Remember, you can always go
Right Here
to get all the latest news about the fires.
[BREAK] I'm back with parrot pics, just scroll to the bottom of the post! [END BREAK]
I'm sure you all know that PNG (Papua New Guinea) is just right above our northern shores. I'm sure you all also know that whenever there's natural disasters up there (tropical typhoons, floods, earthquakes and volcanoes) that the Aussies are generally the first ones sending immediate aid. PNG is NOT a wealthy country, in fact... ummmmm they are very poor.
PNG has pledged $2 million dollars in aid... WOW!
Indonesia. Very large island group. Very Muslim. Somewhere around 150,000,000 Muslims living just right next to us. Good thing we aren't paranoid, eh?
Anyways, along with the million dollars in aid they are sending, they are also sending teams of forensic experts to help with all the identification.
Good on ya, mates!
The red cross bushfire appeal now totals over $93,000,000 dollars. And loads of clothing, housing, etc. Everyone is pitching in, very cool.
Did you know that most of the firemen who fight the bushfires are volunteers? Yup, they have day jobs and volunteer their time to help others in a very special way. Local employers are also very good about giving the volunteers time off during large fires.
However, there is one employer (big big company) that isn't so nice... They were planning on laying off 115 people. 3 of the layoffs were CFA volunteers. Those 3 firefighters got calls from the big company telling them they are laid off, effective immediately, WHILE THEY WERE FIGHTING THE BUSHFIRES!!!!!!!
Wanna know who this wonderful company is?
BOYCOTT FOSTER'S!
Heck, their beer sucks and they aren't even locally owned anymore.
The number of homes destroyed is 1,861 and still counting.
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Ok! Back to original episodes of dave (from Alaska) in the Land of Oz!
Guess what? Go'an ya silly bastards (aussie term of endearment), GUESS!
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Time's up!
I've started home brewing. It's been something we've been meaning to start for yonks now, and it's finally happening.
I've been taking specific gravity readings the last couple of days from the main fermenter, and the first batch should be ready for it's secondary fermentation (in the bottle) by friday.
So on friday I'll be bottling up the equivalent of 60 beers. Then in two weeks I get to drink them :)
Needless to say, I'll be starting another batch soon.
This first one is a standard aussie lager. I think the next one will be a strong stout --I'll add extra sugar to get the alc content up to around 11%.
I'll keep you posted, no worries.
Tomatoes: This haet wave didn't spare the tomato plants no matter what I did. We did, however, end up with 326 tomatoes before the plants gave me the finger. And they were 326 GOOOOOOOOOD tomatoes.
The temp today got over 100 in the shade, and I saw 133 F in the sun. Darned glad the heat wave is over, that's for sure :)
Did I tell you what I did in the pool last week? No, no... I'm not talking about when I eat lunch and dinner in the pool. Or when I jump into it naked. Or when I lay in the lounger with a beer... Nope. This is something new! In fact, it was such a hit that WP and BIL joined in with the fun!
But of course I'm going to make you wait till next post to tell you.
Guess what kind of tree this galah is on:
This is the same tree, but with foliage:
Go on... What kind of tree is it? And is it a male or female galah?
I've come to recognise some of the birds that come around. Based on the behavior, when they show up and with who, etc. I might talk more about parrot behavior later, but right now that just sounds like too much work (and I hated writing up scientific lab reports at Uni).
Buuuuuuut... Meet The Tweedles!
I named them Tweedledee (the missus) and Tweedledum (the mister). For those of you familiar with galahs, the reason for the names should be obvious.
6 comments:
Okay - the only tree name I know from Australia is Kooliba - from the old song..."Waltzing Matilda."
From the dark and cobwebbed depths of my memory, some of the lyrics:
"..by a billabong,
Under the shade of a Kolliba tree."
Can't wait to hear how the beer turns out!
Great photos again, Dave.
Have you mislaid one of your Galahs recently because on the way home from work today, a Galah was 'walking' along the edge of the road.
I must have been in a group of about 10 cars and each and every one of them slowed down and veered away from the 'Little Lost Birdie'.
Funnily enough, a few days ago, I saw a rosella also taking a stroll. We've had a week of rain so maybe they were water-logged.
So if you see a couple of 'stragglers' wandering down your way maybe you could offer them some bed and breakfast.
those are preeeeeeeeeetty pics. sunshine. whats that?
oh, the sun is shining here, but its hard to appreciate, as the reflection from the snow is blinding!
Yep - you scared me. Started wondering where I would go for some sarcasm.
Oh yea - go to me.
Homebrewing - good on ya! Jim does that too, but kind of hard on a moving boat right now. Plus I put all his homebrew stuff in his truck...
Loveanewidea: Waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda, you'll come a waltzing Matilda with me... Etc and so on. It's actually a song about a sheep rustler who's caught and is gonna be hung at a kooliba tree. Kooliba trees only grow in Western Aus, so this tells you where the folk song was set in. I'll keep everyone posted about the brewskies, no worries.
Frances: Hmmmmmm, there did seem to be a couple of birds missing the other day... The galahs land on grassy areas to feed, and so do the lorries. Especially during the summer when there's no nectar in the trees for them. It's very cool that everyone gave them room on the road; good on y'all!
I've learned a lot about parrot behavior these last few years... Yes, you may call me a birdbrain.
Fizzgig: Snow???? What's that?
SV Meerkat: Them two bipedal hominids that hang out down your belowdecks can be quite amusing at times. Just make sure they polish all the brass and oil your teak. Homebrewing on board... Well, the temps during your fall seem about right and if you don't mind cloudy beer then I don't see any reason why not to brew on board.
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