Mayor4Unley

What is the true cost of being a Vegan? It's a tough life changing choice to make. Really tough! People aren't born vegan. Rather, they become vegan; as a deliberate choice. It's like a sea-change, where people move from the city to a nice country spot. Actually, it's nothing like a sea-change. It's a far more radical change. But what is the real cost of becoming a vegan? What is the hidden cost to the rest of us? What is the environmental impact to the globe? I respect people for making the choice to become vegan, but I do question how much ethical consideration was really given. Was the real hidden environmental impact on society and the globe actually known and considered. I suspect not. Anyway, each to their own. The following story highlights the impacts of veganism on the globe. Click this link

Many homes in #Unley don't have a bird bath in their garden. As birds and small animals lose more and more of their habitat (through housing development) the more they rely on us to provide food, water and shelter in our gardens. So if you don't have a bird bath, then get one. Also consider a shallow water dish on the ground for the lizards and other natives that crawl abound. And don't forget a hollow log or two. It gives great joy to see birds in the bird bath; having a drink or a slash on a hot day. And of course the bees 🐝 need water; daily. Your garden will be transformed with more native birds 🤗

Dogs just love nuts as a treat, but we should be saying No, no nuts. It seems that there are only 2 nuts that should be given to dogs. Peanuts and roasted cashews. Hazelnuts are ok, but they do pose a choking risk. So for your dog's health, just stick to peanuts for an occasional treat; besides they're the cheapest. Read more ...

Major felling of trees at Parkside ... There has been a major uproar by residents about the felling of so many trees at 186 Greenhill Road, Parkside just before Christmas ... and 4-5 more trees are planned to be removed. Residents are just so annoyed by what has happened. It happened without any warning and Council had no prior knowledge of the planned activity. A review has revealed that all the the trees felled were what is classed as 'non-regulated' and the property owner had a legal right to remove them. This is a legal right imposed by the State Government. What was a forest is now just 5 trees. One is scheduled to be removed soon. The other 4 trees are what is classed as 'regulated' and they require planning approval. I understand that approval will be considered in January/February 2018 by the Council Assessment Panel. I am sure that this meeting will be well attended by local residents.

Bravo Butcher 👍 On Friday I went to the local butcher at Goodwood; BTW it's one of the best butcher shops in SA! Anyway, I went to collect the Christmas order; before the rush on Saturday. I thought, as a treat I would get the dog a couple bones; some nice beef rib bones; the safest type for dogs. I was staggered to learn that the butcher had no bones; not a single bone. However, I was pleasantly surprised to hear that the entire stock of bones had been donated to the RSPCA/AWL. What a nice Christmas gesture. It reflects the general goodwill that pervades the shopping strip @ Goodwood. My dog gets no bone for Christmas, but the dogs at the animal shelters will have a nice treat 👍 When next considering making a donation to charity, why not send a few dollars to the Animal Welfare League. They do so much with so little. It's a great cause!

Slugs are a gardener's nightmare and efforts are made to eradicate the slugs. Damn things come out at night and munch on the greens in the garden. We squash them and poison them; or at least some people do. But, the humble slug has captivated the minds of medical researchers. The slime of the slug has been studied and now replicated with reasonable success. Its use as an adhesive is a medical break-through. The laboratory made slug slime is now emerging as an adhesive and is being used during surgery instead of staples and stitches. At least, it worked well during surgery on a pig. A great outcome by scientific study of the simple slug. Read the slug slime story ...

The new Unley Tree Strategy is a practical blueprint for maintaining and enhancing the green cover of trees across Unley. Ageing and unhealthy trees will be removed, but they will be replaced. Where possible more trees are to be planted, especially in vacant (tree) sites along the streets. Over time, the green (cool and shady) coverage of trees will increase along the streets. It's a great strategy and good outcome; a good long term outcome. Also, it's one of best looking reports I've seen at Unley Council. Read the Unley Tree Strategy here

Fantastic news that harness racing is returning to Wayville @ The Showgrounds. Years ago, many years ago, harness racing was hugely popular at Wayville. It drew crowds of 10,000s. The last trots race at Wayville was held in 1973. Wayville was the trots venue from 1925 to 1973. There will be 8 races over the year. The first event is on Friday 27 October. Put it in your calendar and get there. The first event will be a nostalgic return to the glory days of harness racing from yester-year. I am forecasting a huge crowd for the first race. See you at the track.

