Now on Facebook username SleepyBurrows

Right, time to really get the message about wombats out there. We are finally on Facebook. Its taken too long we know but the care of the animals always comes first:).You can follow us on Facebook

I thought poodles were meant to be clever???

As the post title suggests - now I am not sure *lol*. Stinking hot weather and driving along, 2 small dogs running along the dirt road - clearly lost. I stop to get them. There are cattle grids along the road to slow people down. The jack russell gets to the cattle grid, stops, thinks about it and then goes to the left and continues along the side of the road - so clever. By this stage another guy had stopped to help me. We got the jack russell all safe.

Now for the poodle. Poodle comes up to cattle grid, stops for a milli second, then tries to run straight over - of course legs going everywhere in the grid. Clever move - nope!

Between the 2 of us we managed to catch both dogs and return them safely to owner as they had their telephone number on their collars (so smart owners):). Never a dull moment, truly.

Have called new wombat visiting 'Scarface' for obvious reasons. Heaps of movement each night so clearly new to the territory.

Activity increasing with the dry weather

We have noticed an increase in the wombat activity around the food station due to the dry weather. This is Daph (eating) and the new wombat approaching at about 2am the other morning. There was a lot of screaming and chasing. That tells us it is a new wombat into the territory. Things seem to be settling down a bit. The new wombat is still visiting most nights and the screaming and chasing has decreased, for now anyhow.

RIP dear Mr Bean

5 days ago he was running and digging. 3 days ago he was rushed to the vet with suspected pneumonia. Last night we found him dead. I knew with the large temperature variations somebody would come down with pneumonia. So close to being free. You will be missed Mr Bean, RIP.

Toxo and wombats - out of interest really

We have been doing a lot of work with wombats and toxoplasmosis over the years. More in the line of what it does to them and how come they behave in certain ways, ie behaviour, symptoms. Its a long story, too long for here as the papers are pages and pages long:). But in a nutshell, most animals do not survive toxo. It is spread by cats (feral cats in particular) and is basically everywhere.

The trend we are seeing over the years is that wombats do get very sick from it, don't get us wrong BUT they appear to have a higher survival rate than other native animals. However, they are left with ailments which would I would say ultimately lead to their death in the wild. Or it might explain why some very 'tame' wombats come into care who display some wild tendencies but yet remain calmer than you would expect.  So much more work to be done here. One of the ailments of a wombat who survives toxo is that they can be blind and brain damaged.

Another sign is a wombat's eyes. For example this little wombat. If you look at her eyes, they do not focus straight. Also her eyes are 'bulging' out, another classic sign they have been exposed to toxo. Her mother might have died of toxo, resulting in her being found and saved by Risha initially.

Wombat joey drinking bottle

Wombat Pinkie joeys lubrication.MOV

Daphne

And because everybody see's Daphne from behind, here is a photo of her before she was released, showing you what a gorgeous girl she grew up to be. This was Daph after she had to come back into care when she was attacked. She has not been attacked since and is clearly the dominant female around here at the moment.

How did we know?

Some have asked 'how did we know Daphne's joey was dead'. Well, as you can see by this photograph, the feet are not pink but grey. Also, the way the leg and front paw are lying - limp. A wombat would keep her joey in her pouch, secure and not allow it to hang out as is happening in the photo.

A wombat cannot remove a dead joey from its pouch. They have to wait until it falls out - horrible thought, carrying your dead baby around.  I would say that sadly this joey died of pneumonia - I'm guessing here. The reason is because Daphne, first time mother was going into a very wet burrow and clearly her joey got wet and stayed wet. Maybe it got bitten by a snake - we will never know. Very sad as it was a strong healthy baby girl from what we could see. But so much to learn from the feeding station at all hours of the morning, good or bad. It all helps us understand wombats better.

Veg's progress

For those interested, remember Veg who had the hideous head/neck injury who had to have surgery? Well here is a photo of what it is looking like. It is healing brilliantly, all thanks to our wonderful Gundaroo Vet Joseph.

Tiny and not what many people get to see

It always amazes me as to how tiny these creatures are and how big and strong they become. This is a 100g wombat whose mother was killed. Thankfully our lovely neighbour down the road checked the pouch. In the summer months, they can survive 1-2 days in the pouch so it is always important to check a dead wombat. And I know, not many people like to do this so if there is a joey in the pouch, we just get people to bring us the dead mother and we sort the rest out as the joey's can be injured if taken out incorrectly.

New recruit

Risha, if you are reading this, your little girl is doing beautifully. Risha brought Bella to us over the weekend. She has done an incredible job saving this little wombat from the condition she was found. Now Bella resembles a 'fat tick' and is the picture of health. She has arrived at Sleepy Burrows to start her wombat journey to eventually be released back into the bush. And if it wasn't for Risha, she would not be here.

I've also put a photo up of Boney Bum caught on the night cam. You can see from his head that he is taking the fighting head on but no change to him of late so that is good news. It means they are sorting themselves out and no 'new damage'. There was a lot of screaming and somebody being chased at about 2am this morning and I would imagine it was Boney Bum chasing Moses possibly? Or Daphne chasing Moses. But glad to see they are accepting the new release into the bush.

Feeling like I need to put some things in writing

I swear I was chased by Mr Bean on the highway!!! Out of nowhere, suddenly in the rear view mirror, only being able to see the roof as the little fiat was tiny, was Mr Bean on a mission. One man and his fiat *lol*. 

Been hit with a philosophical stick today. Why is it that some people just don't 'get it'? Truly, it is not hard folks. Either you are nice or nasty. You can chose to be nice or nasty. You can chose to do the right or wrong thing. Well, I guess some people just like their own nasty paths they create for themselves. Enjoy it as it will be short! Energy completely wasted.

For me, I'm entering a new 'phase' in life - that would be the most appropriate way to put it right now. And BRING IT ON:). I am not somebody who gives up easily and I'm not about to start. I believe in morals and hard work, in kindness and helping others. THAT is my chosen path. To others who want to knock that - it will be only that, a 'knock'. If others work their arse off for what is important to them - respect them for the person they are. So many people have a lot to say yet do jack sh** themselves. So before you point fingers, have a look at yourself first! Right, I'll stop there.

New wombat arriving on the weekend, little female. The new little male, now called 'Lucky' is more humanised than we thought. Apparently likes grass and dog food!!! We are changing that asap and he has settled in very well. He is going for bush walks most evenings and is certainly starting to display nice wombat play behaviour - which by the way is not what us humans call 'fun'. It entails rather severe biting and ambushing however for a wombat, it is just perfect and behaviour they need to develop.

Boney Bum is still being challenged, not sure by who, Forrest or Moses we think. He is looking very tired and obviously cannot give in as otherwise he will lose his territory. We will step in if he rocks up injured but for now we have to respect nature and let the males sort themselves out. Heaps of activity at the back fence of the enclosure area. Will have to move the night cam up there to see what is going on.

Going to do some brush cutting - fantastic anger management:).

Moses....

Well, Moses has done well so far. He has and is challenging our resident male. Phil watched 2 nights ago the goings on between the two. It was very even in terms of the pushing and shoving. The odd bite but both parties are fine. Interestingly both have head marks from fighting which means neither one is backing down. There was a larger third wombat in the equation who kept going, then coming back and almost antagonizing Boney Bum. Eventually Boney Bum chased him off. Then he collapsed as this type of behaviour takes an incredible amount of energy out of wombats.

It is why if a wombat is not strong enough physically to cope, it will be killed as if they are doing to challenge a territory, it is not only strength but stamina that allows them to survive. If it gets horrific, we step in. If its evenly matched and 'males being males' then we let them sort themselves out in terms of hierarchy. The sooner they sort it out the better of course.

Daphne is still around but keeping a low profile I would say with the latest activity going on. Wise lady:). We received a new recruit yesterday. A young male who although is quite imprinted (ie tame) he will do well. He was raised by a new carer who has given him a little bit too much love but they have done a great job in that he is healthy and certainly has the tendencies which he now has to develop. So all good.  It will be a harder adjustment for him initially as his 'comforts' will most certainly be removed but after what we have seen in the bush over the last 48 hours, it only confirms you have to send the strongest and fittest back into the bush to survive.

