the man that had caused so much pain to so many people.

Whatever it took to protect those she called her family and humanity as a whole, she would do it. The GDF had simply to ask and she was there.

Being bound to the villa and watching what was going on in the world though was like dangling a carrot and the best course of action as she sat here and incubated another life was to avoid it at all costs.

On top of that, the recommendation that she relocated to the mainland and even be further removed from everything was hard for her to swallow.

After talking to Jeff and Scott that following morning after that little revelation by her OB-Gyn her life had been completely taken from her control. Grandma had joined the conversation as well and had agreed wholeheartedly that thought the island was a good place for her to recuperate and rest for the time being, the long term relocation was the best course of action.

Grandma had been a respected and well known doctor before her retirement but obstetrics and neonatal care had not been her chosen discipline. If there was a need for something more than just childbirth she didn’t feel adequately suited for the task.

That with the addition to the island not being equipped with the necessary supplies and it didn’t take much to convince Virgil of their one and only recourse.

So it looked like she was getting evicted and kicked even further afield from the action that made up her regular daily life. Relegated to a gestational oven, far away from home.

Tossing the remote on the coffee table she flopped back and stared up at the ceiling. Bored out of her gourd and feeling completely helpless for the first time in a long time.

From across the room she heard a chuckle and tipped her head further back to look at her father in law.

“Lucy had a hard time doing nothing too. Especially when she was pregnant with Alan.” He said, exchanging his data pad for his cane and coming over to join her.

“Please tell me, you found a way to stop her going insane with boredom.” Kayo griped, righting herself with a grunt of effort.

“She tried to take up knitting but with Gordon in the house…. It didn’t go over well.” Jeff assumed a casual stance though he was favouring his right leg a bit. After all his time in space, his recovery was slow and his joints were not enjoying gravity in the slightest.

Kayo made a face as she pictured the mess that must have been. “Well, there is no way I am taking up knitting now, Gordon is worse now than when he was a kid.”

Jeff laughed with ease at that, nodding his head in agreement with her statement.

“Yes, it’s best to keep him away from pointy sticks and yarn. He too easily falls into temptation. “

They fell into a companionable silence. Just enjoying each other's company like they used to do when she was little and she was too annoyed or upset to hang out with the rambunctious brothers.

It was weird how easily they fell back into the old routine, Jeff taking care of Tracy Industries and her doing any number of other quiet activities.

Oftentimes when she came to sit with him, it was just so she could feel closer to her own father. Wherever he was. She knew Jeff was aware of it but he always made time for her when she needed the comfort and he never made mention of it either. Knowing she was trying to put on a brave front in front of the rest of the family.

“It’s a beautiful day out.” He remarked, he’s face turned towards the large open balcony doors, the light breeze tousling his grey hair. “Would you care to go for a stroll, I could use the company.”

Kayo grinned and gave a nod. Getting to her feet on her own steam for a change was a nice boost to her confidence. Jeff stood close by to help but he didn’t ask or pester her like his sons were want to do and she was grateful for it.

She loved all her extended family very much but they tended to treat her like she was glass and would break at any minute even her husband. God, she loved him but his over protectiveness was starting to drive her batty.

Being the well brought up man that he was, Jeff offered her his elbow as they made their way out the balcony doors and towards the veranda stairs.

She tucked her hand in the crock of his arm, enjoying the warmth he offered her. Circling the pool they came to the top of the trail head that led in a gentle descent down the cliff side to the tide pools that sat below the mammoth villa.

It really was a beautiful day out and Kayo let her thoughts drift as the smells and sounds of their island home surrounded her.

Tropical birds danced and chirped amongst the tall palms and ferny underbrush and she caught a flash of iridescent black and a streak of white as something dove across their path. Stopping to see where it went off to, her and Jeff blinked as whatever it was squawked and chirped and burped at them before something that sounded vaguely like ‘Virgil’ hailed down from further up the path.*

“Did that bird…?” Kayo asked, slightly confused.

Jeff just sighed and shook his head. “I thought Gordon was joking when he said he taught a honeyeater to talk.”

“A what now?” She was more baffled than ever.

Jeff just patted her hand and they continued on their way.

They meandered on at a sedate pace for a few minutes, taking their time to traverse the well used path in no rush to reach any particular destination.

Coming around a bend they reached a small lookout where a large outcropping of rock had been worn smooth by the elements making for a perfect place to park one’s backside.

Jeff grunted as he settled onto the warm, volcanic rock and patted the space beside him in invitation.

“I’ve always wondered..” Kayo started, kicking off her sandals and sighing contentedly as the sun-kissed warmth of the basalt soothed her feet.

“Wondered what?” Jeff encouraged, tipping his cane back and forth between his hands.

“How did you manage it?” The look he sent her and the cant of his head pushed her to elaborate further. “Being away from home so often?”

“Ah,” He remarked as he caught on to her meaning. “While Lucille was pregnant and the boys were little.”

His brows dipped down as he thought of how best to respond, his jaw working back and forth as if he was chewing on the answer. “Funny you should ask actually.”

Her brow arched up as she regarded him, watching the quirk of his lip as he glanced her way. “How so?”

“Virgil asked something similar.” He didn’t elaborate more on that. Just went back to chewing on an answer for her previous inquiry. “Well, I can tell you one thing. It wasn’t easy. There were a lot of late night comms calls that made me glad that NASA didn’t charge long distance fees. And prior to the lunar communications relay being built, a lot of long, mopey emails that Lucy loved to tease me about to no end.”

“Virgil’s been barely gone a day and he’s already checked in with me three times…” Her voice trailed off and she pointed to the heavens. “You kept going back out there. I just….how?

She really wanted to know the answer cause she had been asking the same thing to herself all week and she hadn’t been able to come up with an answer.

“A job needed to be done and I had the skill set for it. The world didn’t get put on hold just cause we decided to have a kid...and another... and another..” He chuckled to himself. “ And so forth.”

“I just told myself whenever I left, get it done. Get it done right, precisely and correctly and get home. Keep on tasks and I’ll be home before I know it. For the most part that worked, kept me focused. When it didn’t there was plenty a night where Lucy was there..”

He sighed and rubbed at his chest. An old ache that would never go away and she felt a pang of guilt for bringing it up.

“You two will figure it out though.” He added taking a cleansing breath, the sadness that hung in his gaze dulling as he shifted his train of thought away from his dearly departed.

“It won't be easy, they will be a few bumps but you’ll manage. Besides on the days when things don’t work, the little nuget will have four uncles and great grandmother and an ecstatic Grandpa waiting the wings to lend a hand.”

Kayo looked down at her slowly distending tummy, her doubt churning with all the things they could mess up and would mess up.. But Jeff was right. They weren’t alone. They had a large support system that was just as excited as they were for their little stowaway and they would figure it out.

A bleep from Jeff’s wrist comms sounded and he glanced down to read the holographic message that had been sent to him. His brows dipped and he took a moment to send back a brief reply before giving her knee a pat.

“Boys are on their way back. Should be here soon.”

“Everything okay?”

He nodded as he held out the crook of his arm to her again. “Few bumps and bruises. Alan sprained his ankle but Virgil saved him from a nastier spill.”

Before she could ask about her husband, Jeff raised a hand. “Virgil is alright too but I am sure Grandma will have them both scanned within a inch of their lives the moment they get home.”

Placated for the time being, she took the offered limb and they made their way back up the cliff side path.

When Two finally landed some thirty minutes later, Kayo was chomping at the bit. True to Jeff’s word though Grandma had both Virgil and Alan in her clutches within moments of them disembarking the massive cargo hauler.

Alan limping along, Virgil and Gordon each under an arm. The stretcher had been an option but the youngest Tracy had kicked up a fuss that it wasn’t really that bad.

Grandma had taken one look at the dirty lot of them and all thoughts of complaint had fled in the face of all that Doctor Grandma-feel my wraith energy.

It was another twenty minutes before Kayo even had a chance to check in with her husband and when she finally managed to get a moment along with him he gathered her up in a hug and it didn’t appear as if he wanted to let go.

He was freshly showered and changed. Hair and skin still a slightly damp and smelling of soap.

Running her hands up and down his back, her head tucked into the crook of his neck she gave him a gentle squeeze which he reciprocated.

