Summertime

I was reminded, today, that summer is on it's way.

It wasn't that the sun is getting up unspeakably early, it wasn't the feral hoards of tourists, or the sickly white stick figures baring all down at the beach. Oh, no. It was a mosquito big enough to carry a small child away.

Every Australian knows the song Redback on the Toilet Seat, but this was a jumbo jet mosquito! At first, I thought it to be a Daddy Long-Legs spider, all legs and attitude. It crouched there with spindly legs looking up at me from the rim.

Okay, I thought, just flush that sucker away and get on with it. Hah! One flush and it flew up, hair-thin proboscis out and ready to do battle. Missed, though, and I heard that sucker hum, a low, threatening sound. I'm gonna get the fly spray to it. No way am I waking up in the middle of the night with that stuck to me.

It also reminded me of what else is here to harm the unwary. With the warming temperatures and rising humidity, true spiders are starting to be active. The Funnel-Web spider, the Redback spider, Wolf spiders, Trap door spiders, White-tailed spiders and Huntsman spiders. Snakes, too; the Red Belly Back snake, Brown snake, Taipans, Death Adders. All are coming out to play with the ignorant.

The warming waters will soon attract the sharks, the jelly fish and blue bottles.

Oh yes, there is much to watch for in the Summertime that has nothing to do with salt rash, sand in your togs and sunburn (slip, slop, slap, people).

Reminds me of that song, Austraylya, it'll killya, that lists all the things in this Great Suthen Land that is potentially lethal. Hah! I love it here, man-eating sketos and all.