Goanna

HPIM1058
Originally uploaded by Robubble.

In the New Year of 2006 we managed a two night camp out with the baby boy in a deserted wilderness site in the Budawangs. Lizards and kangaroos roamed around.

Wildlife in the suburbs

Peron's tree frog, found perched on our upstairs bathroom shower rose.
Other backyard interest stories:
The swamp frogs have been going crazy laying eggs in the pond when it rains. The tadpoles seem to get to 3-4 cms long before they disappear. The brushtailed possums have been eating the buds and leaves of the waterlilies on a regular basis. A couple of water dragons have been seen on the lawn.

Children and snakes

Special hazards just for children in our National Botanic Gardens, Canberra.

Bits and Pieces

Animal life: There was a large toad clambering around in the rockery by our car space a couple of nights ago. Also a couple of days ago a large group of sanglier (wild pigs) were hanging around in the car park behind Pat's work when I arrived to pick him up. The pack (what is the collective noun for pigs?) seemed to consist of a big mama, a couple of smaller daughters and a whole swag of piglets. As they trailed off into the pine trees we could see the last two were lame in their back legs. They were all quite dark and bristly. People here reckon their numbers have increased because there are less hunters. Certainly residents with gardens near forests regularly have them dug up. And I saw Australian "sanglier" being sold in a frozen foods shop here!

I also just remembered that on one of our walks in the Dordogne we encountered a hillside so covered with wild garlic we could smell it.

Today I cooked baked beans. It took more than 4 and a half hours. They will have to be better than the canned variety, which are hard to get here.

Beetle

A prickly looking customer we met on a walk through woods. We were across the Dordogne River from Chateau Beynac looking for a cache.

Wildlife

We only see these cute little guys in the warmer months and they are pretty shy. In winter I spied one hiding out in our stair cupboard with the hot water heater! Apart from them there are cheeky magpies with a loud "chukka-chukka" call. They will tease any cat they can get close to. There are some other small greeny-spotted lizards, pigeons, seagulls overhead (a mysterious fishfin-like slimy object appeared on the outside table one day), cicadas, bumblebees and a few other birds if you look hard - woodpeckers, hoopoes, tits of some kind. I really miss the Australian birds.