dogs and lips and rocks

It's hot now in Melbourne. If we didn't have a dog, we'd be slouched in front of the television in the evenings. But we do have a dog, so we're out walking.

Thank God for dogs.

Otherwise we'd miss seeing  fascinating things like this mouth-shaped cloud. Lips in the sky, ready to kiss the world and make life good.

But Penny teaches us to look down as well as up. Interesting planet we live on. The only one we've got, so we'd better look after it.

woman with dog refuses to be airlifted from the bushfire

There's an article today in TheAge newspaper that has me wondering what I would have done if an inferno of flames was approaching my property, I was being airlifted out with my dog in my arms, and the dog jumped back down to the ground.

In Kinglake West, during the tragic February bushfires, Juliet Moore was attached to a police helicopter's winch, when her dog, Poncho, jumped out of her arms. Ms Moore asked to be released from the winch.

Eventually the police helicopter had to leave when it became unstable because of low oxygen levels in the air, and the police officer who was on the ground took a convoy of cars to try to reach safety. Ms Moore had a passenger in her car, and the passenger leaned out the window and led a horse by the halter.

The next car towed a horse float with two horses.

And the convoy was joined for part of the way by deer, koalas, kangaroos and lizards, all running alongside the cars.

When I read this story, I hoped and prayed I'll never be in this terrifying situation. It made me think about the fact that we are just one species of the many that share this one planet, but we are in a better position to influence what happens to our climate and our environment.

It's a big responsibility.

enjoying a dog walk in the green Darebin Parklands

This morning Penny set off with two of her humans to visit Darebin Parklands. Once we got there, the "pack" split up, Penny and one human to have fun walking and chasing balls, the other human to have a different kind of fun, planting baby grasses in the Hidden Valley.





Looking at the soft wet soil, it seems impossible to remember the burning heat of summer, and I'm optimistic that the baby grasses will grow successfully before everything dries out again.

The other day, we looked at the grasses we planted last year. They've done well.

dogs and building bridges in Darebin Parklands

Penny stayed at home today while her humans went down to her favorite spot - Darebin Parklands, our wonderful urban bushland area.

We weren't there literally to build bridges; we were actually planting native flora, as we've done before. But, given the distressing argument that's still going on, about the future of off-lead dog-walking in this area, the day was also an exercise in bridge-building.

If you were to look at this picture, you would see a community co-operating to achieve wonderful outcomes for the future.



However, amongst the people working alongside each other there were very different viewpoints about the future of the Parklands.

Some want dogs limited to an area that I consider inadequate and destined to cause enormous conflicts. They think dogs are a danger to the habitat values they've worked for over the years.

Others believe this is an unreasonable reaction to the presence of off-lead dogs in the park and want a wider-ranging area for off -lead walking.

All too often I've heard the saddest word of all used in this argument. The word is they.

In my opinion there's only one word that really counts - we. We all love this area with a passion and that passion is the fire that keeps us all fighting to see out viewpoint win.

But when the decision-making process is finally complete and our local councils hand down a ruling, it will be time to work together, as we did today, to continue to protect this wonderful open space for our future and that of generations to come.

dogs and planting in Darebin Parklands

Today Penny and I went to have a look at how the baby grasses are growing in Darebin Parklands.













It was the first time Penny had seen them, because she stayed home while her humans were planting poa grasses along the edge of the creek last Sunday.















It was enormously satisfying to work with others to plant hundreds of native plants and know that they will add to the variety of flora in this beautiful spot. Many of the people who worked that day walk with their dogs in the park, so they will enjoy seeing the plants grow. (Let's hope that the hot summer weather doesn't begin too early this year, so the plants can get a good start.)

Each little plant had a handful of water crystals beneath it, which should keep them going for a couple of months.


After they went into the lovely sandy soil, we mulched around them.
































For some of the volunteer 'gardeners', it was their first experience of planting in this wonderful park. I hope it will be the beginning of a long-term involvement. I've just been looking at a fascinating presentation about the history of the Darebin Parklands Association and I can only say how I admire the work that has been done so far.