“Hey, tough day at the office?” She said into his ear.

“Something like that.”

Taking his hand Kayo tugged him toward the elevator. “Come on, let’s get you fed and watered before you get called away again.

“That’s supposed to be my job.” The grin that up turned his lips chased some of the shadows away from his eyes

“Well then, hurry up and I may let you mother-hen me. Though I will warn you, I can’t be held responsible if I start throwing things at you.”

“Oh, there’s a challenge if ever I heard one.” He chuckled, tucking her in under his arm as they passed through the heavy doors into the cab.

“So,” She started, hitting the button for the upper level. “How’d it go?”

Virgil shrugged with one shoulder. “Couple amateur rafters got into trouble on a class five that they had no business being anywhere near. Alan lost his footing as we were pulling them to shore. He’ll be alright in a few weeks, the rafters on the other hand are going to be getting some hefty fines for trespassing on a private reserve.”

The elevator dinged and the doors opened to the kitchen. “Sucks to be them.”

The awesome scent of roast chicken had Virgil distractedly grunting in agreement and Kayo grinned. The thought of food had obviously caused his brain to short out and speech had taken a back seat to hunger.

Coming up to the counter, she peaked around Virgil’s shoulder to admire the spread of food. Cecilia had been busy.

The Haitian woman was a genius in the kitchen and the boys had been spoiled rotten lately with her cooking.

Carb loading had turned into the number one pastime for the brothers and they endeavoured to consume as much as possible before her departure for the mainland with Kayo. There had been talk around the table about hiring her on full-time once the baby was born but it usually took second place to food shoveling and breathing.

‘Cecilia, that smells fantastic.”

“Virgil Tracy, you keep your fingers out of that roast. It’s not done yet.” The tall woman swatted at his hands with her baster and stole the carrot back that he had managed to pilfer. “Don’t blame me if you get salmonella poisoning. There is no way I am going to be held at fault for tossed cookies on the next call out. You hear me?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Chastised he took a seat and watched with longing in his eyes as the food guru went back to work

Kay just rolled her eyes and plunked down onto the stool beside him, tossing a leg over his thigh as she got comfortable.

He glanced down at it and grinned, putting hand on her knee and giving it a little squeeze.

“Comfortable?”

“Yup.”

Getting a little distracted Kayo jumped a bit when a cup of tea was placed in front of her. The scent of ginger tickled her sinuses and she looked up to see Cecilia standing across from her with her arms on her hips and a tea towel tossed over her shoulder.

“Drink up. You need to keep hydrated.” She instructed, pointing at the cup. “And no hanky panky in my kitchen.”

Virgil’s hand dropped from where it had slid up her thigh and he did his best to look innocent.

“Don’t you play coy with me.” The tall woman scolded, placing a cup of coffee in front of him. “It’s what got the two of you into all this baby hubbub in the first place and I don’t want it in my kitchen.”

Reprimanded they checked themselves and they both directed their attention at their respective drinks.

Foot falls down the stairs had Kayo turning to see Scott. He flashed a smile as he approached, data pad in hand.

“Hey, thought I would find you here.” He said, walking behind the counter to snag a fresh cup of coffee.

“Food was a necessity.” Virgil smirked, taking a sip from his own cup.

“John’s finished making those upgrades to the security system at the house in Parnell and the rota’ has been adjusted for the next few days until you get everything settled.” Scott held the data pad out to Kayo so she could see.

She blinked surprised she was being included in this even though she was the security specialist in the family. Taking the pad she flicked through the information that it provided. Updated security measures, upgrade gear and protocols. All things she had improved upon recently when Jeff had come home with little tweaks here and there by John for surveillance and anti-surveillance measures.

She was impressed and it must have shown on her face.

“You trained Hubbert well.” Scott remarked, a telling comment on his approval of their T.I security crew. “He has assigned Baxster and Jenkins to watch over things at the house and escort you to and from your appointments and such.”

“They’ll do. They both had advanced hand to hand tactics training and a working knowledge of counter intelligence measure that could come in handy if…” She paused and corrected herself. “When the media gets wind.”

“GDF has agreed to lend us a couple of bodies as well so we aren’t stretched too thin. They’ll be made available when needed.”

Looking into his coffee cup Virgil questioned, “You sure this is going to be okay?” Kayo knew he hated to be a burden on his brothers, preferring to be the one to provide support and not the one that needed it.

Scott gave his shoulder a pat. “Don’t worry, we got it. Even with Alan down we can cover things for a few days until you get back. Aunt Val is aware we are limited for a few days and is making preparations on her side if the need arises.”

Virgil didn’t look all that convinced but there wasn’t much he could do. His hands were tied as much as hers were.

“I still don’t like this.”

“I know, Bro.” Scott gave him a nudge and his large frame rocked slightly with it. “Pulling you from rotation completely is still an option if you want to take it.”

He shook his head. “No, that won’t work. Our effectiveness will go up in smoke and I don’t want that on my conscience anymore than you do.”

“But it’s my burden to take on as field commander, V. Not yours.”

This was just going around in circles and it wasn’t really getting them anywhere. Kayo nudged her husband from the other side.

“Come on, take me for a walk up to the lookout. I want to watch the sunset before dinner and it looks like we have the time.”

Cecilia who had been busily chopping greens for a salad nodded her head in confirmation when Kayo looked to her to verify.

“Besides, I could use a light exercise. I feel like I am starting to resemble a blimp.

Virgil choked on his coffee and turned to her. “A blimp? Hardly.”

Giving Scott a wink, she took a sip of her tea content for the time being that the heavy talk had been effectively brushed aside. This was one that she knew they would come to rehash again later though she knew there really was no use in it.

They had to do what they had to do. Moving to the mainland though a pain was their only option and Virgil needed to keep doing what he was doing. As Jeff has said, the world didn’t stop just because they were with child.

8-8-8

End of Part One

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds fanfic #fanficton #fanfic #TaG Bloodlines #vegetacide #Virgil Tracy #Kayo Kyrano #virgil/kayo #Virgil X Kayo #Jeff Tracy #Scott Tracy

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capillata · 4 years

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i’ve had some major paradigm shifts over the past month that have been kind of amazing. (and prompted a 4,000 word dreamwidth post whoops, but hey, at least i didn’t put that here). things are going great with partner/s, with gender stuff (in a slow and steady kind of way), and also even with socialising and a few realisations there. still worried for friends, especially global friends, (especially one friend who works as an anaesthetist in the NHS in the UK, and one friend who lives in Russia and well, it’s...complicated).

today it’s autumn, and sunny, and some of my plants have fusarium or verticillium wilt but either way they’re not going to recover. both basils, the peppermint, the carrots, and a few other things will die, and i’ll throw the plants (and the soil) out, disinfect the pots and start again. i already knew we had wilt in one section of the garden, it’s why we can’t grow tomatoes, but a storm blew spores into the pots, alas. sometimes gardening is just like that.

i’ve spent a lot of time reading articles that say ‘buy wilt resistant plants’ but then never tell you what those plants are. i found one US list that suggests apples might be okay. but then found two articles that showed apples being affected by wilt. the native plants are fine though, except for one.

there’s a little honeyeater that visits every morning, it checks all the plants for flowers, has a little drink of nectar, and then if it’s warm enough or it wants to, goes to the birdbath and has a bath. sometimes it yells at me for watching it. it’s very comfortable though, and has let me get quite close to it. he’ll be competing with all the bees soon, especially once the acacia and the eremophila flower.

today i put my tulip bulbs in the fridge. it doesn’t get cold enough in winter here for tulips to really understand what’s going on. so the fridge mimics ‘cold ground’ for a good month and a half, and then they get plopped in the soil and are much more likely to flower. if you plant tulips here without a good fridging (heh), all they really do is give you leaves, and sometimes smaller flowers. Araluen (our tulip park) must have an industrial level fridge around there somewhere.

my island in Animal Crossing reached 5 stars today. i’ve no idea how, as i only really did a small amount of work yesterday on it, so it must have just needed a few more points. overall, it’s still a wild island of chaos. i don’t like the hyper-controlled, super-pretty ones that just look like flower-filled towns. i want it to still feel a little wild.

it’s Mother’s Day here. have talked to mum, hoping to see her soon. the tarot cards are reminding me to stand up for myself and what i really need, and calling me out when i don’t, lol. i have to contact my Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids mentor, because i’ve been doing the work, but haven’t been in touch with him. he’s in the US and i hope he’s okay, as he’s older.

i’m having my cancer MRI / PET scans soon. well, i don’t know about the PET, the hospital hasn’t gotten in touch. but the MRI is in late June. here’s hoping it goes well, and everything’s quiet. but if not, i’ll do the best that i can, i guess. it’s all you can do.

hope you’re all going well. it occurred to me i hadn’t done any kind of update or rambly personal post here in a long while, and actually it’s mostly because a couple of months ago i returned to Dreamwidth to journal (@ moonvoice, if anyone’s interested, but all the content except for art/photos is under access or filter lock - you’ll need your own account to see it). i started a daily kind of ‘isolation log’ and got to day 44 and then restrictions were marginally relaxed and i got to see my Mum and then my other partner.

but i’m still maintaining a blog, because it’s been great.

stay safe, folks.

