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Outback Queensland’s Dr Dolittle
September 27, 2018Richard Johnson (BOOBOOK Senior Ecologist) loves conversing with animals. He has been face to face with a roaring silverback Mountain Gorilla in the Congo and a less-intimidating, though equally rare, leaf-tailed gecko in a tiny patch of vine forest near Kilkivan, NW of Gympie, Queensland. On ecological surveys around Roma in Outback Queensland he has… Read more »
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Botanist Spotlight: Orchids
September 20, 2018What do orchids look like? They are technically a perennial herb because they lack woody stems – instead most grow from a structure called a pseudobulb. You may already be familiar with them as popular plants with colourful and often fragrant flowers, used in floral arrangements and highly sought after by collectors. Where do they come… Read more »
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Life’s Never Boring – Outback Travel
September 13, 2018A quote found on Facebook recently: “Europeans….I drove 20 minutes and now I’m in France. Australians….I drove 20 minutes and now I’m at the end of my drive way”. So True. There are some spectacular places in Outback Australia, however you do need to be prepared to travel to get there. The last two weeks… Read more »
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Christmas Surprise
September 6, 2018When I was twelve, not unlike any other Christmas morning, we jumped out of bed and raced to open presents from under the tree. Unbeknownst to us, while the door had been left open the previous day, a goanna had moseyed inside looking for a cool spot to escape the summer heat. After a few presents… Read more »
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Life is Never Boring – Swans
August 30, 2018I had an early morning start in the crispy cool air to run some molasses out to cattle on the farm. With three dogs on board and the 1000 litre molasses tank full, away we go in the dark, watching as the sun rises to expose what the new day will bring. We run molasses… Read more »
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Grevilleas, Hakeas and Rose
August 8, 2018Take the BOOBOOK Ecotours Gurulmundi Wildflower Wander and you’ll see flowering grevilleas, hakeas, boronias, wattles and bush peas. You might even find the threatened Gurulmundi Heath-myrtle, and if you’re particularly lucky you will find a Rose. Rose Aisthorpe is BOOBOOK’s resident botanist and wildflower tour guide and has been identifying the plants of Outback Queensland… Read more »
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Life is Never Boring – Red Kangaroo
August 2, 2018A couple of nights ago our dogs started to off their rocker in the middle of the night – something was amiss outside. After rolling out of bed and grabbing a torch off I toddle half awake to see what all the commotion was about. And wouldn’t you know it there was a Red Kangaroo… Read more »
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Life is Never Boring – Bull Buying Season
July 19, 2018For me it is bull sale season. A few of our existing bulls are getting a bit long in the tooth so it’s time to look at replacing them and bringing in some new blood lines. Yep, in amongst everything else going on in life I run a small Poll Hereford Stud, which I’ve had… Read more »
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Life is Never Boring – A Typical Monday
July 5, 2018A typical Monday. We start with me running a load of molasses out to our farm for the cattle. We use molasses with a mix of other supplements to help the cattle digest the older dry grass during the winter months to help them maintain condition and ensure that they’re at their best going into… Read more »
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This Rock: Home-grown or Extra-Terrestrial?
June 28, 2018This rock, about the size of a rockmelon and weighing 1.76 kilograms, is made of black glass. It was found in the Roma district recently. One of our friends brought it to the office recently and it’s got us scratching our heads. Part of the rock has been broken away and that’s where we can… Read more »