News & Updates from Vicki Avcin ~ AusCrafts · Page 46

Our granddaughter Chloe turned 17 in January which meant she could go for her driving licence…. known here as getting her Ps, so off she went on the 25th of January to do her test.

We have driven with her and had no doubt she would get her licence, but sometimes under pressure things happen and you sneak that tiny bit over the speed limit, or you forget to do something and miss the first attempt.

But not our girl……. Going in manual car, she blitzed it first time. Most of the young people here go for their automatic licence (which means they cannot/not allowed) to drive a manual vehicle of any kind.

I combined her Birthday and congratulations into one card and we got her a silver heart with a diamante keyring with the word Family on it.

We also did the same for the other granddaughter last year. The significance is that each time they get in their car and see the keyring they remember that they have a family that loves them and to drive safely and come home to their family.

Chloes little brother is quite chuffed too, now that he has a big sister that can drive him to school rather than Mum or Dad doing it.

My morning routine when I get up is loo, coffee and go outside and just sit in the peace and quiet, sometimes with the roos grazing in the front yard or the lorikeets picking any leftovers from the previous afternoon feeding.

I get up around 5.30am and enjoy nature and serenity before the busy day begins. Lately Ive been walking to the end of the house to see if weve had any more bunya nuts drop (see my news from a couple of weeks ago) and get satisfaction looking at the pergola over the pond that weve just rebuilt.

So I walked to the end of the house, looked down the yard and no roos but 2 ponies happily munching away on the grass.

Still half asleep I thought I was seeing things but no, definitely 2 ponies there! I raced inside to grab hubbys phone to take some photos but theyd moved round behind the coffee trees, so I stealthily crept round to not scare them and got a couple of photos (evidence).

I went into wake hubby up and tell him, so he came out, had a look at where I said they were and told me You are seeing things.

I couldnt see them at that point either and was beginning to wonder if I was still half asleep………. But I did have photos. With that they appeared again from round the back of the shed.

I came inside and posted on our local FB page asking if anyone was missing some ponies and within 2 mins had a reply.

Was told they were friendly and wouldnt spook if we approached. One had a collar on so put a lead on him and took them down to our holding yard. They were the sweetest gentlest pair and loved the pats and rubs.

When the owners came to get them we found they had walked about 5 klm and the light coloured one was the grandmother of the dark one.

She was 17 yrs old and he was 5 yrs old. So was a bit of an adventure to wake up to thats for sure!

We have a resident Lace Monitor that lives around our yard. We always know when he/she is around as the birds go crazy, screeching in the tree tops and dive bombing it if its on the ground.

Its a warning system to other birds that may have nests in the trees as these big lizards/goannas can climb trees and eat the eggs or baby birds.

They mainly eat insects, reptiles, small mammals, birds and birds eggs. They will also eat dead carcasses of other wildlife. They are found in eastern Australia and range from Cape Bedford on Cape York Peninsula to south-eastern South Australia.Lace monitors are the second-largest monitor in Australia after the Perentie.

They can be as long as 2.1 metres (over 6 ft 10ins) with a head and body length of up to 76.5 cm (2 ft).

The tail is long and slender and about 1.5 times the length of the head and body. Maximum weight of lace monitor can be 20 kg.(44 lb), but most adults are much smaller.Can you see him/her up the tree?

Wednesday and Thursday this week saw Aussie kids walk through the school gates for the first time this year. According to which year they are in determined which day they went back after the summer holidays started in early December.

It feels strange seeing the babies going to school now and the eldest finished school and not in the photos this year.

Just one grandchild still to start school now which wont happen for a couple of years yet. They were all looking forward to going to big school or going back so no tears or resistance! The Aussie school year goes from January to December and is split into 4 Semesters.

School breaks are around Easter time, end of June and September here. All are going to public schools (Dept of Education) and all must wear uniforms daily except sports days where they are allowed to wear the sports uniform rather than the formal uniform.

Its that time of the year when the Bunya Nuts start to drop. We watch each year to see how many and how big. Usually we cant see them in the top of the tree but this year we have been watching at least 5 that can be seen.

Well 3 days ago we had some really strong winds and one succumbed to it and came down. Then the next day we found a second one and today a third one. So wont be long until the others drop.

Weve been cleaning up round an old pond that doesnt hold water, and have been working in the vicinity of the tree, lucky enough just far enough away that if one falls it wont land on us.

These nuts weigh around 5 to 8 kgs and each pod has a spike on the end of it so having one land on you wouldnt be a good outcome.

The smallest one was the first to fall, then the last one was the biggest, so be interesting to see if the ones still up there are bigger again!

We already have people wanting them as the nuts inside each pod can be used in stir fry, to make a paste like peanut butter or just be roasted.

As they arent a common nut they sell for quite a bit. We got $25 each for 3 last year.

We havent decided what we will do with them yet and will wait for the rest to fall so we know how many we have.