In keeping with the theme of a 'crap week' last week we lost the little guy who had come in. We couldn't have saved him as he had a huge amount of bruising and blood which started to show so he had obviously taken the impact of his mother being hit. Very sad but that is just the way it goes. At least he wasn't eaten alive by bull ants. Back to it. Travel safe and have a great weekend.

Lesson for life - might save that for later:)

So the new little guy is doing really well but I hate to put that into words as it can change so quickly with the little wombats. He is drinking very well which is the first thing to go wrong if they are going to go downhill. I also might just put a reminder out there that the work we do with the wildlife and wombats is completely voluntary:). And that wombats are nocturnal:).

Veg and her little bub are doing brilliantly. Her wounds are healing so so well. Some observations of a pregnant wombat - as we have never had one in care actually pregnant - it appears pregnant wombats eat more and sleep more. Veg is clearly eating for two and is sleeping almost 20 hours per day.  I had never thought about any correlation to being pregnant as a human being but having been there myself, its an interesting comparison:).

We opened up the enclosure area again for Moses during the week and he did not come back. He has gone in the direction of the creek and decided to give living in the bush his best shot. Boney Bum the resident male hasn't been around which might mean he is asserting himself and his territory because a new male is 'in town' so to speak. Hopefully everybody will behave themselves and we won't have any injured males.

New addition!

So a new VERY tiny addition has arrived into Sleepy Burrows. A little male wombat, around 140g I would say. The reason why he has such a strong chance is that he was found not long after his mother was killed thankfully. Not far from where we live so we were able to get him quick smart. Its never good to start your morning off with having a large dead female delivered but if she has a joey, the joey deserves a chance at life. 
 
You can see him on Youtube Sleepy Burrows
Will he survive? Good question. It is up to mother nature. Some this tiny do, some don't. Only the fittest will survive from this age. As humans we can never match what a mother wombat does to raise a joey, we can only try our best. This means 2 hourly feeds around the clock, constant temp of 28-30 degrees and he needs to be lubricated regularly so that his skin does not dry out as in his mothers pouch it is constantly moist. He had to be cut out of the pouch so that you do not injure them when removing them. 

You give a male freedom....

Forgot again to update on Moses. He was severely beaten up when we collected him almost a  year ago now. He is now a healthy strong male wombat.

Men, you cannot please them *lol* - yes yes, that is a joke. We released Moses 2 nights ago, thinking he would revel in his freedom and find a nearby burrow and start excavating....but no......oh he had a wonderful time but ultimately did a huge loop around and in the morning - sound asleep in his enclosure, he had come back:). That is absolutely fine. They are not always ready when us humans 'think' they are. We will just give him the opportunity again in the future and eventually he will decide the bush is where he belongs.

Snow on the ranges - literally

I've put up a photograph of what the enclosure area looked like at 6:30am last Friday morning. We knew we had a cold front coming but never did we think we would wake up in October to so much snow. The most we have had here. It was just beautiful. And really not cold either. It was freezing by 9am when it started to rain and melt the snow.

The other one is of Miss J and Bella - both looking outside of the fence, wanting to go for a run *lol*.  Madam J has been sick and we spent almost the entire Sunday at the hospital and doctors. Its horrible when they are ill and you cannot make it go away. Thankfully her antibiotics are now kicking in and she is at least eating a bit and getting noisier again - which must mean she is starting to feel better.

Oh and If you have a home loan in Australia, you will want to be part of  https://www.onebigswitch.com.au/ 
I keep forgetting, and another thing. Be careful with what the big banks are advertising - that you can pause your home loan - no such thing. They in fact continue to take payments and at no point pause your repayments.  In fact it means they take repayments out of your savings or redraw. 
I discovered today that with not being passed on the full interest rate cuts in the last 12 months, it has cost our home loan an extra $12,000 in interest. So get on One Big Switch and let them know consumers are not happy anymore with this. 

Bee careful - I told you so!

I'm learning that as a mother, you can say things over and over but eventually you just have to let 'nature' take its course:). One said toddler experienced her first bee sting today - and as much as I don't want to sound like my own mother - I said it *aarrgghhhh* - I told you so *lol*. Oh what a drama, truly. She has been bitten by a wombat (another I told you so lesson) and cried for 20 seconds, if that. This time round, oh my word, I reckon the birds are deaf! I was showing her the gorgeous tree with its spring blossoms, clearly this outing missed the point for her. Maybe tomorrow......

And why do we feed baby's formula? Truly. What you put in with a bottle, just comes out both ends! The formula companies must be laughing:). Have also made a mental note to not buy any new furniture or carpets until said daughters are at least 21 *lol*. And people think wombats are destructive - they have competition apparently.

Miss G - she is doing my head in. I have never seen a wombat react the way she has after being attacked. She took a claw off last night and when this happens to a wombat, the amount of blood which flows is just amazing. It looked like she had lost so much but on seeing the claw gone, it all made perfect sense.

Veg - she is doing okay. Her little one in the pouch continues to grow and kick so its doing well. Veg's wound will still be a long time in healing. All up she took about 5 stitches (10cm) out but the wound is looking good and the vet is pleased with her progress. With the warmer weather it will be not so much fun as we have to keep her out of the reach of flies so it will be night time walks with her until the wound is completely sealed over.

The other attacked males here are doing much better. Harry met (no not Sally) but Moses the other afternoon. Moses won, he got the burrow:). Soldier does not even bother with the younger males now. He knows that he can put them out of action by just sitting on them with his size.

Right, off to do enclosures.
PS: have you bought a wombat calendar for 2013 from NARG yet? If not, please do so:)

The mind is playing tricks...

I thought I was seeing things today when driving home. I saw something moving on the side of the road. I automatically expected to see an echidna but no, I saw a moving cow pat (cow dung)!!!!! After looking twice I realised it was a turtle who had come out of hibernation *lol*, still with the cow pat attached to its shell. No hard guess where this particular turtle hibernated during the winter:).

Well Veg spent her first time outside last night since her surgery and she did really really well. She slept brilliantly as a result. It did her the world of good. Her joey is still doing very well so holding thumbs that it survives all of this. Now off outside. Hope everybody is enjoying the gorgeous Spring weather.

Support us, 2013 WOMBAT CALENDARS are out buy now

http://www.narg.asn.au/

Please please go to the above link and order a wombat calendar for 2013 or 10. This is our groups main fundraiser for the year to help all of our carers in the VOLUNTEER work which we do.

...and I have forgotten how to spell kyte (?)

Ah, it is kite:) If you are into kite flying, today is the day for you. Blowing a gale after yesterdays rain. And if you have one of the kites that you can jump with, today you will be jumping *lol*. Clearly I have also forgotten how to use the ride on mower as I've managed to stall it twice before getting out of the gate! I have discovered a new site on the net, Squidoo. Seen it yet? Its quieter than Facebook but a lot of interesting pages or 'lens's' as they call them. Great ideas from recipes to children's books, places around the world, etc.

One more thing on my mind actually.....

While I say there are a lot of people who don't care about wildlife or if they hit and kill a kangaroo (some applaud themselves sadly) there is a very large percentage of people who do in fact care about the wildlife and I believe a percentage which is increasing thankfully. The rather 'red neck' attitude towards Australian wildlife is not something to be proud of anymore.

.....And I need to explain something more clearly as I've had comments of 'maybe they didn't know the wombat was dead'. Sadly they would have. There are 'pockets' in rural Australia where animals of all kinds are just despised. Why? Maybe its people's upbringing, who knows but it exists very strongly in some areas. Therefore, some of the places we deal with, the animals are specifically target on the road sides. For example, it is not uncommon to get a call from a very distressed family or person who is driving in one of these particular areas to call the after hours number saying that they are behind somebody who has intentionally swerved and done this. And then driven off to the local pub for a drink and left the animal alive. Why am I telling you this? Who knows, maybe it will just make people more aware, I don't know. Maybe make some people think to become nicer human beings, lets hope so:). 

So this is what a car does....

After some thought, I'll put a photo of Veg up so that people can see what a car does. If it is a low vehicle, it does not always kill the animal but rather slices them. The result, the animal runs off or is left to die very slowly. I know not everybody likes or cares about wildlife but as a gentle reminder, it is in fact illegal to hit an animal (of any kind) and leave it alive, unattended. It is so easy to just call and say 'I've hit a wombat, it ran off, can you go and look' and the response would be no problem at all.

