the big storm

Yesterday Penny went for one of her favourite walks, along the Yarra River at Warburton.

But what was this? A big mess at the entrance!

But no worries. Someone had been very busy clearing up the fallen trees after the big storm last weekend, so we could get through easily.

Many of the fallen trees were enormous. They must have been many decades old.

'Come away from this one,' I said to her, because it looked ready to fall the next time the wind blows.

Every fallen tree we saw was a eucalypt. Here's Penny examining the roots of one of them. This one had fallen across the river.

But here's something interesting... That tree was right beside a stand of Californian redwoods planted early last century. Not a one of them had fallen. (Can you see the fallen eucalypt across the path in the distance?)

I searched for references to this little glade of redwoods in Warburton township, but most sites direct to the bigger forest of redwoods in East Warburton,

Yarra Views Blog is the only site I could find that has information about the trees beside the Yarra River in Warburton itself. The writer says these trees were planted by a group of American Seventh Day Adventists. I recall from a previous blog post of my own that they were planted about 1922, which makes them older than the ones at East Warburton, I think. (I'm not sure about that.)

I think this site, about the forests ofWarburton, is fascinating.

finding new dog walking places along the Yarra River

How could I not have known about this great off-lead walking place so close to where we usually walk?

We regularly go to Willsmere Park, since the day I surreptitiously followed a car with a dog to see where they were going, because the windmilling tail of the dog in the back seat signalled that it must be a good destination.

But I didn't know there's another huge area adjacent to Willsmere, reachable by a ten to fifteen minute brisk on-lead walk along a bike path.. We've walked along this path before, but never gone far enough to find the new area.

I went further with Penny this time because she's having some problems with her joints and the vet reckons walking on lead is the best exercise. He says an older dog (or one with joint issues) is prone to injury if she races off from a standing start to full speed - which she did a couple of weeks ago when we were walking at night. She, with her super doggy senses, knew there was a cat hiding under a nearby car, shot off, came back when called, and - to our dismay - she was limping on the leg that so long ago had the cruciate operation.

Anyway, to cut a long story short, that's why we walked further than usual on lead. And this is what we found...

We are so lucky here in Melbourne to have all these lovely off-lead walks along the Yarra River.

walking on a warm but not hot day

Penny and her two humans didn't have to walk at the crack of dawn today, because it's a warm day, not as fiendishly hot as it's been lately.

But a dog still needs to have a drink when she's taking her humans for a brisk walk.

It's best if you can instruct your humans to turn the tap on, so you can drink from running water.

The great thing about this drinking bowl is the hole in the bottom, because once a dog has had her fill, the water empties out along a clever little drain, presumably to be directed to the nearby Yarra River.

We're so lucky that someone had the foresight to create this beautiful bush setting just a few kilometres from the centre of a huge modern city.

a dog ignores plague soldier beetles

Yesterday, as Penny swam at Willsmere, I was entranced by the clouds of golden beetles hovering in the sunshine beside the river. They were all around Penny as she was guarding her toys from the other dogs, but she didn't take any notice of them.

Today, a cooler day, they were there again, this time clustering on grasses and on the trunk of a tree.

I found out their name by asking a man who was spraying weeds in the park. (How much work goes into maintaining these parks that Penny enjoys!) I thought the name sounded scary, but he said they're harmless.

And he was correct. Here's an article about these beautiful but strangely-named creatures. They are nectar drinkers.

This one had the nerve to land on Penny's toy!

a new fish ladder on the Yarra

When I read Slavenka's post today about salmon leaping up the River Tyne, I remembered how Penny and I have seen lots of work going on - for years! - at Yarra Bend, one of our favorite spots.

We also blogged some time ago about our usual swimming spot now being out of bounds for dogs.

It seems that it's all connected. Here's a video clip about the new Fish Ladder near Yarra Bend, at Dight's Falls.



I now understand why the little area has been fenced off - it's all part of the exciting news that native species are swimming back up the river, some of them for the first time in over a hundred years! As well as rebuilding the weir and putting in a fish ladder, the workers are regenerating sections of the banks.

Just the other day we wandered down that way to see the finished project, but we won't go there very often, because Penny has to be on lead. Also, I don't think she'll like walking over the fish ladder section, because it is a grill. She wouldn't like walking on the mesh. But I'm going down one of these days to try to see fish swimming up the river.

