• Bloomin’ Bottle Trees

    October is a wonderful time of year. The temperatures are perfect to head outdoors, there’s plenty of wildlife activity and lots of flowers about. You don’t need to go far before you see some of the flowers we’re talking about. Take a wander along some Roma’s streets and you will see carpets of flowers on… Read more »

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  • Botanist Spotlight: Orchids

    What do orchids look like? They are technically a perennial herb because they lack woody stems – instead most grow from a structure called a pseudobulb. You may already be familiar with them as popular plants with colourful and often fragrant flowers, used in floral arrangements and highly sought after by collectors. Where do they come… Read more »

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  • Life’s Never Boring – Outback Travel

    A quote found on Facebook recently: “Europeans….I drove 20 minutes and now I’m in France.  Australians….I drove 20 minutes and now I’m at the end of my drive way”. So True.  There are some spectacular places in Outback Australia, however you do need to be prepared to travel to get there. The last two weeks… Read more »

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  • ecotours what to do in Roma Queensland

     Christmas Surprise

    When I was twelve, not unlike any other Christmas morning, we jumped out of bed and raced to open presents from under the tree. Unbeknownst to us, while the door had been left open the previous day, a goanna had moseyed inside looking for a cool spot to escape the summer heat. After a few presents… Read more »

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  • swans on dam at farm ecology rural outback Queensland Roma

    Life is Never Boring – Swans

    I had an early morning start in the crispy cool air to run some molasses out to cattle on the farm. With three dogs on board and the 1000 litre molasses tank full, away we go in the dark, watching as the sun rises to expose what the new day will bring. We run molasses… Read more »

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  • Rose Aisthorpe standing in a bush holding a small wildflower

    Meet Rose – Boobook’s resident botanist

    Join Boobook Explore’s Wildflower Wonderland Day Tour to Gurulmundi and you’ll see flowering grevilleas, hakeas, boronias, wattles and bush peas. You might even find the threatened Gurulmundi Heath-myrtle, and if you’re particularly lucky you will find a Rose. Rose Aisthorpe is Boobook’s resident botanist and wildflower tour guide and has been identifying the plants of… Read more »

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  • red kangaroo outback queensland roma farm wildlife tours ecotourism

    Life is Never Boring – Red Kangaroo

    A couple of nights ago our dogs started to off their rocker in the middle of the night – something was amiss outside.  After rolling out of bed and grabbing a torch off I toddle half awake to see what all the commotion was about.  And wouldn’t you know it there was a Red Kangaroo… Read more »

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  • Pardalotes small bird outback Queensland ecology ecotourism

    Listen Out for the Striated Pardalotes

    These beautiful little birds are Striated Pardalotes, sometimes known by the old bush name ‘Chip Chip’. That name comes from one of its calls. Its repetitive ‘chip chip’ or ‘dick did it’ calls can be heard just about anywhere that eucalyptus trees grow in the Maranoa. The word ‘striated’ means striped or streaked: elsewhere this… Read more »

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  • bull buying cattle sales farming agriculture Outback Queensland

    Life is Never Boring – Bull Buying Season

    For me it is bull sale season.  A few of our existing bulls are getting a bit long in the tooth so it’s time to look at replacing them and bringing in some new blood lines. Yep, in amongst everything else going on in life I run a small Poll Hereford Stud, which I’ve had… Read more »

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  • business farming woman family cattle outback Queensland Roma

    Life is Never Boring – A Typical Monday

    A typical Monday.  We start with me running a load of molasses out to our farm for the cattle.  We use molasses with a mix of other supplements to help the cattle digest the older dry grass during the winter months to help them maintain condition and ensure that they’re at their best going into… Read more »

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