Beware the Wheel Cactus Aliens. Fox shit! How interesting is that? Why am I wandering around Mt Tarrangower and examining the faeces of Vulpes vulpes, the Red Fox? Well, it’s all part of understanding the distribution of the Wheel Cactus (Opuntia robusta), a difficult to eradicate, introduced species threatening our bushland and farms. Mid-winter and..
Read moreBig Bird
What is the size of a small toddler, sleeps all day standing up, and can sometimes be seen with the grisly remains of last night’s dinner hanging from its claws ready for a snack on waking up? Give up? Ninox strenua, better known as the Powerful Owl, is a local resident and the family we’ve..
Read moreAkira the dad & Coco & Nico
Akira the Dad excerpt from EROS PARK, the forthcoming third title in the Eros Crescent series by Richard Lee. “I’ve invited a couple of old school friends, Coco and Nico, around for dinner tomorrow night, Caroline.” Miranda and Caroline were lying in bed on a bleak rainy London Saturday morning. Caroline was staying at Jackie and..
Read moreGolden Whistler
How wonderful it is to see some of our less common native birds in the town and in our gardens. Planting flowering Australian shrubs, and if possible, trees like our indigenous Grey Box or Yellow Gum or a flowering Ironbark, provides the food and the incentive for their visits. The exotic Eastern Spinebills who visit..
Read moreRichard Lee
Being a bookseller and shop manager at Australia's largest bookstore in the late '60's and early '70's was a wonderful experience for Richard Lee. The Paris riots of 1968, the Counter Culture and anti Vietnam war movements and the fight against literary censorship were all defining moments which fed the new revolutionary and exciting bohemian..
Read moreInner City Saturday Night
Inner City Saturday Night from AUSTRALIAN SHORT STORIES by Richard Lee. The row outside got worse. It was midnight on a Saturday night in inner-city Melbourne. The gentle rain on the roof of the small upstairs bedroom would usually be a comforting sound and we would have settled into the warm bed and a deep..
Read moreJanice At Large
Janice At Large in EROS CRESCENT by Richard Lee. When Janice and Maria and Serina left Mary’s birthday party they held hands as they walked the few yards to the front gate of twenty-one Eros Crescent. The summer night was balmy, ideal for being outdoors. The two women gently guided Janice along a winding path..
Read moreLoving it: In her Stockings
This excerpt is a part of the fourth chapter Loving It in THE FIFI CODE by Richard Lee. “Alice! You’re home very early!” Bertie exclaimed. “Yes, Mr Bennett. I felt like coming home and spending a little time hanging out with you. I hope that’s okay?” “Hanging out? Now let me see if I can..
Read moreThe FIFI CODE
The FIFI CODE The FIFI CODE is a novel about love. It provides a window on women loving women both within and outside of an existing heterosexual relationship and when a man’s love might just not be enough.Meet the residents of Eros Crescent and in particular, the delightful Rosa Bennett and her network of women..
Read moreAlice & Morning Glory
From Morning Glory in THE FIFI CODE by Richard Lee. With Rosa gone, I had an instinctive feeling that she should take responsibility for Bertie. Though he was intelligent, strong and a very self-sufficient seventy-year-old, he had in recent years developed what seemed like a mild case of short-term memory loss, which most people would..
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