Wildlife run out at night on roads - of course it happens. Most get killed but if not, it is no problem to make a call. I know it upsets some people when they hit something and they just drive. Again, completely understandable but again, so simple to just call so it is dealt with by somebody else. It is not pleasant having to be somebody who puts a lot of animals down but at least it prevents the suffering. 

Veg was one of the lucky ones as she knew to come back to the house where she knew she would be helped. She is not nearly in the clear yet but at least she has a good chance. Her baby is still alive so that is also a bonus.

Not so lucky was the female wombat found by another carer on the side of the road 2 days ago - imagine this dear people - hit by a car, your back is broken and you are moved off the road and put on your back in the gutter. The most disgusting part about this - the female wombat was ALIVE. Things like this just disgust me to the core. So she was on her back, unable to move, with a baby still in her pouch, with birds trying to peck her eyes out and bull ants starting to eat at her. THAT is the reality of what happens. I get sick just thinking about it and no, this is not the first time sadly. This happens a lot with wombats or other animals whose backs are broken and they cannot turn over and who are still alive.

As I said, I know not everybody cares but blatant cruelty to a living creature, I just do not understand and I cannot comprehend it. Off to do some work before the bad weather hits but thought I would share what comes our way. I wish it was always good news but sadly not so. At least the sun is shining and it is a beautiful day.

The hours just seem to be running one into the other here, no day or night specifically. Hard enough trying to do the food shopping! If you want variety in life, just add a toddler:).

I was going to put up a photo or two of Veg to show what damage a car can do but I think they might upset people. We are on day 8 and she has pulled 1 or 2 stitches out last night. Not good at all. If her stitches come out, we are in trouble. If her wound opened up, it would be the size of a side plate - a very big wound and we would not be able to restitch it.

We are going to bandage her back feet up so she cannot scratch but I am not sure how long that will last as until you have dealt with a wombat's stubbornness, its hard to believe what they are capable of. But we have to try at least. Her baby is still alive and doing well from what we can tell. Veg is otherwise relaxed and eating well so that is good.

Miss G, well she is just in a world of her own. She is recovering well. Boney Bum - he continues to cause havoc and fences around enclosures have to get higher and higher. Unbelievable. We have another attacked male who we have to catch and treat. Trying to get an injured wombat out of a burrow - not an easy task in the slightest.

Tug has finally moved up the back to one of the enclosures and he has turned overnight, literally. Which is good for his rehabilitation back into the bush - just another set of mobile teeth that we have to look out for and not be ambushed by. Wombats do not ambush people, please don't think they lie in wait in the bush *lol* however when young males 'turn', they do get very aggressive and while we have raised them, we have to respect their change as it is how they will survive in the wild. Sometimes in the early stages they will still come up from their burrow if they hear us so we have to be very careful if they do. The ultimate result is that they do not come up at all during the daylight hours which is what Tug has been doing for a while now so he is on his way to a great release.

 Back to it here.

Oops

Hmmm, you know you are a bit sleep deprived when you put your toddlers dirty clothes in the bin and the dirty nappy in the washing machine!!! Even worse, you don't realise you have done it until you go to turn the washing machine on!

I'm not impressed

Well, we found Veg.......with her neck half slit open, right down to the muscle and more. The only way she could have gotten an injury so severe is if a car has hit her and driven off. How she is still alive, I don't know. To the arsehole who hit her (it would have been around the property gate), all they had to do was come and tell us. So for 3-4 weeks, Veg has been trying to get back to the house for help.

She was rushed to the best vet in the world, Joseph at Gundaroo Vet Clinic and was in surgery for 1.5 hours. Watching Joseph clean out the wound, cut what he had to out and then try and stitch was just incredible. How he managed to stitch her up, I do not know and wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't been there. Worse still, we discovered that her baby wombat in her pouch is alive and well, about 2 months so Veg has to pull through. The wombat joey is far too young for us to raise, only a wombat can do that so if Veg dies, so will her joey.

She is in the house at the moment, in the wombat room at the back, still heavily sedated from the operation. The next 10 days will be critical for her. She has to be kept in a sterile environment and we can only hope that no infection gets into the huge wound.

What I find amazing is if a human had their neck slashed down to the muscle, about 20cm long, 10cm wide, there is no way in the world they would be standing and yet this wombat has made it for 3-4 weeks to get back home for help. Can you imagine the pain she would have been in???  So she will be monitored 24/7 now.

Miss G is recovering. Her wounds are healing slowly but she will still  be minus one ear at least. As for the rest of her, her hair will eventually grow back over the scars. She is wanting to go outside for a few hours each day but cannot during the afternoon as she cannot go in the sun but try explaining that to a compulsive stubborn animal that is feeling slightly better!

So, another not so quiet week so far, wondering what the weekend will entail.

A sleep would be good I have to say....

I keep saying it and I'll say it again, what the hell is going on this year with wombats, I have no idea. The attacks have increased tenfold and we are just getting in injured adults one after the other. Miss G is still alive and doing well on her antibiotics. Whoever attacked her went to town. Wombats as amazing as they are, one has to always remember what they are capable of in terms of survival. Only the fittest will survive, the others not.

Have also learnt that Daphne did lose her wombat joey. The last photo we have is of it dead in her pouch. This is very unusual for a wombat as they cannot remove the joeys from their pouches. As the joey was a good size, I have no idea how she managed to get rid of the body but I would say it would explain why she has moved burrows. I'm also guessing the joey died of pneumonia but then again, who knows. Very sad but Daphne is at least looking very good otherwise.

Veg turned up last night. After almost what, 4 weeks? Well, she has a cut in her neck, about 20cm long, 5cm deep, like she has been slashed. I knew something was wrong when we didn't see her at the feed station. She is very week so got picked up, into an enclosure, treated immediately, fed and we have to wait and see. The wound is too old to be stitched but also so big, I'm not sure if she is going to be left with a huge hole in her neck and shoulder.

As beautiful as the spring weather is, it means blow flies and this is a huge problem now with injured wombats as the last thing you need is them getting fly blown. At least the wind has died down and the day looks to be a gorgeous one which is good as there is a lot of work to be done outside today. We have to finish another enclosure, sort the wombat studio out for another injured animal, ensure Veg is okay, treat Miss G as well, oh and throw the shopping in for nappies while we're at it *lol*.

But you know what, I wouldn't change it for the world.

Miss G is back......

Just when you think you have seen it all......Yesterday morning, I did the normal rounds of the enclosures and for some reason, went down to Tug's enclosure as he was banging (he should have been asleep). In the corner of his enclosure was a shivering, bloodied wombat. Tug was trying desperately to get away. It was darling Miss G. Somebody out there has attacked her so so badly. There is not a part of her body that has not been bitten. Sometimes I dislike wombats for what they do to each other, cannot help it BUT it is the nature of the animal and of course, only the strong survive. I just find it amazing that she jumped INTO an enclosure to get away from whoever was attacking her.

Will she pull through? I do not know. Will have to wait and see but it has broken whatever spirit she had for now. I cannot explain what the hell is going on with the wombats right now. I do not think it was the resident male who did this to her. I think there is a rouge male around the place as all the wombats at the feeding station are so jittery. They bolt like anything if they hear a sound, as if they are scared of who the sound is coming from. Normally when they are within their territories they have a certain amount of confidence. Not of late. The females with joeys have disappeared as well. So I'm thinking that is the reason for Miss G being attacked so badly, or the fact that she is seen as 'weak'.

No sign of Barney again either. After a good dose of rain his burrow is flooded so not sure where he has moved to. I did find 2 new burrows close to the house yesterday but am not sure who is in them as yet.

And just for the record. Looking after numerous wombats and working full time IS easier than raising a toddler! :)

What do?

So, what do toddlers, german shepherd puppies and wombats have in common? They ALL take plants out of pots. After managing to save my plants from the odd wombat that visits on the deck and the dogs, they now have to fend off a toddler. Alas, if they survive this, they are the strongest pot plants I know of:). The dogs got an ear lashing of 'don't do this', and then for me only to later in the afternoon come across one toddler pulling out the plants I had so delicately re potted earlier in the day! This was then of course followed by a tantrum as she was told to leave it. Remind me why we have children? Its certainly not for the peace and quiet, that I can tell you:).

