Feisty little furry friends

Free and moving well up a post for gliding away.

BY AYESHA JOY CLIFFORD ©

WHO ever said life on the farm was dull?

Not me that's for sure.

I was collecting the eggs today when a life and death drama played out right in front of me.

I heard odd noises coming from our old fig tree and looked up to see a large tree snake that has been hanging about the house for a few days, sticking its head into a hole.

Suddenly a ball of fluff came flying out of the hole and landed on the barb-wire fence in front of me. I had the phone out to take photos of the snake but ...

This little fellow escaped one predator only to get caught on barbed-wire. Help was not far away though....

The little glider promptly twirled about in a bit of a daze in the bright light and got some of its floppy side-fur caught around a barb.

I jumped on the four-wheeler and raced to the shed for pliers. When I returned, the glider seemed quite calm, so I proceeded to strip off my shirt to cover its head to stop it biting me while I cut the wire on either side.

This was wildly unsuccessful. We have had these little gliders come in under the eaves often when it's rainy, and they are usually quiet when nestled at the top of the plumbing pipes.

Not today. Understandably feisty after escaping a snake and being caught on wire, the ball of slippery fluff promptly bit me painfully hard while making a huge racket as I was trying to cut the wire.

I admit a few naughty words escaped me before my furry little friend also escaped me, the wire and made a bolt for the nearest post.

I was none too keen by now on trying to catch it, what with bloodied indents from its sharp teeth stinging my finger and evident even through rubbery gloves and those vague thoughts about when my last tetanus jab was.

All this action escaped the attention of the phone camera but it must have been some sight to anyone driving by at the time - a shirtless woman in gumboots, expletives perhaps flying a bit too freely, kneeling in the grass wrestling a “shirt”.

Once free, my furry little escapee scampered up this post, staring at me long enough for this blurry photo, before gliding a few metres away again, and running up a different branch of the fig tree.

I'm not sure what its chances of survival are with any injury. I hardly ever see anything caught on the barbed wire around here apart from me when I'm trying to get through fences.

I lost track of what happened to the snake and just realised the eggs are still lying out in the rain.

Enough excitement now - I have one very sore finger and I'm staying in for the rest of the day for a keyboard workout - but I am thinking of you my little furry friend with every painful tap of the finger...

Good luck little one. I so hope you make it!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

BART wishes all a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

BY AYESHA JOY CLIFFORD ©

I'M looking forward to a colourful and creative 2014.

2013 marked the sixth year in NSW for two dust-loving Queenslanders who moved to the green and wet of the rainforest from our dusty home in Central Queensland.

This year has heralded the end of FIFO farming for the Cliffords and been our year of the sheep. Welcome Bart!

After almost four years of my gorgeous husband calling in from mine sites in places as diverse as Woomera in South Australia and Telfer in the remote north-west of WA, I have had a husband home on farm. Praise the end of the super-commute from the Northern Rivers to the Pilbara...every 10 days.

Super commuter ... the super FIFO husband hangs up his miner's hat but not before a Telfer New Year partying with the dingoes in WA's spectacular Pilbara.

I won't even begin to explain the innovative things I have done with fencing, cows and pipe repairs in the absence of one amazing multi-skilled FIFO farmer.

Necessity is the mother of invention and my innovations have raised a few eyebrows as they have been uncovered and upgraded in the past six months.

Perhaps it has been the past few years of FIFO farmer's wife anonymously tinkering away on our farm or the power of a woman in her forties - whatever, after a bit of time off-the-record, 2013 has been the year to get back to my creative heart.

WISHING all a 2014 as colourful and creative as Toowoomba's Carnival of Flowers.

2014 will mark 25 years since I was first launched on an unsuspecting public as a cadet journalist in Rockhampton.

I never suspected I would still be writing and creating and enjoying it 25 years later. I never suspected I would be a FIFO farmer's wife chatting to cows and a sheep daily either...

Our green haven is a world away from the deadlines and pressures of mainstream media and I doubt many of my former colleagues would understand my passion for our farm, animals and the quiet life - which is actually anything but quiet and produces urgent life-and-death deadlines of its own at times. 

