RUDOLPH & CO ON HOLIDAYS

Figure after all that charging around the globe on Christmas Eve, Santa’s sleigh pullers were hanging out for a few days off in a warmer climate. Dancer or Prancer or one of the bunch have been in my front yard. How can I tell? Well, they have rather distinctive poo, very easy to distinguish who’s paid a visit in the middle of the night.

Then as I came around the corner into the village after midnight following my Boxing Day family get together I caught another couple of them in my headlights as they sprinted across the street and headed for the safety of the bush. They must’ve worked out they could pretty much blend in with the locals and go undetected until it was time to go home.

That was about sixty seconds after almost mowing down three decent sized wallabies who decided to be reckless and cut me off as I headed up the mountain. Guess they’d had a little too much festive fare and were egging each other on to play chicken. Wonder what they’ll get up to on New Year’s Eve.

Mild summer nights in Tasmania can become something of an obstacle course as the resident wildlife decides to venture out of the bush, graze by the roadside or find what roadkill has turned up during the day on which to have a midnight feast before some other creature decides to get in on the act. Possums are the most common wanderers, almost a slalom course in places, but unfortunately the Tassie Devil we used to see frequently is now a rare sight.

Daytime sightings in the past couple of days have been equally entertaining. The biggest hare I have ever seen, and I’m talking back legs as long as Elle McPherson’s, wandered leisurely up the middle of the road out front yesterday, quite unperturbed. He has us sussed out I think, knows there are no cats around and all the dogs are in their yards so he has the run of the place.

Then there’s the magpie with the deformed leg and tufts of feathers at the sides of his face who’s been hanging around for a couple of weeks. Looks like one of the penguins from Happy Feet, and as he spends most of his time squatting on the ground he actually looks like a fat little relative of his Antarctic brothers. Took pity on him and thought I’d give him some food and water whereupon he flew off, so he doesn’t have any trouble in that area. Seems that survival of the fittest hasn’t disadvantaged him any.