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У природы нет плохой погоды
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Wow, I like these photos. They're great shots, well taken. I'm always amazed when nature goes nuts. Being in powerful weather is exhilerating. Frightening, but livening. Unless it kills you of course :o . My home cops bush-fire season every few years. It really wakes you up from the everyday.
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Australia!? Lucky bastard. :)
It's a torture to see your +32C, then switch off tv and go to clean car from snow and ice. I bet you didn't start a diesel by your frozen fingers when it's -20C outside. :)
Seriously, what is bad in Australia? OK, now I know about fires, what else?
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Sorry to tell you, but 4-C is the lowest I've experienced in my place of dwelling. So, I full-heartedly accept the tag 'lucky bastard' (as I live in the user-friendly weather region. Sydney). A 10-C day is considered antarctic proportions, here. Though, Australia is so huge that it must be realized that it's the middle-east coast that is responsib;e for our good image weather-wise. This country varies dramatically. It 's bigger than Europe. Though no (plausible) elevated land (like the Alps) to vary up the weather in that dimension. But the size itself? That's quite a land-stretch to facilitate different weather circumstances.
Well for the people of the outback- drought. Years and years of no rain. 50-C ave. in the centre of the country. My family and I once travelled the outback. We went into a bar in the middle of nowhere, where there wee only about five houses. It was 40*C. My dad said "It's a hot one today". The locals laughed their heads off. That particular summer was averaging about 55*. But granted, BETEP, this is in the uninhabitable areas. So lord knows why people even give it a try.
There are regions that have floods similar to the photos you showed, except that they're never in major municipalities. Hale storms come every so often, by only the occassional signifacant incident occurs. Nothing you'd tell people horror stories about. There are areas of high elctricical activity. Hence some magnificent lightning storms. The north and north-east have experienced devastating cyclones. But the big ones are few and far between. (The tropical far north east can claim torrential floods, though). The whole country is in the middle of a continental plate, so major earthquakes are extremely rare.
But all these are regulation diversity of weather throughout the world. Comparitively, you're right, Australia has it great. The east coast anyhow. I believe we have the best weather in the world. Not soley. There'd be places to equal the livability, but I don't see any place surpassing it. I've never taken this weather for granted. I hear about places around the world where I've seen pictures of blue skies. Only then to be told that these photos are taken on those rare few opportune moments. We have clear blue most of the time. The best is when there's a cool breeze aswell. The sun's rays warm your back, but the air is cool. Wow. I'll never take this for granted.
Autumn is my favourite season. Yes, spring is the most picturesque, with the flowers as bright as possible due to the locale having excellent light. But nothing can compare to the crispness of the air in Autumn. I just lay under the tree in the backyard with my dog all day.
So sorry to make you jealous. I'm not helping matters, I'm sure. :lol: But, our mid-summers are ridiculously too bloody hot. But 2 months out of 12 is a great strike-rate. So, you're right. As far as weather is concerned, East coast Australians have struck the jackpot. To avoid the bushfires, all you'd need to do is move more inner suburbia. It's not as if our hands are tied. It's not just the down and outs that live in these areas. Rich people have chosen this destiny-mocking lively-hood.
Australia has problems (eg. access to alternative culture etc.), but weather isn't one of them, for city, and semi-city people. Only the ones that live a 1000 km drive to the next one-home town with a population of 3 are the ones that can complain about our weather.
Sorry to make you jealous. But if it came to exchange of cultural eventfulness stories, the shoe would be on the other foot.
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Of course, you are the skin cancer capital of the universe and have more poisonous creepy-crawlies than all the other continents put together, so it all evens out in the end :D
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Funny how I forgot about that stuff. The by-products of the weather. I'm so used to the prevention methods of sucumbing to these dangers, that I forgot the dangers existed. Well not the skin cancer. I'm very aware of taking care on that front. I know white skin ain't made for this environ. And the ozone-breach is apparently manifested directly above my country (?). As for the creepy crawlies, it depends I guess whethere it excites you or frightens you. I love encountering re-belly blacks snakes on my walks. It's life on the edge for that split moment. But right you are. Just becaus ei've adapted to my surround, doesn't mean the surround isn't flawed for human livablty. Though again, inner suburbia can get rid of the snake element. But we have to deal with spiders so much, that we totally forget what an effect it has on little everyday activities, like checking in your shoes before putting them on. Even though everywhere has flies, our mid-summer is a nightmare. The flies test my 'compassion toward all living things' attitude. I don't see how it fits into natures plans that we endure torturous fly annoyance. And, ability to grow your own food must be lesser here. But many people don't do that even in countries that aren't dry as ale. Oh yeah. Swimming in the beach. We'z got sharks we duz! That's something putting second thought into my head as to whether to mereky wade, or swim in all the way. That's a fear that only some country's civilians would have. Ticks! I don't know how common they are elsewhere. But they're a call for constant physical self-examination.
