Archive for the 'Tropical Living' Category

Pythons eats a Cock-or-two

Up until now I haven’t givent the full account of the Python vs Cockatoo sagas, as I was under obligation to the media. Diane from Adventure before Dementia has had a slithery visitor recently and wanted to know where the story was. So here is possibly the longest python post in the world….

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Tropical North Queensland is a hotbed of prolific wildlife activity. Both day and night we witnessed the most incredible scenes right in our backyard. My home backed onto Deep Creek (where a very old salty lived), and out front Dead Man’s Gully (I assumed someone met the salty, judging from the name of this creek). Lots of water, constant temp & humidity and remnant rainforest are the favoured habitat of wildlife around here. Humans are merely visitors in this landscape.

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Our house was surrounded by fruiting rainforest trees which brought the cockatoos (cockies) by day and bats by night. Unfortunately Beak and Feather Disease is rampant amongst the older birds, resulting in the slow loss of flight capability. A pair of “dodgy” cockies visited my yard everyday, but one evening one of them could no longer launch itself into the air. It decided to spend the night in my bougainvillea, approximately 2metres above ground. Bad decision.

Around 8pm I heard an almighty screeching from the backyard. Running outside with a torch, I searched the yard until coiling movement in the bougainvillea caught my eye. As I approached, I knew that it was too late to try and save the poor cocky - it was literally breathing it’s last breath as it’s eyes slowly closed (above photo).

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The python seemed unperturbed by my close presence, coiling tighter around the cocky’s body. I ran inside to grab the camera, and then spent the next 2 hours witnessing nature’s life cycle first hand.

During the killing process, the python kept his head well above the “action”, appearing at times to be almost disinterested in what the lower part of his body was doing. Once the cocky hung limp, he lowered himself under the bird and opened his jaws around the back of the cocky’s head. The snake’s whole body rippled with each convulsive bite - scales shimmering with that trademark purple sheen.

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Having eventually succeeded in swallowing his prey, the scrubby was happy just to “sit a spell”, tongue flickering at me as I took his portrait shots. Eventually he headed off toward the fence and into the darkness of the bush.

The next few days saw the remaining cocky pine away for it’s mate, as it too lost it’s ability to fly. Eight days after the first attack, at around 9pm, I once again heard a piercing screeching from the backyard. I didn’t have to go outside to know what it meant. This time the cocky was very much still alive, looking me straight in the eye, squawking for dear life. I had only earlier that day removed a paralysis tick from this cocky’s head, and had rung the vet about him. I thought I’d try and save this one. I grabbed the hose and turned it full bore on the python.

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If a python could say “pfffft”, then this guy would’ve. He didn’t care less about the water or my presence. Once again the snake appeared distinterested in the bird until it was dead. At least this again was a quick death.

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This python was slighty smaller than the last visitor (2.5 m compared to the previous 3.5). Once again, coils cleverly aligned wings and feet into a neat tube-like shape, as the cocky was slowly consumed.

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We had a few witnesses to these attacks, and the python didn’t give 2 figs. My son recorded the whole incident on a digital movie format (lasted for about 1 hour), the neighbours came over and took some snaps (one had a visiting American friend who was completely aghast at the ferocity of Aussie wildlife), and even the cat and dog watched on.

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Now the bounganvillea is referred to as “The Tree of Death” by the neighbours. I only wish the scrubbies could “take care” of the massive bandicoot that digs up the garden every night!

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How green was my Garden?

Here’s a quick calligraphy piece done on canvas, originally intended for a Botanically themed Christamas exhibition by the Calligraphy Guild.  Needless to say it never made it, as it was only finished it this week! Highly stylised and done on canvas, it certainly is a breakaway from my usual work.

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I do love my garden, fo all it’s unfinished corners and triffid-like tropical monsters. Unfortunately the recent Hail-Storm-From-Hell that hit Perth (going to hit a $billion in claims soon), decimated a lot of it, shredding leaves, flowers and a lot of my house!

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When you have hail stones this size you get under cover pretty quick!

We have had several tradespeople come and go assessing the damage, and it it going to be a looong time putting things to right. There is going to be a severe shortage of Poly carbonate sheeting….

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And these are but a few of the photos - we had rivers of water both inside and out!

But today a bright spot amidst the carnage - one lonely passionfruit flower escaped the onslaught - at a time when the vine should be dripping with fruit and flowers.

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When this little blossom ripens into a delicious purple globe, it’s every man for himself!

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Frogs at my feet

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Cyclone Hamish certainly knows how to stir it up, even if he can’t make up his mind where he’s headed.

Yesterday Clifton Beach had a foreboding feel hanging over it.

