What the devil?

A couple of months back, right in the middle of winter, the dogs were out after dark, which isn't normal.

Also not normal was Molly, barking up a storm right in front of the house. She was incessant.

So, being a grumpy ol' lady at times, I went stomping out into the cold and frost (oooh boy was it cold!) to see what the heck was happing. And seeing as it was dark and I live somewhere near the outskirts of Nowhere, I couldn't see a thing.

Back inside, find a spotlight and extension cord, and try again. This time when I went out, I heard a sound that I've never heard before and hope never to hear again. It was a loud, hissy, growly, snarly sort of sound, and it sent every hair on the back of my neck up. Now, I don't scare easily, but this thing was eerie.

I flashed the light around, but couldn't see anything. I did find a burrow (!) under the pile of renovation cast-offs near the fence, which is where Molly was directing the barking. I poked around some more, and That Sound started up again.

Eventually I managed to get hold of Molly, and get her back into the house (about blimmin' time too, I had the shivers from the combination of the cold and That Sound...).

The next day I contacted one of the local wildlife sanctuaries, to see if they firstly knew what I had in the garden, and secondly if they could very kindly remove it please, thank you very much.

After a chat and a description of That Sound, combined with the burrow and the nocturnal presence, the lovely lady I spoke to told me I most likely had a devil in my garden. Yup, a wild Tasmanian Devil! Unfortunately she said they cannot remove it unless it is sick or injured, so just let him be and he'll probably wander off within a few weeks anyway, because they don't like being around people and dogs.



This is a Devil. Cute, until they open their mouth!



Check out those teeth!

Poor little guys are endangered nowadays because of the deadly Facial Tumour Disease, so I feel very privileged to have this wee chappy camping out in my yard for a bit.

Alas, it seems he's moved on. No more Sounds in the night, and no sign of him anywhere. Farewell, little Devil, I hope you have a long and happy life.

I like big toys and I cannot lie...

This is my current ride.

The big triple is brilliant around the Tassie roads - it loves the corners, has heaps of go to spare, and is such a fun bike to ride. The only let down is my short stature - I had to have the suspension adjusted to lower it a bit, and as a result there's not much suspension play, and it can ride very harshly when the going is bumpy. Even so, it's a wonderful bike to ride, and I can't see changing any time soon.

And here is my car.



It's funny, I get some strange looks from people when they see this short, stoutish middle aged woman pull up in the Landie, or on the bike. I've had so many random men come up and start talking about them. Even had one chap offer to swap his boss's Mercedes for the Landie once. (Sorry dude, no. I love my little truck!)

The great thing about the Landie is that it's such a tough little 4X4. It will go just about anywhere. And as you can see from the pic, it's good in the snow too. And we get plenty down here... It's also great on some of the C roads here. So many of them peter out into dirt, gravel and ruts, so it's good to have the tyres and grunty little motor to keep out of trouble. The wet, icy dirt roads aren't much of a challenge. So far I haven't even had to kick it into low-range.

Note - I say little because it's the short wheel-based version of the Defender. Height-wise, well, there are car parks in Hobart that I avoid because it sets off the height alarm, and I need the steps to get in. I can stand beside it and fix my hair in the side mirror without bending...

The dawgs...

In my intro I mentioned my dogs.

Molly and Suzi are wonderful, naughty, willful, stubborn, cuddly little terrors. I wouldn't have them any other way.

This is Molly.



Molly is the slightly older of the pair. She's way too smart for her own good - as I tell the dog groomer, she's the one with the imagination, so do her first before she works out what's happening. She's also stubborn, moody and willful. But she's a very affectionate, loving and caring little dog.

This is Suzi.



Suzi is as smart as Molly, but doesn't like to show it - she acts very silly, but does some very smart things when she's not watched. Anything can be done with her, she's incredibly easy-going - unless you're a man. For some reason she's not fond of men. Oh she won't bite, but she'll yap at you. She loves rides in the car, she will happily go anywhere with me. And she's a dead-set jealous-head of her older sister... Dog forbid Molly gets more attention than Suzi! Oh noes, teh end of the world! She's cuddly and affectionate too.

Fortunately for the pair of them, they get on very well. They're chalk and cheese in so many ways, but that makes it interesting to watch them. When they play, it sounds like the Hounds of Hell - growling, barking, chewing on each other's extremities. It's hilarious.

Introduction

Welcome! Come on in. Don't mind the furries - they won't bite. Well, anyone but me, anyway. They're more likely to lick you to death.

Who am I? You can call me Julian, seems to be my nickname these days. I'm a fiftyish woman, living in the gorgeous Derwent Valley in Tasmania, Australia. I am not what you would call a conventional person though, as future tales will tell.

So, what do I do?

I'm renovating my old house, slowly. It's a big job, but very satisfying. I'm mostly at the 'finishing off the fiddly bits' stage now, so most of the hard graft is done.

I'm a mad crocheter - blankets, scarves, baby stuff, you name it, I'll try it. I want to learn more intricate work like Irish lace and free-form.

I also love, love love my motorcycle. It's big, fast and noisy, and living in Tasmania, which has some absolutely wonderful bike roads, it is great to take out and ride.

If I'm not on the bike, I'm in my Landrover. Now that is the way to get to the less-populated and less-visited part of the state!

This is also the stage of life where I have spread my wings a bit, travel wise. Which is fine, it also fits in with my photography obsession!

(All of this and I still work full-time... geez no wonder I get tired!)

The furries? At present the menagerie consists of two Maltese-Shitzu cross dogs and two black cats. Mostly they all get on, but occasionally we have an outbreak of hostilities, usually because the younger of the two cats decides so. She's a devil for stirring up both the dogs and the other cat. Just as well I love them all, or she'd be sorry... :-)

And why a blog? Well, why not. I've got some interesting tales to tell, some funny, some sad. If you want to read them, then do so. Comment if you want. I'll try to get more yarns up when I can. Piccies even! Stories are always better with piccies!