And in pink too

Nature at its finest.

ONE shower of rain

Last Tuesday we had at last a decent shower of rain. After weeks and weeks of dry weather, bush fire, dust storm, Mount Perry got 50mm of rain in a few hours.
Look what happens two days later: the wild fresia's were just waiting for it, and here they are. The town is white. The figtrees decided to join the party.

Cane toad

The wildlife is not all beautiful and sweet.
This is a cane toad in our back yard. These ugly toads (dutch: padden) were introduced into Australia to control the grayback beetle in the suger cane fields back in 1935. There were no pesticides yet at that time. The grayback beetles did not suffer very much though, because they live high up in the sugar cane leaves, and the cane toad feeds on the ground.
The toads don't have a natural enemy, because they are toxic, and now they are a real pest themselves. They are responsible for the deminishing of many native animals (frogs, birds of prey). Millions and millions of dollars are spend, and will be spend, to get rid of them.

Galah's

Last weekend I made a birdfeeder on a pole in the garden.
And yes, the galah's have found the water and the seeds too. Aren't they pretty?

Green frog

Hidden behind the timer for the outside lights, safe for other predators (dutch: roofdieren), a cute little (3 cm?) green frog.
Welcome to our home mate. You can eat as many bugs as you like around our place.

Grosvenor Cemetery

Pam's uncle, John Mesner, passed away last week. He lived to be 98 years old. Never sick, until the last half year.
He had a very respected country life, grew up, lived and died in the area that he was born: Eidsvold, QLD.
He was burried today in Grosvenor Cemetery, a few km out of Eidsvold. An absolutely magic spot for a country man to rest.
His horse saddle and his hat were burried with him, he was never without them, he will not be.

Mount Perry wood chop 2009

The big event in this little country town. The woodchop (dutch: houthakken). Big guys, big axes, and lots and lots of power.
Logs of solid hardwood cut in pieces in less then half a minute.
Big fun, impressive to see, and a great gathering of people from all over the country.

And I managed to get a little video on Youtube. have a look: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjkpRNYZjKM
a little explanation for the dutch readers: the first axeman (the one in the back) starts at count number 10, and depending on their handicap, the next axeman on his own count. The last person (big Pete) at count 33.
It is measured that a single blow from the axe can reach up to 35 ton pressure !

Kookaburra

I wanted to share the sound of the kookaburra with you. This morning they were laughing in the trees behind the house and I finally got their "song" on my videocam, although I could not see the birds themselves.
I could have posted this video here, but that makes no sense. There is nothing important to see, and besides that, a normal video is too large (we are limited in our up- and download capacity).
I ripped just the sound from the video I just made (using AoA Audio Extractor) and saved it in a separate mp3 file. But discovered a new problem: Blogger does not allow to upload mp3 files.
So I got a single picture of a Kookaburra I made before and in Windows Moviemaker I added the just recorded mp3 file and made a new movie with just one picture. Nice and small file compared to the original movie.
I hope this works (press the little arrow under the picture and have your volume up).

Jacaranda

No doubt in my mind that these Jacaranda trees have the most beautiful colour I have ever seen. Like the Lavender in France, but as a tree it is very impressive.