Kip

Today, the 17th March 2021, would have been Kip's 8th birthday. My Saint Patrick's day baby. Her life fell short of this milestone three days too early. She lost her battle to either an infection or an embolism which resulted from being attacked by another dog. My life feels empty where it had once been full. She should be sitting at my feet right now, half asleep, waiting for me to knock off from work so we can go home. Instead, she is already home, having been laid to rest the same morning that she passed away. 

She didn't have a dull life. Born to Finny Venturin and Axle Holzwart, Kip should have been a working dog. Her career achievements, however, were looking at cattle whilst other dogs worked them, blocking up a mob of cattle by accident and bringing in another mob while I thought she was lost in the paddock. The rest of the time, she was the perfect quad bike accessory.

Finny's pride

Kip got her name because she liked to sleep. As a pup, she would get cranky if woken up. Due to her love of slumber, she was a good traveller. She loved a good leg stretch if there were wallabies, rabbits or hares involved, though she was never fast enough. The speed which her brothers and sisters had inherited was marred in her when she contracted botulism at only a few months old. She recovered well due to the attention she received from absolutely anyone (especially Cookie) that passed her spot on the lawn and moved her, massaged her legs or held her to a standing position for a few minutes.

She crossed the Northern Territory/South Australia border with me multiple times. At some point, Kip and I would usually be at Wudinna on these trips where my mother would proceed to complain about my fur child. "She's lying in the laundry basket of clean linen", "she's stained the armchair red from digging holes in the backyard", "she's tunnelled under the garden shed", "she's dug up Nanna's plants" etc. On one occasion in Wudinna, she had been bitten by a spider just before we left the place and by the time we got to Alice Springs she was in need of TLC from Desert Oaks Veterinary Clinic.

She came with me to multiple house-sits where she made lots of new friends. There was no shortage of new fun, mischief and comfy things to sleep on.

However, at some house-sits, things didn't go so great. At one, Kip struggled to make new friends. They did not take too kindly to her at all. She recovered well. 

At another, Kip got herself into a bit of a pickle and got her eggs fertilised after scaling the fence. Her date was kind enough to walk her home the next morning, which is how I even had a remote idea of what breed the puppies will be crossed with.

After that litter of puppies, I was done with the little rascals and got Kip spayed at the Mount Barker Veterinary Clinic. She recovered quickly because it involved plenty of sleeping.

I often felt as though South Australia was a more dog-friendly place and so I'd take Kip with me here or there because she was far easier to deal with in public than her rambunctious sons.

Of her nearly eight years, each moment has been a blessing to my life. I never thought I'd lose Kip so early. I'd always envisioned her getting old and sleeping significantly more than she already did. It's been a hard knock to deal with her passing. She was always there, right by my side, in the car, beside my bed or even in it with me. Always within arms reach. As I cry and ache and I look to her for comfort, she is gone. 

So on this day, Kip's 8th birthday, take a moment to appreciate your pet. Give them an extra treat or bone. Let them run around out of the cage or off the chain for an extra half hour. Take them to that place or this, even if you think it's a pain in the arse. Because you just don't know if that could be your last adventure together, the last time you pat your dog, the last time you cuddle your cat. The last time you see their wagging tale and contented smile. Don't let those opportunities pass because one day they'll be gone.

Thank you to Katherine Vet Care, to everyone for your thoughts and understanding during these difficult times and to everyone that passed through Kip's life and showed her love and kindness. Everyone who was good to her contributed to her being a great dog and an exceptional best mate.

Wet

From what I can understand, the 2017/2018 Wet Season was average. What I know is that the 2018/2019 and 2019/2020 Wet Seasons were almost non-existent. And from what I’m seeing fall from the sky so far of the 2020/2021 Wet Season, we’re doing pretty bloody good.

When I first bought my block in September 2015, the previous owner told me that he never knew the dam on it to have ever gone dry. In October 2019, it was just a mud puddle. When I returned to my block in July 2020 after two and a half years in South Australia, there was enough water in it to carry the wildlife until the Wet Season arrived. Trekking down there on the 21st of February 2021, I discovered it at over 100% capacity. I have never seen so much water in it before. Even in the 2015/2016 Wet Season there wasn’t as much water as what’s in there right now. 

To use the word “trekking” isn’t an understatement either. If anyone wanted to do a tough mudder, all they had to do was come out to my property. Anywhere that my horse’s feet have sank, I seemed to have found. Knee-deep in mud, I would have to crawl out of their hoof holes. 

When I wasn’t dragging myself through mudholes and puddles, I was in town, enthusiastically checking the height of the Katherine River. From Friday the 19th of February, Katherine Town was on minor flood-watch. We were hoping the river would crack the 16-metre mark. Alas, it got as far as 15.54 metres (officially)… Which is still awesome! When in the last Wet Season the Katherine River barely flowed, to have even got to 15.54 metres is a total blessing. Every man and his dog were spending the weekend checking out the river height and watching it flow. 

Back at the mud pit I was cursing the fact that my property had reached full saturation with nowhere to go to the toilet except in a bucket. The horses have been hanging out at camp, putting holes in the ground wherever they step, lifting their tails to pee and making the place just smell generally. Up until now, I have never considered horses to be smelly creatures. I’ve given up trying to keep the floor in the caravan clean. The chook sleeps inside due to the rain, unceremoniously plucked from her perch on the towbar and put on the floor. The weeds are enjoying being untouched as no car nor ATV is getting anywhere on the place to eradicate them, especially at places where they’re at their worst. Lucky that the weeds guy and I have been able to put out a bit of selective herbicide before the drenching rain began. 

Despite the frustrations which can come with having to leave my car at the bottom of the driveway and walk up to camp, traipsing mud indoors, letting weeds grow etc. the Wet Season is my favourite time of year. It’s when life gets breathed back into the land and the wildflowers appear. My favourites are the little, tiny ones. They speckle the green with their colours. There’s time to pause in the Wet Season. Can’t go anywhere, can’t do anything. Just read a book, watch a movie, do a puzzle. Relax. Let your belt out a few notches. It’s only going to keep raining until the end of March!

The dam on my property