Image – Page 9 – Paluma – our village in the mist

The Fast and the Furriest…..

Many dog lovers reside in the little village community of Paluma and it’s not uncommon to see people out and about walking their beloved canine companions in the fresh mountain air. But just lately, there are two very precious pooches who have taken to getting a bit of help when it comes to regular exercise. Let’s face it, some days it’s just hard to get out of bed and go for that vigorous walk, especially when you are well into your senior years.

At the outset of this tale (tail!) I must for the sake of clarity confirm the main characters in the story. The canine characters are Bailey and Flossie. Their well trained and dedicated human companions are Bruno and Colwyn, respectively.

Both Bailey and Flossie are well advanced in dog years. Arthritis, a bit of deafness and a few other ailments have made taking a stroll a bit of a challenge some days. The solution, get your human to invest in a new mode of transportation. Both these pooches now take their walk, or at least part of it, on wheels. They are the fast and the furriest!

Bailey has been seen recently in a bright red, rather flashy four-wheel drive version of a child’s pram. With mag tyres, a pillow and seatbelt, Bailey is ready for action. His pram is red because it goes faster. Strapped in on the top deck of his pram he can reach much greater speeds than he can on foot with his degenerative arthritis. There is a great view from the elevated deck so that Bailey can see everyone coming and going. There are no missed opportunities in getting free pats and loving attention from every passerby. Most importantly, Bailey no longer gets left behind at home when his favourite person in the world (Bruno) goes for a walk.

Bailey off on a walk in his flashy red pram.

Flossie also has a new pram, but hers is the deluxe version as far as canine transportation is concerned. Flossie’s wheels are like a ‘Pooch Porsche’, decorated with motifs and flashy designs. After all, a girl should be able to travel in style. Her pram has ample room for sitting, reclining or snoozing. When she gets tired of the walk (and her mum stopping to chat) she can settle herself down for a dog nap in transit.

Flossie is ‘hot to trot’ in her new wheels.

So, next time you are walking in the village of Paluma and you see someone approaching with a pram, do not assume it will hold a human baby or small child. No, around here the pram is much more likely to contain a ‘fur baby’ and a much coveted, spoilt and beloved pet.

These mobile pooches in prams are a testament to the devotion of both Bruno and Colwyn in caring for their elderly, increasingly fragile and very special best friends and canine companions. It also goes to show that sometimes you can teach an old dog a new trick!

Bruno and Bailey on a walk in the village.

Colwyn and Flossie preparing to take a morning stroll.

Bailey on a walk, catching up with his good pal Miss Molly.

Text & Photos by Michele Bird

A Look at the Boobook……

A couple of weeks ago, we were gifted with the rare treat of boobook owls. Boobooks are Australia’s smallest and most widespread owls, and, as with most owls, are seldom seen. In the Hawk Owl family (genus Ninox), these fledglings appear to be the more commonly distributed subspecies, Ninox boobook ssp boobook, rather than the rainforest subspecies of lurida, which is interesting as it means both subspecies must overlap in range here at Paluma.

We had heard both boobook and lesser sooty owls the previous evening, and saw at least one of the adult parent birds very early, from the bedroom window. The photos were taken from the lounge room window. These fledglings were being guarded by an adult bird, who quickly flew into the forest when spotted, but the fledglings stayed put for most of the morning, giving us a glorious opportunity to watch them watching us!

Owls are apex predators in many environments, and are at risk of consuming or accumulating toxins used to control pest species such as insects and rodents. While in Paluma, commercial spraying of pesticide is not a threat to these birds, the indiscriminate use of rodent poison certainly is. We ask all residents to consider live trapping for control of rodents over use of toxic baits. This provides not only the opportunity to identify the trapped animal, and release in a suitable location if one of our valuable endemic species, but also prevents the inevitable leeching of these toxins into our environment. After all, wouldn’t it be nice to have more owls around so that they can control the rodents instead!

Article & Photos by Sarah Swan

TMR Range Road Update December 2020 – Part 2

TMR Range Road Update December 2020 – Part 1

Paluma Tropical Breeze BBQ

The final Social Event for 2020 is the Paluma Tropical Breeze BBQ to be held on Saturday 12 December at 6.30 pm at the Community Hall.