A fantastic good news story from Unley Council ... Unley has a number of strategically placed Wildlife Boxes at various locations within the City to support the breeding and habitat survival of our local fauna. A total of 28 Artificial Hollows/Boxes were installed in June 2009. They were erected in Ridge and Heywood Parks, with a single box installed on Windsor St. Over the years Council has built up the number of boxes to where we now have 121 located across all part of the City on Council parks, reserves or verges (106), schools (12) and private property (3). Each year, as part of an environmental initiative, Council is provided with a report on the outcomes, success or otherwise of fauna use. As part of this monitoring process, each box is assessed for any changes that have taken place and to determine whether possible maintenance issues have arisen. This process is required to ensure that the wildlife value of the boxes are maintained and that public safety is observed. Tow...

What a glorious time of the year - despite the heat, the humidity and the rain. The hot summer has ripened the figs and the rainbow lorikeets are having a glorious time in the fig tree. I don't net the tree, preferring to share with the birds. The rain has ruined the recent ripe figs; so maybe I will be lucky with the next batch in a couple of weeks. But those figs that fall to the ground and get sun dried on the hot brick path are glorious. They dry quickly and are quite chewy. There's nothing quite like: Lying on the lawn, on your back with your legs in the air whilst chewing on a fig; Lying on the brick paving and sucking on a fig; Lying in bed and savouring a sun dried fig; Leaving a chewed fig on the kitchen floor knowing that someone will step on it (or inspect it closely before picking it up) It's a dog's delight collecting sun dried figs and chewing on them. My dog delights in this delicacy.

It was a big storm a couple of days ago; with wild wind. The next day I surveyed the damage in the backyard. Several of my prized pine cones from the Queensland Kauri Pine tree were lying on the ground. Whilst holding one of the cones and contemplating what size it might have become, I felt a tugging at my trousers and looked down and was surprised to find a Pikachu Pokemon; they are still in the area. They're tough critters and being somewhat annoyed, I  considered dropping the heavy pine cone on Pikachu.

Last weekend I did my annual trip up to Andamooka; up in the Outback in the far north of South Australia. It's a time to get away and relax without a worry in the world in the bush. Of course I spent time noodling for opals. I found rock with nice traces of blue opal, but didn't find that special and elusive large solid opal. There's always next year. But I did find (or see) a lone wombat near Andamooka. Before leaving Adelaide I had seen media reports about a Southern Hairy-Nosed Wombat that had been seen and photographed on the plains on the road between Andamooka and Roxby Downs. It had caused a bit of a stir because no wombat had been sighted in the area for about 40-50 years. Wombats have been known to live for up to 50 years. So, one day, late in the day (before beer time) I drove from Andamooka, passed the migratory black swans on a small lake and about half way to Roxby I spotted the wombat. He was on the plain, off to the right 100-200 metres away. A further 3...

Most of us want backyard chickens, but space is often the problem. There is an alternative. Consider having a flock of quails. They are smaller and more trouble free; and they usually lay an egg a day. The eggs are smaller and have a nice colour, but have more protein and a relatively larger yolk compared with a chicken egg. Yes, it takes five quail eggs to make up the weight of a large chicken egg; but it is better value. An added bonus is they are great to have with young kids who get enormous enjoyment. Quails don't roost and it is easy to move a pen through the backyard; to feed the quail and nourish the garden. Give it some thought. Here's a link for more information

I was out in the front garden; deep in the overgrown rose bushes. This year they needed a good slash; a heavy prune. I could hear footsteps on the footpath and then a woman's voice said 'hello georgeous, aren't you beautiful'. That gave me a warm feeling. I backed out of the rose bush, stood up and said 'hello, are you talking to me?'. The startled woman blushed heavily and awkwardly explained that she had been talking to my two dogs that were sitting at the gate watching the world go by. The woman moved on quickly getting into her car and getting out of there. Hidden deep in the roses I knew that she was talking to the dogs - they are good looking; but I couldn't resist the opportunity. Besides it broke the monotony of pruning the prickly roses.

