LITTLE KINGFISHER

LITTLE KINGFISHER, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

This little fellow caught my eye when walking along the creek this afternoon. He is only 10 cm in length and like a jewel flitting through the afternoon shadows diving on the water and catching the water bugs..

Lace goanna (monitor)

Lace lizard, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

On my hike the other morning his young fellow ducked up a tree. These goannas grow very large. When out mustering and come upon them suddenly they tend to head towards the horse to climb up the horse's leg......and sit on the riders head...of course the rider is not there for long as get bucked off.....

The creek

The creek, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

Was on my way to the falls...could not get there yesterday morning as the road was cut with the water....the noise was so loud and I love the sound of nature being in your face.....er er as long as not too much thunder and lightning.....

Playing dead

Playing dead, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

Attempted to shush him off the road this morning...and he ran at me with his mouth open, I fell down screaming, dropped the camera, did not even have the presence of mind to press the shutter..eyeballed me for a sec and then scuttled off....my camera is dirty I am embarrassed and scuffed..although no witnesses except the dragon....I hope he does not tell as am sure could see him laughing...

THE STORM LAST NIGHT

Coming back from the city last night in the rain and fog...had to deliver insulin to a local who was in the lockup on "Public Nuisance" charge..........Would have taken a photo of the personnel at the lockup but they may have locked me in there too as looked very stern...I thought better of it....

This photograph was taken last night lit by the sheet lightning at 2110 hours.....10 minutes past nine at night...The thunder and lightning went on and on for hours...flash flooding in some parts.....very wild...nature getting a little fierce....

The lockee...and would not have been able to bail him as the judge insisted he stay as the witnesses were fearful for their lives

FLYING FOXES THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS

FLYING FOXES THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

Had business in Brisbane today and drove down off the mountain and noticed these flying foxes roosting along the banks of the Brisbane River, where ever I looked, foxes, hanging off the trees.

In far north Queensland the obvious threat is the salty crocodile which will eat you if given the opportunity. The flying foxes to me are just as dangerous as noticed horses grazing in paddocks metres away from this huge colony ..

The not fully understood Hendra Virus HeV which will under experimental conditions be reproduced in cats and guinea pigs. It is possible to transmit HeV from experimentally infected cats to horses, but experimental transmission from horse to horse, or from horse to horse or from horses to cats, to date has not been possible, I understand.

Six people have been known to be infected with the virus three dying. The virus spills over into horses from flying foxes and the infected horse can then infect humans and 50% death rate.

The fruit bat, like the saltwater crocodile is a protected species which it should be but horses should not be kept in the vicinity of such a huge colony, I believe, with only my layman's take on the virus this is asking for trouble.

The virus appears to follow the path of flying foxes to horses to humans and I believe does not transmit from flying fox to humans. The flying fox are a natural host of the so called HeV. This virus has only ever been detected here in Queensland, Australia, one case in Lismore just over the Queensland border.

A potentially lethal situation.....easily rectified...take the equines away from the vicinity of the colony.

The virus has only been detected firstly in 1994 in Queensland Australia, nowhere else in the world and the risk is minimal. The scientific community I believe is conducting ongoing research into this, I believe, not fully understood virus, and the Australian scientific community in the past have proved to be innovative and cutting edge.....

We did have an outbreak of Equine Influenza introduced by protocols at the Quarantine Station not being adhered to and our status is again Equine Influenza free due to the aggressive innoculation and quarantine of individual properties during the crisis and a virtual standstill of all equine movements. I do believe this has not been achievable anywhere else in the world but will stand corrected on this.....Of course Equine Influenza has nothing to do with the above only the fact it is a horse disease , am pointing out what was achievable in this country, with the equine community and government prepared to take the financial hit and go the hard yards, and they were hard, brought me together with many others, to my knees financially, to get rid of the disease.

MY DRIVEWAY A SEA OF LAVENDER

MY DRIVEWAY A SEA OF LAVENDER, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

and Rain...and not working...a day of bliss.....

PORTRAIT OF A PONY

PORTRAIT OF A PONY, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

Was commissioned to take portraits of a Champion Show Pony and she is a film star....

TEXTURE

TEXTURE, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

November Storms

DEATH IN THE NORTH

My original blog on an Australian site was a record of my life and suffered a cringe factor thinking to myself me me me.....I will retrace some of the stories as will explain where I come from...



My father managed a huge outback cattle station in the Gulf of Carpentaria in Australia for two of the great beef barons of their day Angliss and Kidman holdings.

