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ardysez

~ surrender to yourself

ardysez

Tag Archives: dingoes

the dingo chronicles…

04 Thursday Jan 2018

Posted by Ardys in Animals, nature

≈ 19 Comments

Tags

dingoes, nature, wild animals

IMG_0694On the second day of new year, January’s Wolf moon had nearly dipped behind the ranges as I stepped out for my early morning walk. I had descendants of the wolf on my mind as I skirted the area I normally walk through, in favour of a, hopefully, safer one. The previous morning my husband and his mates saw five–five dingoes rolling and frolicking in the grass on the 6th Fairway, about 12 minutes’ walk from our house and about a third of the way along my normal route. In the past we have seen two or three at a time, but never five. So, while I was walking I stopped the dog walkers alerting them to the situation. There have been two incidents that I know of a couple of years ago; one with a lady I know who was stalked by three dingoes while she was walking her tiny little mouthful of a dog, and another where the dingoes actually got into a neighbour’s yard and helped themselves to a tiny little canine entrée.

IMG_2005

Wild Dingoes on the fairway in front of our house

Dingoes are gorgeous creatures but they are a nuisance in an urban setting. The area where we live is between the golf course and the bush so it is a difficult place for the Rangers to patrol—very easy for the dogs to slip through to the scrub and go undetected. The dingoes are protected so would only be caught and relocated, which is good, but first they must be caught.

Last year during my time away from blogging, a friend sent me a notice about a writing competition in a nice magazine here in Australia. Just to exercise my writing muscle, I entered. It is intimidating to know where to start when one has such a wide scope for subject matter. I finally settled on a reworked post from this blog since the article was to be something that exhibited Australian life. It was about previous encounters I’ve had with the dingoes –you might like to read the entry here– the dingo and the light chaser. It was not selected for the magazine, but I’m sure they received many pieces and who ever knows what judges are looking for in these things? And it might just be crap, I don’t know. It’s important to keep one’s perspective about why we write so that our fragile egos are not too damaged. As you can see, I’m undaunted.

Just after sending the entry, I was laying on the sofa in the dark one morning, waiting for it to be light enough to walk. (I sometimes wake up at ridiculous hours) Out of the pre-dawn came a chorus I will never forget. The family of dingoes must have been within metres of our house as they began their serenade. It was obvious there were younger, higher pitched voices mixed with the more experienced, deeper ones, practicing their howling skills. It lasted maybe ten or fifteen seconds. I peered into the darkness. Couldn’t see a thing. But they were there.

Again, the day after I began writing this piece, an adult dingo was within metres of our house, sniffing through the fence at the little white yapping morsel next door. If I was cruel I would wish the dingo bon appétit. The entire neighbourhood bristled to life with workmen jumping down from their scaffolds to watch and neighbourhood dogs announcing the dingo’s journey as it moved, unhurried, along its way, into the rocky outcrops and relative safety.

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Chasing the Light

27 Tuesday May 2014

Posted by Ardys in Alice Springs, Animals, Inspiration, photography

≈ 17 Comments

Tags

Alice Springs, dingoes, forensic science, inspiration, nature, photography

One of my surprising small pleasures is watching forensic investigative shows on TV. When they get to the ‘look away now’ parts, I suddenly pursue an urgent task in the kitchen to break the tension. But, until recently I couldn’t figure out my fascination with these types of programs. And then, a story line brought it into focus for me. Aside from the ugliness of the crimes, what they are mostly dealing with is the behaviours of people. I’ve had a life-long fascination of asking why people do the things they do–myself included! The story line that clarified some things for me was one in which a woman tried to murder the man who had murdered her daughter. Gruesome, I know. Bear with me. The forensic team tried and tried to understand who was pursuing him and why the man was a target. When they finally realised at the end, it was the mother, the investigator asked her how could she do what she had done? Her answer– “Because my rage was greater than my fear.” Wow. Not only did I have the answer to the TV program storyline, but very soon, I realised something valuable about my own nature. The very next morning I arose early and saw that the light was a spectacular golden colour, due to some clouds near the horizon. I grabbed my camera and headed toward the best view of the ranges, which was my old walking trail. Before I knew it, I had gone quite a distance, over hill and dale, chasing the light for a good photo.

Golden Sunrise

Alice Springs golden Sunrise on MacDonnell Ranges

Wild Dingoes on the fairway in front of our house

Wild Dingoes on the fairway in front of our house

Last year it was a regular route for my walks, until some wild Dingoes began stalking neighbourhood pets and owners out for a walk, and running in a small pack in the area. I slightly altered my route, in closer to public areas for this reason, and then was dive bombed by a couple of angry crows (no relation to ‘Angry Birds’ for you gamers out there!) who were a bit overzealous in protecting their nest, which I hadn’t seen. It was quite scary, actually. With not much option, I changed my walking route completely, but temporarily, I thought. Until recently, I hadn’t even thought about the fact I had not returned to that path, though I used to love it. Early in the morning when the sun is coming up it is a glorious view of the ranges. The day after the TV program was on, and I had been lured by the sunrise to take photos, something occurred to me when I arrived back home. My desire for the light had overcome my fear of what had once kept me from walking that way. Isn’t it often that way? We are pushed forward by love or light or desire to live more fully, and that desire overcomes our fear or whatever has held us back. And thus I have discovered, I am not so much fearless, as I am a Light Chaser.

Native Cassia flower

Australian Native Cassia flower

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