News & Updates from Vicki Avcin ~ AusCrafts · Page 83
Last week I left to go to Brisbane for a week to spend time with my family. Been a while and I really needed the break. Travelled down on the train and was met by my daughter at the station.
My grandfurbaby Jaylee was in the car also and she was so excited to see nanny. Spent the night at my daughters, then on Friday afternoon she took me over to Brad and Jesss place. Was fantastic to see Zac and Zoe again and little Axl who was only a new baby when we last saw him.
Hes one now and well and truly on the move and talking now. He was a little confused to begin with because I am Nanny and Jesss Mum is Nanna so it was very cute watching him work out who was who lol.
Then on Saturday they drove me over to Paul and Kellys place.
First time Ive seen their new home and seen how much Chloe and Riley had grown. And not forgetting the furbaby Milo. The plan was to stay with them Saturday night but Paul asked if it was OK to go see some friends for a couple of hours that night.
So off we went.
I had no idea where we were going, but ended up in Brisbane only a couple of streets away from where the kids father and I lived after we got married way back in 1972.
We went to this house where there was obviously a party going on and Paul spoke to someone, asked me if I recognised them, and told me their name.
I was totally lost!!!! Then he mentioned this persons sisters names and it dawned on my it was my nephew….. Steven.
Now I havent seen Steven for at a guess 30years. He was only a kid when I last saw him and hed been living in China for many years. Yvonne and Danielle (his sisters) turned up so it was a real gob- smacked night of surprises.
It has been 9 years since Id seen the girls (at Paul and Kellys wedding). A little apprehension but a lot of nostalgia for the few hours we were there!! Sunday Paul and the family took me back over to Bridgets place and we had a couple more hours all together.
I spent the rest of my time down there with Bridget.
In the next couple of weeks Ill try and do more stories of my adventures while on my holiday.
Last Wednesday we had a bit of excitement but wasnt good excitement. Was sitting out the front and heard and saw magpies, butcher birds, kookaburras and mickey birds (they are honey eaters) flying round and swooping on something in the front yard.
At first we didnt pay a lot of attention as these birds often carry on when there is a goanna or snake in the yard.
But they were more full on than usual so decided to go up and look at what all the commotion was about.
We saw something brown move on the ground and thought maybe a hare, definitely wasnt a goanna or a snake.
As we got closer we saw something bigger on the ground moving round. As we got close a kookaburra swooped and flipped what we then realised was a bird onto its back. The force to flip it was strong as the bird was twice the size of the kookaburra.
I told the friend that was here to get a stick and try and fend off the attackers and raced down to grab a towel.
The bird managed to get itself back on its belly and we realised it was some sort of hawk. Not like one wed seen around here before.
Poor thing let me cover it with the towel and pick it up and we brought it down to the house much to the annoyance of the other birds.
We put it on the floor of an empty aviary we have and it didnt move. I rang our local Wildlife Rescue people and they organised for someone to come and get it. We found out it was a young female Collared Sparrowhawk.
At first it was thought it was a Brown Goshawk. The Rescue people took her in and checked her and we found out she had healing wounds to her wing and leg.
The injuries were about a week old and not done by the birds attacking her.
They kept her for a few days and then brought her back out to our place for release. They are territorial so she had to be released close to where she came from. Their food is smaller birds so all those attacking her couldve been her next meal had she been fit and healthy.
The only photo I got of her was in the aviary as on release she flew straight up into a tree, slight pause and she was off into a tree in the neighbours place where the birds immediately started harassing her again.
Happy to say she took to the sky and flew off and spoilt all the other birds fun. She was a beautiful girl and Im happy that she will be fine. Wonder if we will ever see her in flight around here again?
International Firefighters Day is on May 4th every year.
It recognises firefighters from all over the world and in the many forms of firefighting, ie urban, rural, natural environment, volunteer, career, industrial, defence force, aviation, motor sport, no matter what country they may be in what uniform they wear or what language they speak.
It is a time when the worlds community can recognise and honour the sacrifices that firefighters make to their community and make it as safe as possible.
It is a day when current and past can be thanked for the work they do.
Firefighters dedicate their time and their lives to protect life and property with countless hours over many years in a selfless manner.
They also risk the ultimate sacrifice of their lives. Blue and red ribbons worn or displayed show peoples gratitude to firefighters world wide. The colours are symbolic of the main elements firefighters work with. Red for fire and Blue for water.
The colours are also recognised internationally as representing an emergency service. How did IFFD come about? May 4th was traditionally Firefighters Day in European countries because it is the day of Saint Florian. St Florian is the patron saint of firefighters.