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If you look very carefully on the horizon you can just make out the shape of something luxurious…

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…with a much more mundane friend beside it. I wonder if that’s the vessel that lost those 33 containers of Ammonia Nitrate, with another 3 tonnes spilt on deck. But don’t panic, it won’t explode unless it comes into contact with heat or chlorine….

Whilst on the subject of all things awash, we were pelted with such heavy rain late yesterday that we had several creeks running all throughout the yard and patio. I stepped onto the paving that was submerged up to my ankles and a tiny frogged grabbed my foot as it sailed past. It was headed for the white water rapids at the BBQ, and then the waterfall down the side gate. I rescued him and a couple of buddies till conditions eased.

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Not sure if they were happy being turfed out of the Frog Hilton later that night, but I’m sure they’d want to join the DEAFENING CHORUS of their bazillion mates in the creek out front!

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Cyclone Hamish, flotsam and jetsam

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Image courtesy of the Bureau of Meteorology

Cyclone Hamish could be here as early as tomorrow night/saturday morning. There goes the weekend plans of exploring the Tablelands. Still, might be less crowded at the Coffee Plantation.

Thanks for all your lovely comments on the last post. I was hoping to be able to get a lot of painting done, but the Evil Taxation Return had other plans for me. It’s still not completed, and it’s like an infected thorn sticking in my toe. I was wading waist deep in papers, some going back to the 90’s, which thankfully are on their way to a new life in the reincarnation recycling bin. You know what it’s like, once I get bitten by the Purge Bug, I keep doggedly on, ripping up old bank statments with maniacal glee. Tax returns from the 80’s (just how did we survive on incomes so low?) even surfaced. I used to keep everything. Just in case. (Margie I can hear you laughing from here you know…)

Anyway, in an effort to tear myself away from all things mind numbing and soul destroying, I unwrapped a beautiful new Italian sketchbook (The Moleskine) this evening, and felt quite inspired admiring it’s creamy blank pages. Elli commented on linework in the last post, and linework is just what I need right now. There is an exhibition entitled “Line” closing soon, so I need to get a wriggle on. The lovely Elli also commented on museums being the source/inspiration for good work, and I do sadly miss them living up here. One of my favourite was the London Natural History Museum. I could live there and never ever get bored. The moment you set foot in that wonderous building you feel awe (and that Harry Potter might appear any minute). When I was there a while back I took so many (poor) photos. (This was still the age of film). I really think it inspired me to build my own naturalist’s collection, which I have been doing since I was a wee thing, much to my mother’s disdain. A decomposing red-bellied black snakes’s skin was binned whilst I was at school one day.

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Everything was just so beautifully presented in polished timber cases. Did  anyone see the ABC’s recent series on the London Museum? How pedantic were they with dust getting into displays? Amazing dedication.

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And the organisation - oh! It made me want to swoon.

So once back in Perth I built up a collection, mainly of beachy things, as we lived on the coast. After winter storms were the best time for finding unusual things, when the sea bed was trawled up and dumped on the sand. A lot of it stunk to high heaven, even after lots of bleach was involved. An outside collection was the best place until the smell disappeared.

When I proposed a piece for a Royal Show exhibition, I turned to my collection. I was able to use my finds, and gathered knowledge to put together a huge body of work, which won the Blue Ribbon at the Show. It met an untimely demise which I haven’t written about, but I did post some better photos under a post (click) HERE.

Below are some really bad photos from the film days.

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So now I’m really keen to get some of my Tropical finds down on paper, captured in lines. Maybe even a splash of colour as well.

The Tax can wait.

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Colours

Even though it was 33 deg C today, there is a definate change in the air. Even though the radio said the relative humidity at 8am last week was 94%, the mornings feel different. We really only have two seasons up here, Wet and Dry, and it’s been an amazingly dry week. (I may have put the mocker on  myself as there is talk of a cyclone forming by the end of the week - Cyclone Hamish). Last year March was the wettest time of the year - who knows what’s in store?

You can’t fool the plants though. We have decidious trees in the street - the Beach Almond (the bat’s & cockies fave). Whilst they are nude for only a fraction of time, they do drop their leaves. They go from deep emerald green to fire red canopy.  It seems one leaf is extra keen.

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And speaking of nudes, here is one I did late last year at uni. We had to choose an artist whose palette knife technique we admired, and to emulate that style in a painting of our own. I can’t recall his name, but I do remember the vibrancy and movement he captured in his work. First nude and first palette knife painting. It was quite quick, around an hour and a half, but man did you use up a lot of paint! With some colours at $38 per tube, oil painting is NOT cheap.