#personal #rambling nonsense #it's been a good sunday morning so far #and now i'm going to shower and hopefully get some words down

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lindoig7 · 4 years

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Sunday/Wednesday, 9-12 August

Sunday

We were in the van almost all day. Neither of us felt all that well when we first got up. Heather’s vertigo was bothering her, probably from the rocking and rolling in the car yesterday; and I was quite woozy too. I suspect I had accidentally taken a double dose of my blood pressure tablets. I am cutting them in halves at present and taking them on alternate days, but maybe I didn’t cut one of them and I felt quite dizzy and unstable until late morning.

At least, feeling like this gave me the perfect opportunity to tick off one of the things I said I wanted to do during lockdown. I lay on the bed and read for 2 solid hours. I have been reading much more than usual, mainly late at night, but it is many years since I sat and read for pleasure during the day. It was great and I will try to do it again soon.

I wrote a bit for my blog and posted it with some photos in the afternoon – first time (ever?) that this of any of my other blogs have been right up to date.

We then went for a slightly longer than normal walk, just in local area across the creek and then drove to Drouin for another fish and chips dinner. Each time we have gone there, we have ordered a little less than last time, but even so, we had delicious fish sandwiches for lunch next day and chips with our home-made pie for dinner at night.

Monday

We spent a somewhat exhausting day at Phillip Island – but it was really great. We set off for the south coast confident of our interpretation of the Stage 3 rules for non-Melbourne residents. As it turned out, we perhaps needed to know our rights because quite close to The Gurdies, a Police roadblock was set up and every vehicle was stopped for questioning. We had to say where we were coming from, where we were going, what we intended to do there and our reason for it all. Our answers prompted the cop who was questioning us to remind us that we were more than 5 km from home and didn’t we know the rules? I said that we had been ‘trapped’ in Warragul since before the lockdown and that the limit didn’t apply to us. He immediately apologised and said he had just come from a roadblock in the city and had forgotten that we were in a Stage 3 area rather than Stage 4. He was very nice and wished us a happy day as we drove away.

We were quite pleased that it had happened because it confirmed our understanding of the latest rules. We didn’t have masks on when we were driving, but we put them on before I wound down the window. A good job too because I heard that some people were fined for winding down their windows to speak to the cops before putting their masks on. On the other hand, when we were in the Cape Wollomai Surf Club carpark later in the day, a cop car came through and spoke to numerous people who were watching the surf without masks. As far as we could see, nobody was fined, but they were all required to put masks on.

It is amazing how many people are NOT wearing masks. They all wear them in the shops, but anywhere else, at least a quarter of them don’t, maybe even more. Almost all of them are young people who think they are bulletproof and don’t care who they might be infecting – basically the vulnerable (old farts like us). So many of them don’t wear masks, and there is rarely any social distancing within groups of 4 or 5.

We did a long (10 km) walk at Cape Wollomai. It was great and quite varied. It was hard work walking on the beach, but that was only for the first and last kilometre. Up on the cliffs, there were wide areas of low scrub, virtually all low shiny-leafed plants, often smothered in little white snails, but also frequently covered in divine-smelling honeysuckle. It pervaded quite large areas and we first noticed it while we were still hundreds of metres away on the beach. There were a couple of other wonderfully aromatic plants there too and we just loved the ‘perfumed garden’. In the wooded areas (all low stringy trees, rather than the giants we have seen so much in the past few weeks) with quite a few birds. There were several lookouts and regular seats along the way for the weary and at one, we saw a Peregrine Falcon. It was quite close, riding a thermal up the side of the cliff about 30 metres away and it circled us a few times before drifting away. We saw it several times in the distance, very high, but I will post some pics I took when it was nearer to us. There were lots of Ravens, quite a few Pipits and six Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoos that kept us company for a while - but were hard to photograph through the branches, particularly because it was all in low light.

An important birding milestone for this trip was a Singing Honeyeater we saw early in our walk. That marked 100 unique species we had seen since leaving home. The Peregrine Falcon and a few Gannets late in the walk increased our trip tally to the current 102.

Walking back the last kilometre on the beach, we saw thousands (krillions?) of tiny dead creatures along the highest line that the waves had reached. We imagined that they were krill (as they had been in similar circumstances in the Kurils a few years ago), but a close examination showed that they were tiny transparent cuttlefish: tens of thousands of them, all about half a centimetre long.

We were pretty zonked after the walk, especially from trudging along the loose sand on the beach, so we ate our mid-afternoon lunch in the car and then made for home. I wanted to check out another wetland not far from Cape Wollomai so we detoured there and Heather sat in the car while I reconnoitred the area. I only walked about 2 km, but went as far as the very small wetland. It was no great shakes but there were other walks there too, including one across the island to a couple of Westernport Bay lookouts that may be worth visiting if we decide to revisit the area in the next few weeks. Then it was home via Wonthaggi and a somewhat circuitous, but very scenic, route to the west of the roads we have used on our other excursions.

Tuesday

We stayed in and around the van all day. We did some hand washing (clothes – our hands are almost worn away from constant washing) and cooking. I reorganised the back of the car and we did some tidying and cleaning in the van. We sorted and edited photos, updated our bird lists, read, and wrote more for my blog and I persuaded my wonderful hairdresser to cut my hair. We did that outside the van to the amusement of numerous passersby, with me wrapped up in plastic sheeting because we left the hairdressing sheet at home. I was in desperate need of a cut and feel so much lighter now the shearer has completed her work.

Wednesday

Another rest day in the van. It was supposed to be raining overnight and all day, but it is now early afternoon and the rain is yet to arrive. We are still a bit worse for wear after our Cape Wollomai walk so decided to stay in and recuperate for another day. Heather has cooked and we have both made a few phone calls and generally pottered around. I finished another book last night so I think I might spend an hour of two reading on the bed again this arvo. It would be great to be on the road again, but we are certainly making the most of our forced residency (do we need to change our electoral roll registration?) and quite enjoying it.

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honeyeaterrp · 5 years

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g’day, honeyeater!

i really thought i’d be giving good news right about now but sadly, this is not so. at this point in time, we’re just unable to reconcile rl duties w/ rp passion. and though there was thought to run ship w/ just one of us for the time being, just to get this open and out there, we’d put too much energy and time and thought and late nights constructing this concept to just half-ass our duties if it were to open now. i know you guys understand and respect that, and that’s why we also want to thank you for holding out for us!

now we normally delete our site tumblrs as we’ve experienced having our content plagiarized in the past, but we’ll keep this one open as we do still v much want and hope and see the day when timing hits right and we open the site and be as present as duties demand. find me (sloane) @panacevm if you wanna have chat or tea or just keep tabs or something like that! in the meanwhile, we hope you guys stay lit and have a great rest of the year!

love, tabby & sloane

#communiqué #preview #a bientot!!!!!!

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malleedesign · 3 years

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New Post has been published on http://malleedesign.com.au/instagram-ineedabirdbathhere-winner-and-entries/

Instagram #INeedABirdbathHere Winner and Entries!

