Badger Galore
Staying ‘Up Over’ for a while.
After the rain.
'Chicken Protector' strikes back!
We had had a bit of rain during the night so it looked a little bedraggled and the look of fear on it's face as I approached was pitiful.
In it's efforts to escape it had bent one end of the wire mesh inwards probably by pulling at it with it's teeth. I had to carefully remove the two pegs that were holding the cage down and the fox went for me both times.With the camera playing up the day before I had put in a new memory card but was disappointed to find that it hadn't worked and so there was no recording of what had gone on during the night.Still we had caught a fox
The terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.
So...I have been pretty busy at the 'Book Cave' these last few weeks and as Thursday arrived I was looking forward to a week off and time to get things I want to do, done. I did some baking on Thursday and tidying in Blue Moon but got a call to ask me to work again at the 'Book Cave' on Friday, which I did.Still, this morning dawned with the prospect of five free days still to go."Shall we go to Warwick today and get the wood we need to finish framing the windows?" asked Will.It wasn't what I had planned but there were a few other things we needed so I agreed and we set of in 'Kwiz'.We were going to get a new sound bar for the TV and they were supposed to be on sale in Aldi today so we called in on our way but we couldn't see any. Never mind we thought we can look in the Aldi in Warwick. The drive to Warwick is about 60kms and takes about 45 minutes from town.Will was driving and halfway to Warwick I pressed the button to wind down the passenger electric window. It went down but I had opened it too far so pulled the button up to close the window a bit but nothing happened. I pressed it down again and the window went further down but when I pulled the button up again, nothing happened...again.Will tried with the buttons on the driver's side sending my window further down but again his button would not bring it back up.We pulled over and tried to see what we could do but it was no good."Perhaps if we open it right down it will come back up again, " said Will.It didn't and we drove the rest of the way to Warwick with my window all the way down.We went to Bunnings first to get the wood because we didn't want to leave the sound bar in the car with an open window. We got the wood we needed and some shade cloth, which we are going to see if we can use to cover the eaves, but they had no trugs that we wanted."It's not our day," said Will.There were no sound bars at the Warwick Aldi either but I got some more cat food for fox bait as I had used all the others I had bought last night.We set off back home, a little disappointed with our booty and with the passenger window wide open all the way.Just before we got back to Stanthorpe Kwiz's engine started making a loud rattling sound and then stopped. We pulled over beside the highway and had a look at the engine and tried to start the car again but the noise the engine made did not sound good.The day had suddenly got a lot worse.We are in the RACQ so I rang them to get a mechanic out.'We are experiencing high volumes of calls at the present time'Â said the recorded message but I got through to a consultant much quicker than I thought and the recovery driver arrived within 30 minutes of us breaking down.He had a look, listened to the engine when we started it up again, tutted and shook his head and then left us to go get the tow truck.We are RACQ Ultimate members so I soon had a call back to ask if we needed a taxi to get home. I was sent a text with a number to call when we were ready for the taxi to collect us.It was another 20 minutes before the tow truck returned. Kwiz was loaded and we all were taken into town. At the garage Kwiz was unloaded but won't be looked at now until Monday. Fortunately they were able to put her inside as rain is forecast this weekend and she has a passenger window that won't close!I rang the RACQ number I'd been given to get the Taxi and we waited outside the garage with 2 two and a half metre bits of wood, a roll of shade cloth and some cat food.The taxi took so long I rang the RACQ again."Oh, he just rang to get the payment so he should be with you soon."It felt like another 10 minutes but eventually the taxi arrived and driving onto the garage forecourt he scratched the underneath of the bumper.The guy who got out looked like a cross between an evil Hagrid and an axe murderer."Will this wood fit in?" we asked smiling."We'll see." he grunted.It did and we climbed in the back."Just our luck to break down on our way back from Bunnings," said Will.....nothing."Have you had a busy day?" asked Will, making polite conversation.The 'Yeh' reply that he grunted clearly conveyed that he didn't want to talk so we didn't say anything for the rest of the journey.On the way home Evil Hagrid, got out his phone and peered at it so closely that I worried about his eyesight. He did a quick text while heading down the highway but I decided against asking him not to and to concentrate on his driving because I like my head attached to my neck.Nearer our home he got a phone call and actually pulled out a clipboard which he rested on the steering wheel and made notes about a later pick up while he was driving us down the road!!!!The meter had raced all the way through the journey and the fare from Stanthorpe to our gate cost over $80!!! RACQ paid it of course...(from the money I have paid them over the years) but that is a real rip off!!! We got him to drop us off at the gate and we walked the last kilometre up the hill.It had been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day...and I only have four left now!
At least the sunset was decent.
The Beast of Thorndale Ridge.
So...as you know the trap was firstly visited by a feral cat. The next night a possum came along to have a nosey and last night a completely different feral cat to the first one wandered past. Tonight we were invited out for dinner but I baited the trap with cat food before we left and set up the camera.We returned to find the trap empty, it had been moved about a metre from it's original position and was facing completely in the opposite direction but had still not been sprung!!!!!I was expecting some interesting video footage and sure enough while we were out the fox came.[wpvideo C5PN6iJF][wpvideo WiONGFgG][wpvideo jR0q1GTO]Sadly after the first few video recordings the camera went wrong and there are about 10 further video recordings that I cannot play or access. So we won't get to see how the fox got at the bait, and moved the trap without setting it off.I have reset the trap, added new bait and pegged it down so that it cannot be moved.I'm going to get this fox!!!!