Wilfred is again calling for volunteers to attend a Working Bee at the Rainforest Walking Track on Saturday 4th February at 2 pm. The work started in January will continue to repair and upgrade various sections of the track. Steps and drains will be the main works to be undertaken this Saturday.
Volunteers should bring a wheelbarrow and shovel if they have them, but the main requirement is enthusiasm and lots of energy. Please meet at the Community Hall at 2 pm. Refreshments will be provided after the working bee. If you can spare an hour or two, please come along to help out in undertaking this important work to maintain our village walking tracks.
The Paluma Community Hall was bathed in red on Saturday night for the Lunar New Year with a large crowd gathering to mark the event. Where else but Paluma could you spend your Saturday evening commemorating Chinese New Year, Water Rabbits, four birthdays and a Scottish poet. But celebrate we did!
There was a banquet of the most amazing food, many Chinese inspired dishes plus an array of other sumptuous treats. My vote for the dish of the night was Tony and Julie’s contribution of roast pork – cooked to perfection and a very generous contribution to the community dinner. Many were heard to comment that the pork crackling was the ‘best they have ever tasted’. Quite a few people tried to ply Tony for his secret in creating the perfect pork crackling, but I don’t think anyone was successful in extracting the secret recipe.
January is filled with Paluma birthdays and so we celebrated with black forest cake and other desserts. Don’s birthday was yesterday (Sunday) and Colwyn’s birthday was last week. Whilst Colwyn couldn’t join us on Saturday night she is ever-present in our thoughts. Mark and Leonie celebrate their birthday mid week – on the same day. A rowdy chorus of ‘Happy Birthday’ echoed from the Hall.
Speaking of singing, Leslie paid tribute to Scottish poet Robert Burns with a rendition of his own favourite Burns poem in song. He belted out a tune, helped along the way by Beth. Burns Night is this Wednesday evening, so a good excuse for a wee dram.
Lynda took over the duty of bar person for the event and ran everything like clockwork. Leslie was able to relax for a change and enjoy his dinner and conversation. Many thanks to Les for all his years of dedicated service as resident Barman at PDCA Socials, a role he has reluctantly decided to pass on to others due to his hearing difficulty. Lynn provided information on ‘Year of the Water Rabbit’ and it turned out there were a few ‘bunnies’ amongst the crowd. No one got rich on the Lucky Scratchies hidden under selected chairs, but that didn’t seem to matter on the night.
Paluma Socials are about fun, laughter, good spirit and community – and this one was no exception.
A reminder to Paluma residents that the first PDCA Social of 2023 will take place this coming Saturday at the Community Hall. Chinese New Year celebrations will kick off at 6.30 pm. Come along to mark the lunar new year and to catch up with your neighbours after what has been a soggy start to January.
The Bar will be open and please bring a dish to share. Red is the lucky colour to wear for Chinese New Year.
Rumour has it that quite a few people are celebrating birthdays at this time of year. Colwyn had a birthday last week, Don has a birthday this week (on Sunday) and Mark and Leonie both celebrate their birthdays next week (on Wednesday). There are no secrets in Paluma….. A little bird told me that there will be cake….!
Keeping with the multi-cultural theme, for those of us of Scottish ancestry it is an important time of the year in celebrating Rabbie Burns Night on 25th January. Without any bias, Rabbie Burns was the greatest poet that ever lived. I mention this just in case some people want to wear tartan in honour of Rabbie Burns birthday.
Whatever you wish to celebrate, come along and join in. It costs nothing to relax and enjoy the company of good friends. And the weather forecast is for sunshine on Saturday! Bring it on.
The first PDCA Social for 2023 will be held at the Paluma Community Hall on Saturday night, 21 January at 6.30 pm when we celebrate Chinese New Year.
Chinese New Year actually falls on Sunday 22 January, but we will celebrate early the night before. 2023 is the ‘Year of the Water Rabbit’, symbolising longevity, peace and prosperity.
Wearing red is considered lucky at this time, so please raid your cupboards for your most resplendent red attire.
Please bring a dish to share – you can embrace the Chinese theme of the night if you wish. The Bar will be open for drinks as usual.
In case you were wondering just what are the personality traits of someone born in the year of the ‘Water Rabbit’, Google says……
They are very precise and like to do everything thoroughly. They also have a wonderful memory. The Water Rabbit tends to be quiet, calm, and sometimes keeps aloof. Water Rabbits have good ideas and are very respected and successful in many aspects of their lives by all their family, friends and colleagues.
