WE LOSE a member of the family - Chenjerai

Hi all. For those that don't yet know, Chenj, our family dog of 13 or 15 years went for her last visit to the vet today.

she was having trouble even walking. She was in pain. Dan and I agreed today that it was only the human emotions that remained.

Still, when I got to the vet it seemed like the wrong thing to do. Now she is having the long sleep. And I'm sad.

I've put other animals to sleep before, but this seems different. As Dan and I said, at precisely the same time, like some sort of
siamese twins "She's been a good dog".

She was my body guard on many occasions. When I first came to the country, it was impressive to have such a big dog
by my side. No one would question her loyalty. Or test it. She made me safe.

Even two days ago, when Howard Gorrie came to get his sheep, she made sure that she was on the job - belatedly of course
because she couldn't hear or see too well. So now she only gave her warning when Howard was upon her - it still scared the fuck out of him.

I remember other things - when we first picked her, and then went and picked her up. She was already so big that she took up the whole laps of my half-grown kids.

Dan putting her on his bed, and she went down the end of the sleeping bag. She felt safe with us then, and with Dan.


Walking her as a pup, but she wanted to be carried and then would put her head on your shoulder in appreciation if you picked her up.
She never understood that she got so heavy that we couldn't do that.

What about when Dad really didn't understand about having a non-toilet trained puppy in the house, and getting up and stepping in the worst puppy shit/vomit ever created. She nearly didn't stay that time!!!

Then, when I bought her to our first property she had no idea about sheep and she and I had some really hard times as I tried to 'persuade ' her that sheep were not to be chased. My big toe was very sore from kicking her, I can assure you. The worst of it was when she chased a young sheep into the biggest dam (that we had just built at huge cost) and they both swam the whole length, first the sheep in danger of drowning with the weight of its wool and Chenj in pursuit, with me yelling myself hoarse on the side-line.

And then the time she helped with the orphan lambs (years later) - we couldn't round them up, but Chenj went in, and 'adopted' them.
We got them back to the yards with her in the lead and the lambs following her.

What about the milk man that made the mistake of coming into our yard at Pennant Hills???? For some reason I woke up at the precise time he came into the yard
to deliver the milk. Chenj (who used to sleep inside the house in the city) felt my fear at seeing him come into the yard and 'attacked' . Oh my God, you have never seen anyone move as fast as that guy did!!!! The fastest 'backwards' ever. We should have an Olympic 'running backwards' race, and he would have won.

She had a huge 'hound' bark, - very scary. She was huge herself. So huge that she never had to worry about who would win any encounter.

What about (Dan) when she took on Camerons' dogs - or any other dogs. It took only a short amount of time, and maybe a 'toothy grin' and a show of strength via a very big front paw to convince other dogs just who was boss. She used her size to great advantage, rarely having to do much except 'remind' others of her size. She was always the boss with other dogs - or am I dreaming Dan?

Any other stories?

Chenj, rest in peace, and may your energy and wonderful presence move on to higher things.

Louisa Kiely
Finalist 2008 RIRDC NSW
Rural Women's Award
louisa@michaelkielymarketing.com.au

Over the moon?

This is what I saw in the sky yesterday morning. The Moon. How do you get over the Moon?

LOUISA SELCTED AS FINALIST IN RURAL WOMAN OF THE YEAR AWARD

LOUISA was notified yesterday that she has been selected as a finalist in the RIRDC NSW Rural Woman of the Year Award. She is being recognised for her work with the Carbon Coalition, the climate change campaign to win the right for farmers here in Australia and around the world, to be free to trade the credits arising from the carbon they can grow in their soils. MICHAEL nominated her, and her application is being supported by Patrice Newell, beef grower and author, and Judy Earl, ceo of Holistic Management International Australia.

Here is the last section of her entry for the Award:

A PERSONAL STATEMENT

As a landholder and woolgrower, I am concerned about the health of the land I have in my care.

As a grandmother and mother, I am concerned about the world I will leave to my children and their children.

As a human being, I am afraid for the future of our community and nation as we enter a new era of uncertainty and insecurity.

The 2008 RIRDC Rural Women’s Award would be a significant contribution to our morale and resources. But the recognition alone would be worth more than the money in helping to promote our work and the outcomes we seek.