I have no idea of what is going on with the wombats, maybe they know spring is on the way and warmer weather, who knows but their habits have changed drastically over the last week or two. We only see Boney Bum every night, still no Veg and Daphne comes every few nights. I think I have figured out where Barney has gone (or the burrow should I say).  Its strange that so suddenly, their routines have changed and we are talking creatures of habit here. Like I said, maybe they know spring is on the way as it certainly feels like it today. Nights are still very cold though. My first thought is oh no, snakes will be coming out soon. That is one brilliant thing about winter, no snakes to watch out for. In a few weeks, every stick will be a potential threat when walking:).

!!!!!

So Barney has left again. We took him up to an enclosure after his course of antibiotics and he is not yet better but he has escaped so I hope he stays away from trouble for a while. At least he has been fed up for a few nights and regained some strength but somehow I think we are going to see him again, in the same state, if not worse. There are some wombats that just don't cope or who aren't aggressive enough. Sadly you only find them when its injured or dead mostly but we will remain positive and think that he has learnt his lesson again.

Trying to get up to do work in the enclosure area with a new baby and toddler is challenging to say the least. And when the two dogs come with, oh boy, I just about give up. Indy is starting to show signs of intelligence *lol* at almost 9 months. She is stubborn though but is coming along with her training. Bella is just gorgeous, she is 21 months old now and truly an amazing dog. I'm hoping Indy will learn from her. Still no Vegemite at the feed station. Its been more than a week now and I don't have a good feeling about her not coming. She has ALWAYS come every night. We are going for a walk this evening to check burrows and the creek, maybe we will see something.

Update

So, the enclosures are not even getting a day's rest right now with the amount of animals coming in. Not sure what is going on this year but so many attacked/injured adults. Not many baby wombats coming in, which is of course good but with the adults, not sure. The enclosure area is chockers again, full house. The new enclosure going up already has an occupant waiting to come here and more on the waiting list.

Barney - he has had one bad experience out there in the wild. He is showing some very odd behaviour. We did move him from the studio last night up to an enclosure so hopefully he will now start to regain his confidence. He has finished his course of antibiotics and his wounds are looking a lot better. Boney Bum continues to cause havoc at night and patrol the enclosure and house site area. Veg hasn't been for at least 4 nights which is VERY odd as she is always the first at the feeding station. We are going to check her burrow tonight as normally she is a late riser and you can find her lying close to the entrance as the sun goes down and it becomes dark. She is pregnant so not sure if her change of habits are due to this. Still waiting for Daphne to arrive with her wombat joey at some point which would be at foot.

Thank heavens for the night webcam as it means we can get some sleep while everybody does there thing at night:).

Barney is back!!!

Yesterday, driving into the property, around noon I came across a wombat at the causeway, not looking too good and as the number one rule for me is - if its out during the day, there is most likely something wrong. Yes, something was definitely wrong. It has a few severe attack injuries which are fly blown even in the cold weather, limping so not running fast at all and severely underweight. So........you do what you do at Sleepy Burrows, catch it. That didn't take too long or much effort which gives me an indication of the state of the animal.

The wombat has turned out to be Barney who went AWOL around January this year if I recall. He is not in a good way and has obviously been struggling out there a bit. Somebody has also gotten hold of him and done some serious damage. He got his antibiotics and is in the studio. He ate copious amounts of food initially and has then slept for over 24 hours solid now. I have just checked on him and still sound asleep BUT has done his business where he sleeps.

This is very unusual for wombats as they are very clean animals. This indicates to me that he is either too sick to get up or was being attacked and bullied so much that he only came out during the day to feed. Not sure which one but the next few days will tell. For now, he is resting and can sleep safely.

Happy days

Miss G is back, thank goodness. Indy found her in the bush this morning and I heard heaps of screaming. She has been given a bit of a hard time it appears, or mated, not sure yet which one but otherwise she is happy to be back and went straight into her enclosure. I feel so relieved. I know she cannot cope in the wild on her own. As long as she goes on her adventures and comes back, I'm okay with that:).

Still going....

I still miss Johnson. Still feel so bad that I couldn't save him and had to make that decision for him. Its been a shocker of a week wombat wise. 2 dead wombats on the dirt road, both really healthy animals, such a waste for somebody to slam into when driving too fast. We also managed to get the manged wombat so that had to be put down immediately. At least that wombat we have helped as it would have been suffering for a long time. It was in a very bad way.

There has been some good news. There is a strong chance that Daphne is now leaving her wombat joey in the burrow at night when she comes to the feed station. We have put the night webcam at her burrow in the hope we may see her with it. Hopefully we will see Daph bring her joey to the feed station in a few weeks/months - with all the bad news of late, it would be a wonderful thing to see.

Still no sign of Miss G. I do worry about her, cannot help it. Have been to look for her but no sign so I have no idea as to where she has gone. I'm still hoping she will come back to the enclosure area at some point as she has done in the past. Will have to wait and see. Otherwise all wombats behaving (sort of) and we have two new residents coming in shortly, both females thankfully. All the wombats we have in care now are males, except for one female so more of a balance would be good.

I don't get it sometimes.....

I know that a combination of the good and bad make life worthwhile. In other words good times would not be good if you didn't experience bad times. That does not mean you have to accept or like the bad times or events. Daphne has arrived with no baby joey. What does this mean? I would say it is dead. That gorgeous little girl didn't get much of a chance at life did she? Here the wombats are as safe as they can be in the wild with the support if its required. If a little wombat joey cannot survive here for whatever reason, it makes me wonder how bloody hard it is for them in the wild. The success rate must be hideously low. Its sad to see her with no bulge anymore. And her behaviour has changed dramatically as a result. She is no longer the brave mother wombat but more a timid wombat again.

Miss G has also decided to go AWOL. I wish she wouldn't. She is not all there mentally and cannot stand up for herself but she insists on getting out. I'm hoping she will turn up again as she normally does after a few days.

RIP dear Johnson

A very sad day for me. I could not fix Johnson. I had to make the gut wrenching decision to have him put down yesterday. I feel like I have failed him, after raising him to virtual release. The world can be cruel sometimes. I hope his autopsy results will show me that there was nothing more I could have done for him. RIP my little guy, you will be missed.

Somebody made the comment the other day to me that I make it all sound so easy. Oh no no no. If anybody thinks it is 'easy' managing full time work, toddler, 2 x german shepherd puppies and a wildlife sanctuary, how wrong you are *lol*. I love it yes but believe you me, I have my days where its all too much. Or it just seems that there is bad news only. BUT what one has to do in life is make the most of every day. I have learnt to be positive as much as I can, do the best that I can and I've learnt along the way that if you don't finish it on that particular day, it is okay - there is always tomorrow:). Not everybody will thrive on what you do, that too is okay. Yeah yeah, been having too much time to think haven't I *lol*?

Back to everybody for feeding time. And then of course you see things like Daphne with her joey at night, that makes it all worthwhile:).

Bingo, we have managed to turn Johnson around. We have not given up on him and he hasn't given up either. He has a long long way to go but there is an improvement to last week - yay:).

Hmmm, we now have new medication for Johnson and its his last hope. He has until the weekend to respond, otherwise I am going to have to do the kindest thing for him and put him down. He has no more reserves, his body temperature has dropped substantially which means his system is really struggling. If a bacteria or infection can do this to his system, one has to think what would happen out in the wild? Would his immune system stand up to the stress of being a male out in the bush. If the answer is no, it is cruel to release, bottom line. I have to consider whether his system is strong enough, let alone him as a wombat. The saddest part is that he was due to be released but maybe in hindsight, this coming out now prevents him from having a horrible death ultimately in the wild. A catch 22 situation and a gut wrenching one to make for him but its for him, that is what I have to keep telling myself, not about how I feel. One of the hardest parts of doing this volunteer work. So the next few days until the weekend will be the course for him. I hope so much that he responds to this medication.

Hold thumbs for Johnson, we go to the vet again tonight. Just when you think you really are getting ahead with knowing how these animals function, something like this blows you sideways. Either way, I'll find out what is going on with him and hopefully pull him through. Its ironic that wombats who have been brought here on their death bed we have saved, yet one who has been with us since 500g and raised by us - almost ready for release has had a turn in health to put him close to this point and as humans we cannot stop the decline.

