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Reminder: Chinese New Year Social, Saturday 21 January

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.

A gorgeous fluorescent scorpion at the Cooke’s

Paluma after dark is a riot of colour if you go rambling with a black light (UV) torch.

Fungi and lichen on a letter box and a clump of palms at the start of Lennox Crescent light up like a coral reef under black light and there’s plenty more to be seen (animal and vegetable) along the walking tracks.

Under the blacklight at #56 this week this scorpion from damp lumber in the front yard lit up brilliantly for the camera of Jay Deagon, Jan Cooke’s niece.

Photo by Jay Deagon.
(Canon EOSR7, with RF100 Macro, lighting from a Lumenshooter UV torch)

Jamie Oliver went online and found two possible species locally — Lychas variatus a species of marbled scorpions or another rainforest scorpion, perhaps Hormurus waigiensis.

Jay’s image seems to be the Lychas, much more gracile than the Hormurus.

Google tells us that all scorpions fluoresce under black light or even under strong natural moonlight. and no one is quite sure why.

“The blue-green glow comes from a substance found in the hyaline layer, a very thin but super tough coating in a part of the scorpion’s exoskeleton called the cuticle.

“Scientists have noticed that, right after a scorpion molts, or sheds its shell, it doesn’t glow until the new cuticle hardens. …

“Whatever its source, the glowing property is surprisingly long-lasting. When scorpions are preserved in alcohol, the liquid itself sometimes glows under UV light. And the hyaline layer is amazingly durable: It can survive millions of years … even fossilized hyaline fluoresces.

“Still, scientists don’t know what purpose the fluorescence serves. Some theories:

  • It protects scorpions from sunlight
  • It helps them find each other
  • It might confuse their prey

Text by Peter Cooke, photo by Jay Deagon

Chinese New Year Social, Saturday 21 January

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.

2022 Rainfall Figures for Paluma

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!

Mauve Magic Redux

Last year, Michele published an article on a spectacular bluish purple mushroom popping up on the village green.

Earlier this week I noticed that the same purple mushroom was now growing as a fairy ring over 5m in diameter out in the open area of the village green. A semi-circle of large light mauve mushrooms was quite a sight.

After a misidentification by me last year, the correct name Lepista sublilacina was provided by Barry and Jenn Muir from Cairns. It has been called the Australian Blewit. A closely related species (or possibly the same species as) is the Lilac Blewit (L. sordida) which is a common edible northern hemisphere species that is known to form fairy rings. Both species are recognised by the Atlas of Living Australia and have been recorded in Queensland but the characters used to distinguish the two species are not readily available from a web search. They are commonly found on lawns and gardens.

There are at least two websites in Australia that suggest the Lepistra sublilacina/sordida is edible but my recommendation would be not to try to eat them until you have conducted your own investigation on this.

This species is just one of many that have been popping up all around Paluma. I will dedicate a separate post to these in the near future.

Text and Photos by Jamie Oliver

Working Bee a Great Success!

Yesterday’s working bee to refurbish the steps at the far end of the “Rainforest Walk” attracted a great turnout. There was a total of 10 people, 3 wheelbarrows, a generator and a cement mixer all working solidly for a couple of hours to fill in the new step frames and drainage channels that Wilfred and Colin had previously set up. The final result looked very impressive. Even the existing wooden bridges and platforms along the track got a major cleanup. We finished the effort back at the Community Centre congratulating ourselves with some well-earned drinks.

It was agreed that we should aim for a regular working bee on the first Saturday of every month to carry out various maintenance and improvement projects around the city. Look out for announcements on Paluma.org

Working Bee this Saturday 7 January

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.

Road-Runner Rooster on the Range

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.

Photos by Peter Cooke. Text by Michele Bird.

Paluma Buy, Sell, Swap page on Facebook

For more than a year several people have raised the possiblity of creating a facebook group for Paluma residents to post notices to others about items for sale or even to let people know of an opportunity to share costs for bringing a plumber or electrician up to the village to do some work.

Well Stella Thompson-Wheway has recently taken the initiative to create just such a group. It’s called Paluma Buy, Sell, Swap and Give away and she is inviting all Paluma residents to join up. The link above should take you there, or else just use the search function to find the group (using “Paluma Buy Sell” in the search box should do it).

There’s already one item for give away on the site, and I am sure more posts like it will follow soon.

Many thanks to Stella for setting this up for the Community.

Djindal Bayanyu EcoRetreat opens tomorrow (December 28)

It’s not every day that a new commercial enterprise opens in Paluma, especially one that offers accommodation and meals in a beautiful rainforest setting. Mark and Leonie Crennan have been working tirelessly over the last year to refurbish the old Paluma Dreaming (and Heaven’s Kitchen) café at 1 Loop Road.

The new name, Djindal Bayanyu, was the result of many hours of research and consultation by Leonie, who wanted to acknowledge the original inhabitants of Paluma. The name means Singing Waterfalls in Nywaigi, which is the language group of the traditional owners who thrived for centuries in the abundant rainforest and pristine creeks of our spectacular mountain range.

Djindal Bayanyu will be open from 10:30am to 3pm Thursday – Sunday (and Wednesday this week) for excellent coffee, tea and sweet and savoury treats. Accommodation is also available with ensuite bathroom and kitchenette, or you can access shared facilities.

In addition to the refurbished interiors of the rooms and café, the garden has received a range of new plantings of native and ornamental trees and shrubs and artful landscaping. Their gardening efforts were recently recognised with an award in this year’s Paluma Garden Competition.

Ring or text 0490397650 to book accommodation or check cafe opening times.

Email: 7Djindal@gmail.com.