Thankfully the Internet has given me an opportunity to keep writing and enjoying the best of both worlds. Something I am very much looking forward to sharing and expanding in 2014. 

So here's to the wonderful achievements on our little farm in a big country in 2013 and looking forward to a colourful, creative and productive year in 2014.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

A Magician of Metal

"Creativity is a Spiritual essence that can operate in any and all areas of life." 

- Julia Cameron

By AYESHA JOY CLIFFORD ©

SOLD!

Yes, my gorgeous husband is sold on clearing sales and this is the smile of a happy hunter gatherer.

I never quite know what to expect on the back of the ute but judging from the elated smile this weekend I could tell something special was lurking in amongst that pile of stuff.

Where I yawn and look for somewhere to quietly nap and people watch, he yarns to fellow fossickers and uncovers fabulous bargains for our farm that I don't see amongst what look like piles of rubbish.

One man's trash and all that. But at the weekend seriously he did nab some pretty great things.

Even if you need a little - or a lot - of imagination to picture what all these little scrolls and flowers and bits and bobs can be. 

A clearning sale featured wrought iron and other assorted flotsam and jetsam of metal magic just waiting to be transformed.

Where I quietly dabble in paint, my gorgeous husband likes to grind, weld and hammer away to create beauty. We are all creative and I love seeing creativity expressed through different areas of life.

I have been banished from the Big Shed from now until Christmas on the proviso that I will be pleasantly surprised.

There have been murmurings of paddock sculpture and whimsical metal creations appearing around the place.

Looking forward to a highly creative 2014 on the farm.

Beach, Bubbles & Lizards of Lennox

BY AYESHA JOY CLIFFORD © 

TAKE A SEAT.

I love the beach and this seat is one of my favourite spots to sit and watch the ocean.

After the past few years as a FIFO-Farmer's wife, I'm enjoying having a husband home and a more regular routine.

Which for me means we get to the beach more often. 

We're rich in choices for gorgeous beaches around here. 

This week's pick was Lennox Head - just down the road from beautiful Byron Bay and home of a world-famous surfing break.

It's also home to the uber-cool Lizards of Lennox who inhabit the black rocks on the beachfront. They hang out with their friends the gulls.

This one was literally hanging out on a rail, basking in the sunshine, licking the sea air and looking out to sea.

Then there are Lennox's high-fliers who do their grooming in public.

It was a good effort grooming with the wind ruffling your feathers at your high rise home.

There's a lovely selection of shops to keep me happy and rumour has it a champagne bar opening soon.

Beach & Bubbles. Perfect balance for Cows and Country Creative.

Happy Weekend to you all.

Hail - Impromptu Winter Wonderland

BY AYESHA JOY CLIFFORD ©

AUSTRALIA

HAIL HAIL HAIL - and it's getting bigger.

Our third day of hail this week.

Calves cowered, cats howled and cows charged through the odd fence seeking refuge.

One pampered sheep safely contained in the outside shower and one new roof put to serious  test.

Inside the noise grew louder as the hail grew larger, gathering in piles on the lawn.

We seemed to be spared the worst but looking at our neighbor's place looked a white wonder from a distance.

This is not winter in the US, it's spring in the Northern Rivers.On closer inspection, the mist from the ice gave it a wintery atmosphere.

It's only about two kilometres in distance, but the difference was obvious from the piles of hail washed into a nearby crossing.

The hail was in a narrow band. Cows and calves were standing a little stunned in their new white wonderland.

Just over the rise you can see the heavy hail ends.

It is obvious from the highly accurate toe-nail test that the hail is getting bigger.

Looking forward to the amazing pasture boost this will provide now.

Morning Glory

BY AYESHA JOY CLIFFORD ©

SPRING rain has arrived in our beautiful part of the world this week.

Almost nightly we have had storms skirt around us to the south and largely missed the wind and hail, receiving just beautiful, soaking rain every night.

The cracks in our soil have soaked up this week's almost 100mls of rain and are gently closing as the soil fills with moisture again.

The rampant march of green around the house has taken on an almost flourescent hue.

This morning's sunrise was pure golden glory.