Veg is behaving like a female on PMS right now. Went out last night and she is truly eating for 2, if not 3!!! She followed me to the wombat studio and waited until I appeared with more food, bit me and then continued to eat. Ungrateful? No, just how wombats operate. If it was an aggressive bite, I would have known all about it. Tug had another encounter with Boney Bum last night but thankfully I was outside so we stopped it straight away. Its amazing the heights you can clear when you do wombats *lol*. Who ever thought you could clear 1.4m no problem if you have to:).

Now I am truly starting to think we might lose Johnson. I am at my wits end of what else to try with him. We have put him out into an enclosure this morning to give him some time out and in one that we can easily catch him but he just weighs nothing now. He is eating, that is the frustrating part but his body is almost rejecting the food. I've left a call with our dear vet yet again and waiting for him to call back. I just truly hate seeing these animals sick, they get under my skin so so badly.

So maybe young wombat males aren't as clever as they think they are:). Moses, a new addition (got lost in the wilderness and found the promise land, Sleepy Burrows:)) who was severely attacked last year decided that he was old and wise enough to take on another male wombat. This is where the enclosure area is the BEST teaching tool for wombats in rehabilitation.

Moses decided to pick on Harry. He carried on and on and eventually Harry got out didn't he? Well, Moses was found cowering in his enclosure. He wasn't so brave after all once Harry was out. At least it will teach him a valuable lesson for the real bush when he gets released. A few bits of fur missing but nothing serious. Along with the recent rain and wind, it has kept us busy as always with wombats out and about because of flooded burrows. However, Daph and her little one appear dry each night at the feed station, as do Boney Bum and Veg. Veg is now pregnant, we are sure of it. She is eating for two and has gotten a lot bigger all of a sudden. I can sympathise with her *lol*.

Johnson, hmmmm, he is a tough one. He is still in the sick bay. Eating a bit but his weight is doing nothing. The infection has cleared, now we have to fix his gut flora and get him to relax a bit as he cannot go back into an enclosure until his treatment is complete, otherwise we cannot get them down the burrows each night, unless we dig them out. Its a catch 22 as while they are getting slightly better, their instinct tells them they want out and back in the burrow. If only we could explain why we cannot do that right now, would make life easier for everybody as I hate seeing them unsettled.

Hmmm, toxoplasmosis seems to be rearing its ugly head in wombats more and more. Some things are starting to make sense to me in terms of wombats we have had in the past with brain damage. Why? Or has it always been out there in these numbers - good question I would like answered. I'm starting to think its why Miss G is like she is and various others we have had.

We have another manged wombat we are trying to catch. At least they come out in Winter and we can get them before summer. This one has been pushed out of its territory I would say with the condition it is in so it sadly has one road to follow BUT it will be a road of no more suffering at least. One has to be sensible and although you try and save all the ones you come across, it is kinder to put down at times, for the animals sake. Just never a nice job or feeling it leaves you with.

Johnson, we will be back to the vet. I'm not happy with his progress over the last week and I know the vet won't be either. He hasn't lost anymore weight but hasn't improved either. Man they do your head in sometimes as they are such strong animals for what they endure. Tug also decided to dig out of his enclosure last night. Found him frolicking on the bank this morning after banging around at 5am under the house. He doesn't know how lucky he is that Boney Bum didn't get hold of him last night. Tug is only about 15kg and not ready at all for release and would not have stood up to Boney Bum in the slightest.

Silo is no longer fun to walk, he is just bite bite bite which is great for him, that is what he has to develop but not fun for the person walking him in the bush. He now goes up to the enclosure area and digs to his hearts content for a few hours. He will move up there permanently at the end of winter. Looks like he is going to be a good solid male wombat as well. The new male named Moses has settled in very well. He is also responding to the other males in terms of territorial noises and sounds so that is great.

Why so many males in care this year and last - only they know. Thank goodness Daphne's little one is a girl. We have an idea that Veg is pregnant too, I hope that is another little female. Boney Bum has clearly been busy, I will say no more!!!

One of our wombats who had a very hard start in life, not only made it but is now a mother herself. We see her most nights and have been fortunate enough to watch her joey grow up in her pouch. Just another reason to live where we do. I hope we get to watch this little girl (yes, we know its a girl) grow up:).

Johnson is not reacting to the antibiotics which might mean what he has is viral which is not good. Means we have to watch him go downhill while his body tries to fight things. I'm hoping he will take a turn for the better. His weight is stable but he is still skeletal. Boney Bum continues to cause havoc at night and I do hope we don't have any pregnant females in the enclosure area. That thought had crossed my mind. Will have to watch and monitor his antics more closely I think, which is a bit hard when it is minus figures at night - not when you want to be out there sitting still and waiting!!!

How I wish my vet was listed on the stock exchange *lol*. Back to the vet with Johnson (aka little man) who has for some reason stopped eating entirely. Was the picture of health 2 weeks ago. Now resembles a skeleton. These animals never stop teaching you and of course, we need to find the underlying problem and somehow I think it is Boney Bum. Will see what our dear vet says.

Oh where do I start with such a long break from writing. Wombats have come and gone, moved, reshuffled, gotten sick, gotten better, more in, more out, you name it, its all happened in the last 2 months. Buzz you would now just not recognise. He is a dear old man it seems, with manners to match and does not resemble the wombat he was months ago when he came in.

Mr Bean, his back has still not healed over, its taking a long long time. Boney Bum continues to wreak havoc with jumping into enclosure areas at night and trying to assert his male dominance, and winning of course. Miss G has broken through the enclosure fence for the third time and has gone walk about. I'm hoping she shows up very soon. Veg continues to come and go in her own funny way. Daphne visits each night and has a huge belly with her little wombat joey who is now sticking out her head so you can see her eyes and nose. Sometimes she is asleep when Daph arrives and all you see are little legs sticking out, just gorgeous and I'm certainly very fortunate to be able to watch this little one grow up. I've seen wombats in pouches before but never this close or every night where we are able to photograph and study.

With wombats, there is ALWAYS a reason

Ah, makes perfect sense now. Veg has been coming out very early to eat. This meant that something was wrong. We have just gone out and given her an injection and cleaned out her nose. She is bleeding from her nostrils tonight and her chest sounds horrific. She has pneumonia. This is quite common in wombats and if not treated will kill them. So she begins her treatment. Thankfully she is one female which we can still catch. She has come back for help, as they do. So you see, another 'quiet night' - not! Now off to syringe feel Mr Bean who is still not eating or drinking. Thankfully Buzz appears to be thriving and Harry appears to be responding well to treatment for his wounds although his back still has a very prominent arch which indicates pain. Back to it.

Thank you Wayne of Rockla, Tennant Street Fyshwick

Well, I got the most wonderful call this morning. From Wayne of Rockla. He heard what I had to say on the radio and has offered us some pipes, either plastic or concrete. Wayne may have no idea of how much this means to us or how it will help us with the wombats, in particular the injured ones but it will make a HUGE difference to get some help. Maybe its pride or wanting to remain 'quiet' that I don't ask for help but sometimes, when mother nature intervenes, there is only so much two hands can do *lol*. We'll see him on Wednesday but for now, thank you so so much Wayne of Rockla, you have made our day here:).

Where did the weekend go?

The weekends just get absorbed, faster than weekdays I reckon. We have had to start syringe feeding Mr Bean. His wounds are doing better but clearly there is damage to his system and we are not sure whether it includes his spine. One thing with wombats, if they cannot attack head on, they attack the arch of a wombats back from behind (this is because the other wombat is in a submissive position and cannot get away). The damage sometimes penetrates right through the skin and muscle, down to the bone, depending on the severity of the attack. The last male we brought in who had been attacked, you could see how his back was arched even before you got close, which indicated something severely wrong and pain.

Anyhow, we will do what we can as always. And it is 5:58pm and Veg has just turned up to eat from the feeding station!! What the?? She is about 3 hours too early. She must be sleeping under the house again. That is good in a way as she has a touch of pneumonia and we have to inject her so we can do that now, back later.

Mr Bean

As you can see from this wombats back, he has been severely attacked by another male. I might have to start hand feeding him again if he doesn't pick up in his eating habits. He is currently on medication and his wounds are looking a LOT better believe it or not. But I believe this is what the flooding has caused. Lack of burrows due to them collapsing and therefore fighting for territory - increased fighting amongst the males in particular for some reason.

