Month: March 2023 (Page 2 of 4)

I awoke to a quietness among the birds outside my window. Unlike the usual chatter among the sparrows, the minor birds and of course the magpies. All was silent. Nothing alarmed me to start with . Maybe the change in weather? I didn’t even see them when I first went outside to prepare the maggies dog biscuits or again while waiting for my cuppa to brew. It was then I looked up and saw the kookaburras! Four of them, making their way along the power lines adjacent the vacant field looking for bugs and mice in the over grown grass. One came down and sat on the lines leading from the shed to the main power pole almost 20 feet from me. I stood there drinking my hot cup of tea watching them for almost 20 minutes, until the one closest to me flew straight threw the yard in front of me. The remainder moved further up the lines to more productive hunting grounds. The maggies returned and one in particular always flies down to greet me Ive named her piglet. Shes always hungry and I went back inside to see if there were any left over food scraps, since the biscuits weren’t soaked enough to feed them. Once again they had all disappeared. Looking up 15 feet in the power lines directly above me was another Kookaburra. I must have stood there watching people pass using the walking track unaware of what was going on above their heads as the kingfisher preened oblivious to all around. I had never realized how much of a calming effect of just standing there watching a kingfisher preen for 15 minutes would be. Until an alarm call from an erratic swallow alerted the kookaburra to some unknown menace and it disappeared as mysteriously as it first came to me.

I remember being told once that Australia actually had six seasons and not four. Bush Seasons in fact!Which ends up being an over simplification. I thought that will be easy looking up and researching. However that would depend on which part of the country you actually lived. All of them having different interpretations of calendar revolving around weather patterns and when differing species of animals and fish were available to hunt or plant species were ready to harvest. I couldn’t find much for the southern and eastern states but I’m still looking.

Gulumoerrgin/Larrakia people from the Darwin region in the Northern Territory

Ngan’gikurunggurr (Ngan’gi), MalakMalak and Wagiman people from the Daly River region in the Northern Territory

Tiwi people from the Tiwi Islands, north of Darwin in the Northern Territory

Kunwinjku people from western Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory

Gooniyandi and Walmajarri people from the Fitzroy River area in the Kimberley region of Western Australia

Ngadju people from the Great Western Woodlands region in south-west Western Australia

Kundjeyhmi people from the Ngurrungurrudjba (Yellow Water) region in Kakadu National Park in the Northern Territory.

South West Climate Example

Birak | December – January

Known as the season of fire and the young, Birak is very hot and dry. Burning of scrub was once done to encourage new shoots to grow.

Bunuru | February – March

Long days and short nights signify Bunuru,the hottest of the six seasons. Traditionally this was, and still is, a great time for living and fishing by the coast, rivers and estuaries.

Djeran | April – May

Djeran is marked by cooler nights, dewy mornings and when leaves fall to the ground. Ngari (salmon) are prolific.

Makuru | June – July

Makuru is the coldest season with rain, storms and long nights. There is good hunting of yongka (kangaroo), wetj (emu), kaarda (goanna),

koomal (possum) and kwenda (bandicoot).

Djilba | August – September

Djilba is a transitional time of the year, with some very cold and clear days combined with warmer, rainy and windy days. You’ll notice budding djet (flowers) and koola (emu plum) start to fruit. It’s also a great time to catch some djildjit(fish).

Kambarang | October – November

Kambarang sees longer and warmer days and less rain. The djet are in full bloom and plants used for mereny (food), medicine, crafts, tools, kaal (fire) and ceremony are collected.

http://www.bom.gov.au/iwk/calendars/nyoongar.shtml

http://www.bom.gov.au/iwk/maung/

https://www.csiro.au/en/research/indigenous-science/Indigenous-knowledge/Calendars

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indigenous_Australian_seasons

http://www.bom.gov.au/iwk/climate_culture/Indig_seasons.shtml

In the garden: Australia’s true seasons

https://www.australiassouthwest.com/south-west-inspo/six-seasons-south-west

I managed 15 kms yesterday and didn’t pull up very well. The legs seized up on me later in the day I had trouble getting in and out of the car. I did 25 kms today, so I’m not looking forward to a few hours time. I found another track the day before I really wanted to check out and the weather was too nice to turn back when I should have.

I started chatting to another cyclist and found another way to where the tracks meet up on either side of the river. Ive gone from doing one side of the river and having to use the electric motor to make it home to minimally using the motor for a boost for the knee and now doing a complete circuit of both sides .

That track has shown me where to get better pictures of the Grey Headed Fruit Bats. I thought I must have been loosing my touch. I wasn’t looking out for spots to stealth camp. I found some really pretty spots.

It looks like I am living in Gunaikurnai Country. The Gunaikurnai or Gunai/Kurnai people, are an Aboriginal Australian nation of south-east Australia. They are the Traditional Custodians of most of present-day Gippsland and much of the southern slopes of the Victorian Alps. The Gunaikurnai nation is composed of five major clans.
The five clans that make up the Gunaikurnai community:
The Brabralung people of Central Gippsland
The Brayakaulung people around the current site of Sale
The Brataualung people in South Gippsland
The Tatungalung people near Lakes Entrance on the coast
The Krautungalung people near the Snowy river.
The creation story of the Gunaikurnai features Borun the Pelican.
The first Gunai was Borun the Pelican, who ventured down from the mountains and reached the flat country, carrying a bark canoe on his head. As he was walking, he heard a constant tapping sound and tried to find where it was coming from. When he finally reached the waters of the inlet (near what is now known as Port Albert), he put his canoe down and was surprised to find a woman sitting in it. She was Tuk the Musk Duck and they fell in love, becoming the parents of all the Gunai.
In scientific terms, evidence of human occupation at Cloggs Cave near Buchan, has been dated at up to 17,000 years, while occupation at New Guinea Cave in the same area has been dated to over 20,000 years.