During the second World War my father was wounded badly in Darwin (The Airship my father arrived in Darwin on before the War) and my mother was posted as a nursing sister to the north of Queensland . Dad was injured badly by raids on Darwin and my mother was stationed at Richmond and at the end of the war was attending to soldiers burnt with mustard gas and I guess an early nerve gas which was stockpiled in Northern Australia in the advent of an invasion. The military did not intend I am led to believe to attempt to hold any land north of Brisbane. At the declaration of the ceasing of hostilities the gas was destroyed and much was burnt and dumped off the coast of Townsville on the precious Australian Barrier Reef, told to me by my mother who was keeping company with one of the officers in charge of this clean up. No nation was squeaky clean in a War. My mother was posted to Croyden and was required to go to Normanton Hospital and cutting to the chase she and my father married and continued to live in the North of Australia in the vast Savannah land of the Gulf.
In the north of Australia in those days air was king and in its infancy but made life in the Outback less isolated. Every week the ANA DC 3 Aircraft delivered mail, passengers and some supplies and the passengers and crew were always invited to morning tea at the homestead under the mango trees. This is a photograph of my mother and crew with a lady passenger on the station airstrip. (L TO R, my mother, a passenger, pilots Clive Jones and Neville Hicks and the Hostess)

It was handy having my mother in the area acting as midwife, tooth puller, and binder of wounds and broken limbs, many of these people refused to leave to the city to have their health problems seen to. In the north of Australia the Aerial Ambulance was in its infancy and operating on public subscriptions. A life threatening situation had arisen when one of the stockmen, John O"Laughlin was hit in the neck by a piece of timber and his neck was swelling at an alarming rate. She contacted Cairns on the pedal radio which was operated by leg power and called in the aircraft to evacuate the stockman who she considered in a life threatening state. The De Havilland Rapide ambulance plane arrived with an ambulance bearer, Keith Howarth and made the patient comfortable. John's mate, Larry Hanson accompanied the injured man, and the pilot was John Hicks...

Upon their arrival at Cairns the airport and surrounding airspace was invisible covered in smoke from bush fires rendering the aerodrome indiscernible. The aircraft was forced to circle for some time and crashed into the sea off the northern beaches of Cairns. The sea was rough and despite the concentrated efforts of the three able bodied to hold up the patient rendering themselves exhausted he slipped out of their arms. The three swam to shore estimated a two mile swim and made landfall at different points on the coast north of Cairns. My mother and father were informed and my mother suffered as blamed herself for sending him off to Cairns and has to this day visions of John who had on a money belt with his money and dressed in his pyjamas slipping beneath the waves.

Mustering the stock plant on the airstrip

The majority of my family still live in the far north of Australia these days working in the huge mines and barramundi fishing off the coast of Karumba. This explains where this photograph comes from and one of the dangers of swimming and crossing the rivers of northern Australia....This was in the Albert River between Bourketown and Normanton and considered an unacceptable risk, a man eater. Who in their right mind would wander along the banks of these rivers and for us growing up and living in the North of Australia was part and parcel of our everyday life. We knew from a young age the savagery of nature and the randomness of life and death and I appreciate the beauty around me and am grateful for every breath I take and have experienced how easily life departs.

WHO WILL CHANGE THE TYRE??

WHO WILL CHANGE THE TYRE??, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

Needed to shift the Subaru, check the oil, and water....er er er will do it tomorrow or perhaps call a mechanic, who will be very appreciative of the work.....yes, no??

THE PUMP HOLE

After the rain, water trapped at the base of a rock fall



An Australian wildflower, flannel flower, found in this area



The walk along the creek are many rock formations and caves....k...we are so lucky..



This rock hole was the place where the original township pumped their water from and the local children swam....

THE PUMP HOLE, originally uploaded by cnlizziebns.

Went for an early morning hike this morning before I start working nights for the next week......we all end in the ocean...we start in the streams.

I usually go for a hike early particularly after rain. The area experienced a wild storm last night and a lightening strike nearby, I thought my number was up so am a little reflective today.

CONGRATULATIONS AMERICA

The first time I have followed an American Presidential race...with two worthy contenders. In the past would view the contenders with a jaundiced eye.....not so this time........


glitter-graphics.com
graphic belonging to "chibiville"

WHAT DO YOU DO?

JOE AND LILLY


Months ago decided to acquire a pony for my grandson, Joe who I look after for a couple of days every second weekend ...I happened to mentioned to people I knew I was setting off that day to look at ponies

"Do not get a pony we have a perfectly good pony going to waste in the paddock which our grand daughter does not want or wish to ride and will not go near it"......."No do not buy a pony we would like to have this pony and we have asked our grand daughter and she is perfectly happy for Joe to have the pony, and he can consider it his own until he has not further use for her".

