PossumCorner

Maybe it's a flickr thing - I tried copy and paste url but it only put me onto flickr front page, not your image.

Such good new LmO - gives us all a little boost on a difficult day for many.

Yes! And so are you LmO. We're all following her improvement with crossed fingers and lots of hope.

@grizabella - same here. (Smugmug does this to me sometimes, have to to back to the link to work out how to embed with or without thumbnail or text only, or to move image from private galleries or whatever).

So sorry @SarahsMum, Sari was one of the special DoL dogs, we share your grief and pain of loss.

My pens are secure but the catch for me is when a group are out for a day's green-pick there's often one or more decides to sleep up on the shed roof or in a tree - they are difficult to field for 'closing time' at times, depends on breed and numbers etc. - and an easy pick for foxes. The monster wolf does crack me up a bit: so many people closer to town being dobbed to Council for roosters crowing - wonder how the crazed wolf would go down with anti-livestock neighbours. Wouldn't work for long with animals really I don't think, short term benefit certainly not proportionate to what the cost would be. (Good Halloween garden feature).

Tks Boronia. It would likely be more effective than our movement-sensor fox lights near the chook pens. Foxes just say oh thank you for leaving a light on for us. (Why else would I be up at 2.00 am, rhetoric). But would probably cost a tad more, and might traumatise the neighbour's children. Probably doesn't cheer up Japanese kiddies either, but I guess better than a bear in the garden.

Fooled you!!

We've kind of lost the huge Akubra production that once was. How did they harvest fur from rabbits for the hat-felt industry? Must have been mechanised for the millions used. If there was a good viable value-added industry besides low-value pet food for rabbits it might reduce their numbers here in the same way as NZ/possums.

So sorry tdierikx, if only love and the best care were enough to keep them going.

I thought that was odd. Guess processing is just nice-speak for slaughter as usual, but plucking??? The fur out? Wouldn't they just skin them for dog food - or is 'plucking' how they get the possum fur used in knitting wools and fabric. Creswick Mills in Vic sell beautiful soft skeins made from possum spun with merino etc, all the possum content is imported from NZ as native protected species here. Despite Ghandi's dim view of countries that commercialise their own (or any) wildlife, kangaroo features muchly in dog food - if possum meat was imported I bet it would attract a pet food buying niche market. (Although Covid has been a good warning bell re consuming/handling wild animal meat product).

When I was a little kid (was an early reader) used to get three books fortnightly from Melbourne Library, you'd read the books, send them back on the train, and order the three books for the next fortnight. The train station would phone when the parcel arrived, and it was an hours walk to pick up the books from there. Recall one book was called something like "Ten Animal Stories from England and Abroad". One chapter-story was the life of a kitchen dog, harrowing stuff about kitchen staff forgetting to change the dogs over and a dog having to run for double-shifts, about the fires too hot and older dogs would be blind from the heat among other things. None of it was nice, some was horrendous, and definitely a story written to raise awareness, although that expression probably hadn't been invented. Another in the book was the life of pit ponies underground, so kudos to that author of over 100 years ago for using the technology of the time to get the message across - pen and paper and find a publisher.

They're beautiful - we'd like a baby pig or two but realistically I know I couldn't cope with them as adult pigs in general management.

Similar to Basenjis - they are also Primitives - and do not bark. It is generally called yodelling but has a wide range of tone and volume.

Oh @Cosmolo he is wonderful, what a lovely pup.

She is lovely, Willow suits her. Go with the formal latin name: Salix Aurita (common name Eared Willow). Or Salix Lutea (common name Yellow Willow). Or Salix Caprea (common names Goat Willow and Pussy Willow).

It's a piece of string question, depends on your needs - and whether the club/private system and focus suits them. For myself it would be dog club, and I certainly didn't find in basic and intermediate that manners took second place to precision. My only venture into private lessons was not good - it was more about the money and almost bullying to sign up for this or that extra - and the trainers certainly not 'better' as promoted. if I had an real problem I would go to a behaviourist with good references for an assessment and management plan - but not before a problem appeared beyond club resources to solve. Aside from that, welcome @Wade0 and puppy.

That is so difficult Aja, to take someone on trust with so much at stake. I'd be inclined to wave goodbye to the deposit, it's a lot to lose I know. But this is also financially risky taking on a dog with no 'vet inspection' or background information, it sounds shifty at best. I would love to be wrong and the little dog is a perfect fit for you, but so many warning bells.

Good grief time flies. I was just looking at some old Croydon vids and have one of Tahlia at her first puppy show. Yes, recommend without reservation - even back in the day but obviously moreso now. (Hadn't opened @Tassie 's link so didn't twig who it was).

@JulesP - I'm way out of touch, but would there be anyone at Croydon who could help at a lesser cost that private trainer. I know when I was a member the help I received with a charged-up Rottweiler was gold, changed our lives for the better. But not aware now of the the training the club offers or whether they point people in a helpful direction. Not too far from Doncaster if it would be an answer to the OP's very real issues.

So sad to read this @stellnme , rest peacefully little one.

I've just seen this, they are beautiful, just can't believe I missed it til now. I suppose there is no way I could get two tickets before the draw tomorrow. My fault but disappointed. What.an.idiot.

My thoughts - imported stuff, quality control?, food miles, all that. No.

Yes I'd read that response - doesn't do much to create confidence in any of the claims. The new apple cider vinegar (runs screaming).

Tks, I'll ask them on Sunday for more info. I was only thinking of growing some to line chook nest boxes to deter lice/mites - that's when I found all the legalities of procurement of seed and quantities and permits etc etc - it would cost a couple of thousand to set up a small plot and then it still wouldn't be an economic crop production-wise. Do-able, just not worth doing. A handful of agricultural lime does as well for the chooks, and costs about $10 to keep twenty pens pest-free for ten years or so. But I hadn't thought of hemp as being handy to grow for any other purpose - and would need to put in a few acres of it to get some investment back. Interesting though.