Laurel Cliffs: Pests and Peculiars

We hiked in the Apline National Park this weekend and came across 5 copperhead snakes (the 7th deadliest snake in Australia) but they were all small and got away from us as fast as they could.

Small Copperhead (probably around 9 inches long)

We also saw a large (~5 ft) common brown (the #1 deadliest snakes in Australia) crossing the road! We were safe in the confines of our car. The only other snake we have seen our entire stay was a smaller common brown DEAD on our road.

Far more bothersome have been the Australian bugs. And they seem to prefer the females in our family. Cady was bit by a bull ant on her foot (inside a water shoe), Maren got a bite on her arm at school (bug unknown), and I was bit/stung by a buzzing bug – likely a European wasp – on the forehead as I was riding my bike. The side of my face was swollen for a week.

Swollen E

The bugs that really bug me are the spiders! I’ve stopped leaving any clothing or bedding on the floor for fear of having an unwanted friend creep in. We’ve disposed of 4 white tailed spiders (the 6th most dangerous spider in Australia), 2 huntsman spiders (9th most dangerous), and had numerous orb weavers (10th most dangerous) in our yard. The orb weavers create these HUGE webs – seriously over 6 feet across – across sidewalks, I stick to the roadway for morning walks/runs. Of course we have to document all of these.

Small but aggressive white tailed

UGLY and BIG (about the size of my palm) dead huntsman

Orb weaver hanging across sidewalk

There are also cool looking other bugs that Asher asks me to take a picture of whenever he sees them. I’ve got a phone full of these.

Stick bug and moth with Asher’s hand for comparison

The other type of picture that is taking up large volumes of space on my phone is signs. The peculiar street signs and funny things people post make us smile. Some good ones:

Watch out for old people!