Taste of the future
At a local food forum, Linda Cuttriss discovers that the future of healthy, affordable food may be closer than we know. HEADLINES in the media over recent weeks of health scares from imported frozen...
The dread before the storm
By Linda Cuttriss NERVOUS memories of cyclones this morning as I listen to the news from Queensland and Northern Territory. My younger brother has been in Bundaberg on a camping adventure with his partner,...
Pastures of plenty
Forty years after she helped to harvest the hay on the family farm, Linda Cuttriss still feels a primal pleasure in seeing those fat rolls of hay and silage in the paddocks. THE big old trailer loaded...
What a performance!
Linda Cuttriss is entranced by the magpie show on her back lawn. THE classic Australian production Magpies has been playing again this spring from the suburbs to the countryside across the nation. Our...
Wallaby fight club
It's just a game for now, practice for when the prize is the prettiest doe in the paddock. By Linda Cuttriss LATELY, two young buck wallabies have been sparring on the lawn. They are both around...
Going bush, close to home
By Linda Cuttriss THERE is a little signpost on Rhyll Road, not far from Cowes, that for many years has attracted my eye every time I drive by. The sign says ‘Walking Tracks’ but from local knowledge...
Postcard from Darwin
Pandanus trees, bush chooks and paw-paw salad ... Linda Cuttriss finds herself being seduced by the charms of the tropical north all over again. By Linda Cuttriss PANDANUS trees are perched on pink...
A port out of place
For over 150 years, Phillip Island has been a natural haven for weary city folk, writes Linda Cuttriss, but there are dark clouds on the horizon. By Linda Cuttriss GEORGE Bass was certainly an intrepid...
My country
From Phillip Island to Inverloch, from the lowlands to the hills, this is Linda Cuttriss’s country. By Linda Cuttriss EVERY week I drive from my home at the western end of Phillip Island to visit my...
A winter's tale
When the gales blow from the Southern Oceans, Linda Cuttriss finds observing her fellow creatures a sure cure for the winter blues. By Linda Gordon IT’S easy to feel blue in July. Grey skies press...
Just add water
When the heat is on, a birdbath is a constant source of entertainment, for animals and humans. By Linda Cuttriss IT WAS late afternoon, one hot summer day, the first year I moved to Phillip Island....
A welcome racket
After a rough start this season, Phillip Island’s shearwaters are back in the breeding business. By Linda Cuttriss EACH morning for the past fortnight I’ve been woken at 4am by raucous cackling and...
Snake versus cat
Watching an epic battle between a cat and a snake prompted Linda Cuttriss to think about her own encounters with snakes. SUMMER has arrived at the coast and snakes are on the move. Every corner I turn,...