Possum Magic ...

For everone who loves the possums - the other day we were having lunch on the deck when a couple of large dogs sudddenly charged through our bush - the neighbour's dog immediately started barking and within a few seconds there was a dog chorus in progress. It's usually very quiet around here and it's unusual to have dogs wandering in, so the shy little possum was understandably rather concerned about the noise and its implications for her safety. However, she is not as sleepy as she looks - every time she looked out of the nest and saw the camera pointed her way, she'd bob down! I managed to get a photo at last - she looks so sweet. I seem to be obsessed with possum bits, but I love being able to see the detail, although this photo has been enlarged beyond sharpness - look at the stripes on her toes and the strong nails.


Kate, Carson, Roxie and Susan for your kind words about the possums and your concern for their future. I hope the new owners will care for them and resist the urge to remove the possum houses - although once they hear the noise the pesky little things make on the roof and the deck at night, they might be tempted! I think there was a possum party in progress again last night, and judging by the possum poos and the HUGE brown pools along the rail of the deck, they were there for quite a long time - it's like hearing the rain on a tin roof - the noise makes me drift off to sleep.

Thank you all for the words of encouragement about the process of moving - I had to laugh at the way Roxie expressed it - "This is how you eat an elephant - one bite at a time" - I think she captured the process very well!

I met Lara at Cherryhills on Wednesday - she had that beautiful look that pregnant women have - and I'm glad to hear that all went well with her scan. I'm amazed at the amount of technology that is routinely employed in pregnancy these days - when I was expecting either my first or second child, my obstetrician was using ultrasound as a very new procedure in very special cases. None of us knew what it was.

The other thing I noticed when my eldest daughter had a baby five years ago, was the amount of support that is offered to new mothers - she was put on a "depression watch" because of my history of severe depression, and the birthing centre stayed in close touch with her. When she had a few "settling" problems they sent the "settling team" out to visit and helped her develop a routine get the littlest flea to sleep. Same when she was finding it took her an hour to feed the little twerp when she started on solids - someone came out and stayed at mealtimes to see what she was doing and to advise on what was a reasonable time to persist. We used to drive our baby around and around the block to get her to sleep! And as for feeding! I used to breast feed and also complement with a formula so I had all the boiling up of bottles and making the formula as well. I did that with my second child too and in both instances was advised by the Baby Health Centre to stop breast feeding at three months. I felt like an absolute failure. But with the third child, I had heard about the Nursing Mothers' Association (now called something else). They lent me "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" and I went to their meetings - the poor baby only went to the BHC every now again - and we both thrived on breastfeeding for 12 months. I used to say I'd still be feeding her except that she weaned herself - but after watching "Little Britain" I've changed my mind!!

40 years of memories ...

It's hard to believe, but our house has sold and now we have to condense 40 years of accumulated junk into a much smaller home! I'm very pleased, but every now and again (5 minute intervals!) I get the heebie jeebies about how much there is to be done, will I be able to live in close proximity to other people? (I hope so), will I miss the possums (YES!), the birds (YES!) and the echidna (YES!), a couple of the neighbours (YES!). We have 12 weeks before settlement which helps. Our stuff has to go into storage for a couple of months so we'll be living out of suitcases for a while. Theoretically our new place should be finished by the end of August, but I doubt it will be ready then. We are going to India in mid September, so we'll potentially not be able to move in until mid-October on our return. Once we're actually homeless, I'll feel better - it's just the thought of it ... some people are never happy!!



The other day one of the possums had a bit of a stretch and left two little toes peeping over the hole. I just love how much detail it's possible to see with a photo - I could never get this close to little possum toes, and if I did, they'd probably be moving very quickly in the opposite direction! Although we built the box according to the specifications from WIRES you can see where the possums have been gnawing the wood to make the hole a better size.



I've had a knitting week so far - went to the Guild yesterday and quite enjoyed the morning - we had a spinning demonstration, but I couldn't manage the treadle with my two bad knees (my "bad" knee, which is still visiting the physio twice a week is now my better knee . I'd post a photo of the bruise on my "used to be good" knee, except that I haven't waxed my legs for a long, long time! I'm not vain, though!!). Today I had an enjoyable lunch and lots of chatting with Janette and then a very productive wander around the shops (I love helping other people spend their money). Tomorrow is Cherryhills knitting group and we are having a birthday celebration with cake and champagne and probably very little knitting. It should be fun. Perhaps I'll post some knitting content next time (but don't hold your breath!).