We’ve been simply blown away by the beautiful garden entries we received in our most recent birdbath competition #INeedABirdbathHere. We asked our followers to send us photos of their gardens for the chance to win a Freshly Spun Medium Copper Dish and couldn’t be happier with the result. It’s always inspiring to see wonderful native gardens growing across the country.

The Winner is Suzie Barry who has a beautiful native habitat garden on the Gold Coast, she submitted many wonderful shots including images of the wildlife who would benefit from having a Mallee Birdbath in the garden.

Pale Headed Rosella

It was so hard to pick choose just one winner, there are so many talented gardeners out there creating enticing bird habitat environments. So we have chosen a few of our favourites in the interest of inspiring more gardeners to consider making their gardens wildlife friendly and beautiful.

I was particularly captivated by this plinth, ready to support a beautiful copper birdbath, with its soft grass under plantings. The banksias framed either side of the plinth are certain to bring many birds to a birdbath here for years to come and no doubt the forest background will serve as an important corridor for native birds hopping in and out of the bush and into the gardenscape.

The tree stump in this image looks like its crying out for a birdbath and the Calothamnus qudrifidus Grey in the background would provide great habitat and nectar for small honeyeaters. You also can’t help but notice the cute purple Brachyscome flowering in front of the stump.

Another garden entry, clearly habitat rich and suitable for birds can be seen in the following two photos. The Chrysocephalum ‘Silver Sunburst’ lining the rocky creek attract insects, which in turn attract insectivorous birds, and the flowering Kangaroo Paw and Callistemon in the second photo is great food for honeyeaters. Not to mention the magnificent layout of the plantings and shelter available for all kinds of wildlife. Really, really well done.

This lush, native rainforest garden was a bit of a change of scene from most of entries, we love the natural rocky platforms and fern-rich habitat, which is likely to attract some different species from what you’d usually get in a suburban garden.

The sandstone plinths really give this rainforest garden a lift by bringing in a lighter element and some structure.

There is nothing quite like placing a birdbath underneath a flowering gum tree, this offers shade and protection from the sun and a wonderful food source and perching point for the birds.

And we all know what a sucker I am for grass trees, gravel and rock 😉 I adore this simple garden and the smooth tree stump is a great height for racing a birdbath out of the way of predators.

I love the understorey textural planting in this garden combined with the sculpture, the birds would be very happy here protected under the tree surrounded by native grasses.

So thank you again to all who entered, it has been an absolute pleasure viewing your photos and we hope you continue to plant and garden with our native wildlife in mind.

#bird-attracting #birdbaths #birdsinbackyards #habitat garden #nativegarden

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lindoig8 · 3 years

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Monday to Wednesday, 26-28 July

Monday

We had a slow start today, knowing that we were less than 2 hours from Winton. We started by revitalising our fire and cooking eggs and bacon and toasting some of our own bread over the coals and eating it out in the open. It is many years since we did that (if we ever did) but it was fun and delicious - a great way to start the day. By the time we were on the road, a lot of other traffic was too so we basically just drove into Winton, found our caravan park and set up the van. It is not the best park we have stayed in, but we rarely use many of the facilities anyway so it is not a big deal.

We needed a few groceries but shopping is limited in Winton so we didn’t get quite everything we wanted despite raiding both their small supermarkets – including another Spar! We called in at the Information Centre to get some more information about the nearby Dinosaur Exhibition but decided not to pursue it. It sounded pretty crass, a mock-up of what some people guess it might have looked like, rather than any real artifacts or scientific exposé. Of course, I was also interested in what birds were in the area so picked up a brochure advising where to find birds in and around Winton.

What a joke! They referred to Bladensburg National Park but that is huge and we saw and heard very few birds when we visited it. But the main places they recommended were in or close to town. I explored all of them. I had been told that one was ‘out of bounds’ by the staff at the Information Centre, but when I explored two more of them, both were fenced with locked gates and signage threatening dire consequences for any trespassing. Very disappointing. Nothing to see here guys!

In the evening, we did another thing that we don’t usually do. Lots of parks now provide ‘entertainment’ at Happy Hour time, usually a local bush poet or a guitarist who imagines they can sing, and we avoid them with great fervour. But here, they promised a locally well-known poet and comedian at 7pm and we had probably had just enough to drink to entice us over. There were only 3 other couples and 3 kids there but he was really very good. (His name is Gregory North and he has a regular gig at the North Gregory pub!) He writes some of his own stuff, but also does Henry Lawson and Banjo Patterson among others. He did The Man From Snowy River in about 10 ethnicities and accents, changing hats to represent the varying immigrant communities and it was an absolute scream. Brilliant! He also did a very touching one that he wrote about an aging aboriginal man and that was great too.

It was all over by 8pm but it was an unaccustomed pleasure (for us) to sit in on something like that for a change.

Tuesday

We went out to Bladensberg National Park today. We visited it 11 years ago and thought it great and imagined that we had only seen a corner of it so wanted to explore more of it. Unfortunately, it was a disappointment. There is nothing more accessible than what we saw all those years ago and it was mainly hot and dusty with other cars turning up next to us wherever we stopped. We didn’t even see many birds and I recall one of the highlights of our previous visit was our first view of a Spinifex Pigeon. We have seen quite a number of them this trip, but sadly, White-plumed Honeyeaters and Black-faced Woodswallows were all we saw today.

On the way back to the caravan park, we called in at the two other Council-recommended birding sites, but there were very disappointing too. No possible way we would see any interesting birds at either of them. One was a heavily contaminated site (any bird that ignored the signage would potentially have suffered 'dire consequences' from the contamination), and the other was a free-camping site covered from horizon to horizon with caravans (and vehicles speeding from place to place, each trailing its own private dust-storm). Not too inspiring at all!

We called in at the Spar supermarket near our van park to get a few more veges. When we were in Scotland and Ireland, almost all supermarkets were Spars, but this is the only one we have seen outside those areas.

We were obviously a bit naive and starry eyed about visiting Winton again, but it might be somewhere to bypass in future. It is seen as an iconic Outback town, the eastern end of the Great Outback Road, and start of the Matilda Highway amog other things, but for us, it just hasn’t delivered at all this trip.

Wednesday

We spent most of the morning with the air conditioner on in the van avoiding the mid-30 temperatures outside - one of the hottest days since we left home (although we have had quite a few, including those on our camel trek).

We drafted stuff for our blogs and Facebook and I edited a few photos. A few days ago, I inadvertently clicked on something in a suggested 'default box' that has seriously stuffed up the link between my camera, iPhone, iPad and PC, making downloads difficult and creating some confusion when opening .jpgs on my PC - somehow, my PC thinks standard photos are in an unknown format and won’t open them. I have found a few workarounds but it is very frustrating and I seem to have lost 5 days’ photos in the process - but I am still looking for them.

We had one of Heather’s very best omelettes for lunch, a meal-and-a-half in itself and absolutely scrumptious. We then spent an hour or so plotting out our options for travel over the next 3 or 4 weeks. Our Antarctic trip around Christmas has been deferred for at least a year, our NZ expedition and land travel has been cancelled, and with the crazy Covid lockdown in NSW, we have had to cancel our Lightning Ridge Fossil Dig in order to get into the NT and subsequently, WA. We have plotted out an optimistic schedule, but it looks as if we are going to need to spend at least 14 days in the NT in order to get a permit to enter WA. Even then, it all depends on where the virus strikes next!

I went out during the afternoon to find someone who can fit yet another Anderson plug on the van (the fourth this trip) on our way out of town tomorrow. The garage across the road from us here said ‘we don’t do complicated work here’ and referred me to 4 alternative mechanics, three of which I have been unable to find. But we have teed up with the fourth one to fix us up at 10.30 tomorrow morning.

I also called in at the Information Centre to complain about their Birding brochure that highlights the five places to see a great selection of unusual birds that got me excited. But as I said, I was sorely disappointed. The woman at the counter said that 'tourists often don’t read their maps correctly' and assured me that I must have gone to the wrong places. She directed me to the exact places I had visited and sent me away for a better look. I did the rounds again, driving every road in the various localities with the same result. The most contentious one was the sewerage ponds that she insisted are open and unfenced - but I spoke with an old local guy who lives only a couple of hundred metres away and he confirmed that the location she had marked on the map was where I was looking, but the area had been fenced and under lock and key with big Keep Out signage for as long as he could remember. Back at the Information Centre, I explained all of this again and the woman admitted their maps 'contained errors' but maybe they shouldn’t be advertising birdwatching if three of the sites were locked up, one was heavily contaminated and the fifth was a massive free-camping area!!!