The 2022 rainfall figures for Paluma Village and Paluma Dam have kindly been provided by Tracy Cooper. Here are the figures ……
Paluma Village
December Rainfall – 296. 7 mm with 18 rain days
Total Rainfall for 2022 – 2,377.1 mm
Paluma Dam
December Rainfall – 204 mm with 17 rain days
Total Rainfall for 2022 – 1,972 mm
Many thanks to all the summer rainfall readers who have diligently collected the rainfall data EVERY day over December and the holiday period – Tracy Cooper, Rick Roveda and Peter Cooke. Well done – the villagers thank you for your efforts!
Wilfred is again calling for keen volunteers to join him at a Working Bee this coming Saturday 7th January at the Rainforest Walking Track at Paluma Village.
Please meet at the Paluma Community Hall at 2 pm (opposite the Rainforest Walking Track). Please bring your wheelbarrow, shovel, spade, pick, rake, other garden tools and plenty of elbow grease and enthusiasm.
Further repair and refurbishment works is required along the Rainforest Walking Track including the installation of some more steps, drainage works, erosion control and filling-in the washouts.
Wilfred said he might even find some refreshments for the volunteers after the event! If you can spare an hour or two next Saturday afternoon please come along. For any inquiries, please contact Wilfred.
The talk in the village over the past week or so has been about the large rooster lurking about on the Range Road round the area of the saddle. In fact, I don’t think there is anyone travelling the Range Road that hasn’t caught sight of this rather handsome bird who mysteriously appeared along the roadside just prior to Christmas.
Exactly where the rooster has come from is the burning question. My own theory is that some very irresponsible person has dumped the bird because they no longer wanted him. A sad and cruel state of affairs if this is the case.
Word around the village is that quite a few people have attempted to catch the slippery chook without success. I made a valiant attempt myself last Monday at 6.30 am to catch the bird. Armed with some toast and vegemite (my breakfast) and a large blanket I nearly had him. Alas, he was too quick for me and before I could get a good grip on him he escaped my snare, leaving me holding two tail feathers. He crowed heartily from a distance to announce his victory. Roy the Kelpie was very keen to round him up, but I wasn’t sure that process was going to end well. I did make a call-out to several of the local and state authorities during the past week whose response to assist with the welfare of this ‘stray animal’ was extremely under-whelming.
Here’s hoping that one of the ongoing attempts by local residents to catch ‘Road Runner the Rooster’ (as I have named him) are successful. Ultimately, its hoped he can be caught and re-homed in some happy hen house on one of the outer village blocks or a local farm. A much better fate than that which might await him if the local dingoes discover him. He’s a very handsome chap and deserves a much better life than being abandoned by the roadside.
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Graham and Julie invite all Paluma residents to New Years Eve celebrations at the Pope residence on the hill. Everyone is welcome to come along and join in the party.
The event will kick off about 6.30 pm on New Years Eve, Saturday 31 December.
Please bring a plate of food to share and BYO drinks.
This is always a fun event for the Paluma community.
Well, if you have been following Lynda Radbone’s updates from the Thrike-Shrush nest in her fig tree there is some very BIG news to report. It has been a hive of activity at the nest today – Wednesday 14 December. Here’s what happened in the space of a few short hours this morning as photographed and reported by Lynda…….
(1). 7.57 AM. Lynda rechecked the date of birth (hatching) of the chicks. They are 10 days old today. Two of the chicks (the larger ones) have their eyes open. The nest is getting very crowded as the birds grow. Lynda is worried the chicks are going to push each other out of the nest. It’s getting to be a tight squeeze in there. The constant chirping of the chicks is lovely to hear from the verandah. Mum and Dad Shrike-Thrush are run off their feet with the feeding. ‘Chirpy’, ‘Cheep’ and ‘Tweety’ (as named by Lynda) are thriving and the predatory cat birds have stayed away. (2). 8.04 AM. There is some ‘unrest in the nest’ as the wide-eyed growing chicks hustle for space in the nest.(3). 8.12 AM. There is movement out of the nest as the larger chicks start hopping up on the branches of the fig tree.(4). 8.33 AM. A maiden flight by one of the chicks is unsuccessful. Lynda puts the chick back in the nest (for protection from predators). There were several more attempts to fledge with crash landings each time. Lynda keeps watch and puts the chicks back in the nest for safe keeping when predatory birds are around.(5). 10.12 AM. By now the two larger chicks have fully fledged and left the nest. Only one chick remains in the nest, the smaller of the three. This chick appears to be weaker and its eyes are not fully open as yet. Lynda hopes that this chick is not abandoned!(6). 12.00 PM. Some five attempts later, the remaining chick finally gets lift off and leaves the nest. It’s off and away into the nearby forest.
At about 12.15 PM, Lynda realises she’s an ’empty nester’. She hopes that the universe takes care of her wee fledgings and keeps the catbirds and other predators at bay. All is unusually quiet in the fig tree on the verandah.
