Colour...

So this is how the deck is looking now...it's come some way, hasn't it! We (well mostly Steve) finished painting the walls last weekend and then spent much of yesterday and today staining the decking timber. We think the colours work really well.
We bought a few water lilies last week and some of them are now starting to bloom, bringing a touch of the tropics into the deck
We still have to hide the ugly air con motors and put some timber slats along the gap between the house and the deck on the right as well as put some potted plants and other stuff on the deck itself
Not bad, hey....

Sadness

The more observant of you will be thinking...hmmm that carpet python looks like it could be in the chookery (correct) and it seems to have quite a substantial bulge in its serpentine belly (correct). Unfortunately, our once-python proof chookery is not so python-proof anymore. Our friend (and my colleague) Mieke gave us two gorgeous little Belgian bantams a couple of months ago which she had bred on her farm. I noticed that one was missing on Monday when I came home from work and I thought that a goanna that we had seen on Sunday might have got her, or perhaps a hawk or eagle had taken her. I hoped of course that she would turn up, Lassie-like, the next morning. However, Steve made the sighting of the python on Tuesday...with the bulge...but it's a beautiful animal...this is the python I blogged about last February after I found it down by the creek, digesting a bandicoot...Shane and I saw it again a few months ago sunning itself on McGuinness Road as well...

My rough-scales arrive

Meet one of my two new rough scaled pythons, which arrived from Cairns via Sydney at Lismore airport last Wednesday. They were a gift from Peter Krauss, who is one of Australia's 'top' reptile men and featured quite a bit in my book, Snake Bitten (note the gratuitous plug..RRP $38.95). These guys only hatched just after Xmas and will grow to about 1.8m long.
Roughies are an interesting python...they were only scientifically described in the early 1980s and are only found in a small area in north-western WA near the Kimberleys. Several were caught under licence by John Weigel of the Australian Reptile Park and he established a breeding group which were the founder snakes for those which are now available for hobbyists like myself. They do have keeled scales and eyes that are positioned in a forward looking way which gives them a very distinctive appearance.

Snake repellants...who would have thought

Some months after we first moved in to our property, I mentioned to our friend, Glen, how there was all this netting that was fixed to the lattice work around our house.'That's to stop the snakes' he said matter of factly. I couldn't believe it. Someone had tried to net out snakes that might have sought sanctuary in the cool, darkness under our house. Anyway, we've ripped up all the netting - but are awaiting the invasion of snakes.

Then, I noticed at the pet shop I buy my snake food (ie dead rats) from, that they were selling bottles of 'snake repellant'. Now, the young people who work there include a young woman who keeps pythons herself and a young fellow who is studying environmental science at SCU. 'Surely you don't believe that bottle of stuff will repel snakes', I once asked incredulously. 'Not sure, hadn't really thought about it', came their somewhat sheepish reply. Bottle of snake repellant are no longer stocked.

And then today, in the Brisbane Courier, I notice an ad for a solar powered snake repeller. Apparently it's supposed to send vibrations into the ground and scare the snakes away.

It amazes me how Australians still carry such anxiety around with them, even today. It interested me that the only 'dangerous' animal mentioned during the flooding events in Queensland were 'snakes'. Haven't heard of anyone being bitten by any...

Pond pH and backswimmers

Nothing is as straightforward as you would like it to be, is it. I tested the pond water last week and it was decidedly on the acid side of things at 6.2 (most fish and other aquatice life, although there are exceptions, prefer a neutral pH of around 7). According to the fish guy at Wollongbar, rainwater running off an iron roof is quite acid (and in fact when I tested some water in the rain gauge yesterday it was 6.1). But, he said, ground water (like the bore water that I thought would be inferior to the rainwater, stupid me) is quite good. So I tested the bore water yesterday from one of the outside taps and it was spot on 7! So we syphoned out most of the water from the pond this morning and filled up with bore water. And then I tested it and it's 6.4. What the...? Can't work that one out...anyway I'll test it again tomorrow (maybe it just needs to 'settle') and if it's still low we'll drop in some concrete blocks which should do the trick of increasing the alkalinity.

When the water level had dropped we noticed quite a few tadpoles, presumably an outcome from the orgy of bleating tree frogs that took place earlier in the week, as well as some backswimmers or water boatmen, not quite sure which. Now I'm buggered if I know how they got in to the pond. I guess they could live in our water tank and came in via the hose when we filled the pond up a couple of weeks ago, but I would have thought we would have noticed them before now (the pond water is very clear). Who knows, another of nature's (NOT Mother Nature's) mysteries...

