Another Resident Snake

OK, I have finally seen the resident Red-Bellied Black Snake (poisonous) .  Susan has been telling me there is one that lives under Woody's house, but until now it was just another "Australian bush" story.  Susan went out to cover up the generator with a tarp and the Black snake was under it.  She left it alone and came for reinforcements!  I grabbed my camera and a long handled shovel.  We talked about if we should kill it or move it away.  Apparently these snakes have a territory and it would return if simply moved. We now have this little puppy who likes to explore all spaces outside, and this snake would kill him right away if bitten.  In the end, I simply took photos, and shooed it away.  He crawled under the washing machine I think, which is under Woody's house.   I hope the snake can live peacefully under the house and leave us alone and I hope it was not a mistake to not kill it.

Internet Facts:

The red-bellied black snake's head is barely distinguishable from the body as there is no obvious constricted neck area. This snake is dangerously venomous but bites are rare because it is usually a placid and fairly docile snake, preferring to enact a lengthy bluff display with flattened neck and deep hisses rather than bite. It grows to a length of 2.5 metres, and is a very distinctive snake because of its simple and unvarying coloration. The upper surface of this snake is glossy black while the belly is light pink to brilliant red.

Our New Dog!! Little Buddha ...

Hi everyone ... So, here's what happened. Melonie and I were in Tweed Heads 10 days ago and stopped by our favorite fruit and vege store, which happens to be in the mall up that way. When we were unloading our groceries into the car, we found this little guy in one of the bags:

What could we do? I mean, he just appeared there and looked up at us with his big brown eyes and furrowed brow, and said: "Please take me home and cuddle me and feed me and let me be yours".

So, of course, we did:

We read that pugs (he is half pug, half jack russell) were the favorite pets of Buddhist monks, so Melonid suggested Buddha for his name, which I love. OK, maybe those who know us will think that's a predictable name, however, it's also reasonably original, right? Know any other dogs named Buddha? When he's being a pain in the ass, we revert to his nickname - Grub.

Of course, neither Melonie nor I had an ounce of pragmatism about this whole occurrence. Things like vet bills, potty training, obedience school, clipped social lives and how we will fit Buddha in our backpacks when we travel never entered our heads in the moment. We are dealing with all of that now ... A few less than ideal nights of sleep, but, for the most part, Buddha is very well behaved. And very smart. He is sitting, lying down and pissing outside on command at eight weeks of age. It's been three days since he took a dump under my desk.

And the fact is, we adore him. He's more affectionate than the Bagworm. :)

Brief Update

I have not written a post in awhile so I will do a brief update.

• Fall is here!  Cool nights (in the 50's now at night), and for the most part sunny, warm (only when the sun is out) days.  The days are getting shorter also.  I am getting two seasons back to back of short days! I think I will make up for it when I return to the Pacific NW this summer with long days, when it will be full on winter here with the shortest days of the year, so no room for any complaints on my part.  We have a propane heater that we can turn on in the house for short periods at night to take the chill out of the air.  Woody has a nice woodstove, but we have not stated a fire yet. We have a stack of firewood ready for the woodstove right outside his door however!
  
• The leeches are fewer in number now, I have been brave enough to walk on the grass with bare feet on occasion. I have attracted a few buggers, but I am not as grossed out by them anymore. Did I ever mention they itch like crazy for days afterwards?
  
• The Bagworm--- well, I let him go walkabout last week to look for the food he wanted to eat as he was not eating anything I put in his plastic hotel.  He climbed up into a tree nearby and stayed there for several days.  I thought he was going to hang there for several months as he morphed into a moth, but one day, he was gone.  I am a bit sad he is gone, yes, yes, weird I know, but he became my first Australian pet!
• I passed my English tests!  Oh god, THANK GOD!  So now I can turn in my application for my RN license...then wait to get it approved, then apply for my nurse practitioner license.  I am procrastinating now that I can actually apply.  I am hesitant to take a job before September when I return here after my time in Washington this summer.
• We have been clearing land, fighting back the jungle around the houses.  I must have moved a ton of branches recently.  Now the view is opened up and we can see some of the surrounding foothills.  It is so very nice.


This is the view before the land was cleared.


And AFTER, exposing a beautiful rainforest tree!



• I am taking an organic gardening course trying to prepare to be more self-sufficient in the future.  Will there really be a huge food shortage in our lifetime? 
• It is raining today (good news) after many weeks of floods followed by more weeks of no rain and a decreasing water level in the rain tank.  I have been taking showers standing in a blue basin to collect the shower runoff water for the garden.  We are talking about getting another large water tank to store more of the rain that comes in the summer time.
• I went to the beach a few days last week and it was beautiful (again).  Sunny, warm, and not too hot.  The ocean was turquoise and crystal clear.  There were big waves breaking right off shore and when I stood out there, I could see right through the two foot tall swells before they broke, it was like looking into an aquarium. The swells were transparent and full of different fish.
• I think Susan and I will climb Mt. Warning this week.