A DAY AT THE BEACH WITH SCOUT

Do you remember Scout?

 

 

She lives with Sally and now she's all grown up.

 

Scout's favourite place in the whole world is

the beach.

 

Where she lives on Queensland's beautiful Gold Coast there are special beaches that are set aside for people and their dogs.

 

Recently we spent some time with them on the beach.

Scout's favourite game is to catch the Frisbee.

 



She fixes the Frisbee with a Border Collie stare,

gets ready

 



 

and she's off !

 

 

She's good ! Catching them in mid-air

 

on the fly !

The Frisbee gets covered in sand.

 

Scout gets covered in sand too !

 

Back and forth, back and forth.

 She tears up and down the beach with her precious Frisbee.

Sometimes other dogs want to join in .....

 

  but she never surrenders that Frisbee

 

and when Sally throws it into the water

 



 

she just charges in after it !

 

She's a great swimmer.

 



 

Doesn't mind putting her head under water

 

and often Sally joins her for a swim.

We played for over an hour until she was completely worn out.



 

  Then we sat on the sand and watched what the other dogs were doing for fun.

 

 

 

 

 Doggie Heaven !

 

Cheers.

 



THE BIGGEST KILLER

 Australia has a reputation for being the home of a lot of dangerous animals.

 

Rightly so.

 

We have crocodiles,

 

 

poisonous snakes,  

 

 

 

poisonous spiders,

 

 

 

poisonous octopus

 

 

 to name but a few

 

 

 

 

and of course we have  sharks!

 

 

We are not alone in this of course but because of our climate and love of the beach this is probably the animal that strikes the most fear into the hearts of most Aussies.

 

Click here to read of a recent attack which caused the death of a young man in NSW.

 

Sensational stories of those who have survived these attacks are aired every year on our TV sets where we watch these brave survivors once again swimming in the sea.

 

An attack is always followed by a hunt to find the offending shark and all sorts of methods of making it safer to swim in the sea are aired.

 

But look at the figures on the sign below and see what it is we should be fearing most. 

Cheers.

 

(All photos today from the Internet)

BIRDS

When we lived on acreage in our previous house I used to feed the birds.

They didn't need to be fed, I just liked to have them visit.

Specificly I used to feed the Lorikeets  - both Scaley and Rainbow varieties - and when they come they usually come in large numbers.

As the grevilleas are all flowering and so are full of Lorikeets at the moment I decided to see if I could get them to come to a feeder.

I placed bread soaked in sugary water down near the Grevillea bushes and it wasn't long before they found it.




The only problem was that there were a few other birds who wanted a share too.




Now Cockatoos are lovely birds too but very destructive.




They attack the tin on your roof or your garden shed and bend it out of shape, chew your wooden garden furniture so I wasn't too pleased to see four or five of them swinging in the nearby trees.
Anyway they like seeds.




The Magpie came to have a look too though he really prefers worms and such.


But I needn't have worried as Lokireets are bossy little birds
 

 

 and they soon chased the others away !

 

 

 They're very noisy and bossy but I love them.

 

 Looks like Tony will have to get a move on and build me the bird feeder that he promised.

Cheers.

BILBY IN CRISIS

 

 

Do you remember way back  here  I wrote about these cute little Bilbies

and their fight for survival?

 

 

It seems they are in great danger once again.

 

You can read about it here.

http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/feral-cats-wreak-havoc-in-raid-on-enclosed-refuge-for-endangered-bilbies/story-e6freoof-1226429359126

WHALES IN THE NEWS TODAY

In the past I have posted about the whales that travel up the Queensland coast from Antarctica every year to give birth to their calves in the warmer waters of the north.

 

We get quite excited about them and a thriving tourist industry has developed around their visits to Hervey Bay each year.

 We're very protective of these wonderful creatures with many restrictions placed on humans approaching too close to them in their yearly journey.

 

 

The whales we see most often are Humpback whales - huge, harmless creatures some of which we have come to know quite well and even named ( Migaloo for instance - read about him !).

 

This week's news has been about a different type of whale-

the Orca or Killer Whale - a much smaller whale

 

 

 

Now these whales are fearsome predators of the sea that are not usually seen close to shore.

 

This week an Orca and it's young calf became stranded and died in the shallow waters of Hervey Bay.

Worse news was to follow as the rest of the pod were also in grave danger of becoming beached and stranded as they waited for the dead whales to join them on their journey north. 

 

 

Wildlife officers worked desperately to try to drive the pod out to sea

 

 but it looked like the whole pod were doomed as they refused to leave without the dead members

 

 

 

and became stranded on sand banks at low tide.