Together, we can achieve good things for the environment, good things for farm families and our communities, and good things for those who will otherwise be severely affected by extreme climate events.

The Climate was the winner last night.

"I'm astounded!" said the Climate Change Coalition candidate for the electorate of Parkes in western and far western New South Wales, Michael Kiely on seeing the results on Saturday night. Mr Kiely attracted 660+ votes (with 72% of the vote counted). Nationally the Climate Change Coalition's 7 House of Representatives candidates attracted a total of 7,358 votes (or an average of 1,000 each). When asked about the worse than average performance of his campaign in Parkes, the Candidate pointed to the intense conservatism of the electorate and the high concentration of climate sceptics in the bush. "Just to introduce yourself as from a party with the word 'climate' in its name is to invite derision," he said.

"Don't underestimate our contribution: we made sure climate change was on the agenda for all parties - we made sure the ALP and the Greens stayed on message, for fear of giving us any oxygen. It was almost impossible to get media interest for the CCC. And this is, perversely, a measure of our success."

[Nicki Schmidt worked tirelessly all Election Day, swimming against the Ruddslide Tsunami.]

"I am proud to have contributed to a swing of 15% against the National Party because it has served the people of this electorate so poorly, despite their loyalty," said the Candidate. Thanking his booth workers in Mudgee, Dubbo, Coonabarabran, Moree, Parkes and Gunnedah, he said: "We were swept way by the Ruddslide. It was clear when only around 1 in 10 voters took a How To Vote flyer. They charged into those polling booths and they knew who they were after."

The Climate was the winner last night.

"Australia will now ratify the Protocol. It will no longer give President Bush moral coverage for his immoral actions on Climate Change," he said. "We can get up off our knees and face the world with pride now that the Axis of Evil between Australia and the United States is over."

The Candidate - who spent the first 5 weeks of the 6 week campaign organising the recent Carbon Farming Expo & Conference in Mudgee last week - shot an email off to Peter Garrett as the Government crashed. It said: "Congratulations! Now to work.... I believe we have a solution to gaining the cooperation of farmers to transform agriculture to regenerate the farmland ecology. It is enclosed: Carbon Farming. Change without conflict. When can we make a presentation to you?"

The Candidate with Spicers Creek grazier and carbon farmer Tom Green, who also did a full day on his feet for the cause.



"There are 660 good souls (and more) in the Parkes Electorate who care about climate change. If I could build an ark I would make room for all of them. God bless you."



We helped push the Nats to the brink: our preferences flowed to Labor and the Greens.



Vote for the "Good Looking" Ticket.



The Friday before the election we were in the local press in three separate publications. Blanket coverage! No wonder people were looking at me funny while I was in the supermarket."


This political action vehicle contains quotations from the Coalition, including "Where will the Polar Bears live?" It was parked in a prime spot outside the polling station at Mudgee High School.







Dr Karl is quoted on the "Environment Cab" which is a Mudgee feature.

Rain returns like an old friend

A HORSE SHOE WET WITH RAIN. Now that's good luck!
REAL RAIN: We received around 25mls in two fals, after days of dry electrical storms. One thing about electrical storms: they are actually a source of natural fertiliser! They produce a lot of nitrogen which finds its way into te roots of the plants, probably as naughty nitrous oxide. I'll look it up and tell you.
Here it is. I lifted something from a conventional ag science site (The National Science-Technology Roadshow Trust NZ):

"Nitrogen is found in abundance in the air. In fact over 78% of the air is nitrogen, the rest is mainly oxygen. But before nitrogen can get into the soil, and be used by plants to make proteins and enzymes, it must be first turned into water soluble nitrates. Converting nitrogen gas to nitrates takes a lot of energy. There are four main ways of doing this:
1. The decomposition of dead plants and animal material 2. Lightning: the high energy in lightning mixes the oxygen and nitrogen in the air to form nitrates. These dissolve in rain. 3. Industrial processes: need great pressures and high temperatures to make nitrogen fertiliser 4. Legumes (peas, beans, clover). At the end of plant's root, there are swelling or lumps where friendly bacteria change atmospheric nitrogen into soil nitrates.

"Applying nitrogen fertiliser is a large cost for farmers, but it is a lot faster in restoring the soil's nutrients than the other three methods mentioned above."