An extraordinary news story about two women who were assaulted by a huge male kangaroo ... The women were cycling on a winery tourist trail in the Clare Valley. They were admiring a huge male kangaroo up ahead. He watched intensely as they cycled towards him. Something snapped in his mind and the roo attacked the women, landing on one and then bouncing off and jumping on the other woman. It would have been traumatic. One of the women requires surgery. The kangaroo left the scene, probably to reflect on his recent encounter with cyclists. Obviously he has a disdain for the two wheelers. The women were lucky that they were on bikes which acted as shields. It would have been worse if they had been walking. Rogue roos can rip the insides out of a person. Here's the story

At times you just need to take a break and get away from the city crowd; and from its demands and pressures. Going bush is an easy escape and helps to put things and priorities into perspective. The clearer skies, the red and greening landscape and the local kangaroos, wombats and magpies help to give life a new perspective. An ideal way to settle the mind and to recharge.

It got a bit heated at the Unley Council meeting last night. One of the topics for debate was cats and how best to deal with stray cats. I argued that residents should have a choice of how to deal with these cats. There is Council's preferred way of euthanising cats by sending them to Animal Welfare League, or there is the option of engaging a volunteer group called 'CATS Inc.' who will trap, desex and return the cats, at a low cost to the resident. I argued that residents should have the option of how best to deal with these cats; ie. choose to kill or not to kill. Residents should make that decision and not Council. I tried to get an extra $1,000 to fund CATS Inc. It became quite a feral debate.

Pets, especially dogs, are good for your health. They are very understanding and help to soothe the pain during troubled times. In general, in my opinion, people with pets are of better nature; more compatible members of society. I was interested in the results of a study by canine scientist and PhD student Mia Cobb and sports scientist Dr Craig Duncan. It showed that when a dog and its owner were in close proximity their heartbeats were significantly lower. Dogs and their owners were strapped with heart monitors and after initial separation, when reunited together on a couch both dog and the owner where found to have heartbeats that dipped or rose in synchronisation. An amazing discovery 🐕 I bet the same isn't true for cats. I'm sure that they would maintain a steady heartbeat; whatever 🐱

Bed bugs are not colour blind. They have their preferences of colour of bed linen in which to hide. Researchers have discovered that generally they try to avoid white, yellow and green; these colours are associated with sunlight and being exposed outdoors. Results did vary depending on the age and sex of the bed bugs tested, but in general they didn't like the colours white, yellow and green. They preferred stronger colours where they could better hide. Red and black colours were most likely to attract bed bugs. In fact: Female bed bugs prefer lilac and violet and Male bed bugs prefer red and violet. So if you select the romantic colours of red and black (and lilac and violet) to liven up the bedroom, you may get more than you anticipated; perhaps a bite on the bum! Link to research findings on bed bugs Recently The City of Unley Council endorsed its Animal Management Plan 2016-2020 . It's a good looking document and for completeness it includes a section on Other...

It is amazing how over time scientists and researchers discover or can explain things that we think we already know. I was intrigued to read that researchers have discovered that on our first day in a new and unfamiliar location (eg. a hotel room, camping, having a sleep over, ...) at night when asleep, one side of our brain remains alert to what is happening around us. It is always the left side of the brain. For humans it is called the first-night phenomenon . It had been known that dolphins and whales sleep with half of their brain alert and is known as unihemispheric sleep . The theory is that it is an ancient survival mechanism. It makes sense. I recall broken sleep (alerted by something) on that first night in an unfamiliar place. My only curiosity is that given the study of humans involved brain scans while people were asleep, how did they verify that dolphins and whales have unihemispheric sleep?