
i took the younger girls and my dad, david, up to bobo creek for a few days last week. we timed the weather perfectly and enjoyed the recently-rain-refreshed landscape. the girls learned to drive the pajero slowly around the bottom paddock while i dug out thistles and checked over the land. the creek is low and a neighbour suspects that someone upstream is taking more water out than they should be. we'll have to investigate this, although we don't know what we could do. bring on the swales and dams. speaking of that, pete is booked in to do darren doherty's
keyline design workshop in january, so we will be better equipped to make a start after that. the keyline method uses a series of linked dams, as we have in our permaculture plan, but also uses the
yeoman's plow to allow water to penetrate deep into the soil without disturbing the rich networks of microorganisms.

anyway, i was thrilled to catch sight of two pairs of regent bowerbirds in a quiet grove down by the creek. they are unmistakable with vivid gold and black plumage. the photo is from
this site.
we were playing cards one night when a little beetle started flashing bright light on the table. we turned out the gas lamp and watched in amazement as the tiny thing flew off, visible in the dark for a long way through the trees. it must be a male firefly which according to
this website: "The males flash light as a signal whilst flying to wingless females on the ground. If the female is receptive she will return a weaker flash and couple will unite and mate."
the last encounter was rather unfortunate. we always take our dear jessie dog with us. she's a ridgeback cross mastiff and a gentle giant. she and the bunny lick each other and run around our sydney backyard together.

jessie is familiar with our pet diamond python and also licks that gently. so i was not prepared to see her with a full-grown red-belly black snake between her jaws. i've never seen jessie 'go' for anything, so i guess while sniffing around some rocks she uncovered a snake who reared up at her. she killed it, which is sad, because we don't want to harm anything on the property and want to encourage wildlife. we've heard stories from neighbours about their dogs saving their lives and assumed jessie would certainly not fall into that category. but...now we'll have to be more careful with her, both for her sake and the sake of other poor snakes.
david with the unfortunate snake:

leaves on the creek