My all-time favourite native fish are using the ladder - galaxias. Here's a fantastic underwater video by  Greg Wallis of spotted galaxias swimming in the wild. (They're small fish, by the way, which is not obvious from the video.)

out in the wide, wide river

Penny hasn't built on her recent success at fetching two toys at once while swimming in the Yarra. It must have been an accident, because she doesn't appear to remember how she did it.

Yesterday she was, as usual, swimming in the river for her Whirl Wheel, but she absent-mindedly took one with her when she went for the other.

So, a problem. How to bring them both back to shore? She's a determined  dog, and swam in circles, trying to figure out how to do it, gradually drifting further and further downstream.

We weren't worried. Well, not yet. But she was starting to flag - we can usually see she's tiring when she sinks a bit in the water.

Here's a clip of how she solved it. You can hear us calling her to head back to shore with the first one. After all, we didn't really care if the second toy floated down the river and out into Port Phillip Bay, as long as Penny got back safely to shore. But as you can see, she wasn't going to give up. (By the way, the birds chirping in the background are bellbirds.)



After all that effort, it was time to shake the water off...

and roll on the toys.

mud and dogs

When walking with a dog, it's a good idea to wear old clothes and we usually do. But yesterday when we walked at Yarra Bend, Human Number Two was headed to the City, so she wore good clothes. Lucky for me, I wore my usual awful old dog-walking gear.

We passed a really good mud puddle and gave our obedient dog the instruction to 'leave it' and follow us, didn't look back to check, and had a nice surprise when she caught up to us.

Now, I ask you. What does any self-respecting dog do if she's all wet and muddy?

Yep, she gives herself a good shake. Too bad if a nicely-dressed human is standing close by.

So, while Human Number Two headed off to the City in her brown-spot polka-dot outfit, I took Penny for a second walk, to swim in the Yarra river at Warringal Parklands.

I made sure to put a towel in the car before I let her in.

So, swim:

And, voila, clean dog!

mystery of river levels in the Yarra

Today the Yarra was low.

As we walked along we were astonished to see a big branch sitting on the muddy bank, exposed from tip to tip.






Usually it looks like this. As it did yesterday.



Seeing we were at one of Penny's two favorite swimming spots, she headed on down to the water and swam happily for a stick, but we didn't like to see her slogging through the deep, soft mud, given that she had surgery on her cruciate sixteen months ago.

So moved on to the other spot, where the strangely low water has exposed rocks, not mud.



Melbourne Water has been working for months to rebuild the old weir at Dights Falls. Their site says:

The Waterways Alliance, on behalf of Melbourne Water, is completing works to replace the ageing Dights Falls Weir and build a new fishway on the Yarra River in Abbotsford.

The new weir will be similar in shape, location and height to the existing structure and continue an important role controlling water levels in the river.

A new fishway will allow fish to swim past the weir, benefiting 11 species of native migratory fish and unlocking vast reaches of the Yarra and its tributaries upstream.

And...

A temporary diversion of the Yarra has been set up at Dights Falls to allow the construction of the new weir and fishway. The diversion will be in place until the new weir has been constructed and will cause river levels for up to 16 kilometres above the weir to temporarily drop below normal levels on occasions.

The drop in river level will cause sections of river bank, usually under water, to become exposed.

So that seems to be the answer to the mystery.

safe throwing toys for dogs

Out again early this morning to beat the heat, we met a couple of lovely black dogs (and their human) at the dog friendly park along the Yarra River. They had a couple of Safestix, which their human had purchased online.



We were wondering whether Penny might try to nab one of the lovely orange sticks, instead of her boring old piece of wood (which I'm holding in the background), but she swam quite happily for the ordinary stick.



The dogs with the Safestix had to learn to watch carefully when the toy was thrown, because it momentarily sinks and then bobs up again.





Now I want one for Penny. Of course.

I can't find an Australian supplier listed on the Safestix site, so I've emailed my favorite pet supplies store, Murphys, to see whether they might have them or might get them in. Otherwise I'll order from either the UK or the listed New Zealand shop.

The Safestix seems to have a similar use to the Aussie Dogs Slapathong, which is also a floating alternative to a stick.

By the way, we never throw a stick for Penny on land. I've heard many people mention the dangers of tossing sticks for dogs to fetch, but I don't need to be warned of the possible consequences, because I once saw a man with a stick embedded in his face. He lived, but it was one of the worst things I've ever seen!

Sticks are dangerous.

a dog swims in the upside-down Yarra river

Last weekend Penny and I went to Yarra Bend park for a walk. At one end of the trail a sign welcomed us on behalf of the traditional owners of this land and I was reminded that Australia has a wealth of indigenous languages.



