Tuesday, January 29, 2008

I'M NO COUNTRY GAL

Since our nomadic Bwca, horse whisperer, chicken wrangler and den mother to every other be-furred and feathered creature hasn't updated, I will do it for her. This house sit has been pleasant apart from bushfires, stray dogs, thunderstorms, stolen car dumped at the gate and the local hoons practising for the Melbourne GrandPrix.

And then there's these two.

This is a yellow-faced whip snake. Only a baby who could have up to 200 brothers and sisters since the adults are into communal egg laying. Our fearless boggart was going to pick him up with salad tongs and put him somewhere out of her way.

This one appeared today. Her description, dark grey on top, lovely peppermint green on the bottom. Her has an eye for the detail as she ran for the gumboots and shovel. A bit of a bad show to whop him with a shovel when I've told her they're protected. Anyway he slithered off before she got within range. A shovel weapon isn't what I'd go for, I'm more a '12 bore shotgun and stand a mile away' killer.
Probably they're only looking for a kind human and a place to rest after being driven out of the bush after the fires. It'll look good on her CV, "Oh yes, quite familiar with snakes, how many do I have to look after at this place?"
Jeebus, Woman, can't you get a house sit where all you have to do is the watch the paint dry?

12 comments:

Brian Hughes said...

"Probably they're only looking for a kind human and a place to rest after being driven out of the bush after the fires."

No wonder they look so hissed off.

BwcaBrownie said...

Thank you dear Witch.
I can't blog it - I'm too rattled.

and isn't Hughsie a pet?

Snakes eat frogs and skinks both of which are all over the place here.
Both snakes were very pretty and I wanted to study them but all I could think was "oh the dogs, they'll bite the dogs".

My next sit is at the place where foxes criss-cross the paddock like it's Bourke St mall. *sigh*

Jayne said...

Mmmm snake...tastes like chicken ;)
Shovels work wonders on foxes too !

JahTeh said...

Lucky Poms, you only have two lots of snakes and only one's poisonous if you don't include Madame Blair but she's more venomous than most.

Isn't Hughsie a pet what?
Foxes are easy, throw rocks and take the chickens to bed with you.

Jayne, on no account are you to encourage the bwca to foxtricide.

Kelly & Sam Pilgrim-Byrne said...

Maybe you could trot over to WA and house sit for us when we go east? We have Western Dugites and Tiger snakes in our backyard...

Anonymous said...

Kelly and Sam: We have Western Dugites and Tiger snakes in our backyard...

Jeez, must be noisy...

I had to kill a brown snake with a shovel once, and I know you shouldn't, but the dog and cat we had were BOTH taunting it. Stupid shits. It was totally their fault that it had to die.

Ozfemme said...

Snakes. Aaaaaargh
*Ozfemme has run screaming from the building having read this post*

phil said...

There is a brown snake in the state government building in Emerald. Obviously it swam there.

Ozfemme said...

Psshaw... no. state government (cue the horns) buildings are the known habitat of snakeys.

*runs screaming from those buildings too*

JahTeh said...

The country's overrun with the things.

Helen, animals, like kids will always do the most stupid out of two choices.

Muriels, one of your babies was bitten if I remember. As soon as Miss C is walking get her a pair of blundstones, up to her knees.

Phil, it's Queensland everything swims up there and mostly all poisonous.

Don't worry Oz, Noise will probably grow up to be like my boy, catching spiders and pickling them in jars. Made a lovely show in his bedroom.

Middle Child said...

That one in the bottom pictrue was in my letter box at Christmas...am very careful when I collect mail these days

Ozfemme said...

jeez, middle child - who'd send you one of those? aaaargghhhhh