It’s been a hot, hot week here in Australia, very hot. Here in Brisbane, we’ve got off quite lightly compared to many other towns and cities. That said, the temperature gauge in my car peaked a couple of days ago at 38°C, that’s just over 100°F.
Everybody has been feeling the heat, including snakes. This carpet python decided to take a swim in the back garden pool of one Brisbane resident. The noise, by the way, is the pool pump which they switched on to see if it would scare the python away. It didn’t…
A python was in the news earlier in the week as well, when a mother awoke to see one wrapped three times around her two year old daughter Zara’s arm.
As the mother pulled the python off of her baby, poor young Zara got bitten three times on the hand. She went to hospital but was released the next morning. A snake catcher went to the house to remove the python. He felt sure the snake did not intend to harm the baby but was simply “trying to have a group hug…” when it wrapped itself around the toddler. And those bites? “When you grab a snake, a snake in its reptilian brain thinks, ‘anything that can grab me can also eat me’.”
This all took place in Lismore on the far north coast of New South Wales, and you can read more about it in the Courier Mail.
Bushfires
On the downside, the extreme heat has put almost every state in Australia on bushfire alert. Hundreds of fires are raging throughout the country and I’m sure many of you have seen images of the devastation caused, particularly in Tasmania.
I will talk in more detail about bushfires in a future post, but what I will tell you about bushfires today is that they are not “Armageddon fires”. Armageddon is, according to the Book of Revelations, the place where there will be a battle when the world ends.
We also had a dust storm in Western Australia, but I can tell you that was not apocalyptic. Apocalyptic means the end of civilisation, I can assure you, we are all still here.
We had Dust Storms Sweep Through from Sydney to Brisbane back in September 2009, the world didn’t and then either.
Obviously though, HarvestArmy, a YouTube channel, do not agree with me. They talk about “The need for national repentance to hold back God’s hand“, “an apocalyptic week in Australia“, “fires burning throughout the land” and “sinister looking storms“. Best of all, we have “blood beaches“.
You can make your mind up for yourself, me, I think we are just having a hot summer…
hi Bob, what’s up
you believe 38ºC it’s hot?
here in Portugal last summer we got 50ºC in some town in the interior,
right now (10-07-2013) there’s 43ºC outside… ahahah
let me congratulate you about your excellent work with this site, has been very helpful, me and my girlfriend are thinking in moving to NSW, she’s ending the nursing course next year.
may be in a couple of year’s we can be compatriots (i don’t know if that’s the right word,english it’s not my native language)
sorry if i didn’t get right every sentences, despite i’m familiar with the language the written part and the verbs are kinda tricky.
and of corse sorry for the out topic
Valter Russo, Portugal… may be Australia some day 😀
Ooh, that is scorchio, isn’t it? I hope you went to the beach 🙂
We do get similarly hot temperatures here from time to time, I remember being in Sydney (on holiday) around Christmas 2005, temperatures were hitting 45° C. In the outback, I suspect even higher temperatures are quite a regular occurrence.
It’s good to hear my website has been useful to you, I hope your journey ends here in Australia which would make his compatriots; yes, you have the right word.
Cheers
Bob
Hi Bob,
I enjoy reading your witty and insightful blog. Just one thing, Lismore is in NSW.
Yes, of course it is 🙂 I knew it in my head, but in the article they referred to it as being on the “far north coast”, and I’ve never really heard that terminology used for NSW, only for Queensland. Kind of threw me out.
I have now changed the post above, thanks for letting me know.
Bob
As compared to other deadlier varieties of snakes found in Australia, python is relatively harmless. Bush fire seems to be a regular process and part of life for lots of Australians, they appear to have learned to live with it.
You missed the story of the python who tried to catch a ride on a passenger aeroplane. Unfortunately the poor thing died during the flight (apparently the outside of a plane while it’s flying is not a very nice place to be) but it would have been an interesting experience for the passengers on board.
As for the fires, we have come through this heatwave pretty well so far. A lot of damage done but no fatalities. That’s an incredible statistic considering the catastrophic conditions. I have the greatest respect for all the firies who have done an amazing job so far. That being said, its still early in the bushfire season so let’s hope Tassie is the worst of it for this year.
Yes, I did actually read about that poor python, very sad. I think they said the snake probably fell asleep on the wing while the plane was parked, and before he knew it he was flying through the air trying to hang on. Not surprise he didn’t survive, poor thing.
As for fires, it has significantly cooled down today, and I think some places have had a little bit of rain, so that’s helped out. The firies do do a fantastic job, as do the many volunteers that help them.