Things can only get better!

so...the dawning of the New Year was not so good for us.We woke on New Years Day to find that Amé was dead in her festive box.On New Years Eve she got off the eggs, that she had been sitting on for nearly a month, quite a few times and appeared to have given up on them. Hen eggs take 21 days to hatch but Guinea Fowl eggs take 28 days so she had already sat a week extra. The eggs were due to hatch on New Years Day give or take a day or two because of Arke abandoning them after two days.There was no sign of them hatching and on New Years Eve we chased Amé back in for the night hoping that we would find signs of hatching in the morning...it was not to be.We buried Amé in our 'chook' cemetery and Will took the eggs and one by one broke them open to see what was inside. The first 7 still had yolks but the seventh had a chick in it and it was still moving though bundled up in it's egg sac. It looked pretty close to being ready to hatch too. He brought it in and we put it somewhere warm but it sadly died too. We have four still intact and we think one at least has a chick in it so we are keeping them warm in the hope that it will survive though the chances now are very slim.After the false start with Arke we were thinking that we might end up disappointed come New Year but we did not expect the outcome to be so bad. Poor Amé, she had survived the fox attack next door and was a feisty thing, always on her toes and ready to run. Her body was crawling with mites. We feel so bad that we chased her back in there the night before too.To top it all Will and I both had stomach pains all day and we have no idea where that came from and I had to pay a $250 speeding fine after being caught last month by an unmarked police camera car at the side of the road. Doh!Surely things can only get better.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from Frogknot. It is with mixed feelings that I move into 2018 as I feel like I am leaving my Dad back in 2017 but life goes on and you just have to keep on facing forward and taking each day as it comes.May 2018 be full of joy, good health, love and laughter for you and yours.

Christmas Treat in Brisbane.

So...yesterday we went to Brisbane for a Christmas Treat. We were booked into the Point Hotel on Kangaroo Point for the night. We went on a wild goose chase in search of Vimto at Foodworks in Morningside. On our last visit there was none but the owner said that he had it in stock and that it would be there on our next visit. It wasn't!In the afternoon we went and saw 'Call Me By Your Name' at the Palace Centro Cinemas. We just loved it!In the evening we went for dinner at 'Blackbird ' by the river in the CBD. We came out absolutely stuffed and walked back to the hotel over the bridge and had to shelter for a while from a rainstorm.A flying visit but well worth it.

Bird in a box for Boxing Day.

So...yesterday I found this little fellow flapping around on the ground. I thought it was an Eastern Rosella. A thunderstorm was approaching and so I carefully caught it in my t-shirt and put it in the empty 'chook' pen that I built so that it, at least, it had some shelter.After the storm I went to check on it and discovered that it had somehow escaped the pen, probably through a gap in the chicken wire. I looked around and found it not far away still hobbling around on the ground and looking very damp. I caught it again and put it in a box of straw with a bowl of honey water and left it safe in there over night.This morning I rang Granite Belt Wildlife Carers and was given the address of one of the carers in Stanthorpe and I took my boxed bird there.I now think I want to be a Wildlife Carer after visiting that wonderful place this morning. It turned out I was right and that it was an Eastern Rosella. I told the lady that I thought that it had an injured foot because of the way I had seen it holding it. She was not an expert on birds and said that she would phone one of the other carers to see if she would take it. Sitting on the bench in the room that she took me into was a large cage with the cutest little Koala snuggled up close to a large stuffed teddy bear. It had been found all alone near Warwick yesterday.The lady said that she had just been disposing of some mice for raptor food."We have a baby Wedge Tail that needs food otherwise it's not a job I enjoy" she said. It turns out that she gassed them in a jar using a soda stream machine. You learn something new everyday don't you?"My house is full of mice you could have had" I said.Outside in another cage was a small grey fluffy ball which turned out to be baby Nankeen Kestrel. While we were talking an elderly man wandered past followed by a small and very cute baby kangaroo."We call her the Shadow," she said "because she follows you everywhere."I wanted a small, cute baby kangaroo following me."I think I want to be a Wildlife Carer" I said." Come and look at this," she said.She took me round the back and there were four large cages in a shed. In one of them was the Baby Wedge Tailed Eagle that had been found out near Liston. In two of the other cages there were more young Koalas. One had been found near Somerset Dam, one near Logan in Brisbane and one on Stradbroke Island. The one from Stradbroke Island was the cutest and leaned in close to me peering at it."He wants a cuddle" said the lady and she got it out and I was able to stroke it's little head. The little kangaroo had wandered in and wanted some attention too and so I patted and stroked that too.What a great job these people do caring for these animals until they are ready to be released again back where they came from. It was a lovely way to spend 30 minutes in all their company this morning.   

Frogknotians 17

Chapter17.Verse 1;And in the beginning her Father spoke saying “Come unto me” and lo, it came to pass that Phoebe didst journey into the Wilderness, alone and didst dwell in the House of Good Will, yea even for seven days before returning whence she had come. And in the second month They didst return unto Eden from the Underworld to visit with friends and family therein. And it came to pass that the Father of Nick, who for four score years had been of sound mind and strong of limb didst appear troubled with remembrance and they returned unto the Underworld sore afraid for what might come to pass.Verse 2;And in the fourth month they didst abandon the Tower of Bathing for surely it was toil of unrelenting misery, fashioned from handfuls of clay and yet they didst only possess a spade and a bucket to assist them. And their neighbour who couldst and hadst the strength and the tools to help them was slavishly building a house of his own. And then they didst have a vision of a glorious Temple of the Moon, that was not built of mud and straw and they didst begin to toil upon that. And that same month a decree went out to Nick saying “Surely though canst teach for one day in the week?” Nick didst ponder on these things saying “Surely I canst teach for one day in the week” and he didst think of the rewards therein and spake saying “Yea!”. But it was not good and he didst suffer to come unto the children and he was bound by his promise for the rest of the year. But Will didst find happiness and contentment in the House of Curds and Whey for truly Bless-ed are the Cheesemakers.Verse 3;And in the seventh month there came a light and it shone upon Nick and it spake saying “Come unto the House of the Word” and Nick didst heed the calling and didst begin to toil in the House of the Word for a few hours a week and it was good. And yea, though demons and other children didst come unto the House of the Word Nick couldst put a finger unto his lips and say “Shush!”Verse 4;And the Father of Nick didst visit with healers and the blessings they didst bestow upon him didst give him comfort and he was much improved but Nick, still concern-ed, us-ed the rewards of suffering the little children to prepare for another journey unto Eden to visit with his Father, yea for the second time in one year. And it came to pass that one week before the beginning of that journey the Father of Nick didst descend into Heaven to whistleth at the right hand of God. Nick didst journey unto Eden to be with his Family at that sad time. Many wept for surely he was a great and good man and he shall be forever greatly missed. But the Family of Nick didst take comfort from the fact that his departure was swift and he was spared the long, slow loss of his mind.Verse 5;And upon returning unto the Underworld Nick hadst little time to dwell upon all that had come to pass as he was suffering the little children and dwelling in the House of the Word or building the Temple of the Moon which rose-ed from the ground with more haste than the Tower of Bathing. And it was very good. And in the final month the promise that Nick had made to teach for one day in the week was fulfilled. There hadst been much wailing and gnashing of teeth but finally he turn-ed his back upon them and didst walk away to ponder whether he wouldst suffer the little children again or just dwell in the House of the Word forever.And so it is written and so it came to pass.Here endeth the lesson.