Later in the afternoon, we drove down to town to the North Gregory Hotel to hear Gregory North expounding on the Mysteries of Waltzing Matilda. What a fascinating story. He had obviously done a huge amount of research and we were almost drowned in facts (and conjecture) about the origin of the song, the people involved and their links with other well-known historical figures. It was quite spellbinding as well as highly entertaining, all being expounded on the very site of the song’s premiere, where it had its first public performance. He also performed all the verses of Maltzing Watilda again - this time using slightly bastardised Spoonerisms on almost every word. A prodigious effort and utterly hilarious - I would love to get a copy of it - some of the individual clauses were wonderful.

We couldn’t hang around after the show because I had to be back in the van by 6 o’clock to participate in an online Owners' Corporation Committee meeting that went for longer than usual, resulting in a slightly later dinner - another of our spectacular goat curries. Yum!

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infinityskitchen · 4 years

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Mouth Trap by Rebbecca Brown: Prose-Poem Magic

Mouth Trap Review Rebbecca Brown is a wordsmith, and her 2018 poetry book, Mouth Trap (Arc Pair Press), is a tantalizing example of Brown’s alchemic language. This collection holds 42 prose-poems that explore emotions, the natural world, and the human condition through lyricism and language-play. Arguably, Brown fits into the poetic niche occupied by Jose Angel Araguz and Daniil Kharms as her wit and surreal images transform the ordinary into the unexpected and the soulful. Mouth Trap seems to be an experiment in transformation and magic, evoking imagery that not only sucks us into the collection but also wiggles into our mind.

Published in a world overcome by social divisiveness and ecological destruction, Mouth Trap paints portraits of people and landscapes that exhume unspoken feelings. Brown plays with form, sound, image, and meaning, certainly connecting her readers in duende.

Federico Garcia Lorca, a 20th century Spanish poet, described duende as passion, a raw emotion that connects the writing, the author, and the audience in a shared understanding. This is what Mouth Trap is—a passion that pass through language-play, soundscapes, and images to grip the reader in a hidden world.

1. Mouth Trap and Lyric Essays Brown pushes the prose-poem form to its limits. The pieces “What I Did and Did Not Do,” “The Seven Little Sinsters,” and “Squall” are something more than prose-poems. Running across several pages, these pieces edge toward lyric essay, converting emotionally charged meditations into consequences, growth, and reflection.

I found “Squall” particularly powerful. In the middle of this lyric essay, the speaker inserts a ten-stanza poem dedicated to the listener. This meta-poem, that is a poem within a poem, looks and reads more like a “traditional” poem. Here are the first few lines of this metapoem:

“the crack daze the cup, shatters determined during

grains fusing toward temporary stasis. we both understand

the nature of this—those minute fractures, the future” (68).

See the alliteration, the enjambment, the symbolism, and gentle finality? This internal poem gives the speaker a chance to express their sentiments in a form that is synonyms with emotions: poetry. We see the speaker’s passion. We read it in the prose-poem and then within the poem’s internal poem. We feel it being massaged into our souls. I guess its duende wrapped in poetic experimentation.

2. Music and Language What else is spectacular about Mouth Trap? Brown’s word-play and soundscapes, of course!

There are tongue-tying yet musically sweet lines—like “bearded, wren and warbling, paraphyletic, the blood of pasts are carefully collected in honeyeaters” in the poem “Landscapes with Family.”

There is dialogue riddled with rhythm and alliteration— “What do you think the wood would want without the sun to slash them green?” in “Heat is Heat.”

And there are images sharpened by onomatopoeias and language-play— “he duct tapes the chuck back to flesh and finger figures blood will stop thump thumpthump to finish. He continues work watching for rattlesnakes minding the thump thumpthump of blood pound” in the poem “Shedding.”

Language and music-of-the-line sugar images, the meditations, the surrealism. They trap readers with mouthfuls of music.

3. Is It Really That Great? Mouth Trap is a Venus flytrap, except we are the flies who are gladly swallowed up by Brown’s enticing magic and music. This collection will satisfy anyone obsessed with prose-poetry, images brimming with sounds, and lyricism mixed precise observations into transformation. Arc Pair Press released a second edition of Brown’s book in 2019, so join Brown in a tangled web of emotions

Arranging Mouth Trap I emailed Brown a few weeks ago, asking her how she went about putting Mouth Trap together. Like with most poetry collection, the pieces in Mouth Trap were written over a long period of time and compiled later on.

But why write such lyric prose-poetry to start with? Brown shares that:

“my original intent was to create a number of short prose poems written from a variety of subject positions, which also included the natural world as a refractive, self-aware lens. What Mouth Trap became in the process of collecting so many divergent works, including a few lyrical essays and what I initially intended as a children’s book, is a hybrid work that emphasizes unique ways of seeing attuned to the limitations of a potentially confining solipsism.”

Solipsism: a noun describing the view that the self is the only thing truly existing. Mouth Trap is full of self-reflective lyricism firmly standing in natural imagery. This pairing, between nature and solipsism, concretizes the collection, grounding readers in wild hallucinations.

I asked Brown about the arrangement of poems in Mouth Trap. After all, there has to be some sort of rhyme or reason. According to Brown, the arrangement of Mouth Trap seeks to illustrate how musicality is the optimal way of exploring emotions and personal experiences, especially those in tension with the external world.

The collection’s overall focus turns toward nature with a block of poem whose titles begins with “Landscapes.” They illustrate a tension between the outer world and selfhood, setting the stage for the final section “that calls attention to the book’s constructedness with ‘Self-Portratis’” beginning the titles, according to Brown. Here then internal and the external are paired, placed beside each other.

This is Brown’s “attempt at exposing the artificiality of the collection,” an attempt aware that “cyclical shifts and resurgence associated with nature might present a challenge to a perceived artistic finitude.” This awareness dips Mouth Trap into duende as it considers finality and authenticity.

Brown’s Inspirations Whatever pushes boundaries inspires Brown because such experiments evoke surprises or discomforts that spurs action and change.

That said, Brown is drawn to texts aware of language’s possibilities and challenges. Such attentiveness adds dynamism and emotion to the page and “makes [her] writerly heart pleasurably ache” at the logical illogic.

She’s also “inspired by work that is lyrically dark and sufficiently unsettling in both form and content.” Along this line, Brown often finds herself pulled toward solitude and loneliness whenever they are laced with desire. Brown is quick to explain that this desire does not refer to wanting something material; rather, it is the “force itself in its raw and jabbering electrical pursuit of meaningful connections” that traps Brown.

Advice, Advice, Advice I absolutely love the advice Brown has for aspiring poets. She suggests poets escape expectations and or established patterns. They must explore possibilities and be authentic to the writing, to their language, and to the form.

Here is her sound advice:

“I’ve always found it interesting to think of writing in conversation with failure as opposed to writing towards what is conventionally thought of as success. In other words, what is possible often comes in unexpected forms; don’t limit the imaginable with familiar patterns or paradigms. While your writing is always responsive to and informed by the unique historical moment that you are a part of, it is also an assemblage of past influences. In turn, whom you might influence may not always be apparent to you, so you may as well write as if it’s the first and last thing you’ll ever do.

Where to get Mouth Trap Get Rebbecca Brown’s Mouth Trap from Arc Pair Press or Amazon Also available on the Kindle app.

Check out Brown’s other book, They Became Her, here.

—

Huge thanks for Rebbecca Brown for taking to time to answer my questions as well as dedicating her energy to creating this poetic masterpiece.

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lindoig · 7 years

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Days 56 to 60 – South, then west (and north, west and north) again

I woke up on Wednesday feeling a little better, but not much – and Heather was feeling worse so we decided to enjoy Burketown for a bit longer. We just hung around the van in the morning. Then walked across the park to the pub for a late lunch and some grocery shopping on the way back. It was the NRL State of Origin match at night and it was a really big deal up here. We had seen the advertising for it across the NT and in Queensland and the pub was decorated ready for the big night. Ours was somewhat more subdued, although we knew who was winning because we could hear the booing and cheering around town.