All are welcome and encouraged to attend. Please bring along:-

Your own choice of meat/protein for the BBQ.
A Plate for sharing – nibbles, salad bowl or dessert.
Dress is Casual Tropical. Please wear your favourite tropical outfit. There will be a free drink for the person who most embraces the Tropical theme.
Your Xmas spirit and good humour is essential.

The Bar will be open as usual with low cost beverages for thirsty people.

Please come along and join your friends and neighbours in marking the start of the Silly Season and the closing of 2020. See you there!

The Hall of Horror !

The inaugural Monsters and Mayhem on the Mountain Social was held on Saturday night (7/11/20) and the event certainly lived up to its name. The Paluma Community Hall was transformed into a Hall of Horror as mummies, zombies, witches and other freaks and extremely creepy people came out of the woodwork to join the pandemonium.

Medusa made an appearance. So did the Grim Reaper, Herman Munster and a duo of Hannibal Lecters. A Pastor arrived, but was way too late to save the ‘souls of the damned’ at Paluma! A couple of Aliens joined the fray, so perhaps those UFO’s did land at Paluma after all?

The best/worst costume was won by ‘Kreepy Klumppy’ (Peter). The runner-up was Peter ‘The Mummy’ Cooke.

Jodie was the winner of the “Whose Sitting on a Big Black Spider Competition”. She was somewhat alarmed to find a large (plastic) arachnid fastened to the underside of her chair. Ironically, Jodie has a morbid fear of spiders (oops!). Her initial alarm and a few palpitations were consoled with her winning prize of a free drink from the bar.

The gathering of weirdos and whackos dined very well on a feast of dishes (none containing human flesh – that we know of!!). The bar did a lively trade with lots of thirsty patrons. Barman Les (Hannibal No. 1) reported good takings for the PDCA.

Sincere thanks to all those who attended the night in support of the PDCA and for embracing the theme of the night with gusto. Community spirit, good humour and good fun were the order of the evening. Special thanks to the band of volunteers who decorated the Hall of Horror on Saturday afternoon and then cleaned up on Sunday. What a great team!

Let the photographs of the night tell the rest of this (freaky) story……!!!!

Text & Photos by Michele (Witchie-Poo) Bird

Report on Paluma Push 2020

The 19^th edition of the Paluma Push was a great success. We had 420 mountain bike riders saddle up for the challenge to ride from Paluma Village to Hidden Valley across 3 distances: 42km, 53km and 70km.

This also included 30 E-bike riders for the 53km course. The E-bike category has doubled in size compared to last year. We are still in the early days when it comes to E-bikes, but it is a rapidly growing option for people to get out and about riding the trails.

This was the first year Outer Limits hosted the Paluma Push after taking the event over from the Rockwheelers. Townsville’s Mountain Bike Club and Outer Limits collaborated and came to an agreement which intends to keep the Push alive, continue the tradition of the event and have it professionally run and organised. We have goals to grow the event and make it, not the biggest, but the best (and most efficiently run) mountain bike race in NQ.

The Rockwheelers have received $4000 from the event, which will go toward the mountain biking community in Townsville and aid the trail maintenance on our local trails.

This year Outer Limits introduced the “Pre Push Dinner”, which was held at the Community Hall in Paluma (The event HQ and start of the race). We had 60 people attend and we hope to grow this dinner for 2021, which will be the 20^th anniversary of the event.

We also added a perpetual trophy “The Hayden Tiley and Peter McLean Trophy”. This is to celebrate the history of the event as the years go by. This year the winners of the 70km competition course were Michael England in the Mens and Anita Narula in the Womens.

This year we learnt a lot about the event, and we have taken many notes for next year. Thank you to the team from Hidden Valley Cabins, Charlie Allen, Len Cook and Jamie Oliver for your assistance in the lead up and during the event and sharing your knowledge with us.

Thank you to Peter Mclean for all the guidance for the event and I hope we can continue the tradition you started 19 years ago.

Thank you to all the RFS and SES volunteers that helped make the event possible. The event has donated over $5000 for their services.

As part of a big thank you to all the volunteers, the Paluma Fire service put on a BBQ with funds from Outer limits for the checkpoint workers and other volunteers along the track and at headquarters. A great eveing was had by all!

*A motley crew indeed – the community volunteers for the Paluma Push*

Thank you to the Furber family to allow us to clear the trails and continue to ride the trails that lead through Hidden Valley Station.

