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Old Posted May 28, 2017, 4:45 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rousseau View Post
A Doug sighting! A rare event. Don't you have to worry about snakes and crocodiles when sleeping outside in Australia?

I lived in Taiwan for six years and got used to never closing the balcony door in our fourth-floor apartment for ten months of the year. I remember thinking, hey, this is cool, but that was the extent of my ruminations on the vagaries of different climates. Probably because I was younger and people didn't complain about the weather on the internet so much back in the 1990s.

I only recall one fleeting climate-related pang of remorse while there, and it was in my first year. It was October, and it was still tropically hot. As I was sitting in a dumpling place (this one, as it happens) the coolness of the air conditioning mimicked so strongly the cool dampness of autumn in the Great Lakes that it triggered a powerful sensory memory in me, and for a moment I imagined it really was fall outside. But it was a trick, and I immediately felt disappointed.

Now I'm older, and I know I gripe way too much in this thread. I guess I resent the fact that this is such a good country in so many respects, yet we don't have a single solitary appealing climate anywhere. It's just a shit show from coast to coast, and that's a bit depressing, to be honest. Americans on the cycling forums I frequent talk about trips to California or Georgia for training in the winter, going down south for some warm cycling trips, etc.

And the Canadians? They say the same thing. We just don't have anywhere to run to in this country. We run to the same places the Americans do.

At least now we're in the good part of the year here, so the foliage is back. There's a palpable excitement in the garden centres as people mull around the various flowers and plants they want to put in their gardens. We've already planted two trees for the reconfiguration of our front garden. Spring brings renewal, and spirits are uplifted because of it. I think I would miss that if I went back to somewhere that isn't so changeable throughout the year.

No pain no gain.
Snakes and the really creepy spiders generally will not crawl onto decks. Salt water crocodiles, the dangerous ones, don't stray far from the mangroves, which only grow up north. The far less aggressive freshies also only live up north. I've encountered many spiders and the odd snake while gardening. Gardens that are frequently tended are generally safe because the presence of people will scare away the wildlife. Lizards and bats are everywhere. Our trees out front are full of bats and the bats will dive bomb the pool in the evening. They are harmless. My kids are completely oblivious to the local critters. My one son is an expert spider hunter whenever we find one in the house. I've also seen him kill snakes with a shovel. Apparently his friend showed him how. Jellyfish are by far the biggest hazard in Australia (obviously not a threat when sleeping on the deck). The really dangerous Irukandji and Box jellies (not true jellyfish despite the name) only live up north. Blue bottles (similar to the Portuguese man o' war sometimes seen in Florida) are common along the east coast (Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Sydney), and south-west stingers around Perth. The stings can be painful, but are rarely life threatening. I frequently get stung while surfing and don't get much reaction to it.
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