Tarpeena Tales

Nothing happens in Tarpeena but a lot happens close by. Firstly we lost the final game of the dart season by the odd set and that meant we were edged out of the finals on percentage.  That was not a good start to the week.

The fire siren went on Tuesday and that was because a young woman decided to remodel her car on a gum tree down Rust Rd. Luckily as Rust Rd is so bendy she wasn't going fast enough to kill herself or her passenger but wrote off the car and gave herself a headache. I noticed the gouge mark on the tree when I cycled past on my regular bike ride, thankfully no black markers are going to go against that tree.

 In our council area black markers are put on the roadside  to mark  fatal road accidents and red ones for injuries.

Then CRIKEY! got stung by a sting ray and died. I always wondered why sting rays were so named as no one ever seemed to get stung, at least down here, but apparently the Queensland ones are deadlier than the ones down here but even so there have only been three other recorded deaths from sting rays and they all have to be struck in the chest to be fatal as the poison is easily dispersed by heat.

Now CRIKEY!s death got worldwide coverage but closer to home on the same day (Tuesday) another tragedy occurred.

Our next door neighbour Judy Roper went down happily on her weekly shopping trip to town but suffered a stroke ( it is thought) while in the female loo and subsequently died in hospital at aged 56.

This has rocked us, we saw her go and the next time we see her will be at her funeral.

All I seem to be doing lately is attend funerals.

Life is so fragile.

It was a nice sunny day on Wednesday and all I could think of was Judy won't be seeing this!

But Life does go on and while we have it lets make the most of it.

How close was that young lady who hit the tree to  being not here!

What does life depend on? Chance. Methinks so.

On a lighter note I need a dog, I can't keep Perambulating through the Pines without  a companion. I go past Trixie's grave nearly every day and wish she was here and 6 years old again.

Useless thought.

So I must get a dog, spring is nearly here, well it is here but the weather has been shit house lately and to traipse on a walk on a sunny morning with the Kangaroos dashing off with a small dog in harmless pursuit is one of the delights of living in the bush  down here.

We went to the Animal Welfare League but their fees are not within the range of a pensioner!

So I must bide my time.

Spring is here and the magpies are swooping and I get strafed by a couple of aggressive ones on my regular bike route. Now THAT would be an unusual way of dieing... getting bowled over  by a dive bombing magpie and falling off the bike. Wouldn't get as much publicity as getting stung by a stingray though.

I have a technique for avoiding this fate however ,  when they come in I raise my hand and wave at them. This is more likely to make me fall off the bike than getting struck on the helmet by a 1 kg magpie but I like the squawk of fear they give when my flailing hand catches their claws. However it has associated risks as if a B double truck  comes the other way I could contact it's bull bar. Obviously that has not happened yet and my plan is to time the run so that the magpie swoops as the B double approaches and I wave my hand , the driver waves at me and the magpie catches the bull bar. It's a matter of fine timing and hasn't happened yet.

But I  shall have my revenge one year on those pesky Maggies. The one on the Hundred line road is the best ( or worst depending whose viewpoint you take), he sits on the top of the Stobie Pole calculates the trajectory and then swoops with wings clicking and beak clacking after a 100 yards run up. I got him a beauty on Wednesday and the updraft from my flailing hand veered him off course but he missed the oncoming Ute and soared up to the next Stobie pole.

Bastard!

 He will be waiting for me when I go that way tomorrow I know he will.

 I have had a cold so have missed out on the bike riding for a couple of days but I KNOW he will be there..... and if I don't get him his offspring will carry on the tradition .... life goes on.

07.09.06