Clean up almost done

Yesterday I slept practically the entire day. I had no energy whatsoever. I presume it is from the last 9 days. We have almost finished things around the house. The enclosures are another story but I have contacted one of our local radio stations for assistance and they are going to come out on Wednesday and see if they can help. We would never normally ask for any help with our volunteer work but under these circumstances, there is only so much you can do.

To add to everybody's frustration with the flood damage, our local council in all their wisdom have apparently been 'watching' the main dirt road deteriorate over a section of the main creek. This has now begun to collapse in a major way, it started last week and by Friday it was not good at all. Council then closed the road Friday morning. What does this now mean - a 35-40km detour to get to the village alone, let alone Canberra or anywhere else. And ironically we received our rates notice in the same week as well, I won't even bother to comment here. I'll comment to council directly instead but yes, that now adds to all the others costs, etc. BUT at least it hasn't rained for 3 days now which has given us time to certainly get things fixed.

Wombat wise, well the burrows are either collapsed or flooded. Doing major work there. The lack of burrows has led one of our males to become incredibly aggressive, due to territory and he has certainly put on of our males in a very bad way. Harry is doing okay though. We got him before the flies did thankfully and he is eating. He is also on medication and resting. We have him in a pipe and have covered the entrances to keep the flies out during the day. Mr Bean is also doing much better. His wounds aren't smelling as much and he is responding well to medication. He has also started to eat again thankfully. Just no more to come in, that would truly push the limits here. Thankfully all the females around appear to be just fine, albeit wet and muddy. It still amazes me as to where they in fact go when this happens. Logs I would imagine.

So now I am just sitting crying. We have had another wombat come in, one of our males Harry. He is a walking skeleton, been attacked but thank god we have him back now. He has had nowhere to go and thankfully has come back to the enclosure area when he heard us working this afternoon but truly, I just feel like we cannot take anymore with this rain. It is just exhausting now. Still cannot get out and its just gotten to me completely. All the cars are banked up from the other properties as they cannot get across the river to their homes.

It will pass, as will my crying but for now, I just feel can we have a break please!!! On top of that, huge financial worries as of course my darling partner has not been able to work in this weather. I know there are plenty of other people in worse situations but this is just going on and on. We are both just shattered and about to be hit yet again by more storms and rain. It all just feels too much right now.

Not impressed with mother nature!

Okay, now I'm just not impressed at all. How much rain does she expect us to cope with! The weather is now causing havoc with the animals, as for the damage it is causing, well, that goes unsaid. Young daughter has cabin fever along with parents, 2 GS puppies - we are all OVER THIS. Took some days off to clean up and fix up things, what a joke as I cannot get outside to do a thing. Yes, a tad grumpy by this stage.

Sun Sun glorious sun

It finally stopped raining at 5:35pm last night! 260mls over 5 days non stop virtually. Yuck. But today the sun was out, what a contrast and it didn't matter about the mud or cleaning up, it was just so so good to see the sun and be able to get outside. We can even see the causeway again:).

Not looking good...

Oh this is not good at all. The water has risen over the causeway 1 metre in about 6min and it is still rising......

And still raining....

We had a short break yesterday and worked like dogs to get things fixed before the next deluge. I now know the meaning of being physically tired. Floods are exhausting to say the least. The wombat attacked is still with us although his wounds are very severe on the back so like Buzz, time will tell but he is at least safe now and dry and warm. Buzz has recovered so well and is doing better every day now. Hard to believe how he came in a few months ago. We have had 215mls so far and counting as it has been raining solid now again for a few hours and that has once again blocked us in completely. If the current rain keeps up, well.........who knows. Certainly won't be going anywhere. You cannot even drive around and see the damage on the property. Next week will be a long week, that is for sure once the rain has stopped. So for now, will continue to make plans to build an ark!!!

Can the sun shine please?

Well, we made it through the last 24 hours with a total of 205mls falling in the last 3 days. And it is still raining now. Wombat wise, well that is just a joke. The enclosures are a bog, burrows flooded, etc. Everybody has a dry pipe to go into and bedding but of course, that is not the same for these creatures. And to top things off, another male badly attacked in this evening so have been cleaning out his wounds. Not sure about him but will have to see how he goes. I am not sure how bad the infection is in his back. Once all the nasties are out and he has rested, I will have a better look but for now the wounds are cleaner and medicated and he is resting. There are those days when you think 'no more please' and it just happens that way. We are all starting to get cabin fever and snapping at each other but that is going to happen I guess when you simply cannot be outside or drive somewhere. Hopefully the waters will subside by tomorrow if there is no heavy rainfall overnight as if they do, I am going to get into my vehicle and get OUT!

Can't sleep

2.10am and cannot sleep. Don't want to go outside either, scared to go and see what is happening with the water levels. Funny how with something like that I prefer not to know. I'll know in a few hours when daylight is here, that is for sure. For now I'm just listening to the rain hammering down.

Waters are rising

So now it is just a waiting game. We have done all we can. We are just watching the dams and creek rise and rise. We managed to get Veg last night and have moved her to a safe place for the next few days. I don't want to lose any wombats if we can help it to drowning. We had a female we released a while ago turn up last night, this tends to happen when they are flooded out of their burrows. It still amazes me as to where they in fact go. Keeping puppies entertained along with Madam J in a house is not much fun I might add. It makes one want to go and play in the rain just to get away *lol*. Madam J loves water so the rain doesn't bother her at all. She was on the deck earlier with the dogs, screaming and shouting away as she does at their antics. Thankfully she doesn't get as muddy:). I'm thinking a good team exercise for my work collegues will be sandbagging for the next warning - must make mental note to speak to boss:).

oh boy, floods mean trouble

So the weather forecast is NOT looking good for us. Last time we had flooding, we lost numerous wombats to drowning, we lost our causeway partially which meant no access - it was just a nightmare. And it has been forecast again. We have been doing what we can in the last 24 hours to safeguard the animals we have in care and of course will help them in any way we can but it doesn't sound like fun for the next 72 hours to say the least. Last time we only managed to save 2 wombats from drowning but at least it was 2 that got to survive. Mother nature is not something that you can argue with when she unleashes, that is for sure. I do hope what the forecasts are do not actually eventuate. Here is hoping.....

Unbelievable

And just when I thought I had seen most of what can occur while doing wombats - I have just discovered, at 4:30pm that Boney Bum is in fact IN the enclosure and burrow with Mr Bean. Mr Bean needs to be moved tonight or asap so that is what we are off to do. Just as the rain starts to fall, lovely!

Veg is back.....and in the studio

I still cannot figure her behaviour out but that is one of the beauties being able to raise and release and monitor these gorgeous creatures. Veg is currently in the studio again, where she grew up as a baby after being found, attacked and half dead. They have got to remember certain things. She doesn't want a bar of us which is of course how she is raised and rehabilitated but her tolerance of us around her is bizarre to say the least. And when wombats behave like this, it should always get you thinking - WHY? This is what we have got to figure out.

Whoooohooo, tomatoes finally

Well, finally we have tomatoes. Almost the end of February. Unbelievable. Wonder if its going to be a really cold winter or a mild one, who would know. I also wonder whether the weather man reads off a cereal packet or actual predictions. The prediction yesterday was 1-3mls - we got in excess of 30mls! Boggy Burrows it is now, mud bats for wombats and very little activity last night as a result. When I was up at 4am taking Indy for a piddle, it was dead quiet outside. Will see what happens tonight.

Hmmmm

Well, I had an interesting morning between the hours of 2-4am. Around 2am I got woken up with banging from Bean's enclosure. Now, I didn't open up his gate for last night into the extension. I open it up for a few hours, then close it due to Boney Bum visiting and harassing him late at night. BUT, last night was different. At 10pm I closed up for Bean, who hadn't even gotten up yet. He was awake as I checked on him in his burrow. All was good, so went off to bed.
2am, heard banging and screaming. I figured that Boney Bum had jumped into the extension and was 'talking' to Bean through the fencing. How wrong was I. I eventually got up to have a look at BB had somehow managed to open the door to Bean's enclosure and was chasing Bean all over. Bean was exhausted. Got him back in which wasn't hard, then got BB out who promptly lay down in the wet grass and rested. Still not a sound from him which is just bizarre.

