Happy winter solstice, the shortest day of the year today. And what a ripper! After 40 days of almost continuous cloud and rain the sun has finally come out for the last couple of days. Above is the view from my veranda a few minutes ago. Just 2 days of sun has dried up the surface from squelching underfoot to a pleasant stroll on the grass. Just a few days ago a friend drove onto the grass you can see in his 4WD and very nearly got bogged. Not by sinking to the axles, just sitting on top with the wheels going round. Down in the valley it was even wetter and my ducks were nearly getting bogged. Having been raised parent-less from little fluffy yellow balls in my bath tub, they don’t know that ducks can fly. I feel guilty as a de facto parent for not helping them fulfil their full potential, but I could hardly demonstrate for them apart from madly running around waving my arms. I doubt even that would have done the trick without the vital clue of me taking to the air.
Me, and just about everybody else in FNQ would have had a whinge or two about the prolonged end to the wet. But I think we are all aware in this sun-baked arid country that rain is a blessing. It is just that when we count our blessings, we are over-endowed. On a global scale, the scarcity of fresh water is quickly becoming an acute issue. In India, West US, China, huge parts of Africa, the middle east etc, the situation is acute and deterioration as they plunder the ground waters which will not replenish for thousands of years. In the richer countries it leads to regional economic failure, in the poorer countries, to threatening the lives of millions and the stability of nations.
Here down on the fungus farm, I have been inconvenienced by not being able to do such things as mow the grass and deterred from other outside jobs, but the rain will have built up the ground water to keep the creek flowing well into the dry season. That means I will not be troubled by lack of power from the hydro system for the foreseeable future. Beautiful clean fresh water is tumbling down the waterfalls. I sponsor some girls in Africa who have to walk kilometres to carry back water of dubious quality for everyday use.
An update on the “Indoor Zoo” post is that there was still a melomy remaining in Maple Cottage after I removed the one pictured in the post. I had a reliable report that one was still there by a guest who was molested by one while in bed. After dancing on her luggage, it ran over her head. Fortunately I had advised her of its presence and she was not of a delicate disposition. Non-the-less she advised me, or perhaps insisted, that I should redouble my efforts to evict it. I did so setting the same bin trap that worked before and baited it with chocolate. Total failure, as it took the bait and escaped. It was obviously more athletic than its mate, being able to leap about 20 times its body length into the air. The next day new guests arrived and I explained why there was a large dustbin in the kitchen with a few bits of chocolate at the bottom. I must say they entered into the spirit of things and not only bagged (binned) the marauding melomy, but took it upon themselves to drive it to the same patch of forest where I had released its mate. We can fondly imagine them reunited in nuptial bliss.
A friend and IT geek (sorry Martin), has downloaded a plug-in so that you can receive a notification of a new post if you wish. You have to opt in by sending me an e-mail for me to add to subscribers. Same method to unsubscribe. I can’t imagine why you would subscribe unless you have a taste for the totally trivial. Or perhaps you have been here, and seek a momentary escape to tales of nature’s bounty.
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