They say you never forget your first time! This was our third stay in Burketown and I well remember our first time – it was the first time we spotted the pictorella mannikin. We were doing some off-roading not far from town and there they were – 6 or 7 of them dashing around in the bushes. The saying is true though. As we drive along, I often recall that this is where we saw a particular bird for the first time. We crossed a really wide river on the way to Burketown and I immediately thought that it was almost identical with where we spied our first striated heron. Heather probably thought much the same because she immediately recalled the similar place and we jointly tried to recall exactly where it was – just a few clicks south of Karumba according to our official sighting log. We saw a flock of about 100 cockatiels just near the river on Monday and I recalled exactly where we saw our first one – I could point out the branch on the dead tree near the river at the back of the North Burke caravan park. (That was the first one we had seen together, but Deanne and I had seen one years before at Kimba, South Australia, on one of our trips to Perth.)

During the afternoon, Heather stayed in the van, but I went ‘exploring’ with binoculars and camera. I was never more than a kilometre from the caravan but I took a little over 200 pics and what I think are the best of them are attached. The mineral spring was interesting – it delivers nearly 800,000 litres a day at 68 degrees C and the mound (embalming a fence post) is the residue of mineral salts from 120 years of evaporation. The water has formed a wetland and that is where I took almost all my photos.

We then had a few uneventful days, almost to the point of being unbloggable, but that won't stop me!

We set off from Burketown on Thursday with no firm objective. Maybe we would get to Camooweal, or maybe we would stop at Gregory Downs, or perhaps even detour to Lawn Hill or Adel Grove (the latter being much preferred based on our previous trips). Very soon after leaving town, we came upon a huge flock of brolgas: at least 2-300, in 5 groups across a paddock – all very exciting, but still no sarus cranes. The roads turned out to be a good deal better than expected, particularly the last 112km and we drove straight through to Camooweal with plenty of time and daylight to spare. Last time we came through that road in the opposite direction, it was posted as 'not suitable for caravans' (that didn't stop this intrepid duo), but this time it was really quite good, certainly much better that the previous 220km or so that was supposed to be the main tourist route. It was on the edge of the Barkly Tableland and it was wonderful to see the wide open spaces and Big Sky, horizon to horizon, with nothing taller than a metre. Grass, grass and more grass, with bustards and other grassland birds to suit. We really love bustards. We rarely see them, although we have seen an amazing SIX so far on this trip. They are so tall and regal with their heads held high, challenging us to scare them. They pose beautifully for the camera (Heather got some pics, but unfortunately, I couldn't access my camera when we have seen them) and just stroll leisurely away once they have seen enough of us. One of my favourite birds! (I only have a few hundred other favourites.)

We stopped a few times to review the landscape or check out the birds. The place we stopped for lunch was most enthralling. There were birds everywhere and we saw at least 10 species In the tree we parked under. The tree itself was fascinating too, with interesting birds, buds, leaves, flowers and galls. We spent well over an hour photographing the birds and the bees and desert bloodwood trees and enjoyed every minute of it. Later in the day, one bridge we crossed was over a shrinking waterhole that was also full of birds - nothing we hadn't seen before, but so many to look at and a few new ticks for our trip list. People generally imagine that there is little to see once you get right away from 'civilisation' but nothing could be further from the truth. For us, the outback, the desert, the nowhere, is so much more engaging for the mind and the senses than the city.

We set up camp at the Camooweal caravan park and decided to eat at the pub. Placed our order and waited. And waited. And waited....... I finally asked where our meal was and was told that our 2 hash browns had already been given to our kids. Oops, our kids were nowhere to be seen. Maybe we had left them back in Victoria? Turns out that it was not our fault our kids got the hash browns. They had accidentally written two #21 dockets and stored ours down behind the Bain Marie. While we waited for our meal to arrive, it was a great opportunity to ring all the kids. Perhaps the booze we were obliged to consume while we were waiting mellowed us, but I think we got more of a buzz out of talking with our kids than we have for a long time. Maybe we were less focussed, but it was really nice to catch up with all their doings a little more casually.

The meal was good, but Foyle's War and bed beckoned so that was the end of Thursday.

Friday, we took a sharp left turn into the main street and headed for Barkly Homestead. The Tableland Highway is a very narrow paved road, but even on somewhat wider roads we always choose to vacate the pavement (and sometimes stop altogether) to allow oncoming cars to barrel through at 140kph, trailing their wall of stones behind them. A question...... if we give them the whole road to use, why do they all still drive on the verge and create this unwelcome barrage of stones? Very annoying!

Barkly Homestead is a popular refuelling stop and vehicles were lined up 7-deep at the bowsers. Turns out that there was only one diesel pump operating – and by accident, we happened to pull into the vacant side of it and got refuelled and on our way while maybe five in the queue were still gnashing their teeth. Fortune favours the brave?

Turn right and northwards ho! up another narrow bitumen track toward Cape Crawford (almost back to Borroloola!). We decided not to push it all the way, having driven over 500 clicks on the day, so had a wonderful bush camp about 110 km south of Cape Crawford. It might have been a wild old Friday night somewhere else, but where we were........ What a night! Yet another mind-dazzling sunset (Are we getting blasé? I think not!) Later, not a hint of the moon in sight or we might have been dancing naked under the moon, but the stars were a perfect substitute. It was pitch black, but the stars were blazing diamonds in the blackness, and there were at least a thousand trillion of them looking down on us. There were a couple of other vans not too far away, but out of our line of sight and we had pulled in close to some shrubbery, under a tree, close to the road - and not a single vehicle disturbed the tranquillity until after 8am next day. It was a truly beautiful night, with all the comforts of home in our little mobile cubby-house - yet another fantastic night to remember - I feel a song coming on.......

We started late on Saturday. A leisurely few puzzles before arising and then the slow and casual process preparing for the road again. Heather cut sangers for lunch as usual after our porridge (nice to have unseasonal brekkies on the road - always imagine porridge as a warming repast on a chilly morning, but it is just as appetising when the temperature is in the mid-20s). We ate our lunch under some trees at Cape Crawford and were beset by hordes of hungry apostle birds, crows, bowerbirds and blue-faced honeyeaters, among others. The blue-faces were tame enough to take bread from our hands and the apostle birds were at our feet constantly. Once they found the mirrors on the car, things got comical, but we took over 300 photos between us before we hit the road again. Really quite amazing how tame wild birds can become once they accustom to human food sources.

We went on to a caravan park on the Stuart Highway, just a few clicks from Daly Waters where we visited on the way up. The main park was pretty crowded, but they let us park in a lovely green adjunct to the park and it was great. A large section was cordoned off for a hundred or so army personnel, bivouacing there en route to a big exercise near Rockhampton. They had dozens of vehicles, troop carriers and all sorts of trucks and equipment and we saw plenty more on the road, including massive tanks and other equipment. Apparently, the place we camped was used over something like a week with 100 or so soldiers transiting through there each day. Some of the vehicles and items of equipment are enormous.

Sunday, it was an easy drive up the Highway to Katherine where we booked into the Riverview Park again and went to the supermarket to do a massive stock-up - a huge replenishment task that necessitated an even huger reorganisation of the fridges, freezers and cupboards - but it is all done and we are ready for the next leg of our Odyssey.

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lindoig8 · 3 years

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Mainly Borroloola – 23-26 June

Wednesday, 23 June - heading south

I am sure the days are getting longer now we are past the Winter Solstice, but I don’t think we have started waking any earlier so far – maybe tomorrow.

We packed up and headed south, stopping only to top up with fuel as we left the caravan park. We were heading for the Little Roper Stock Camp, one of our favourite rustic camps just out of Mataranka. We ate our lunch in Mataranka before heading the few kilometres to Little Roper, but alas, the Camp was already full. They don’t take bookings and we arrived too late. Turns out that 9am would still have been too late. I was talking to a bloke later in the day and he said he arrived at 9am and it was full at that stage – very popular for such a basic camp – Des is a great owner, but only has less than great facilities.

