Our Unmanaged Neighbourhood Dogs

We have an open society......and open houses. Mostly designed for flow through ventilation, breezes and comfort.

It comes at a cost though.........every neighbourhood dog is able to imprint their aural signal right on your brain.

Even this morning, on a leisurely stroll at daybreak with our dog, a fantastic time of day, new occupants of two nearby houses have loud unrestrained aural vandalism ocassioned by their ###### dogs. Dogs respond to inputs by their owners, and keeping quiet is a good option.

I have no problem with dogs barking if you come within a metre or so of the fence, but throwing themselves at the fence in a frenzy is really a bit much. We do have isuses with petty burglary but all the players do is move elsewhere, away from the menace dogs. So dogs can be a deterrent. But it is the ordinary person out for a evening or early morning stroll that cops the idiot dogs.

Oh I forgot..........got it wrong. There are no idiot dogs, only idiot owners!

I can be be a bit smug......have a Rhodesian Ridgeback, a breed not well known to be a barking dog problem. She is however, not beyond giving a deep growl to indicate her displeasure at near intruders, and if she charged, you would be knocked down - smartly.

But if the owners of problem noisy dogs make a small effort to go to Dog Obedience Club classes, most behaviour problems are managed. Too often on a walk you do not even hear the owners admonishing the dog for wild barking behaviour. If a dog barks.......it should be an investigable issue. Unmanaged dog barking is not good for the owners or dog.

In more temperate climates, with more animals inside or behind more significant fences, maybe barking is not as big an issue. But here it is a serious disruptive problem.

Is it Real?

Some say they are out there, others do not, but a tiny roadside inn located about 1000kms south of Darwin seems to be the current darling of the UFO set. And it is for sale, with a likely buyer from Adelaide.

Wycliffe Well Roadhouse has come to prominence or should it be infamy as the UFO capital of Australia. There has been more sightings around the area, than almost anywhere else in Australia. Maye it is the devil grog, what else?

A guy was interviewed on the national radio today, and he went there to work as a non believer in UFOs. YET....he now is giving qualified support to the theory. THEY ARE OUT THERE.....or is it just malarky? He now seems to concur they might be.

Many dismiss the Wycliffe Well theory as a wacky advertising gimmick of self promotion for the place. Cannot say I have ever noted anything odd there. But it sure has put the remote location on the map! See here for more - http://travelaustralia.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=255903

Naturally, there are no photos to go with this blog. Aliens do not exist.

Where it is REALLY cold

The Monsoon Frog has been in the cold country recently. Fingers tooooooooo cold to write even.

Not super cold, but wet and cold - even for Australia. BUT......with the rain comes renewal, and most of temperate Australia needs the rain. A few weeks of wet, cold winter weather - a typical wet winter - is something most residents are quite happy to have. At least for a short time.

Adelaide has been cool and wet, but the Adelaide Hills.......definitely cold and wet. A visit to a large compost manufacturing site south of Adelaide - usually a great place for frogs - was very wet and cold, even a bit miserable with the overcast rainy conditions.

So now back to cool and sunny Darwin. And it is still cool. Toooooooo coooooool, way to cool for pool lap swimming. Need at least 200m to warm up! Our evenings are cool and pleasant; days warm and wonderful - nights all below 20C [ 17 -19C mostly] and 30C in the day, beautiful blue skies. Eat your heart out!!!

And the Darwin Festival starts this weekend too.......looking forward to some great events, including a concert with Gurrumul. Ye ha! If you have not heard his music - a different but eloquent and poignant take on Australia visit www.skinnyfishmusic.com.au or his my space site. Fantastic!