Belinda Alexandra — Anyone who has read ‘Silver Wattle’ will know that...

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Anyone who has read ‘Silver Wattle’ will know that I am passionate about our beautiful Australian wildlife. They are our national treasures! I especially love our kangaroos. What surprises me, when I look back on it, is that it was my Russian mother...

Anyone who has read ‘Silver Wattle’ will know that I am passionate about our beautiful Australian wildlife. They are our national treasures! I especially love our kangaroos.

What surprises me, when I look back on it, is that it was my Russian mother who gave me a love of the Australian landscape and it was my father who taught me to recognise the different species of birds.

I did not learn a thing about Australian animals or birds in school and I grew up in a bushland area! It was only when I joined WIRES that I even learned anything about basic native animal first aid.

I recently accosted a man and his companion who were releasing a possum (nocturnal animal) in broad daylight kilometres away from where they had illegally trapped it. And he turned out to be a primary school teacher! Shame on him!

Don’t let your children grow up without appreciating our beautiful country and all its treasures. Fellow author and wildlife carer, Margaret Warner, has written a number of books about Australian wildlife and caring for the environment for kids aged 6-12 years. Check out her resources on www.margaretwarner.com.au

Here is a picture of a gorgeous eastern grey kangaroo and her joey kindly provided by B. Clifton. If you are interested in finding more about saving our kangaroos, please visit: www.kangaroofootprints.com.au

And if you’d like to know the basic steps of native animal first aid, please visit the WIRES website: http://www.wires.org.au/emergency/injured-animalemergency.html

Animals Inspirations Belinda Alexandra Golden Earrings WIRES Book Lit Writer

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Win A Year’s Supply Of Books! There’s a new competition running on my Facebook page - one lucky winner will get 52 books in 2012 - that’s one book a week! All you have to do is read tell me, in 25 words or fewer, who is your favourite character in...

Win A Year’s Supply Of Books!

There’s a new competition running on my Facebook page - one lucky winner will get 52 books in 2012 - that’s one book a week!

All you have to do is read tell me, in 25 words or fewer, who is your favourite character in Golden Earrings, and why! It’s simple!

If you haven’t read Golden Earrings, don’t worry, there is a 30 page extract so everyone can have a chance to win.

Head over to my Facebook page for your chance to Win A Year’s Supply Of Books - and good luck!

win competition books lit reading author writer writers belinda alexandra golden earrings comp prize library bookshelf
Meet Tiny Tim and Kate Moss. Tiny Tim and Kate Moss were so small when they were rescued from their dead mother’s pouch that they had to be kept in a humidicrib. The possums I look after for WIRES keep me on schedule: I know I have a few hours of...

Meet Tiny Tim and Kate Moss.

Tiny Tim and Kate Moss were so small when they were rescued from their dead mother’s pouch that they had to be kept in a humidicrib.

The possums I look after for WIRES keep me on schedule: I know I have a few hours of focussed writing between feedings.

They are also a delight to look after. The photograph speaks for itself.

belinda alexandra golden earrings wires animal rescue animal welfare possums animals fiction author authors lit books reading cute
If you are finding conical pits in your garden and hearing soft snuffing and snorting sounds between 1am and 4am, the chances are you have a visiting bandicoot. These animals have been on the endangered list for many years with three species of the...

If you are finding conical pits in your garden and hearing soft snuffing and snorting sounds between 1am and 4am, the chances are you have a visiting bandicoot.

These animals have been on the endangered list for many years with three species of the bandicoot having already become extinct.

They are an important part of healthy bushland ecology so it is great that they are making a slow comeback in parts of Sydney.

Bandicoots are also good pest controllers in suburban gardens. They eat the grubs that kill grass roots and defoliate trees as well as keeping beetle and bug populations under control.

The best news is one of their favourite meals is the deadly funnel web spider (They are immune to its venom).

While the holes they make in lawns can become unsightly, the best way to deal with them is to have a bucket of garden soil on hand to fill the holes up as soon as you see them.

This process will gradually aerate your lawn. However, if you’d like to keep bandicoots away from certain parts of the garden such as the vegetable patch, you can use a fence of chicken wire dug 15 centimetres into the ground or use strong smelling organic substances such as cow manure to deter them.