We drove on to the Hi-Way Roadhouse at the intersection of the Carpentaria Highway – our next bit of road. The Roadhouse was already filling fast and it overflowed by late afternoon too. The Daly Waters Caravan Park is only 20-odd clicks away and that was also overflowing before 9am as we knew it would be so we never even went in there. From experience, it is quite quaint, but it attracts a rougher crowd and I am not sure it is the sort of place we sophisticats would choose to stay – we certainly didn’t choose it the last few times we were in the area.

I walked around the camp area at the Roadhouse and identified 22 species of birds, including numerous White-gaped Honeyeaters (with photos to prove it) although they are not really supposed to be in the area according to any of our bird guides.

The facilities here were a bit basic so we decided to have a shower in our own little bathroom. We haven’t showered in it for at least 4 years, choosing to forgo the pleasure of cleanliness or just use the facilities provided. It usually has too many bits and pieces stored in there and we had previously used it mainly when we have access to ‘town water’ rather than depleting our own supply. But I have to say it was a wonderful luxury – and we doubled up with another shower in our own little cubby next night too.

We ate dinner in the Roadhouse and the meals were huge. I had the rissoles – 3 rissoles almost the size of tennis balls, with mashed potatoes, corn, broccoli, peas and carrots – the excess almost overflowed the doggybox they gave us.

Thursday, 24 June - heading east

We were almost the last ones to leave the Roadhouse next day. People seem to rush off (as early as 6am, occasionally earlier), so they can be the first to arrive at their next stop and secure the shadiest tree to sit and read all day – or chat with their neighbours – same old subjects, often with the same people – boooring, boooring, boooring!!!

I had another wander around looking for more birds, but saw nothing I hadn’t seen the previous evening.

We drove on to Cape Crawford where we had a toasted sandwich for lunch – it seemed a very long time since we had bought lunch. A highlight of the drive was seeing shiny black snake slithering across the road in front of us. Hopefully, it went between our wheels and I didn't run over it.

The road was all sealed, but most of it was very narrow and vehicles approaching us seemed hell-bent on reckless speeds so we often had to pull right off the road and stop to avoid the wall of stones flung up by their wheels. The surface was also a bit rough in places and the van swayed somewhat scarily behind us without our sway-bars attached. At one point, I had to get off the road to avoid an oncoming B-triple just where the road narrowed and I almost lost it completely. The wind from the trucks is horrendous and for a few seconds, I thought the van was going to roll. I never want to experience that 5 seconds again.

After a slow lunch, we drove on to Borroloola and were lucky to get what I think was their second-last powered site – basically parked in a roadway next to the camp kitchen, but with power and a shared tap with our neighbours on the other side. Things are tight up here with every available site being occupied every night. I wonder where the overflow goes – we may need to find out!

I wandered around and added a couple more birds to our trip list (I saw a few kangaroos over the fence in my ramblings too) and then we just sat outside the van and enjoyed our Happy Hour and a delicious dinner.

Friday, 25 June

Surprisingly, it rained overnight. We have had about ten or twelve spots of rain on the windscreen but no other rain at all since we left home. We certainly didn’t get a lot, but I heard a gentle pitter-pat on the roof during the night and the road was wet outside the van when we got up this morning.

We have decided to stay here a couple more days and then spend two days getting to Burketown. The only caravan park en route is at Hells Gate (I really liked the park there last time) but it would be a long day’s drive so we may do another bush camp instead. And the road is quite treacherous.

We went out to the supermarket and to refresh our memory of the town soon after lunch then drove down to the MacArthur River where I spent time looking for birds – but saw nothing new. Fortunately, I never saw any of those big bities out there either.

While we were out, we saw a sign with a weight restriction of 4.5 tonnes on the road we intended taking – and our rig is way over that – at least 6 tonnes. It is about 1100 kilometres on bitumen to circumvent that road, but there has been rain on the Barkley Highway too (with possible closures) so we are now in somewhat of a quandary.

We did some more research on Saturday morning and I spoke with the Police at both Borroloola and Burketown. Burketown said the Queensland side is pretty good at present and we know that the Northern Territory side of the Wollogorang Road was graded recently and is in its best condition for ages – but there is still the 4.5 tonne restriction to worry about. The Borroloola Police said the road is pretty good except for the 20 kilometres closest to the Queensland border – but there are two deep, slowly-flowing water crossings before that. ‘Deep’ means about wheel deep so that is no real impediment as long as we are careful – and we subsequently checked out the official Northern Territory Government Road Report that says there is an 8-tonne, rather than the posted 4.5 tonne, limit so we are thinking we might go that route anyway – and probably wait at the river crossings until there are other vehicles to help us cross in the event of it looking too scary.

Apart from that, it has been a pretty relaxed day with a bit of writing and discussing of options for the next several weeks. With all the latest and potential Covid restrictions, we are pretty nervous about going into the more populous coastal areas of Queensland and New South Wales where we intended catching up with about 10 groups of family and friends so our current thoughts are to get to Burketown then have our A/C and tow-bar issues resolved in Mt Isa and perhaps hole up in or around Winton for a while. We have a couple of other places we want to visit en route, but we will probably work roughly to that plan for the next 2-3 weeks anyway.

And for dinner, we ate crocodile. When we were in Alice Springs, we found this wonderful butcher that sold game and we bought a few cuts of camel (I have already reported how much we enjoyed that, especially the sausages) as well as one pack of crocodile. I ate curried croc at a pub in Melbourne about 30+ years ago, but we just pan-fried it and ate it with coconut rice and beetroot. It was a bit on the tough side, but not too bad and very tasty. It had a slight taste of pork, but was really nice and we would very happily eat more of it – better than it eating us!

We are still at Borroloola, but there is a little saga with our car that is still unresolved so I will leave that for another post, hopefully in the next day or two.

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lindoig8 · 3 years

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More explorations

Thursday, 20 May

It was a lay-day, albeit with a bit of work involved. We did our usual bit of writing and editing of photos, but we also did a major stocktake of our cupboards inside the van – mainly the food cupboards. They were all stocked to the gunwales with cans of food of all descriptions, some of which were the remains of our emergency rations from trips long past. We did a major review and documented everything and sorted things out that need to be either eaten or thrown out. We found a couple of tins that had been breached as a result of travelling on rough roads (when we were not complying with the 15/25 Rule) so they went straight into the rubbish.

We enjoyed another great fire at night and sat under the stars for a couple of hours. Not only did we have our Happy Hour out there, but we took our dinner out too and enjoyed that even more than usual. It is very special to feel the breeze tickling your skin and whispering through the mulga, with a fire warming you, tucking into a great meal and sipping a favourite red. It can’t really get much better than that.

Friday, 21 May

We had an interesting day today. We had booked to go garnet fossicking with the people here. We started at 8.15, collected all the required equipment, and with one other couple, followed the leader nearly 30 clicks to an area where people fossick for garnet. The ‘tour leader’ showed us what to do (and even found a tiny chip that he gave us) and we were on our own. He returned to Gemtree and we tried to make our fortunes finding garnet. The process is to dig out some pebbly rock, sieve it to sift out the sand, toss away all the larger pebbles and then swill the sieve in water. Holding the sieve containing the small wet stones up to the sun should make the red of the garnet leap out at you (while the muddy water runs down the front of your shirt). Unfortunately, looking for red garnet is more of a challenge for people like me who are seriously red colour-blind. I found one chip - but at least I prepared a lot of sievefuls so Heather could identify the treasure within. We spent nearly 4 hours at it and ended up with maybe 50 chips, two of which were big enough to cut - estimated at up to $60 each. We are not at all interested in cutting them, or their value. It was just a nice experience and a thrill to find something special.

The 'black' ones are garnet, the others just interesting stones.

When we got back to the Gem Room where they analysed our treasure, Heather got into conversation with the manager and she talked about lots of different gems they find out here and the woman eventually delivered several packets containing sone wonderful stones for us to keep direct to our caravan. It was really very good of her and they are quite lovely small specimens.

While we were down at the shop, we downloaded and dealt with our email because the signal was (just) strong enough to connect there - it is very dodgy at best anywhere else around here.