Most telling, is the difference between going for a bushwalk in Scotland (Iwas do such things for 4 weeks whilst there) and bushwalking here. In Scotland, it is a stroll. Very tranquil. Here though, it's quite high-octane. Yes it's tranquil too if you find an open space. But brushing through the harmless Scottish trees and shrubes is quite a different experience to the alert mindset of brushing through Australian bushland, keeping your senses peeled for spiders, snakes and who knows what else.
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sounds a lot like texas, australia does... 'round here when you walk around you have to watch for snakes, spiders, other mean animals...lol...
for example: we had a kitten get eaten by a snake on our couch once! but luckily our dogs are good at catching snakes without getting bitten or anything ^_^
Oh and I've run into more rattle snakes than I think most people do(unless of course they actually look for them).... ;)
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Credit due, our snakes are non-aggressive. Only a particular outback species is viscious, the Fierce Snake. Maybe it's real name is the King Brown, I'm not sure. But for me, Red-Belly Black Snake is the big man about town. Quote:
(unless of course they actually look for them)....
But they are beautiful creatures (unless their mouths are open). Even if you almost step on one, most of the time they'll merely slither away. My dog unwittingly trotted right over the top of one which was sun-bathing on ashphalt (not actually touching the snake though), and the snake just decided (as opposed to a sudden reflex action) to slowly find another spot. So, 'unless you actually go looking for them' or don't accidentally corner one, they most likely won't touch you. I don't suggest testing this theory though. They look gorgeous. The red belly shows around its sides, even if its laying flat. And the red is glossy and pleasant to the eye. As is the black. For the healthy specimens anyway. But as soon as a snake's mouth is open, they're as ugly as hell
One particular spider however, is evil. I'm not sure whether this one that chased me was actually dangerous to humans, but it was pretty convincing. It was as large as a huntsman (harmless and often liked, by non-arachnaphobics anyway). I moved away from him. And the bloody bastard 'jumped' at me. I first thought it was just mis-perception on my part, as my eyes were moving as I moved away. But, it was no mis-interpretation. It kept chasing me. I even jogged a number of steps, putting two metres between us. The f@#n' little mutha put his foot on the peddle and took a run-up and lunged at me. So, I said "F##$ this not killing him crap, you're f@#ked!" I squashed him. I honestly don't yet know what secies it was. It was probably a mother protecting its eggs. "Trap-door Spider". The scariest word in Australian tongue. They living in burrows on the ground. Fortuately, there aren't many encounters at all. But folklore keeps you soiling yourself everytime you see webs sprawled along the grass and shrubbery. "Funnel-web" arrggg :o . I don't know which word freaks me out more. I don't even know for sure what a Trap-door looks like. I never step on most spiders. But if I'm unsure, the foot goes down. Red-back spiders are the most famous, but they're baby stuff compared to the other two. Only a baby could be killed by a Red-back. Even then, most survive. Probably more to do with anti-venom. But for adults, they'll just make you 'think' you're dying. But you won't 'actually' die. I've never been bitten by anything that's given me more than localized bite-mark agony.
Oh yeah, another danger I've mentioned elsewhere. Kangaroos. Yes, they're cute, and most are either dis-interseted or even friendly. But if you meet one with a joey? She'll beat the living crap out of you. I'll never try to socialize with a wild kangaroo again. That was not a successful outing. Stick to the ones in zoos. But they're in semi-rural areas.
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Brett, your story is amazing! Thanx!
Actually I've seen little snakes on lanes (2km from the city), and there are many ticks in our forests.