So sorted that out and went back to bed. 4am, Madam J woke up, required a bottle. Then of course Indy required a piddle. Upon coming back up the stairs, there was Veg, demanding more food. Quite bizarre. Got Indy inside, then went back out to the studio to get Veg some food. She followed me into the studio, she has never done that before. Then I couldn't get her out of the studio!! Eventually I coaxed her out with some food in a bucket. Its funny but when the weather is really bad, sometimes they just like to know you are 'around'. We don't have anything to do with them but they in turn left us know they are around while the weather is unsatisfactory. So eventually got back to bed after 5am. And this morning when I went back out, I could see that Veg had tried to go back into the studio after I'd closed it up by her muddy paw prints on the door. Will see what she is like this morning as sometimes this is also an indication that they are not well. So might have to check her over. Wonder what storms we will get tonight, those have been awesome over the last few days. Took our phone out on Friday night but thankfully that was all. Glad in a way we don't have solar panels as otherwise those would have been fried!

Comment

Can I just make the comment that negative people truly do my head in. Is it really so hard to be on the planet and do positive things for yourself or others? There is so much negativity in the world alone, I think some people just find an excuse regardless of the situation because they just like making excuses to do nothing about any situation. What a waste of time spent on being unhappy but hey, you can either go with them or above them, I'll take the latter thank you:).

Plumbing still there and functioning

Well, I am surprised that I didn't find all the plumbing under the house rearranged this morning or a 20,000 gallon tank busy emptying itself around the house. I have no idea what Veg gets up to but at 4am, all hell broke loose under the house. I got up eventually to go and see what she was doing as you can hear her scratching her bum on the pipes but what else she does, who knows. It sounded like two hippos trying to defy osmosis and get into a space for one, truly. I went outside, shone the torch under the house, only to be looked at with an expression of 'what?' After that she seemed to settle down wherever it is she settles for the night. Who needs an alarm clock here but 4am, that is pushing it a bit. Then of course, Madam J woke up so bottle for her, then Indy wanted to go out for piddles being a puppy so eventually 5am it was back to bed. Love this lot, I truly do:)

Lesson learnt

Ha, lesson for Indy this evening. Never squat to pee on a bull ants nest - you will not finish comfortably *lol*!!!!!

Harry senior has left the building

Well, tonight should be interesting. Not only do we have Boney Bum, a male jumping into the enclosure area to visit another male and I mean just 'visit', no fighting - we now have Harry senior who decided to leave the main enclosure area this morning and go and start his life in the bush. I am unsure if he is still under the house at present but will see what happens on dusk tonight. Harry is clearly ready to go out into the bush but he has done this before, maybe this time he will find his own burrow and stay out. Veg is under the house too so this will ensure a lot of screaming later I've no doubt. And lots of rain forecast - Harry has picked his time although he is not afraid of getting wet or muddy so he is not a fair weather wombat. You can rescue and rehabilitate wombats for eternity and I reckon never be able to learn enough or to stop learning about these creatures.

Indy is going to turn out well. She barked at 4am this morning. Went to have a look and there was a young fox at the feed station in the shadows. Nothing passes her, just like Bella. Fox didn't last long needless to say which is good. She has settled in very well with Bella and adores Madam J. I think I have reached my limit though - although somebody remind me that I said that 3 months down the line *lol*. Our new recruit Winnie is also going very well. Didn't bother her that her flooded burrow has turned to mush. She was hardly recognisable yesterday morning but appeared quite happy. You can hear the mud balls clink clink as she ran:). 

Always expect the unexpected

I've just had a week off to sort heaps of stuff out and not sure where it has gone. I need at least a month I reckon. Now last night was a bit bizarre. Apparently we have a wombat that jumps BACK into the enclosure area. Never ever had this before. Normally if they jump out and can work this out for themselves, they by this stage deserve their freedom. But to have one jump in??? We have moved Mr Bean down to the new enclosure area. Apparently meeting him on the outside of the fence was not enough for Boney Bum. Around 2am this morning, Phil got woken up by a wombat continually screaming and discovered Boney Bum having a meet and greet with Bean IN the enclosure. When Phil arrived, Boney Bum simply walked out and left over the fence. Like I said, never had this before.

There is always somebody worse off than you

Last night after a hectic day, dug two wombats out to move them, friends dog bitten multiple times by snake, we don't know whether tiger or brown, the other dog major blood infection, not sure if it will live, business has gone mad - when do I sleep? But as above, when you think things are bad for you or tough, there is always something or someone that comes along that needs help or a helping hand to get you out of that state and realise how damn luck you actually are and that all the 'worries' can be dealt with. Life is good to me that way, its always a friend or animal that brings me out of that place in life. Off to vet, then back to do wombats, then up to Ns to see how she is doing and how her dogs are. Hope it is good news for her. Hold thumbs....

???

Why can't everybody be so happy with a chew bone huh? Wow, life would be so much easier. Have an issue, here, chew on this, have a think about it for a while *lol*. But this little addition is making me move, that is for sure. But she is settling in well. She obviously didn't get any attention or love where she was so is craving that. Bella, well she appears to be happy one minute but when her tennis ball is taken by Indy, she becomes downright disgusted. Mental note to buy more tennis balls. Speaking of tennis, cannot believe the Australian open ends tomorrow. Last nights match was just incredible. Right, wombats, puppies, more wombats while Madam J sleeps. Then to watch tennis:).

New addition arriving shortly

Not feeling great. Went to get antibiotics today and spending over an hour on dirt roads when you need the toilet is not my idea of fun!!! Heaven knows what went on under the house last night as all hell broke out at about 2am. Yes, was up, watching Daphne eat. Shocking sleep night. Darling daughter only went to sleep around midnight. Wait, payback will happen when she is older:). New addition arriving on Thursday. Another German Shepherd puppy. Just beautiful she is. She is not in a good home, needs to be moved asap. Thankfully a friend picked her up today and we collect her half way on Thursday. Indi is her name. Will see if it suits her when she arrives. Just because life isn't busy enough here but hey, Bella will be happy I think. She is now 14 months and will have a 3 month old puppy with her. Off to feed wombats. Also have to move some wombats on the weekend, must organise that.

Movement under the house....

Hmmm, it appears that a wombat has moved in under the house. And it is Veg, very strange. She has more than one burrow but there will be a reason as to why she is under the house. She is there sleeping now so will see what time she wakes up and have a look at her.

Weekend gone again....

Why do weekends go so quickly and Mondays are so long? Did spraying today, brush cutting, house work, wombats, daughter inbetween each of those and managed to have a nap so that I can watch the tennis tonight, quite happy with that. Also got a beautiful contribution today, a gorgeous framed photograph which has been enlarged of darling Molly from K and J. Thank you so much guys. It will be treasured, you know that.

Have just finished enclosures and walking Silo, now about to go and do Buzz's ear. It seems like something has burst, not sure what yet, about to go and have a good look and clean it out. His body is still fighting infection so have to help him all we can. He is still eating well which is great but his balance has been off and this might be the cause hopefully. Should have been a vet mom:). 

Faithful four legged friend

If you ever want the most incredible dog in the world, get a german shepherd. Bella is turning into the most amazing dog. She now even prompts my moves each day. She knows what I'm going to do and knows my schedule. She is about 15 months old now and just wonderful. Full of love and has the most amazing temperament. If ever you want a good all round dog, contact her breeders at Monsimbee and Karen is the lady to speak to. I am so tempted to get another one but for now I reckon I have enough on my plate ha ha ha. Sat and watched Daphne around midnight last night. Couldn't sleep again. She was wet from the rain but not bothered by it, quite relaxed. The storms passed after dark yesterday. They are building up now again.

Miss G is forgetting where her enclosure is at night and has spent today in Mia's one with Mia. We will have to move her later on back into hers. Miss G escaped one night and came back 2 days later screaming and with heat exhaustion. She doesn't have the brain capacity to find a burrow it seems. She is a 'slow' wombat and sometimes it looks like nobody is home in her eyes. But Miss G is Miss G and does her own thing. Just have to teach her to find her own enclosure at night somehow.  She has her daily routine and if you introduce anything new it has to be very very slowly for her to put it into her schedule, then she can adjust. Buzz, I'm not sure what is happening with him. Something tells me in my gut that he is a very old wombat somehow. He is still progressing slowly but has lost a lot of weight, as they do when they are sick. Wombats can drop weight very quickly. His wounds are healing well still but they are still a long way off healing completely. Some of the wounds from the attack were right into the muscle with some muscles in his shoulder torn. I am feeding him at night to ensure he gets extra nutrition but he is still eating a lot of grass and drinking water on his own which is good. It will be a slow process for him to recover which will take his body time to heal.

