Koala Khaos!!!

Here I am, back after our long weekend away and despite all hopes ... it was COLD in Mundubbera as well! SIGH! The only consolation we really had was that it must have been even colder here in Toowoomba and we were missing it! :0) "How cold was it??" I hear you ask ... Perhaps it can best be summed up by Mum's rather spoilt pooch, Sunny ...

Here he is bundled up in his blankie on Mum's bed. See ... spoilt! :0) But cute, so he gets away with it! I might add that he happily stayed bundled up like this for quite some time. Every time he HAD to go outside, he'd shiver and shake for 10 minutes when he came back in. Of course ... some of that may have been a play for sympathy and cuddles ... in which case ... it worked! Tee! Hee! Hee!

So, Tuesday morning back at work, not at all happy with the overcast, foggy, drizzly, nasty day that it was ... I think the weatherman tried to tell me it got up to 13 degrees, but I'm not convinced! It was FREEZING!!! I was met by 'the boys' (I am the only female staff member, so am surrounded by 'boys' with my boss and two grounds/maintenance staff.) who told me they'd seen a koala weave his way across the bottom of our main Village access road, then climb up into a little jacaranda tree. Since it was such awful weather, he was only little, didn't look well and we have quite dense housing developments on two of our boundaries, they were worried that he would end up tangling with someone's dog or wander into traffic. So ... I was set the challenge of finding someone to ask whether he would be OK in his jacaranda perch or not. Hmmm ... who does one ring to report a lost little koala?!?!

Here's the poor little bloke up his jacaranda tree, looking very bedraggled. Now, a friend's hubby happens to work for one of the government departments that deals with natural resources, so I called him to ask advice ... and was put onto someone in the right department ... who said they would contact their "Koala Lady" who would likely then contact me. Hmmm ... I'm often referred to as the "Mad Bear Lady", so I was keen to meet the "Koala Lady" ... a kindred spirit, perhaps! Tee! Hee! Hee! As it turned out, she was a lovely lady who rounded up a couple of helpers to get our little guest out of the jacaranda, as she thought he might be unwell. Usually, they try to leave the koalas alone to find their own way home without interfering, but this little bloke needed a helping hand ...

 

... and some gentle persuasion that coming out of the jacaranda tree was in his best interests! He did NOT want to let go of that final branch and grunted out his displeasure ... they make quite a low, guttural sort of grunt when they are unhappy ... and believe me, he was NOT happy! Tee! Hee! Hee!

But eventually he was in the net before being carefully lowered and ...

 

... bundled into a carry cage. The "Koala Lady" said it was the quickest, easiest relocation she's ever done. Personally, I think the little koala decided that wherever they were likely to take him had to be warmer and drier than his jacaranda perch and gave in ... though not very gracefully! :0)

Here he is ... wet, bedraggled, disgruntled and very little to be out in the big bad world all by himself! Isn't he a cutie!!! The "Koala Lady" said they would take him to a local vet to dry him off and warm him up, but that he would have to be transported about 3 hours to the Sunshine Coast to be treated by a specialist koala vet, as there wasn't anyone locally who had the right training. She said that a koala needs a 5km range of bush to call home and ... as we've seen near our retirement village ... more and more housing developments are going in and the koalas' habitat is going out. I hope our furry little visitor gets well soon and can find a suitable home.

So ... there you go ... a bit of excitement for the week. Otherwise, the icky weather has had me curled up in front of the heater with a book, craft mag or some stitching, so not much progress to show ... though I DID finish a few small projects on the weekend when Mum and I played in her sewing room for a while when my Beloved Geek Boy and Dad went and hit a little white ball around the paddock for a few hours. :0) Will show pics next time. But right now ... I'm off to thaw out my fingers in front of the heater again .... BRRRRRRRRR!!! Hope you're keeping warm and dry if you're in Oz and that you're enjoying some warm summer weather if you're 'up north'. Til next time ...

Watch Out For Drop Bears!!!

BEAR HUGS!

CHEERS!

KRIS