It is also damaging to the environment, the soil microbial community, and the climate.Here's extracts from an article entitled "Human Alteration of the Global Nitrogen Cycle: Causes and Consequences" by Peter M. Vitousek, Chair, John Aber, Robert W. Howarth, Gene E. Likens, Pamela A. Matson, David W. Schindler, William H. Schlesinger, and G. David Tilman

" Human activities are greatly increasing the amount of nitrogen cycling between the living world and the soil, water, and atmosphere. In fact, humans have already doubled the rate of nitrogen entering the land-based nitrogen cycle, and that rate is continuing to climb. This human-driven global change is having serious impacts on ecosystems around the world because nitrogen is essential to living organisms and its availability plays a crucial role in the organization and functioning of the world’s ecosystems. In many ecosystems on land and sea, the supply of nitrogen is a key factor controlling the nature and diversity of plant life, the population dynamics of both grazing animals and their predators, and vital ecological processes such as plant productivity and the cycling of carbon and soil minerals. .... Excessive nitrogen additions can pollute ecosystems and alter both their ecological functioning and the living communities they support."

Human activities that increase global nitrogen include the production and use of nitrogen fertilizers and the burning of fossil fuels. "The impacts of human domination of the nitrogen cycle that we have identified with certainty include:
• Increased global concentrations of nitrous oxide (N2O), a potent greenhouse gas, in the atmosphere ...
• Losses of soil nutrients such as calcium and potassium that are essential for long-term soil fertility
• Substantial acidification of soils and of the waters of streams and lakes
• Greatly increased transport of nitrogen by rivers into estuaries and coastal waters where it is a major pollutant.
• Accelerated losses of biological diversity, especially among plants adapted to low-nitrogen soils, and subsequently, the animals and microbes that depend on these plants
• Changes in the plant and animal life and ecological processes of estuarine and nearshore ecosystems, and contributed to long-term declines in coastal marine fisheries."
These experts conclude: "National and international policies should attempt to reduce these impacts through the development and widespread dissemination of more efficient fossil fuel combustion technologies and farm management practices that reduce the burgeoning demand for and release of nitrogenous fertilizers."

Artificial fertilisers are not good for the soil or the things (bugs and plants) thta live in it.

DRAMA IN THE TREES

Our backyard is aswarm with birdlife just now. The annual invasion of the Friar birds frolicking and fighting amind the silky oak blossoms, way up high. They are challenged evey few minutes by the Noisy Miners (the cockroach of the skies). But their beautiful brocken cackle that can transform into melodic song is so loud, we forget he Miners are there. FRIAR BIRD IN SILKY OAK BLOSSOMS
BLUE CHEEKED HONEYEATER INTHE SILKY OAK
KING PARROT IN THE PEAR TREEEASTERN ROSELLA JOINS IN THE FEEDING FRENZY

Our Carbon Farming Conference is a Stunning Success

Brian Marshall, a Holistic Management trainer, sent us this wonderful email after our recent Carbon Farming Expo & Conference: "Just wanting to record my thanks for a super conference that has really given the Carbon 'snowball' a big push.
Much enjoyed watching you as a family, both on & off the stage, make the event happen with real passion and personality." It was a family affair and I was proud of our family. Jessica left her busy corporate youth training business in Sydney and worked like a navvy. Having her organisational skills on the team as a helper is an unreal experience. Daniel operates the second camera unit for the DVD of proceedings so we can spread the word far and wide and the people who couldn't be there because of harvest can attend after the fact. Young film maker Aaron Scheibner managed camera it 1 with supreme discipline.
Louisa did an amazing, life-transforming job first of all selling the whole show to sponsors, then to attendees, and in building the team to deliver the event. Catering, exhibition space, parking, registration, sponsors, everything.
(She is seen here at the sponsors' and speakers' dinner with Peter Andrews, Mr Natural Sequence Farming.)

I had three presentations to prepare and hers, that's four.

We also had the help of Judy Cooper - an Adoptasheep 'parent' - who proved a tower of power with the time keeping and support for Louisa. And Tom Nicholas came down from Queensland to lend a hand. These amazing people gave us a taste of the enthusiasm that emerged during the two days.