Froggy colonisation

Our pond was filled on January 1 and on that very night we saw a large green tree frog, Litoria caerulea, sitting on the edge of it. For the past couple of nights several green tree frogs have been calling from near the pond as well, although none is calling tonight. About four nights ago another species began calling from the pond, this one is called the bleating tree frog, Litoria dentata, and they make a very distinctive 'bleating' call. There were four males calling from around the edge of the pond tonight. I think there may also have been a dainty tree frog, Litoria gracilenta, but I shall need to make a positive ID on that one first. The herpetologist in me is curious about how froggy colonisation of the pond will take place over the coming months.

So far no cane toads have turned up.

Wet but fine

Just a quick update as we have been contacted by many friends asking us if we are OK. And the answer is yes, we are fine. The bridge has gone under about 6 times since Xmas but this has generally not been a problem. I had to delay my departure from work on Friday until about 6pm (yes that was a bit of a shock) until the creek dropped and I was unable to get to work at all yesterday. Today was OK until I got a call from Steve at 3pm to tell me that the creek was just starting to push its way over the bridge and that I should get home now. Which I did.

The Leycester Creek is still a fast flowing river of chocolate coloured water that has bloated its way outside its usual channel and some of our creekside plantings remain underwater. Logs the size of large trees bob and weave their way down the creek and I don't think you appreciate the strength and force of a creek in flood until you see one in action.

The chookery is a muddy, shitty, mess. Yucko. We've been letting the girls out each day just so that they can walk around on clean, if wet, grass, rather than spend all day confined to a quagmire. They have responded by scratching out the mulch from around each of our trees and shrubs and making a mess. But they're programmed to do such stuff.

But of course all of this is nothing compared to what the poor people of southern QLD are having to contend with now. It looks like we've missed out on these deluges. Anyway, thanks again for your concern, folks!

Wet

I've just been down to the bridge and the creek is well and truly over, and with the rain that is forecast for today, will likely stay that way for the rest of the day and perhaps tomorrow as well. So far this month we've copped 233mm which is a not unimpressive 9 or so inches. Yesterday wasn't as bad as had been predicted but looks like the heavier rains will be falling for the next 48 hours. Even if we don't get what has been predicted, the ground is so sodden just about everything that falls as rain runs off. We are starting to see some of our plants deteriorating as well - some ground covers, parts of a rosemary bush and I'm worried about some of our fruit trees as well. But, there's nothing that can be done so we'll just have to see what happens.

We haven't been able to make a lot of progress on the deck....still have about a fifth of the decking timber to put on. I've started washing the pebbles (opted for a tumbled sandstone) for the base of the pond and that's looking good. Hopefully some fish can go in later this week...

Progress on the Deck

Although progress has been badly held up by rain we have made some progress. All the bearers and joists were nailed and screwed in just before new years and then on new year's eve...
the pond liner was placed in and the pond filled
The decking timber began to get nailed on today, which was hot, tedious and slow work, with Steve needing to work out spacing and the placing of the boards...
But it's starting to take shape now...once the decking timber has been all nailed on, then it needs to be painted, as do the walls, and one side has to be toad-proofed somehow and the ugly air con motors have to be cunningly disguised as well

New Years Eve morning

Here's Murray, Piglet (Michael), Kelly, Grant, Ken and Steve having lunch on New Year's Eve. Later that night we all saw the new year in at the Tropical Fruits Party at Lismore Showground. We danced hard to the set by DJ Kitty Glitter but Steve and I decided at 3am that we'd had enough and headed home through a very thick, Hounds of the Baskerville fog.

Kelly, Grant and Ken left on Sunday morning, the rest of use browsed Lismore car boot market before then driving to Mullumbimby and then crossing over the range into Uki. Before heading home we had a lovely arvie tea at Mavis' Kitchen, where the boys, Pete and Charlie welcomed us with a glass or two of moscato. We watched from our table on the verandah as one lot of guests left in their helicopter, I kid you not. They were apparently from Southport. Say no more.

Rainfall 2010: total 1697mm

January 141

February 192

March 175.5

April 43.5

May 92

June 97

July 56.5

August 29.5

September 85.5

October 259.5

November 104.5

December 420.5

Total 1697mm (2009: 1500mm)