Archive for August, 2006

Pillows as big as Uluru

Here at the Hilton there’s palm trees out my window and calm silver water with Barrier Reef cruise boats getting ready to float tourists out for the day — mostly large Americans in small groups and small Japanese in large groups!

When I opened the sliding door onto my private balcony I was shocked to find I could leave it open — at 6.40 am! There was no blast of frosty air. Read more…

From footrot to five-star

One day I’m bending over a mob of pregnant ewes with my nose just inches away from the stench of a footrot infected hooves — the next thing I know I’m in Melbourne airport watching the businsesspeople wearing black scuttling along the departure walkway like beetles.

I’m waiting for my flight to Cairns … destination, a five-star Hilton and my first Write Across Queensland gig; a panel discussing the relationship between writer and place. Read more…

Countdown to Queensland …

It’s all systems go here — there’s bags to pack, ewes to drench, hooves to trim and mobs to move. (Lucky I’ve got my short-arse stockman, Charlie, to help — that’s him wanting an early smoko in our yards yesterday.) Read more…

Training Tammy

Manners please!

There are certain manners we expect from every dog who joins our family. We’ve had a visiting border collie, Tammy, who went home with this report card. I thought I’d share it with you to give you a guideline as to some of the boundaries we set for our dogs.

Read more…

Treasure’s Walers

We have a Waler stallion, Classic Akbar, who we co-own with John’s father Doug Treasure.

After kicking off the breeding season here in Tasmania, Akbar (or ‘Johnny’) will be shipped to Victoria to run with John’s Dad’s mob of ‘Homelands Walers’.

Our goal is to breed quiet, sensible, not so big and not so showy horses for people who want an all round work horse and play horse.

Like our working dogs, we aren’t breeding for looks, we’re selecting for temperament and do-ability.

Even though ‘Johnny’ is a neat, flash little fella, he’s quiet, sensible and hardy. All the qualities we like in a horse.

His first foals are due on the ground next month and with them comes ‘the birth of Treasure’s Walers’.

Tasmanian Kelpie and Collie Collective

We’re banding together with our Tassie mates, Mathew and Margie Johnston, James and Katrina Ridgeway and Leigh Jamison to form a network of Kelpie and Border Collie breeders.

Our Collective will provide direct access to certain styles of working dogs.

Whether you need a paddock dog, yard dog or allrounder — or you need information on yard dog trialling or three sheep trialling, out collective can help.

Stay tuned for more details of how to get in touch with Tassie’s top working dog breeders.

Flash or flannel?

I was standing in the trufferie with my dog, my dirt-covered hands and my leaf-filled hair when Jeanie, my truffle harvesting mate turned up with a newspaper.

Jeanie flicked to page five, held up the article and photo of me in The Mercury and declared, ‘You’ve been airbrushed.’ Read more…

About Jillaroo

I began Jillaroo in 1999 in Queensland when John and I were working on a cattle station near Emerald.

In between work on the station I started writing short stories and the character of Rebecca Saunders began to emerge.

I wanted a modern day female heroine who I could relate to. Her character was inspired by the strong, inspirational rural women who are my friends.

I wanted to move away from the female “Chick Lit” characters who tend to irritate me and leave me uninspired. I wanted to create a female heroine who was real … a girl who I would like to go to the pub with to share a few beers, talk dogs and horses with and have some laughs. Rebecca Saunders is a girl many country women can identify with … and if she were real, she’d be my best friend. Read more…

The Stockmen — translated and published in Germany this month!

Are Dachshunds long dogs with short legs or are they short-legged dogs with long bodies? I’m not sure — it’s all in the translation.

What I do know is that the popularity of the German breed is about to upstaged by the Australian Kelpie!

Yes! My novel, The Stockmen, which features the history of our iconic Kelpie breed has been translated and published in Germany this month. Read more…

Treasure hunts for truffles

Meet Tiny. He’s my new Truffle sniffer dog. He’s a Springer Spaniel and he’s owned by Perigord Truffles of Tasmania. Smiley isn’t he?

I couldn’t help myself! Despite having a really tight deadline with my next novel I didn’t hesitate to say yes when my former boss from Perigord called to ask if I could fill in for the rest of Tasmania’s truffle season. Read more…