wandering the laneways with a dog

Penny and I often walk along the local laneways, enjoying the quiet pace of life off the main roads.



A few days ago we decided to explore some of the laneways that have not been "developed" as walking tracks, the ones that are mostly unused.





I suspect it's the existence of these often overgrown, hidden tracks that explain why our area is Snake Central! I'll be on the alert once more from October to May, and we won't be wandering so carelessly up these lanes. Also, I think there must be a population of foxes roaming them, too, to judge by the number of animal bodies we came across as we walked.

I think the first one was a ring-tailed possum.



Then we saw two dead birds - magpies, I think.




It's sad to see these dead bodies, but I guess they are part of the cycle of nature. Certainly, their bodies were decaying into the soil, and it seemed as if something had eaten them away.

But it was good to see a live magpie. And even though it's still the middle of winter, this bird was building its nest, so we'll be looking out for swooping magpies in the future.