Spring lightglobes - 2 September 2010
Spring is here, and we all know what that means. Swooping magpies. Okay, early spring also means warmer weather, more light in the mornings and glorious cherry blossoms. Even though we're still at risk of tomato-killing frost until after the race weekend (that's the rule of thumb at our house), we can at least start thinking about growing tomatoes. But it also means swooping magpies.
I have been swooped and my hardy black Labrador Bertie has also, to his astonishment, been swooped. Just about everyone I know has been swooped. Once, I was riding my bike along Research Station Drive on the university campus when I received a blow to the head. Fortunately I was able to stay upright and fortunately I was wearing my helmet.
What are we to do about the magpies? First, take precautionary measures. These include avoiding certain nesting spots, wearing zip ties sticking up out of your helmet to stop them striking full force or wearing an icecream container on your head (if you're a small child and don't yet care about looking silly).
Second, enjoy the magpies. Just as roses have thorns and babies have to have their nappies changed, there are two sides to the magpie coin. There is nothing more beautiful, more iconically Australian, than a full-throated magpie call. The swooping is all about raising the next generation of choir members. So go ahead and swoop, magpies! Oh yes, that's the other recommendation: an umbrella. That works really well.
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Those new compact fluoro lightglobes that have taken over from the old style ones may be more energy efficient, but where do we put them when they finally die? Bathurst Regional Council has advised us that both fluorescent tubes and compact fluoro lightglobes can be recycled at the Waste Management Centre. The charge is five cents per kilo for the current financial year, and there is a minimum charge of three dollars, making it more cost-effective to recycle a number of globes at one time rather than single items. Both items can also be recycled through the annual household hazardous chemical collections at no charge (up to 20 litres/kgs).
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