When I venture out from my hill into civilisation, something I don’t do very often. I’m generally shocked by the amount of noise people living in the suburbs have to tolerate. Traffic noise, dogs barking, lawnmowers, couples arguing and the list goes on. I sit in my friends gardens and wonder how they managed to put up with all this interference from other people with their various noise generators and thank my lucky stars that I reside in such peaceful surroundings……………………….. Until recently that is. Now I have to review my smug attitude towards what I often boast is a ‘perfect and peaceful idyll’ The cicadas are out in force, leaving hundreds of neatly bored holes in the concrete hard earth and discarded shells litter the bases of all the Eucalypts. Albert and I were sitting on the deck drinking a well-earned (as always) ice cold beer, when the noise suddenly stopped. (Do you think they have some kind of Cicada conductor?) Then, utter silence, no wind, no bird noise, no leaf noise…nothing. Keep in mind we live on a 28 acre bush block and don’t actually need to worry about being overheard, but I leaned over and whispered “Wow! I didn’t realise it was so noisy until they all stopped” We must have quietly chatted for about ten minutes about how stunningly beautiful the place was and how lucky we were to be here, when a slow clicking noise began over on our left side, a bit like popping corn. Then the most almighty noise hit our ears first from the left and then was joined by the right in full stereophonic sound. (Yes definitely must have a conductor) We just sat and stared at each other in amazement. The Cicadas yes, but sounding completely different from the day shift. By the way, have you ever sat by a tree full of Cicadas and tried to have a conversation without being able to hear any of your ‘s’s’ or should I write that ‘esses’ Well, it’s extremely difficult…and a little bit funny actually. Try it sometime. So, what has been happening with the babies lately? We had a bit of a drama on Saturday night when Albert was left in charge of ‘play time’ whilst I went out. Despite being directed to make sure all four babies were in before dark, he managed to lose the two greys. After receiving a panic phone call I returned home and we searched roughly 10 acres of land near the house up until midnight with no joy having to abandon the effort until morning light. At 4 am and after a night of graphically visualising the pack of dingos that frequent the bottom of our land attacking my precious Monet and Mozart, I got up to continue the search. It wasn't until 6.30 am that I found them at the furthest possible point they could be from the house and still within our boundary. Standing with their arms around each other, sucking the other’s ear and positioned right in the middle of the cleared fire-break A perfect ‘swoop and take away’ snack for any passing Wedge Tailed Eagle. Let’s not discuss all the dingo scat clearly evident in the area.
Anyway, the babies are all back in their pouches and despite being a little bit deaf, all of us on our hill in Alligator Creek are content, and especially looking forward to the first rains and GREEN grass.
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AuthorSamantha "I'm a person who feels I live in paradise and truly love Australia after immigrating here in 2003. I work as a foreign exchange trader, live with my true soul mate, husband Albert. I have a passion for Aussie wildlife and became a registered wildlife carer in 2005 and can say I feel truly privileged to be able to raise and rehabilitate orphan wallaby/kangaroo joeys. I love these creatures with my heart and soul. My dream is to be able to help struggling volunteer wildlife carers, financially, so that they can do what they do best without worrying how to pay the next vet bill" Archives
December 2018
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