Sensor lights also work. Bandicoots are nocturnal and sleep in ground nests or hollow logs during the day. Like all marsupials they carry their young in a pouch.

To help bandicoots, keep your cats and dogs indoors at night, use non-toxic products in the garden, a ramp in the pool so that any wildlife including sugar gliders can climb out, and drive carefully in leafy and bushland areas at night.

For further information on how to help our wildlife, check out the WIRES website on www.wires.org.au

animals bandicoots lit book writing belinda alexandra golden earrings
Meet Sophie, one of the stray cats I rescued from my local shopping centre car park this year. She is now living with a couple who adore her - she even has her own room! Sophie has a ‘sleeping role’ in a scene towards the end of Golden Earrings....

Meet Sophie, one of the stray cats I rescued from my local shopping centre car park this year.        

She is now living with a couple who adore her - she even has her own room! Sophie has a ‘sleeping role’ in a scene towards the end of Golden Earrings. Watch out for it.

I always say the characters in my novels are fictional but the animals are usually based on real ones that have wandered into my life in the course of writing it.

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How Much Is That Doggie In Window?

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It’s a message animal shelters and welfare agencies send out each Christmas. Let’s help them by spreading it far and wide:

Animals are not things like toasters and toys

Animals are sentient beings that require love, care and commitment

Animals do not make good surprise gifts

They should never be acquired on impulse

Anyone considering acquiring a pet this Christmas, or giving one as ‘a gift’ to a child, elderly relative, or girlfriend or boyfriend, needs to think through the following:

  • They must check that the recipient actually wants a cat or dog or other animal and is prepared to look after it for its lifetime (Cats and dogs usually live 15-20 years, some species of birds have longer life spans than humans). In the case of elderly relatives, is the recipient going to be able to physically look after an animal for that length of time?
  • Can the recipient afford the weekly food bills for the animal? Can they afford veterinary care and do they have someone who can look after the animal if they must travel? (Costs for animals besides food include desexing, vaccinations, medications, hygiene, dental care and so on).
  • Does the recipient have suitable accommodation for the type of animal? 
  • Can they offer the animal quality of life and proper care eg Get their dog properly trained? Take their dog for a daily walk? Are they at home enough so that the animal won’t get lonely?

Not giving these questions enough consideration before acquiring an animal has resulted in suffering on a large scale:

  • 250,000 cats and dogs are euthanised in Australian pounds each year
  • The euthanasia rate for healthy but unwanted cats is as high as 80% in some pounds
  • Animal shelters are overflowing with abandoned pets; animals are abandoned at commercial sites and in bushland leading to further suffering – both of the abandoned pets that breed and the native animals they kill to survive.

(This is very distressing to watch but the message needs to get out there and this organisation is doing amazing things in changing the situation through awareness. http://www.deathrowpets.net/)

However, if someone has thought through the responsibility of owning a pet and is ready for an animal companion, they are ready for a wonderful relationship with a fellow creature that WILL change their life and Christmas can be the perfect time for adoption. If the whole family is around, that’s an excellent time to help the newest member of the family to settle into the household.

The World League for the Protection of Animals currently has beautiful cats and kittens that are looking for homes.

If you can’t take on a cat permanently, consider foster caring for one over the Christmas break. It can be very rewarding to be part of a chain of people helping an abandoned animal move on to a better life.

For further information, contact Halina Thompson on 9817 4892/0407 456 683 or Halina@wlpa.org

Other organisations that have rescue animals available for adoption include:

Spread the message and spread the love. 

Belinda

XX

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mrsbrendacruz asked:

(2/2) when evelina recalled that her beloved brother had died. I read your book two weeks ago and till today the story still sticks with me, I still think of how brave La Rusa was throughout her life, how much mamie must have suffered to have lost her whole family. To me, it feels like it actually happened, like its actually history. Anyway! I'm rambling on. I wanted to say I'm also trying a flamenco lesson, because your book introduced it to me and sold it to me! haha sincerely, B

Thank you so much for your lovely compliment. Belinda x

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