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Hope you are all enjoying Autumn wherever you may be!

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Q: What’s scarier than a Python in your backyard?

A: The orthodontists’s quote this afternoon.

It’s around $6,000 to fill a teenager’s mouth with metal these days.

When we arrived home after the orthodontic shock, I noticed what seemed to be a patterned scarf near the back fence. It was under the Tree of Death, but as there were Peaceful Doves around it, I thought no way it could a Python. Again.

Wrong.

As I walked up to it I was able to see the final few gulps of wing feathers down it’s mouth.

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How did he sneak up on a cocky during the day? They are usually nocturnal hunters. Cocky must’ve been really engrossed in something else.

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The cat was freaking out, and performed 3 ft vertical jumps everytime it moved. The vets have warned about pets outside at night. Now I’ll have the joy of worrying during sunlight hours as well…

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It wasn’t long before those final feathers were forced down that loooong throat.

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Then lots of wriggling and stretching to force the whole “lump” further down it’s body. It almost looked as if the unfortunate bird was still alive in there.

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 It then rested it’s head in the fork of The Tree of Death for a while. It’s tongue was flickering every time I moved. Try as I might, I couldn’t quite capture the split second it flickered.

This was the smallest of the 3 pythons that have had a cocky meal here. This one was around 2 metres, maybe a tad more. The next shot is of it making an exit, stage left, with it’s head already under the fence. It did get stuck around it’s middle, and wriggled and danced till it made it through. Then it was back to the bush to sleep it off for a few weeks.

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I hope that this is the last Python saga I have to tell for a good while, although word must be spreading in the serpent world about the smorgasboard by the back fence…

To finish on a more cute’n'cuddly note, someone else was enjoying a meal this morning:

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I seem to be overrun with snakes and spiders.

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From Lions to Ants - Big Game Tracker turns to the tiny

Today the Governement sent in agents to launch a recon mission in my end of the street/creek and my yard. Their mission was to seek (and if necessary, destroy) a foreign invader - The Evil Electric Ant. 

In January, an infestation of these native South American Ants was discovered a few hundred metres away in the resort grounds across the bush from my house. They are not a friendly insect to stumble upon. These ants inject painful venom when they sting, they specifically attack the eyeballs of other animals, including pets, and can blind them. They attack birds and nestlings and farm scale insects. Bad for crops. All round nasty guys.

All week the DPI guys and girls have been laying baits to see if any had spread to our streeet and homes. Today was my turn.

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That’s Steve checking bait traps on the banks of Deadman’s Gully. You can see the little pink ribbons where he laid traps inside my front fence.

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About 2 dozen baits were laid around my yard, including the herb pots. The Electric ants are gourmets. They will only go for the expensive Don Sausage.

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Steve checking the baits after an hour. He was such a knowledgable guy. We yakked for ages about the wonderful biodiversity of this area. He checked out a few insect species for me, as well as my tadpole ponds, which he’s hopeful are NOT canetoads.

This man has spent many years researching wild lion prides in South Africa. He says it’s was an amazing, sometimes heartbreaking, experience. To be checking for ants is quite a bit less stressful than facing a poacher with a semi-automatic machine gun!

We got the all clear - no baddies on our block.

Here is some info from their site:

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The electric ant is golden brown in colour and 1 - 1.5mm in length

Overview

Scientific name Wasmannia auropunctata

Description

Electric ants:

  • Are tiny, about 1.5mm long
  • Are light to golden brown in colour all over
  • Are usually slow moving 
  • Are social - they like to be with each other, often in heaps
  • Do not have nests - electric ants establish colonies anywhere and have been found under stones, in garden waste, leaf mould, soil, trees, swimming pools and water courses, and may be in wall cavities, clothing, bedding or camping gear
  • Can be found in wet or dry conditions
  • Like water - they may ´jump´ into swimming pools and form a ´raft´

