This week at our place...

Talk about drough and flooding rain! It has been really dry this summer at our place in Brisbane West. The last few days it's been raining and today it's been torrential. When it starts to rain, we hear the frogs come out, especially around our pond. I went up the front to check on the resident Crested Pigeons, who roost in the trees above our letter box. The pair were huddled together, looking very forlorn. I always think about the animals out in the rain, while I'm all cosy inside. It must be hard for some animals to hunt and forage in this weather and others would find food more plentiful.

Before the rain came, I heard the Noisy Miners alarm calls outside. I went out to see about a dozen flying about near an Acacia. There were also two Grey Butcherbirds making a ruckus. I spotted a Common Ringtail Possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) trying to protect itself in a rather exposed spot. I've never seen Ringtails at our place (only the Common Brushtails). However I knew they lived in this area, as I've seen one dead on the roadside.

 



When the first rains came, I immediately heard an Ornate Burrowing Frog (Limnodynastes ornatus). It has a deep, nasal 'unkh' and is easily distinguished by the patch behind and between its eyes. I've only seen this species once before, they like to stay well hidden until it rains.

 

I've noticed the lovely Red Triangled Slug (Triboniophorus graeffei) around our garden lately, mostly in areas where the grey water keeps the ground moist. Once the rain came, I spotted this fello moving through the garden. Aren't they amazing looking? These slugs have a noticable breathing hole right inside the red triangle. Look closely at the photo and you'll see it. If I was a bird I'd think twice before eating this slug, the triangle makes it look like a warning against poisen. However this slug (Australia's biggest land slug) is not poisenous. Native slugs only have one pair of tentacles, while introduced slugs have two pairs.

 

 

 Everyday I go over to the sandpit with the children. It's always interesting to see what insects may have climbed in and left tracks. We've even come across the occasional possum tracks in the sand, which is a real thrill. I really liked the pattern this insect made in the sand. It must have felt like it was going round in circles :P

 

 

This past week while driving, I saw a snake on the road. By the time I did a U-turn and stopped, I saw a woman picking the snake up off the road. She saw me there and came over. She was very upset that a gorgeous Green Tree Snake (Dendrelaphis punctulatus) had been hit and was obviously going to die. My daughter loves snakes. She has a real interest in reptiles at the moment and has been asking me if she can have a pet snake. She was also very sad to see this animal dieing but I think it struck her to see an adult quite upset as well. Snakes are an animal many people would prefer to see dead. As a child I remember seeing people purposely drive their vehicles, so they could kill a snake on the road. A snake in no ones way. I rarely see snakes anymore and wanted to take the opportunity to show my children that I do care about these animals and so I drove back to see if I could help. Then here we were on the side of the road shedding a tear for the death of a beautiful animal and part of our local ecosystem. Then today lo and behold, we spotted a Green Tree Snake out on our pool. We have only ever spotted one snake before at our place, a Whip Snake. So after our episode with the Tree Snake that was hit and killed, it was really lovely to see one in our own backyard. My daughter was thrilled.

 

 

 



 

 

 

 





Haig St Reserve Ipswich

I've been busy this month. We've been away on holiday and it was the Christmas/NY period.

I believe it's very important for children to play in nature. There are many reasons for this (which I will post about another time). Some children (and adults) may think at first, that there is nothing to do out in nature, especially if you go to a reserve or park with no play equipment. Children may not even venture away or may say they are bored. If your children haven't spent time away from toys, play equipment or media, then they may need some encouragment at first. We always love spending time at the local creek. There are fallen logs my children climb on, puddles they splash in, the creek to swim in and trees to climb. Then there are endless objects to pick up and discover. Sometimes my daughter will walk with me and say she is bored or tired. This is when I need to encourage her a bit.

I recently took them bushwalking at Haig St Quarry Reserve in Ipswich. My daughter likes to stop and look at things along the way and doesn't particularly like the idea of just walking. So I often tell her we are going on an adventure and I tell a story as we walk. She loves fairies and so we pick up gum nuts along the way and try and find the one which would be a suitable drinking cup for a fairy. We both think bloodwood gum nuts are the best at Haig Street. We walked the Willy Wagtail circuit which is about 1 km.

At the end of the walk there is a wooden deck which overlooks the reserve and view out to the Toowoomba range. Again we talked about fairies hiding under the decking and waiting for people to leave before they fly about again. We often make fairy coves out of natural items. We collect stones and small twigs and build a little cove at the base of a tree. So sometimes it takes some imagination on my part, to make the trip into nature more appealing.

 

The reserve has the lovely Angophora leiocarpa also known as Rusty Gum. If you didn't know gums, you might think this is a Spotted Gum at first glance. They are quite similar. I have slowly developed an eye for this lovely gum. It's a deeper orange or rusty salmon colour bark which sheds. It also has a finer and lighter green leaf. I think the most obvious thing about the Rusty Gum however is the whole tree structure. The branches have a lovely gnarly look about them. I will take some photos of the whole tree soon but here is an upclose look at its bark. I love this tree.



Termite mounds can be seen in trees at the reserve. There are often hollows made in them from Kingfishers.

We spotted several Sacred Kingfishers (Todiramphus sanctus). They make a very distinct call of four repetitive notes.

 At the end of the Willy Wagtail walk there is an outlook toward the Toowoomba Range.

 



 

We saw a Tailed Emperor Butterfly (Polyura pyrrhus) on the fence and enjoyed a good look at it while we had a rest.



There was also plenty of Wall Skinks (Crytoblepharus virgatus) at our rest stop, basking in the sun. They are mostly black with two wide white lines lines along their backs.



Lastly we completed our walk with a cooked breakfast at the end. There is also a playground at the reserve, so the children had a play before we went home.