Storms galore

Wow, we are just surrounded by the most incredible storms this evening. None have hit us so to speak but all around us, the most amazing lightning shows and thunder that is rattling the windows. And harvested our first crop of home grown carrots this afternoon. Most are fantastic, however there are the odd few that were planted too close and you just have a knot of carrots, almost like a carrot ball of 5 or so grown around each other. Doesn't matter, they will taste just as good. Still waiting for the tomatoes. Amazing how we have had none yet. Hmmm, all the kangaroos have moved into the valley in the last 10min, that must mean we are about to get hit by one of the storms. Going outside to have a look from the verandah and watch mother natures show further.

And then to watch the Australian Open tennis, just absolutely loving it, bring it on:). Nadal plays tonight, excellent. 

More mayhem!

Apologies, apparently I have forgotten how to spell tomatoes. So, last night was again a very interesting one while we all slept. Apparently Veg doesn't like the fact there are other female wombats around and decided to make a very good attempt to dig to get to the other two juvenile wombats. She almost succeed. So, this morning started with more digging, modifications, etc. Did you know a wombat can go through a chicken wire fence no problem? They chew their way through it. So yes, fence fixing as well was included. Who knows what tonight will entail! But its not quite how you envisage starting your day with a BANG like that. Life is busy enough here:).

Tomatoes not growing

It has been such a mild summer here so far that the tomatoes have not even grown yet! I need my tomatoes, home grown are so much better than bought ones in the shop. We even had a fire going last week and they say it is summer in Australia - might have to rethink that one and makes me wonder what Winter is going to be like this year. We also need some more rain, things have dried out oh so much. Australia is one country where the weather is always changing. You can really have all four seasons in one week.

Mayhem in the night hours

So Miss G decided to get out of her enclosure last night, with Soldier out as well. I can only imagine. Then we had Boney Bum and Vegemite having contact through the new enclosure fencing at Dawn and Willow. Just to watch this behaviour is interesting as wombats are highly territorial. Phil encountered Veg after midnight, said she was very cranky as she would be. We expect this behaviour. Buzz is still with us, eating each day, very slow in his movements  but his wounds are improving a lot so we are hopeful with him. Then big Daph also had an altercation with Veg at the feed station and Daphne eventually left, normally it is Veg. Maybe Veg is starting to assert herself as a dominant female, who knows. Had another younger wombat around but who is very skittish so you only get a glimpse of her bum as she is bolting off at a 100 miles an hour. Will go down to the creek later and see what activity there has been.

Molly Bats last day

It is with great sadness that I have found out that one of the dearest wombats I have ever met, who went to live out her short life with two of the kindest people I know, has passed away quietly. We believe she had a stroke. Molly was a wombat who was 'different' from the day she came into care and we recognised this. She was never able to be released but taught us so much in terms of behaviour and to look harder at each individual wombat when they come into care. Sometimes they come into care for a reason more than being orphaned. This little girl brought a smile to our faces and gave the best wombat cuddles to be had when she was little. Rest in peace dear Molly bat, you will be missed by all.

Wombat update

Well, Buzz is still going and doing well. Eating like a champion and hopefully he will begin to put on some weight and condition again. It will of course depend on his age. It is very difficult to age a wombat. Our pregnant female Daphne is visiting the feed station each night so we are able to watch her tummy grow. She has become very protective and where she would normally tolerate one of the other females around, now she screams like a banshee at them. A female wombat is very protective of their young and not a mother you would want to cross on a bad day I would imagine. One of our males is almost ready to be released. We are just monitoring his night time activities for a while longer. The summer here has not been the normal harsh Australian summer so it is cool enough to release. I went for a drive on the ride on yesterday checking out burrow activity along the creek. There have been some wonderful modifications made with the wet weather. But also saw all the thistles which will need to be sprayed arrrrrggggghhhhhhh!!! Work on a property never ends, that is the absolute beauty of it:).

On leave for 2 days...

Wow, I have 2 days leave from work. Do I go and mow, brushcut, read my book, potter in the garden, go into town and get things done or just sit? Cannot make up my mind. That is half my problem, I cannot sit still most of the time. I very rarely have a problem sleeping which is a good thing - wonder why huh? 

Buzz is doing brilliantly. His wounds are looking much better, he is eating but interestingly enough its always during the day and he sleeps at night - total opposite to what a wombat normally does. This is because when a wombat is injured or sick, they tend to come out during the day to feed. This prevents them from being attacked further at night when the other wombats are out. What I have found interesting is that he is continuing this natural instinct, even though he is in care currently and is safe. It just shows you how strong their instinct to survive is.

We also finished an extension to one of the enclosures and it is probably the best one we have now. It enables the younger wombats in rehab to come out and explore within the safe boundaries of the fence (modified of course for wombats) and at the same time, they get interaction with the wild wombats who come up at night to sniff and see who is about. I believe this teaches the younger ones in rehabilitation about what sounds to listen for as potential threats, they get an idea of what a wild wombat smells like, the noises it will make before trying to attack, etc. So far our release success rate has been I would say about 95% and this is a very important element for wombats in care to learn about. Rocks, have to get more rocks this afternoon, have made mental note of that:).

A good news day yesterday

Yay, one of my customers has lost 2kg since starting on one of the weight loss programs on 2 Jan and is feeling heaps more energetic. Buzz has also 'turned a corner' and has started to eat so well on his own, drink water, and is looking better in his eyes:). Good day.

Photos of Buzz in the Wombat Information page

I have put up some photos to show the extent of Buzz's injuries. I will be working on this to try and educate people about wombat attacks on their own species. He is not as strong this morning. It will break my heart to lose another one to a wombat attack but when a wombat gives up, it defies you and nature to save it. I hope he has not gotten to this point. Back to syringe feeding him every few hours. If only I could share the strength of these animals with people, then it would give people a slight idea of just how strong they are and what they endure to get to this point. No human would even come close. Back later.

Back finally...

After being flattened by a bug for almost a week, I am finally starting to feel normal again, whatever normal is for me:). For those following on Buzz's condition, he is I believe starting to improve. His wounds, although very severe are starting to heal very slowly, he is eating copious amounts of grass each night now on his own and drinking water on his own. I have also managed to figure out how to start the wombat information page so this is where I will put information on these amazing creatures and what they have taught me.

For now though, it will be catching up on life for me. Its amazing with today's techno world how much things build up. Emails, work emails, facebook, blah blah. Heavens, surely life was easier in my Grandmother's days:). No wonder she never wanted me to teach her about the internet and email *lol*. You were clever there Gran. 

Oh so so hot.....

Stinking hot here today. Another day to veg in Js pool from her Gran:). Buzz is still going and I managed to get lots of fluid into him yesterday. As a result, he drank on his own last night - improvement so holding thumbs for him.

Happy New Year, may 2012 be the year for you to thrive;)

Have named the new male wombat Buzz. Why - because of all the flies buzzing around him when he was found. I am not sure that he is going to pull through but I am trying my best. These animals are so so unbelievably strong and when you see one trying to hold on, you cannot imagine the strength it must take them. No human being would be able to cope with what they cope with. Maybe that is where my admiration for the species comes from, I don't know. Still no sign of Barney either. I see some of the females every night but not Barney sadly. Hopefully he will show his furry face soon. I do worry when I have not seen recently released ones for a while, although they do come back to the house if they need help - so damn clever they are.

Well, Madam J and I spent most of the day in or under water *lol* after having a sleep in. The little human alarm only woke up at 8:35am - completely unheard of!!! Although she did have me up at 4am. Once she went back to sleep, I went and swopped wombats, knowing it was going to be a very hot day, had some milo and then went back to bed, expecting to be woken up in the next hour:).

It was a stinker out here and will be again tomorrow. It reached 34 degrees in the shade this afternoon. So we both paddled away in her pool on the verandah, was just great. She is now sound asleep after her day. We also went into town, got some things, and I did a heap of mowing this evening once it had cooled down a bit. I'm getting the creek area back, it is fantastic and the grass that is now coming through is wonderful to see. Its hard work now but once its done, it will just be a matter of maintaining the area.  Going to go and think about dinner....