Excuse me, can you let me know which way for a lovely bushwalk? Not a problem, once you come to the old fence, walk down the road. All the way?
No. There’s a bend in the road. Don’t turn left, go straight ahead. What is straight ahead?Is there any signs to know which way?
There aren’t any signs but you’ll see the gravel track that goes through the bush. Follow it until you come to a little bridge and a creek. OK I’m glad the track is easy to find. I hope it’s not far, it is quite warm today.
Once at the creek, upstream is quite pretty You are so right, it is so lovely.
You can go swimming downstream, there is a small path into the water over the cobbles onto the gravel bed and easy access to the pools, deep enough to sit in. That is so inviting on a hot day. Cool water running over the gravel…..bliss Thanks for showing me which way to this delightful creek.
It is a question that gets asked a bit…..why do I live so far from town?
So far from town is about 35 kms and takes me around 20 – 25 minutes…..so I wonder what they say to people who live further than that from town!!!
My place is in there somewhere….
The silence of the bush is great, which can be broken by the occasional doff doff from the kids across the way or racing up and down the road on their motorbikes.
I love the animals and birds that hang around the garden
Red necked wallabies love the grass around the house and I think they feel safe
A variety of honeyeaters hang around from time to time…scarlet honeyeaters are always around somewhere.
The numbers of birds are on the rise and there are the occasional ones who tend to piss me off. At the moment the Australian Ravens have taken to eating the chooks eggs. When the winter cold starts to bite in the mountains, the Currawongs come down to here and they just hang around the chook house eating food out of the hopper. Also the Satin Bower Birds arrive as well but for the first time this year, they have stayed. So a few Bower Birds also hang around the chook yard. I have a new rooster, after a few months without a bloke around to look out for the chooks, so I think he may sort out the Ravens.
The Ravens just wander about
I guess my biggest challenge is the weeds. Luckily they aren’t too bad to control. Lantana is easy to knock down but it is in many of the gullies and Fireweed is along the power line clearings. There is a bit of Parramatta Grass and Cotton weed in patches. I found a small patch of Balloon Vine yesterday and will have to remove that as it is flowering.
One of my favourite spots. This waterhole has never dried even in the north coast drought of 2000 – 2002
I love living in the bush maybe that’s why I am bushboy
It has been six weeks since the fire devastated my place. Today was the first time I have been able to get about my property and see the extent of the damage the fire has done. I went mainly to check the fences as they are the things that have been severely impacted by fire.
The best thing was that I didn’t find any large animals that had died from the fire. I didn’t go poking around in burnt logs and under things so smaller animals and reptiles may have not survived.
I did find the recovery of plants starting to commence.
A Eucalypts lignotuber sends new growth from the ground. I love the red colour.
A burnt tree sprouts new growth from its trunk.
Early signs are often red gradually turning green.
This gold bummed ant was very protective of its tree. After a while it actually leapt onto the camera lens
Other ants were carrying treasures back to the nest
I did find the Bower Birds burnt bower which was near to my house.
His blue treasures to impress the females a bit charred and molten.
Some people have asked how did the waterhole fare. The Lomandras in the water course have all started to sprout.
The rain on Christmas Day filled the waterhole and it still has a good amount of water. I am not too sure about the quality of the water. On the left under the fallen Brush Box tree is the rock I sit on to watch and photograph the birds. On the right hand side that tree has fallen across the track I use to get down to the waterhole. The rocky gully where the water comes into the waterhole has lots of trees over it but the small water hole up there a bit has water as well. The Powerful Owls weren’t around much to my disappointment.
This is what the water hole looked like
Dragonflies were flitting around one of the dams near the house.
I was pleased to see the White-winged Chough family patrolling through the bush. It looks like they have had a good year as there was around three chicks. I counted eleven birds. Last year when I saw a flock there were seven. Choughs are quite good at enticing other Choughs from other family groups into their family.
I was dismayed to see the big Ironbark tree still on fire. It will be a while until this tree stops burning. It is surrounded by a big burnt area so I am not concerned about it getting out of control. Unfortunately my tracks through the bush have so many trees over them I am unable to get anywhere near it and if I did I have no idea how I would be able to cut through the log to separate the burning bit from the rest of the tree. The tree is at least one meter in diameter.
So when I am next able to get about the property, I’ll write again about the recovery of Durranbah. I probably shouldn’t have walked as far as I did. I hurt my back a few weeks ago and am starting to feel better. I did come back to the house, have a shower, a bit of lunch and then went to bed for a few hours. Still am a bit sore still but the constant showers for the last three hours has been lovely. Not much rain I think but steady soaking rain has made me feel a lot better.
For Cee’s On the Hunt for Joy Challenge – Get Outside
The August Photo a day Challenge from Maria at CitySonnet for the 29th: Reflections
When life gets you down
head down to the waterhole
A place where life gathers
A place where the day dissolves
Find yourself a rock
even though the water
is diminishing with drought
Sit
wait
listen to the bush
Hear the sounds of life
immerse yourself in life
The bush is never quiet
the buzzing of insects
the crunch of leaves
as animals and lizards
move about
The smell of the dry bush
the sounds of plants dying
dropping leaves and branches
surviving
waiting
The Rains will come
one day.
So for now
sit and reflect
your heart will not
be heavy for long
Cry if you want
let the bush
wash over
Sit and listen on
the rock by the waterhole.
Here they come
finding a place to be
a small puddle
of life
reflecting.
bushboys world 