In 1999 an email was sent out across the world on January 4th, due to the deaths of 5 firefighters in tragic circumstances in a bushfire in Australia.
On December 2, 1998, a tragic event shook the Linton Community, Australia and the world. Firefighters in Linton, Australia- a populated region in Victoria- were fighting a large bush fire and called for mutual aid.
This urgent mutual aid call brought the Geelong West Fire Brigade to the scene not knowing the despair and tragedy that was in store.
Garry Vredeveldt, Chris Evans, Stuart Davidson, Jason Thomas, and Matthew Armstrong all loaded into companys truck. They were part of a strike team and were being sent to help extinguish the flames.
As the five headed into the hot zone, the wind suddenly switched direction, engulfing the truck in flames and killing all five members.
That event inspired JJ Edmondson to bring about an international day called International Fire Fighters Day to support the lives lost and to the dedicated fire fighters who risk their lives every day.
By the time you will be reading this, it will be over this year, but next year on 4th May, if you support firefighters, wear a blue and red ribbon, or display blue and red maybe in the clothing you wear, ribbons on your car or even front door or fence.
It will mean a lot to the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect your life and property.
If you would like to learn more about IFFD you can go to firefightersday.org.
Last week my news was about TC Debbie that has borne down on Queensland. Today a bit of followup on the devastation she has caused.She started back at the end of March and is still continuing to wreak havoc on Queensland afterripping through the state.
She went across the coast around Bowen and Airlie Beach, with massive rain and winds (200 plus kilometers per hour) and dumped huge amounts of rain from Bowen to Mackay causing massive damage and flooding.
She then went inland before turning back towards the coast heading south east which saw areas getting big rainfalls, and galeforce winds as she past.
I live where the red dots are!
She caused flooding all the way down through Brisbane and northern New South Wales with areas like Lismore having some of the biggest floods theyve had.
Areas south of Brisbane also had the highest floods theyve had for nearly 30 years. But she wasnt finished yet…….
Rockhampton in Central Queensland that really didnt see the full brunt of TC Debbie, is now nearly 2 weeks later and has today reached one of the highest flood peaks they have had.
The reason for it taking so long is as Debbie tracked inland she dumped massive rainfalls in the catchment areas west of Rockhampton.
It has taken all this time for the water to reach Rockhampton.
Because of the massive amounts of water it will take nearly a week for the flood waters to recede. All areas in Queensland and northern NSW are now beginning the huge cleanup and counting the loss of homes, businesses and stock (horses, cattle etc).
Sadly there has been loss of life also due to Debbie.
After finally leaving the shores of Australia she travelled across the ditch to New Zealand and is now causing damage and flooding over there.
This has truly been a massive weather event, and one of the most damaging destructive storms to have hit the Eastern Coast of Australia.
The highest category for our cyclones is Cat 5, it is disputed whether she actually made it to that but was a Category 4 and although once on land she is classified as a Tropical Low she still packed the power of Cat 3, 2 an 1 as she swept through and went back out to sea.
Mother Nature really put on a show this year!!!
Well drought one day floods the next. Queensland has just had the first tropical cyclone for 2017 in the form of TC Debbie. Forecasters had been watching her weather system for nearly a week until she reached the requirements to be a tropical cyclone.
Unlike most cyclones, she was a slow moving system and one of the biggest (in size) we have seen. Plenty of time for people to prepare as she slowly edged closer to north Queensland. She crossed the coast just south of Bowen (where we used to live) and absolutely devastated North Queensland from Bowen to Mackay.
The beautiful holiday islands in the Whitsundays have been all but wiped out.
After her onslaught up north she has moved inland where she went from a Cat 4 down to a tropical rain depression.
Cyclones are only over water as they feed off the moisture from the sea. Over land they dont have that moisture and quickly lose the cyclone status. So slowly she went inland a little then turned back to head south east and back down the coastline.
So today we are in the path of her wrath with lots of rain, strong winds which is bringing a lot of flooding all along the east coast of Queensland…..she is still a massive system.
All schools have been closed for today and tomorrow, businesss have been told to close at midday today (Thursday) and airports closed.
We watched the plane from Sydney today have 2 attempts to land at the airport and then landing was aborted and passengers went back down to Sydney.
Emergency services are on the ground and slowly getting into the worst hit areas where there is no power, no safe drinking water, no phone coverage, food is getting very low and because of the size of the area of damage it is going to be a huge task to get to people especially in isolated areas.
Photo is the weather system Debbie courtesy Japan Meteorology Centre I am somewhere round the red dot. You can see just how big she is. We had torrential rain and strong winds as the eye passed through our way this afternoon.
The yellow dot is the eye and the most destructive area is around the eye wall.