The Yarra, often referred to as 'the upside down river', was even more muddy brown than usual. However, this didn't mean it was dirty, so I let Penny swim.

The discovery of fresh water in the Yarra was crucial to the development of Melbourne. The river’s pristine upper reaches feed the city’s nine major reservoirs which supply most of Melbourne’s drinking water.

Further downstream however, the Yarra has long been dubbed "the river that runs upside down" because of its muddy colour. The water was clear at the time of European settlement but significant land clearing and development since the mid-1800s has resulted in suspended silt (or tiny clay particles) being carried downstream.

The muddy appearance does not mean that the Yarra is unclean. In fact, it is probably one of the cleanest capital city rivers in the world. Since the major clean-up campaigns of the late 1970s and 1980s, the river has again become home to platypus and a range of migratory native fish species. Platypus have been sighted in the Yarra River at Kew, less than 10 km from the city centre.

Penny stayed quite near the bank, which was good, because the river was running fast after the lovely rain we've had lately. I wouldn't have wanted her to be run over by the kayakers who were also enjoying the river.

in the hills with my dog

Penny is used to spending some time up in the Yarra Ranges, and mostly hangs around in the house waiting for a chance to go out on a walk or a swim. And up there, the Yarra is usually clean, unlike its muddy lower reaches at Warringal Park in Heidelberg.



We usually cross the river at Warburton on the swinging bridge built by the Australian Army.





However, there is a home-grown attraction at our own place, now, because our neighbors have chooks - and they've situated the chicken run right beside our fence, just in the spot where the big branch fell from the mountain ash and crushed the top part of the fence.

Penny decided to sit and watch the chooks...



and watch...



and watch...



It's great to see her so calmly getting used to them, but until the fence is repaired, I won't be leaving her alone out there, that's for sure.

At Warringal Park and warnings about snakes

On an impulse, I drove Penny to Warringal Park the other day, because I wanted her to just mooch around rather than walk a distance. (She was still a little lame.)



To my pleasant surprise, we were greeted immediately by an old dog-walking friend and her dog, even though we haven't been there for years. Penny and I were both pleased to see them. Sadly, I heard that five dogs have been bitten by snakes recently when they ventured near the banks of the river. As I understand it, they are all alive, but one is still fighting for her life. I hope she makes it and returns to good health.

Before I heard this scary news, Penny and I had been down to the river - the danger spot! The water was, as usual, brown - it's not for nothing The Yarra is known as 'the upside-down river' with the mud on the top. Penny swam for sticks and then enjoyed guarding them.





Revisiting an old haunt required a lot of sniffing, of course.

Major breakthrough in dog intelligence

After many months of painstaking research, Penny has solved the almost-impossible problem of how to retrieve two Whirl Wheels from the river. I post this photo here as proof of the success of her studies.



There is one small problem. So far she has not been able to replicate the results, but she's intending to get back to the research lab (aka Yarra River) as soon as possible to continue her investigations.

hot days and play in the brown River Yarra

Today we headed off to the muddy Yarra early, because it was predicted to be more than 103 43 Celcius (that's about 110 Fahrenheit!). (Thanks, Mary, for pointing out that 103 Celcius would be rather hot.)

There I made an interesting discovery about the whirlwheel toy. You can pick it up with a stick if your dog won't bring it back on land. Penny always waits just in the water, ready for the second toy to be thrown. She won't put down the first until she is quite sure there's another one in flight.

Here's my patented method for picking up this toy:



And here's Penny hanging on to the first one, watching, watching, watching for the throw of the second toy:

swimming in brown water and with the fairy penguin at Brighton

Because the heat has arrived, we're looking for places to swim. I took Penny to the Yarra yesterday and she had a great time, even though the water, as it often does, looked brown. The Yarra River is often called 'The Upside-down River', because the mud is on the top. In fact, it's because the high level of turbidity means it carries a load of silt. A man walking past us yesterday said the silt is clay, and I have noticed that after a swim in the Yarra Penny sheds a layer of fine clay dust around the house when she dries.


Today she swam in the sea near Brighton, at Green Point, in crystal clear water, calm as a pond.




And... something swam past, mostly under water, just emerging occasionally to breathe. Here's the only shot I managed to get, as it was moving so fast and coming up so rarely. I feel sure it was a fairy penguin, but passers-by I spoke to said it was unlikely.



I'm convinced it was a fairy penguin.