PossumCorner

The eyes!!! Priceless shots, but scary too, did you need to rescue anyone?

Tks people, - and like The Spotted Devil I have a crook shoulder (now bordering on frozen), so gave up much carrying a Nikon and lenses, and mostly cart round a light p&s Panasonic Lumix FZ300 with a 28-600 lens. So it goes wide and long both, but the quality is hit and miss, lots of noise, the controls are more suited to auto than manual and it keeps saying "no you can't do that" like a roadmap that says "you can't get there from here". I start physio for the shoulder this week so hoping to get some muscle-tone back for the cause.

Canetoad not meaning to photobomb your thread, but I was shooting bunnies this morning in a non-violent sort of way and was photobombed by a mudlark/magpie/peewee-ish bird and reflection. Stoked because they were monstering the magpies who monster my ducks. And thort of this thread. Then over came this one, which is when you kick yourself for carrying a point and shoot instead of a real camera. And a follow up to the super-Moon of a few nights back, this was overhead in early morning broad daylight - still definitely close, love a white moon in a blue sky.

Lovely shots Canetoad, whatever we call them. In Victoria they are Mudlarks (nest uses mud in building same as swallows do). I think the 'official' common-name of Magpie Lark was declared when I was a kid, and we were told not to call them mudlarks any more. Nobody in Victoria listened. At about the same time we were instructed that Blue Wrens should now be called Fairy Wrens. Nobody in Victoria listened, we still call a blue wren a blue wren as the early settlers did. Common names are funny, a bit regional, like all the "Christmas Bush" wildflowers differ in States. Separately td, onya for those assignments, a real buzz.

Catching up with this thread and noticed these views. Yes we are some disillusioned - feel like dropping the AFL interest I have had, and only following the new womens' AFL teams, see if they have a different ethic. And no, I didn't turn on the TV on Cup Day or watch the news on Tuesday night. And the nastiness in cricket - I just can't handle what used to be my favourite spectator sport - used to be so quietly theatrical and is now borderline unpleasant. All for the reasons you have mentioned.

They are all superb photographs by a brilliant award-winning photographer. And what I especially applaud is the closed eyes. How lovely to have all those pre-conceived ideals of "the best" dog photographs showing open eyes and alert expressions blown away: all the clap-trap about showing the dog's "true personality" as a mildly frenetic expression that pseudo-photography goes on and on about. As if they should never be relaxed and content as part of their personality. Maybe this belongs in the 'photos' threads.

If there are no clouds in the way, we should see the largest full-moon/super-moon for seventy years, on 14 November. But the full moon is not over us til about 12.30 - 1.00am so means sitting up late to catch it. Google probably has some links for anyone keen. If I come across anything more definite I'll tack it on here. Edit and Add link - Nat Geographic details - also has a couple of other November sky events listed. http://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/space/record-supermoon-and-9-more-cant-miss-sky-events-in-november.aspx

"I have found this website ..." "trust me, it's worth it". Mmmmmmmmm. Does not compute. NILIF.

I kind of envy a problem over chick mince quality. Frodo has always hated chicken in any way shape or form, even eggs. At 16 he still has the never have never will attitude. Rheneas loves it though and would live on it if he had his druthers. But the bigger problem is being totally ethically opposed to the meat chicken industry. The cruelty of it is not in dispute, it is beyond disgusting. And if we won't support it by buying supermarket chicken as people-food, it's just as bad to support it by buying it for dogs. Sorry young Rheneas - life is full of ethical dilemmas sometimes broken for convenience: this one has a line in the sand.

I've a couple of ponies that are water babies and wreck most standard (heavy duty) stock waterers. Met their match with an old (really really old) cement/concrete laundry tub. Keeps water cool, contained etc. Dogs drink from it also.

Same here - and financially able would be a help too - what I like abut these USA ones is that one could plan ahead, they are very up-front with costings and lead-out time. I've seen a finished collection by someone who did this workshop a few years ago, mostly concentrated on the horse drive, really good. But I don't think it compares with what the Camargue experience would be, just the cultural heritage/history side of it alone. http://www.ahpw.org/workshops/2017/White-Stallion-Ranch-Photography-Workshop-2017-04-28/

Yes, blown away. Also by your stamina in getting these to us when you should be exhausted/jet-lagged. Would like to know more about the process, whether organised set-up for shots/light or a bun-fight for positions. Love the way the rider is looking at you as if to say "Did you get the shot?"

Plus the useful 'middle bit' for a compost tidy or salad garden bed. I'm looking out for some cheap ones to make paddle-pools for the ducks and geese - the metal frames make good sun shelters with shadecloth covers. They are a bit unpretentious or even tacky looking but ever so handy.

The same quality would be cheaper at a feed store (small cattle horse or calf troughs) than an aquarium store - larger production runs= lower prices usually. If not urgent, hang out til the next Farm Field Days in your area/State. ?Orange or Murrumbateman etc, as the poly-tub and tank makers usually have good show specials on the day.