 

 

Wildlife Rangers worked tirelessly to protect them from the heat of the sun until the tide returned and the whales coud be refloated and guided into deeper water.

 

In desperation the dead calf was towed into deeper waters in the hope that the rest of the pod - numbering 5 - would follow but although they are in deeper water now it is feared they will return to the shallow water and become stranded again.

 

A team of rangers is closely monitoring the whales until they have cleared Hervey Bay and moved on to deeper water.



ONGOING PROBLEM

Do you remember the 1960s TV series, 'Skippy the Bush Kangaroo',
or Maltida, the long eye-lashed mascot of the 1982 Commonwealth Games?
 

Or maybe you remember September 1983, watching the Boxing Kangaroo flag on the mast of the Ben Lexcen-designed yacht when it won the America's Cup?

 

Kangaroos feature on our currency,
our Coat of Arms,
the logo of QANTAS, our national airline
as well as lending their names to national sporting teams like
 the Hockeyroos,
the Wallabies (Rugby)
and the Kangaroos (Rugby League ). 

 

 

Kangaroos are considered simultaneously:

 a natural resource,

 vermin

 and a national icon that needs protection.

 

 

A kangaroo bounding across the Australian landscape is a wonderful sight to many of us,

 but for those trying to make a living on the land who are adversely affected by its adaptability and prolific breeding it can pose a threat to their property and livlihood.

 

 

 

Here is a recent news article from Weekly Times:

QUEENSLAND has more than double the number of roos than cattle, prompting calls for the re-establishment of a kangaroo industry.
Data released by the Department of Environment and Heritage Protection at the end of last year showed Queensland had 25 million kangaroos, up three million from 2011.

AgForce general president Ian Burnett said kangaroos already had a devastating effect on primary production, costing the industry about $75 million annually.

"In 2001 and 2003, 26 million kangaroos died of starvation as a result of feed supplies being depleted by animals in plague proportions.''

Mr Burnett said due to the high numbers resulting from a surge in breeding after the good seasons of the previous years and dry conditions this year it was likely the same thing would happen again.


Recently on Channel 9 National News:
Kangaroos have hit "plague proportions" across western Queensland, according to state MP Vaughan Johnson.

Mr Johnson, who has represented the outback electorate of Gregory since 1989, says numbers of the animals have skyrocketed.

"Everywhere you go in that inside central country, the roos are in plague proportions," he told ABC Radio on Thursday.
"(I have) never seen anything like it in my life. Out of control."

Mr Johnson said he'd struck six ( with his car ) in a single drive recently, and that the animals were creating a hazard for drivers of small cars in particular.

And so the debate continues.

To cull or not to cull.

The huge numbers of kangaroos are wiping out vegetation in drought affected parts of Queensland leaving no food for cattle and graziers, in desperation, are taking to "the long paddock".

While kangaroo meat is delicious, many Australians are loathe to buy it and the kangaroo meat market is apparently in a slump. ( Is their any difference to eating venison? )

Here is a Reuters photographer's report about his experience of a kangaroo cull.

It's a difficult problem.

An emotion filled debate that will never have a solution that pleases everybody.

* photos today from the Internet

 

 

CATCHING UP

Since we've been home it's been go, go, go.

We'd only been home a couple of days when my parents came to stay.

Dad had a checkup at the hospital ( all fine thanks ! ) and they decided to stay for the rest of the week to catch up with all our news.
Lovely to see them and great that they are well
but
I think I'm ready for another holiday after all those meals and cups of tea !!!


While they were here we were also babysitting
Scout,

Sally's 5 month old Border Collie puppy,

 

a positive dynamo

 

who quickly made herself at home

 

 

and won our hearts ( and wore us out with her early mornings !!!).

 

 

 

Today I've been baking for a morning tea with friends where traditionally we try out new recipes.

I tried out these two and both were a success.
It's ages since I included any cooking in this blog so I though I'd show them to you.

The first one is Lemony Squares, a sort of lemony version of a brownie.




The mixture is quite runny but the end product is dense and lemony.

I found the recipe here.

The next one is meant for a brunch/ breakfast dish but I've wanted to try it for ages so I cut it into smallish pieces and it provided a savory slice to balance all the sweet stuff at morning tea.

It has a base of cooked Hash Browns and was quick and very easy to assemble.

( sorry we ate it all before I remembered to take a photo !)

Another winner and I found it here.

So hopefully life will get back to normal soon.
There are thousands of photos to organise into Movie Makers and a holiday photo book to make using Blurb too.
I have an idea for new blog about traveling germinating in my brain too.....

and of course another holiday to start to dream on and research!

Cheers.