Nice yard! Dangerous One here......enjoyed your blog. Deforestation does lead to global warming. Need those trees in large numbers to do their thing. They are marvelous in so many ways.
Nice yard! Thanks for commenting Dave. My blog was really an expression of the warm fuzzy feeling I get when surrounded by the colours and textures of my backyard that are so distinctively Aussie. But you have caught the elephant in the room that I wondered about...the contribution of deforestation to global warming. That is a serious issue that threatens the balance of life on our planet. Well put comments Dave. Why do the powers to be ignore the obvious? How to reduce pollution is to save the trees!
All those creepy crawling things are at home. What a clever idea for a blog. Love blogs of home locations. You are the expert on all your creepy crawly things in your area. Love it. Great photos
All those creepy crawling things are at home Home is not four walls with a roof and the only life is us bods walking in and out. It is a spot in the microcosm of life where we plonk ourselves down and set roots. You are right MJ...all those creepy crawling things are at our home. Hope one day you can drop by and meet the neighbours!
Funnel Webs ... Okay, Dave ... I think everyone can cope with those. As for the rest - maybe we'll just consider it as being a case of live and let live ..... whilst trying not to step on anything. :) Look forward to your next blog. Jan :)
Great backyard Lucky you! Living next to a nature reserve, and having all those lovely critters visit you. Can't have enough of them. Spiders eat the mozzies, snakes might like a rat or two and possums add an extra layer of insulation in your roof ;) Dutch countryside is less dangerous, but we also have our critters... Spiders, ants, bees, hedgehogs, rabbits and various birds. Not the same maybe, still enjoy it...
Great backyard "having all those lovely critters visit you. Can't have enough of them." Man after my own heart Ralf. I've now blogged the birds then animalia...me thinking a backyard trifecta!
Funnel Webs . Yep - I'm with you and your latter comment. Got to be the ugliest and most menacing of creatures - especially when you see them rear up in the attack position. Gives you cold shivers ... And, maybe you're right not to share so, don't look too hard for your photo - we don't want to scare off all of our prospective overseas visitors. :)
Funnel Webs...Bull Ants & March Flies OK Jan, no Funnelweb spider pics. Just added a giant Bull Ant & Stinging March Fly to page 5 of the pics that I got this morning!
Creepy Crawlies ... Yes, like you - I can only remember 4 occasions in my 60+ years, of actually coming face-to-face (so to speak) with the less desirable. 3 of those involved funnel-web spiders and each, a number of years apart (found one of them crawling along the architrave inside in the loungeroom) and each encounter occurring after days of heavy rain and the beasties having been evicted from their tunnel homes. The other, as a kid of about 10 or 12, having a red-bellied black snake slither across my foot (never wore shoes in those days) as I walked into some longer grass off the edge of the lawn at home. Don't know who got the biggest fright - me, or the snake! :) As kids growing up in the country - we were always aware of the dangers of snakes and spiders and always kept a wary eye out but, rarely came across any. Jan
Creepy Crawlies A red-bellied black snake slithering over your bare foot! That's freakout material...very impressed! I've gotta remember that each of the creepy crawlies in metho in jars under the house has a story...your snake story takes the cake though...wooohh! P.S. I did have a photo of a live funnelweb but can't find it...probably best not to share...spiders on steroids in my book!!!
the best backyard I've ever seen I can only imagine what a magical childhood your children must have had growing up in such a place. But I would've been more cautious had you written this blog before my visit! I've only ever experienced seeing a stray 2 foot pet snake in my apartment once and that got me paranoid inside my apartment for months.
the best backyard I've ever seen Hey Harold...you are Mr Bravery in our parts. Wasn't it you that insisted we leave the path and bush bash to near collision with a wallaby? You sat with your legs dangling over a cliff while I had to step back! Then you had your accident playing sport when you got back to the Philippines. Life sucks sometimes but Nature always delights. Hope you are well.
Creep Crawlies ... Loved your blog Dave, the contents of which, perhaps only another Aussie could truly appreciate and relate to. Overseas visitors are often abhorred at the very thought of Oz having so many creepy crawlies skittering around, let alone the prospect of actually having any personal experience with any of them. And, whilst you and Denise probably have more than your fair share of critters on your beautiful bushland domestic patch than the rest of us, happily, we all seem to be able to co-exist - critter and human - without too much trouble or trauma from any of them. Thankfully, though, for most of us, our encounters with any of the less desirable, are few and far between. :) A great blog. Thank you. Jan
Creepy Crawlies ... Nice to hear from you Jan. I find these little critters fascinating, especially the great variety I discovered when I started looking. I have only been startled twice that I recall. One was nearly stepping on the diamond python in the bush I refer to and another was stepping on a funnelweb in thongs in the dark (which I only discovered after and maybe better I not recall)!!!
Is there any creature actually you don't have, Dave? Perhaps half of the world tourists planning to visit Oz in the next year or so have already retracted their plan after reading your story! I have been checking under my computer desk every five minutes, although I know this is the cold country Canada! Now I know why they call you "Dancing Dave"!!!. But I liked the Slim Newton country song, however, I will never enjoy a red-back sharing the same toilet seat as mine. Last but not the least, it's a photo of beautiful bush country that you and your family live in. I love Eucalyptus! Enjoy your stay, but be safe!
Is there any creature actually you don't have, Dave? We had some USA exchange students staying with us one time Tab and I got them to promise not to tell anyone how good it was in Oz for fear of being flooded with tourists! Maybe I should just give them my blog!!! Yet I enjoy the challenge of trying to capture the pretty faces of lizards before they see me and take flight...or spiders moving in on their prey. I guess its the diversity of nature that fascinates me...even better when there are stories & pics to remember it by.
OK... How lucky are we Karen when Mother Nature allows us to live among its wonderful creatures big and small? As native bushland is eaten away by development I reckon I'm lucky to live next to a National Park in Sydney's North where Nature's creatures can live on some more.
My wife Denise & I like to travel "on paths less travelled" that capture our imagination, inspire my photography & where we mix with locals & remain safe.
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Home and Away
Bob Carlsen
A walk in your backyard...
Linda, Will, and I really enjoyed our walk with you in your backyard. Thanks for this reminder.