Thank you to the event naming sponsors, Mike Carney Toyota, who has been sponsoring the event for many years. Outer Limits will continue the partnership to help bring professional events into our community. They also sponsored the new “Home of the Paluma Push”- sign, which is installed in Paluma Village.

Thank you to Ausfield Services who assisted us to clear the entire Push course. I am sure those who rode the course would agree that they did a mighty fine job.

Thank you also to Top Brand Cycles, GNM, Markwell Demolition for your support of the event.

2021 will see the 20^th year of the Paluma Push. We have big plans to celebrate this special occasion, one of the ways might see the addition of a 100km course!

Article by Sam Stedman

Photos by Juanita Poletto and Michele Bird

Nesting Time at the Klumpps……

Dorothy and Peter Klumpp have kindly shared some photographs from their back verandah. Just recently the Bower’s Shrikethrush (Colluricincla boweri) has moved in and is nesting, literally on the backdoor step. The chosen nesting place is a hanging basket that once held a pot-plant. Peter says that his ineptitude at gardening has finally paid off. The plant died and the birds took the opportunity to make good use of the macrame plant hanger. Of course, we all know that the Klumpps are great gardeners, but in this case they have graduated from green-thumbs to feathered fingers!

One nesting season I had the Bower’s Shrikethrush build a nest in the plastic peg basket hanging from the (undercover) washing line. Colwyn has had the birds return several seasons to also nest in her peg basket on the back verandah.

The Bower’s Shrikethrush is endemic to upland rainforests in the Wet Tropics region. It has been described as “one of the more common plainer birds in the tropical rainforest”. No one who has heard the call of this bird would describe it as plain. Female and male birds are distinguishable in that the female has an eye ring and eyebrow of pale feathers that is lacking in the male. The Bower’s Shrikethrush feeds on insects and their larvae from the mid-canopy and often on the ground.

We look forward to an update on the nesting at the Klumpps and some photos of the new (feathered) grandchildren??!!

The Bower’s Shrikethrush sitting on eggs. Note the very dead pot plant!

Text by Michele Bird and Photos by Peter & Dorothy Klumpp.

Reminder: Paluma Social Event – Monsters & Mayhem on the Mountain

There is no doubt that Paluma has been a hive of frenetic activity over the past month with the rescheduling of the Paluma Push and the Paluma Dam Good Trail Run into October and early November. With the weather warming up, there has been a lot of sweating in the village of late. Len Cook also fired up the anagama kiln in late October, so things got pretty hot and heavy over on Lennox Crescent. Well, now it’s time to put out the fire, wash the lycra and put the jock-strap back in the drawer.

With the advent of Covid-19 restrictions in March 2020 the only PDCA Paluma Social Event this year has been the St. Patrick’s day celebrations. But, that is about to change……..!

This coming Saturday the 7th November, the PDCA will host its second social event for the year – It’s Monsters and Mayhem on the Mountain!

You are all invited to join your friends and neighbours for a post-Covid catchup and at the same time you can support our PDCA. Come as you are (some of you are already monsters!?!?), or come dressed as your favourite monster, ghoul, witch, demon or wizard. There will be a free drink for the best/worst costume.

As always, please bring a plate of food to share – savoury or sweet. Barman Les (Lurch) will have the bar open to serve you beverages at great prices.

The Monsters will congregate at 6.30 PM at the Community Hall.

Be there or else we will come to get you!!!!!!

Jill Went Up the Hill…..

Paluma’s own Jill Meads joined the hordes of mountain bike riders last Sunday (11/10/20) to undertake the annual Paluma Push from Paluma Village to Hidden Valley.

Jill was joined by good friends Ruth and Cheryl and they tackled the 42 km recreational track. It was Jill’s third time in participating in the Push, with her last race about six years ago.

Jill was happy to report that all three riders finished their race in good spirits and in good health. They plan to do it all again next year in 2021 when the Paluma Push will celebrate its 20th year. Jill would encourage everyone to get out there and give it a go. It’s a lot of fun and the surrounding country is something to see.

Well done Jill, Cheryl and Ruth. Paluma is proud of you!!!!

Jill and friends Ruth and Cheryl at Checkpoint 3 during the Paluma Push.

Time to relax and enjoy a cold drink at the Volunteers BBQ after the Paluma Push.

Text & Photos by Michele Bird