We have invited a few emus to live on Raakajlim. Job description: “Eat, walk and poo”. And now we have giant Quandong-filled poo all over the place!

The Judy-Phil-Fiona direct seeding machine, mysterious cuckoo spit and the secrets of the Invisible Plant revealed.

Highlights from September included a Brown Striped Skink, Murnong (Yam Daisy), an Eastern Brown Snake and some Preying Mantids hatching from an ootheca.

A 67 year-old mystery has been solved by citizen science and social media, and a lost Jewel Beetle has been rediscovered on Raakajilm.

We dug this Pobblebonk (or Banjo Frog) out of our vegie patch today. He posed for some photos to show off the identifying features.

Good Autumn and Winter rainfall means fields of swaying Spear Grass (Austrostipa spp.). These clever grass have self-planting seeds.

Spring is the perfect time for lizards. Identification and color variation in Stumpytails and Bearded Dragons.

Episode 2 of “They’re not all the same skink!”. This glossy, sand-swimming skink was in our vegie patch.

The Murnong (Yam Daisies) are flowering in the Mallee. Read more about identification, cultural uses for food and how to grow this beautiful plant.

The deep green of an emu egg is a beautiful find in the bush. Stripey chicks, black-headed young ones and “running bushes” make the Emu one of my favourite Raakjilm residents.

Year after year, the Wattle have their own, consistent rhythm for flowering … and seed collection.