This is a call out for book donations for a fundraising stall for the Paluma Rural Fire Brigade.
Paluma Rural Fire Brigade will again be hosting a book stall at the Paluma Community Market this weekend (Sunday 2nd October) to raise funds for the Brigade.
If you or your friends, neighbours or family have some well-loved books that could go to a new home, please drop them into 56 Mt Spec Rd or give Peter Cooke a call on 0428 744 874.
Just imagine what you could do with all that emptied space……………perhaps room for some new books??????
Many thanks
Sonya Bryce, Secretary / Treasurer, Paluma Rural Fire Brigade
The next Paluma Community Market is fast approaching this coming Sunday 2nd October and we are again calling for Paluma’s amazing cooks and kitchen goddesses to donate some baked goods to sell for community (PDCA) fund raising.
If you can donate some baked goods for sale that would be greatly appreciated. Charlie has kindly volunteered to run the stall for this market.
Here’s what to do:-
Please divide your baked goods into small batches for sale (we suggest batches of 4 to 6 individual pieces as this worked well at the previous market).
Please plate the goods (in batches) and secure with glad wrap or suitable packaging. (We used paper plates last time and plastic glad wrap and this worked well).
Please add a sticker or other suitable label outlining the contents of your baked goods. You will need to add this label to EVERY individual batch of goods. (This is required for health & safety reasons).
Please add a price sticker to your goods, with what you think is a fair and reasonable price for your baked delights.
Please deliver your goods to the Community Hall on Sunday morning 2 October by 8.30 AM.
If you have any questions or need any further information, please contact Lynn Hyland by phone or email:- leshyland@icloud.com
Please donate some goods if you can and apologies for the very late notice this time. Better late than never they say!
Last Saturday (17th September) the social gatherings at Paluma Village included a morning tea at the Rainforest Inn to celebrate Violet’s birthday, followed by a Community Social at the Hall on Saturday evening. The theme on Saturday night was International Night, with a lot of dinky-di Aussies in attendance. Here’s a few photographs of the events.
It was wet and cold but good weather for frogs and snails
The inclement weather probably accounted for the fact that Juanita and I were on our own last Saturday night and even we decided to take a shortened walk via Lennox Cr to McClelland’s lookout. However, the rain certainly didn’t discourage two groups of nocturnal animals that love moist weather. The robust whistling frog (Austrochaperina robusta) was calling continuously all around Lennox Cr.
This small frog is seldom seen (I have never seen one!) but is one of the most familiar nighttime sounds around Paluma whenever the weather is wet. We got within half a meter of several calling individuals but they were very well hidden. Another common frog around Paluma that is very noisy but highly secretive is the southern ornate nursery frog (Cophixalus ornatus). It too could be heard during the walk but much less frequently and as usual we did not see one (although I did spot one once in my garden last year). Have a listen to the calls below and see if they sound familiar.
Although it was not calling on Saturday night we did spot our resident yellow-thighed tree frog hanging out near our concrete wash-tub pond at home at the end of the walk.
Our resident orange-thighed tree frog (Litoria xanthomera)
The other group of animals that reliably comes out at night, especially when it’s wet, is land snails. Australia has a very rich diversity of endemic land snails ranging from ones with full-sized shells to semi-slugs with a very small vestigial shell that they cannot retreat into and is normally covered by a layer of tissue. We saw two snail species and my best guess is that they were both locally endemic snails named after our village!
Dark Paluma banded snail (Steorra jimfergusoni)
Paluma semi-slug (Fastosarion paluma). Note the orange vestigial shell slightly exposed in the right hand image.
Using UV torches has become de rigueur on our night walks and while we did not come across any of the striking fluorescent blue liverworts that we often see on the H-Track, a couple of trees had strikingly fluorescent lichens. Juanita took several pictures and then returned on Sunday morning to get comparative daytime shots of the same patches. The difference is amazing.
Fluorescent lichen on trees under UV light (left) and during the day (right). Photos by Juanita Poletto
We will have another night walk in around 2 months time and would love some company if you are up in Paluma and feel like a night-time stroll. We always seem to find something interesting!
Text by Jamie Oliver; photos by Jamie Oliver unless indicated
This is a reminder that the next Paluma After Dark walk will be this Saturday, August 27th. We will meet at 6:30pm at Potters Park opposite 27 Lennox Cr. It could be a bit chilly and there is a small chance of rain, so bring a jacket/raincoat as well as a torch. I will have spare UV torches for anyone who is interested in looking for fluorescent liverworts or lichen. Hopefully, we will see some bandicoots and pademelons along the track.
Don’t forget that this Saturday Night 20th August is Back to the 50’s Night at Paluma. Come along to the Community Hall at 6.30 pm for dinner and a catch-up with your friends and neighbours.
Please bring a plate of food to share – hot, cold, sweet or savoury. No-one ever goes hungry at a Paluma social event. The Bar will be open for low-cost beverages.
The weather will be cooooool and so will Back to the 50’s Night at Paluma!
It’s been a while between Community Socials, but on Saturday 20th August Paluma will go back to the 50’s for a night of fun, laughs and dancing at the Community Hall.
Back to the 50’s Night kicks off at 6.30 PM . As always, please bring a plate or dish to share. The Bar will be open and the rock n roll tunes will be playing on the jukebox. You don’t have to dress up, but if you feel inspired by the 50’s then wear your best get-up.
Come along and enjoy a fun night out with your Paluma friends & neighbours.
Our very own ‘Paluma Potter’, Len Cook has taken out yet another prestigious award for his work. Last Friday (22 July 2022) Len was presented with the Betty Jackson Memorial Award at the Perc Tucker Regional Gallery. Some long-time Paluma residents may remember Betty and Graham Jackson who owned a house on Lennox Cresecent. They also owned Loloma Jewellers in Townsville.
The winning artwork is a Flower Container – made from local clay with feldspar inclusions. It is Anagama fired (in Len’s famous kiln). It has a naturally-deposited wood ash glaze produced during the firing.
Congratulations Len on this latest achievement for your hard work.
If you haven’t been to the Gallery at Len Cook Ceramics for a while, drop in and see Len. Why not choose your very own unique masterpiece from an award-winning Potter.