Mud is probably the operative word - nothing is clean or clear with these money-grubbing multi-company companies. Clearest thing is the disappointment we all share - bugger, another good reliable product for so many years with a question mark over it, difficult to stay optimistic.

With Frodo, I was doomed. He was an absolute little sod who lived and breathed to delete my rabbits and guinea-pigs. It ended up easier to not keep them. The last one, he worked out that a short length of wire tunnel from their safe-shed to safe day-pen was soft enough wire to jump onto and squash down as the rabbit was going through. So he did, with calculated timing. When he was doing flyball, if there was a guinea-pig show connected with the Ag-Show running a flyball comp, he'd lost concentration on flyball and literally scream to get at any guinea pigs being carried to and from their pavilion. When we moved to central Vic he was over 10 years old, and remained besotted with chasing rabbits unsuccessfully til this year: he is a very old doggie now and just potters about in safe areas, not in livestock paddocks or near the geese or chooks. What surprised me was how immediately accepting he was of all kinds of poultry and took all the free-range varieties, (guinea fowl, ducks, whatever) for granted as part of the family. But would never ever de-sensitise to small animals, even ferrets would have him foaming and raging with kill-wish. If there is some terrier in the "small fluffy cross" as there is with Frodo that is not easy hard-wiring to disconnect.

As impressive as anyone could hope Canetoad - pin sharp plus. Teensy bit envious.

Good to see the little fox made the cut: his work is excellent, google finds his African stuff too, worth looking at.

His story is special MadWoofter. Rest in Peace Fleming.

Yes I know I should apologise for what I did not say, your response underlines that you jump to conclusions, judge and compare without knowing facts. Don't be jealous - my property is clagged out land subdivided from a closed railway line, in fairly perpetual drought. I do not slaughter any of my poultry, or other pets for dog food or my own food. It does not happen here. They are pets. When they die they are buried, not eaten. My pets, my choice. High moral ground has nothing to do with it. I buy most meat at farmers markets and know the on-farm conditions. I do not knowingly buy from intensive-farming sources - free range chicken and pork are available without going that route. I am unmoved by (are they religion-based - they sound like it?)? insistences that a dead animal must be used and not wasted. Soil improvement with organic matter is not waste in this country. For the environment, it certainly beats "eating and flushing" and binning the bones and hide to be trucked to the council tip. My way is environmentally friendly: the usual holier-than-thou methods of "not wasting any part" just adds to sewerage pondages and landfill disasters.

Thanks dolers who read and understood my post. I haven't felt moved to come back and add to the chip(s) on Willem's shoulder(s). Must admit I was waiting for a swipe about not de-sexing to be included, and sure enough. I read the irrelevant very suss links from prejudiced American websites (been in America long, have we?), together with the astonishing sub-links they advertised. (Guns save Lives: Mutant pig with human face born in China). Wow who would have thought either, never too old to learn new stuff! So far as the personal attacks re kibble - Willem I do live on small acreage, I do keep most meat-type domestics here (chickens, ducks, geese, sheep, goats, alpacas). Surrounding farms can provide all the fresh meat I would want. If choosing kibble I have every confidence in the Australian-made product of choice. None of which has any relevance to my scorn for the arguments in support of taking benefit from wildlife run over by uncaring road users.

Same in Vic, and has been the case for many years. It pre-dates OHS concerns. Call-outs were refused because dogs would usually be long-gone when Ranger arrived so considered a waste of time and money (making endless trips for no dogs still there, or uncatchable).

Agreed, but no more so than the supervisor and so-called workmates. If there was any degree of teamwork in the situation they would as a group have insisted on the dog being contained. But of course if it is a relatively wealthy client the contractor will not risk getting them off-side. As for the other workers, this disgusts me in so many Australian work-places. Cruelty to apprentices is rife and very well documented. Practical jokes in the work-place are also rife, so funny to laugh at someone elses' discomfort or fear or downright danger. OHS has been a huge benefit here, but the culture still supports bullying which can take many forms. Even just not being there to support but turning the back is as clear as overt bullying. Sure the owners are stupid - but that's not where the blame totally lies - it should have been sorted to begin with, not allowed to escalate like this.

I'm not. Nor a wimp. But the concept sickens me, maybe because I am totally over everyone driving too fast in wildlife corridors and not giving a damn. Hit kangaroos are a daily on our local roads. Drivers too lazy or self important to slow down, - jeeze how much effort does it take? I know sometimes there is no chance of missing one even at low speed, but they are the swallows that don't make a summer. So feeling this way about massacre of wildlife on the roads, no way do I feel comfortable about "profiting" from it. And I don't buy the argument that it is wasteful not to utilise the carcase. Too humancentric for words, the self-important bit again. Nothing wasteful about a carcase decomposing into compost, feeding micro-organisms and putting organic matter into the soil, which most of the land is starved of.

Can only speak for experience in Victoria (I know that's not your question). We had to go that road, did everything 'by the book' which was very rigorous as I think it should be. Important that you keep all of those receipts, especially from qualified behaviourists, plus training receipts, vision prevention fencing, collars, medication if any. Plus all letters of complaint. Council required these to be able to allow procedure as last resort.