November 21, 2024

Possum mayhem

We rarely see possums at this property, possibly due to being closer to paddocks and farmland than bush, so it took me a little while to understand the reason behind Badger’s uncharacteristic excitement before getting ready for his morning walk recently. I haven’t dubbed him Mr Mournful for no reason. Unlike all his predecessors his body language and facial expression tends to be inscrutable. We never know what he’s feeling – or perhaps thinking. Happy, sad, contented, enthusiastic? Who would know, and perhaps it’s an indication he still feels a bit insecure. We are after all his third human family and he’s been with us less than a year.

 

Looking up though it was immediately obvious what had got Badger exercised. There was a brush tail possum on the roof of the covered path to his palatial kennel home. Possum didn’t appear to be at all concerned. He/she probably knew full well there wasn't a hope of either dog or human being a threat. Not at 6.30 in the morning anyway.

 

Badger was soon distracted as we left for our walk, and I hoped possum would take the opportunity to head off to properties new while we were away. And that’s what I thought had happened initially, but Badger knew otherwise. He was convinced possum was still about. He continued to whine and to be agitated, and it was only when I finally went outside to see what he was still fussing about that I realised why. Possum hadn’t moved off at all, it had just moved off the roof, and was under the eaves. Not so smart after all, but that's maybe because he/she was obviously a juvenile, and probably terrified. I wonder what happened to mum.

 

Possum was there all day, failing to move on when Badger went for his afternoon walk, so we could only hope it would take its chances later that evening when Badger was sleeping the sleep of the exhausted – since he’d hardly slept at all during the day – and tiptoe off into the night. Thankfully that is what happened. He left a smelly calling card behind though. Maybe it was the possum equivalent of giving us the finger!


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Strange and Marvellous Things

By Anne Layton-Bennett • October 27, 2025
Well done to the north-west Tasmania branch of Fellowship of Australian Writers . Once again their editorial team led by Allan Jamieson have produced an excellent anthology, with the intriguing title – as above – and an undeniably quirky cover. The rather wonderful octopus is just one of the creatures on it, indicating a watery theme until your eyes pick out the morose-looking frog, sporting what appears to be a death-cap toadstool hat, and a moustachioed chap apparently hitching a ride to work on a magpie. They all suggest an intriguing mix of writing to be explored within. I appreciate I’m a little biased in promoting this collection of stories, memoirs, poems, anecdotes and travelogues of far-flung places, since I've got work included, but after my copies arrived in the post last week, and from dipping into the book already, it really does look like another interesting and eclectic read – as FAWNW’s previous anthologies have proved to be. Tasmania is definitely not short of some talented writers, even if all of them don't necessarily have a published book to their name. Neither do I as yet, but with my magnum opus finally completed, and currently being strategically submitted to publishers that are ones most likely to be interested going on their previous publications, my fingers are firmly crossed. For a first-time author I knew this part would be difficult, as well as time-consuming given the lengthy delays before possibly receiving that much anticipated email or phone call - or not if the six- eight- or ten-week deadline is reached with no news at all - but hoping that with Dr Bob Brown on-side and putting in a good word when and where he is able to do so, my submission will be plucked from the pile sent by other hopefuls. Then it will be a case of hoping it will spark enough interest to ask for a publisher asking to see the full manuscript. Strange and Marvellous Things (edited by Allan Jamieson, FAWNW) 2025 is available online or at good bookshops. RRP $25.00

Windy dog walks

By Anne Layton-Bennett • October 12, 2025
Tasmania's wild and windy weather has been more severe than usual this October, making dog walking more of a challenge, and less pleasurable than usual.

Spring cleaning

By Anne Layton-Bennett • October 2, 2025
Spring cleaning our walk-in pantry and having a clear out of stuff while doing so. A task that's been delayed due to having a broken wrist.

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