OriginThe electric ant is native to Central and South America. These ants have a significant invasive history, having been introduced to Africa, North America and six Pacific Island groups (including the Galapagos, Hawaii, New Caledonia and the Solomon Islands).    Human health Its impact is similar to that of the red imported fire ant, in that it injects a powerful venom when it stings. The sting results in painful, itchy and persistent pimples, and sometimes in severe allergic reactions.  ImpactThe principle effect of the electric ant is on the environment and humans. Electric ants are generalist feeders, which mean they feed 24 hours a day in most weather conditions. A large proportion of their diet is from honeydew from scale insects which they farm, creating an agricultural nuisance. Electric ants can cause declines in the numbers of invertebrates and small vertebrates, and compete with other ant species within the affected area, particularly if infestation levels are heavy.Electric ants make up 90% of ant populations in invaded catchments in New Caledonia. They are believed to have caused a decrease in reptile populations in New Caledonia and in the Galapagos Archipelago where they eat tortoise hatchlings and attack the eyes and cloacae of adult tortoises.In human habitations the ants may sting and even blind domestic pets (cats and dogs). Electric ants do not sting en masse like red imported fire ants, but will sting when they come in contact with people, such as in gardens or in water in swimming pools. Their sting is very painful at first, and can last - with itching - for up to three days. Foraging trails may enter houses.In agricultural and residential areas, the electric ant may be a great nuisance to humans by reaching high densities and stinging people working in the field as well as in and around their homes. Mode of spread As a tramp ant, this species is closely associated with people and is spread by people. Most international spread is associated with plants, plant materials and products or edible commodities. Electric ants have previously been intercepted accompanying air passengers carrying plant material, mats or woven baskets. Once established the species is estimated to spread on average 170m per year by budding, which means new colonies radiate out from existing colonies. This species is not known to spread by flight.

 

For more info from their site click here

      

I hope everyone had a lovely Valentine’s Day on Saturday. We enjoyed a sumptuous brekkie by a lake near Trinity Beach. The iced cranberry juice was delicious.

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There was however, a plague of toadlets to navigate. They were everywhere. Even the restaurant owner was perplexed by their sheer numbers. Thousands and thousands of them underfoot.

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This photo was AFTER they had cleared the path. They were tiny, about the size of your little finger nail. Jeff said that was nothing, some of his greens were black with them.  Some didn’t get out of the way of cars or feet in time.

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Slow toadlet on the left.

Another species out in huge numbers were the Rainbow Bee Eaters, strung out like pearls on a necklace There must have been  a couple of hundred of them at Trinity. Repeat the photo below across 5 lengths of telegraph line and you can imagine what they looked and sounded like.

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It was like a Blue Light Disco of the air.

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My new Bouncer

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No, it’s not this beautiful girl. She was newly “hatched” yesterday evening, with wings drying out, and happy to be photographed. She was quite an uplifting sight after the sadness of the past few days, so I thought I’d share her.

This is my new Bouncer:

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When my face, nor the dog’s, scared my 3.45am visitor, I resorted to desperate measures.

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‘Cos when you gotta go, he’s gotta go!

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And he did just that, back up the S Bend, after seeing the Cat.

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Does anyone else have to face such Toilet Anxiety?

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Reflections

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Another day of highs and lows for the country. Triumphs, no matter how small, are good for mind and spirit.

Seeing the fireman hold his waterbottle to ”Sam” the koala’s mouth was quite emotional. Apparently she’s made the New York and London Times news.The RSPCA and vets  are on hand at the site now to render assistance to those that cannot speak for themselves. Wildlife volunteers have a list of missing pets, and are combing the streets in search of them. Burnt horses, geese, goats, wallabies, kangaroos and koalas are all receiving gentle care. They even found a peacock in a toilet block!

Great to see so many people rally with goods/food (even hot pizzas!), sharing what they have with those that now have nothing. “Mateship” at it’s best.

Another triumph was the opening of the Highway up to the North today. 500 trucks are making their way up here to restock shelves. “Creative cooking” with limited ingredients will be over soon! I hope they hurry, more heavy rain to the south is bucketing as we speak.

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Old Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard is even barer

Yesterday was a miserable day, with my head being crushed whilst “driving the porcelain bus” (luckily the Gree Tree Frog has moved out!). I was convinced that I had Dengue Fever. Today, a rapid recovery - obviously not Dengue, and therefore no more sympathy.

Off to the Supermarket. A waste of time really.

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                           No meat,

        

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          No yoghurt,

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No frozen veg either. I did notice that they had some fresh potatoes left. They are occupying the space the bananas and other fruit used to.

However, if you are a Spectacled Bat, then the Beach Almond trees out the front of our house are all the sustenance you need. These guys were out very early in the evening (they usually appear after dusk), due to all the rain I think. (sorry the photos are pretty grainy as there wasn’t much light)

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There was another one of him having a rather large widdle, but obviously too much in bad taste to post (and blurry!).

So we are still cut off from the rest of the country. I spoke to the Post Office today. No parcels coming IN or OUT of Cairns for the last 2 weeks, and maybe a couple more. Lots of red tape involved - if  the “No Dangerous Goods” sticker is not signed (as for all Road and Rail items), they cannot be loaded on a plane and flown out.

A last note - my heart goes out to all the people and animals involved in the tragic fires down south. It is so so sad, and hopefully the rest of us can chip in and help where we can. Every little bit counts.

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