The pony, Lilly, is a beautiful animal with a delightful temper but had never been ridden and was quite young three years of age. I took the pony, broke it in to saddle and tramped miles and miles driving it in reins to town through the bush down the road, waiting on corners so she would become acquainted with cars and trucks...and Joe was estatic and I made the mistake of telling him it was his pony as the owners had assured me Joe would have the use of it until he grew too tall for the little darling.

Joe rode that pony for miles and miles and I wore my legs out walking beside Joe, after all Joe is only three years of age BUT Joe became somewhat of a celebrity on his pony and told everyone of his pony and how he loved to ride and he would ride to town through the bottle shop and buy a ginger beer then go to the shops and buy an ice block. Children would stop and marvel at this little boy and his fairytale pony. Joe, my grandson lives in a big city with his mother and visits me in the country when with his father has the custody so visiting with his Grandma and riding this horse was his fantasy. This is a huge contrast to the concrete and steel jungle and the joy of this child was contagious to anyone who witnessed him with the pony.

A week before his next visit, a bolt from the blue I received a telephone message that the pony was needed at home as a companion for another horse....gone were the assurances that the pony would stay with the little boy as his own....oh yes if you like when Joe visits he may come and have a ride on the pony. Joe was fanatical about the pony talking to it and feeding it and grooming her beautiful black coat mane and tail.....and thought it was his...Children at the local school spoke of "Joe's pony" and of course it is not Joe's pony but belongs to the little girl. ....I can not even after the passage of a week get my head around the lack of morality doing this just because they could. I know in my heart if the shoe was on my foot I would never do this to a three year old child.

Luckily the message was recorded on my mobile as went ballistic ....... had thought had learnt to control my temper. I calmed down and spoke to my sensible son who said the bottom line was I did not own the pony. I agreed and meekly took the pony back to the owners knowing I had done the wrong thing in trusting someones word and that I had led this little boy to believe the pony was his......I desperately scoured the country for another pony to get here within days and was prepared to drive to Victoria as another black pony was available down there and would have been a drive of two and a half thousand kilometres. I rang a pony stud 100 kilometres distant and they did not have a pony available and told them my tale. The owners of the stud became very involved and said they would try and locate a suitable pony. After some hours I was contacted by these people and they had discussed the matter and agreed to let me purchase one of their show team shetlands. I purchased the pony and brought her home and broke her in to a saddle. Joe arrived and I told him that the black pony had to go to a paddock as needed to be a companion to a lonely horse and said that I have another little pony who was going to live with me and perhaps he would like her.

I did not give Joe the opportunity to question too closely and whisked him down to the stables and this little horse walked up to him and made his aquaintance. I told Joe she was still being trained and perhaps he could help. Joe agreed and we went and collected his saddle from the shed and he told me "No, can not use the black saddle as the black saddle was for Lilly as she was black and the new pony Milo Miranda, needed a whitish saddle to match" This was Joe's protest and I explained to him that all saddles were black or brown and fetched a horse magazine for him to confirm. He decided it was OK to use Lilly's saddle on Miranda and the rest is history but I do believe the saddle was the little boy's angst at losing Lilly to the green headed monster......




JOE MAKING FRIENDS WITH MILO MIRANDA WITH A CARROT..Eddie in the background loves carrots can hear the crunching and is hoping he gives him one too....he does




GETTING TO KNOW YOU







Now that I have told the world and gotten that out of my system seems trivial...........and not such a big deal now that the new pony has been accepted......had a sick feeling in my tummy all week, chasing a pony, organized her within twenty four hours, collected her and broke her in to saddle.....she is well aquainted to hustle, bustle, cars, traveling as has been competing at halter since a weanling, she still needs plenty of work and attention but is a very willing and intelligent pony. We can be lucky.....and I am never too old to learn a lesson of human nature.

OOOOOPS

What happens when you hit reverse instead of forward and can not get it back!!!



You try and pull it out with this........


The steel ropes break ...and you try all day




and night





and then you use that big machine ANNNND





Bury it...what truck?...who backed over the edge......??





No one.......and a woman driver......I seem to have misplaced my truck....she says...all in a days work in the mines in sunny Queensland Australia...

I can not swear to the accuracy of this report as most of what I put here is first hand and leave the second hand stuff, as find the veracity decreases with the number of tellings, but I could not resist this which was sent to my by my niece who said the photos were from a friend of hers who works in a mine in the far north west of Queensland