I went for a walk out into the bush here and found nothing except a few ants and spiders, but when I got nearly back to the van, I saw a tiny movement in a tree so tried to find the bird. I reckon I spent at least half an hour watching little movements before I found it in the dense mistletoe and got a photo, but then a couple more arrived and it got a bit easier. In the end, I spent about an hour chasing the little buggers before they flew away. I had a few pics and reckoned that they were Brown Honeyeaters, but they have a diagnostic pale triangle behind the eye - and some of the photos definitely lacked that. Maybe it was a Grey Honeyeater - probably the only similar species in the area - but they don’t have the pale patch under the bill – and that was obvious on all my pics. Eventually, I found that the juvenile Browns don’t have the pale triangle so the problem was solved - I had been watching both adult and immature Brown Honeyeaters. We have seen them many times before but it was a very interesting hour or so figuring it all out.

2 Brown Honeyeaters - Adult at top, Immature below.

All the vans near us left this morning, but one came in late in the arvo and parked right next to us facing the opposite way so they were looking right at us. The guy asked almost straight away if we were going to have a fire and I said ‘probably’. He said if that was so, he would have to move his caravan but then he actually didn’t. Maybe he doesn’t like fires but he and his wife sat there watching us while we enjoyed our fire. I felt that he was glaring at us, but maybe not. His wife chatted with us for a few minutes, but he never spoke or moved. They are moving on tomorrow so no skin off our nose, but I couldn’t convince myself that we should forgo our fire just in case it upset him.

Saturday, 22 May

A relatively quiet day with blogging, a few puzzles to stop the brain falling asleep and a few odd jobs. I got a good fire going early in the day and Heather prepared the dough for a damper of sorts - a herb and cheese bread that we cooked in our camp oven over the coals. We ate half of it with soup (made before we left home from Deanne’s giant zucchini) for lunch. It was pretty dense but very tasty and probably our best effort in our camp oven.

I went out in the car during the afternoon. I wanted to book another week here as well as for the camp dinner next Wednesday. I also had a few things I needed to do on the internet (took me ages to even get enough signal to log on) as well as making an important phone call (aborted after numerous attempts).

I then went looking for firewood. We are not supposed to collect it at the caravan park although I have even seen people breaking branches off live trees to burn) so I drove a little way into the bush to find some dead wood. I chopped a bit but it nearly killed me in the heat so I resorted to scouring along a creek-bed where I found more easy pickings. I bought back enough for a couple of days and stashed a bit more where it will be easy to retrieve when needed. I now have a few splinters in my fingers that are bothering me but I can’t see them to remove them.

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malleedesign · 3 years

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New Post has been published on http://malleedesign.com.au/back-from-a-bird-language-retreat/

Back from a Bird Language Retreat

The mantra of the weekend, a quote shared by JA Baker: “The hardest thing of all is to see what is really there.”

_____________________________________ By Hannah Preston

Two weeks ago I mentored at a bird language and nature connection retreat hosted by Wangat Lodge and run by environmental educator and naturalist Andrew Turbill. Boy oh boy did I learn a lot about birds!

Wangat lodge is in a beautiful spot nestled amongst eucalypt forest and rainforest on the edge of Barrington Tops National Park, on the brink of the Chichester River. The vibrancy and life of the bush surrounding the lodge was outstanding – birds were absolutely everywhere, nesting and feeding and chattering.

By the river we saw Scarlet Honeyeaters feeding in the bottlebrush overhanging the waterway, and some participants were lucky enough to see platypi.

There were about 50 of us at the retreat, nature enthusiasts, scientific minds, family and ecologically passionate folk. The main activity was sit-spotting, which involved going to the same place in the bush everyday where we observed birds and nature for about an hour. We then came back together as a big group to share our experiences of bird-watching, the calls we heard and the behaviours we saw.

One of the highlights for me was watching a breeding pair of little Brown Thornbills hopping to and from spears of Lomandra grass right in front of me, making their almost insect-like ‘zip zips’ and melodic warbles amongst the grasses. Perhaps establishing territory and/or singing their companion calls.

Another character at the workshop was this King Parrot who liked to sit in on our group discussions up in the Cheese tree Glochidion ferdinandi (sometimes whizzing right past our ears!). He was also the first one to check out the birdbaths we set up around the property, you can see him investigating a mini dish in the video below.

Andrew was a fantastic host with a knack for storytelling. He took us on many in-depth discussions about the history of birds, the meaning of their calls, the interconnectedness they have with our greater ecology and guiding us one afternoon on a bird walk with him (a real highlight).

His generosity and articulation was outstanding and I now find myself noticing things about birds here and there that I was blind to noticing before – the ruckus alarm calls of New Holland Honeyeaters as I visit their territory, the outstanding mimicry of little birds like the yellow-throated scrubwrens as they attend their nest and much more confusing chatter that I’m yet to understand!

One of the amazing things I learnt was that lyrebirds are one of the world’s oldest songbirds, likely surviving the Chicxulub asteroid impact that wiped out all almost all other existing bird species 65 million years ago, bringing the dinosaur era to its knees. Being a ground bird it might have been able to shelter from the global wildfires that ensued and highly sulphurised atmosphere that tree-nesting birds couldn’t handle. eBird has some amazing photos and calls of the species https://ebird.org/species/suplyr1

At the end of the retreat people jumped up to share like-minded events and links to bird resources. I’ve put together a list of some of below for those that are interested.

Bird Language 2021! The retreat is happening again next year 14th-17th October 2021. You can contact Wangat Lodge to express your interest at http://www.wangat.com.au/contact

Andrew Turbill has a website with his bio and happening here: http://www.cel.org.au/andrew-turbill/

Wild by Nature programs with Wildcraft Australia (sometimes also hosted by Wangat lodge), see http://www.wildcraftaustralia.com/

Workshops and nature connection with Wild Search Australia based in Byron Bay https://wildsearchaustralia.com.au/

Happy birdwatching,

Hannah

_____________________________________ By Kath

I booked myself and my family into the Bird Language and Nature Connection Retreat after chatting to Dan Lyons the Wangat Lodge owner over the phone. Dan is a wonderfully passionate human who is building on the community at Wangat. I had wanted to take my kids there earlier in the year and though they were only 2 of the 4 child participants in the workshop they got so much out of it thanks to Andrew’s incredible educator skills.

There was never a dull moment during the 3 days, our time was packed with talks, walks, sit spots and various activities to help us listen and connect with our bush surroundings. We enjoyed many swims in the various spots on the river.

My sit spot was actually on the river bank amongst the mossy logs, rocks and ferns, where I heard Golden Whistlers, Thornbills and Wrens. I walked under a gateway of fern covered branches, past this beautiful Cymbidium suave and along the river with relish every time. I embraced the time to sit and simply listen, and working from 30 minutes to 1 hour of sitting and listening was not an issue for me, it was a luxury I relished😉

I learned a few bird calls I didn’t know however the break through for me came when I could break down the cacophony of birdsong into individual calls, regardless of not being able to ID the sounds. Being able to sift through the sounds of the bush and really listen was a ‘light bulb’ moment and I haven’t been able to turn my ears off since. Waking in the morning after we got back I realised how many bird calls I could hear just simply laying in my bed with the window open.

One of the first activities was drawing the sound of the bird calls you could hear, being a visual person this helped immensely for me. The other thing which helped was just letting go of “trying”, by the third day I was a lot more relaxed and had pretty much given up on even seeing the birds I could hear. So then what happens? I sit more calmly, my gaze is softer and I am not taking notes or scribbling away and I see and hear so many more birds! It is like a nature meditation, sorry if that is a bit too cosmic for some of you 🤣

We also got together in small groups based on our geographic locations and made up a rough seasonal calendar of what we have observed in nature in our areas. What is flowering, bird calls, insects, whales, weather patterns etc. all these things are affecting us and the wildlife all the time, it was great getting it down on paper and I have made a pact with myself to chart these observations month by month in my little tech of the woods. Plus also to do some sit spots in my local bushland 💚

Thankyou Andrew for opening my ears and putting everything back into focus again. Wangat Lodge we will be back!

#Andrew Turbill #Barrington Tops National Park #Bird Bath #bird calls #bird-attracting #Cymbidium suave #Glochidion ferdinandi #king parrot #Lyre Bird #native grasses #nature connection #Wangat Lodge #wildlife habitat

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