Snake Nebula

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

This mosaic is made from an avi of the Snake Nebula.
We found this little girl (6'+) sunning herself near our dam yesterday morning.
We are letting her stay on 2 conditions
1) that she is not to invite any of her cousins over
2) that she leaves the cat alone

[h0ughy (David)]

Introduce her to the golf club neb!

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

She's about a foot bigger than that brownie that merged with the axe nebula last year.

[Lee]

If she was in my yard, a collision with one of the local Buckshot open clusters would be imminent.....

[h0ughy (David)]

would that equte to a meteor shower?

[Lee]

Yep.... spherical lead meteors!

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

The last owners left sheets of tin lying around the back paddock. Tomorrow, armed with leather gauntlets, boots and an axe, I might see what else is lurking back there.

[Volans]

I trust all this banter is just that....banter. I used to live in an area where there were multitudes of snakes, many poisonous and many quite benign.

The biggest I ever saw was a black headed python that was in the order of 8' and the smallest was a red nape snake thinner than my little finger and about 8" long. The latter was poisonous but its mouth was so small that there would be no way it could open it up to get a fang anywhere near your skin.

A small story, again from Far North Qld, to illustrate the wonderful diversity of snakes and how due respect and a willingness to simply watch from a distance will reward you with unforgettable sights.

The sunset tour was a favourite tour of mine particularly during Summer. I took people to a high point and sunset was enjoyed with a few nibblies and drinks. Then off to the mouth of one of the deeper and longer lava tubes to watch the nightly emergence of the micro-bats.

Dangling from the foliage in front of the lava tube, were night tigers (a variant of the green tree snake). They would wrap the rear portion of their bodies about a branch and the front part would be suspended in mid air but curved back on itself in that peculiarly snakish S shape.

If a bat got too close then the snake would uncoil with speed and if lucky (it did not work all the time) it would grab a bat. If any of you saw the recent "Planet Earth" by David Attenborough then you would have seen a similar thing. But by being careful and watching from a safe distance I did not see this amazing feat on the small screen, but in real life!

On the way home from Sunset Tour, I saw a snake laying coiled on the warm dirt road. I stopped the tour bus a let everyone have a good look at the Death Adder sitting there. Yep... this is one THE most deadly ones about.

But how to take the bus forward without fear of killing the snake? Simple, get out and get a VERY long stick and poke it till it moved.

Knowledge of snakes goes a long way to being able to enjoy, rather than fear, these creatures. I knew the Death Adder would not leap and strike because that is not how they operate.

We watch the stars and enjoy them...so why not watch other things and enjoy them as well?

Peter.

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

I wouldn't hurt a harmless snake or even make it move away. They are a useful beastie to have around, they keep the rodents out of the chook and feed shed.
But, on the other hand, I won't tolerate a brown snake making itself at home in my territory. It's just not safe when you have young children and pets.

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

We have Browns, Yellow-bellied's, and Tigers here and so far I have only killed one coz it was at the front door. I leave the others in the paddocks coz they are handy as Jeanette says, they kill the rodents.

Mind you, I think my dogs have chewed up a few

[matt]

Yes.

Everything has its place. Live and let live.

As long as they (and we) keep our/their distance, everyone's happy

[Dujon]

"Live and let live" is fair to a point and is how I generally look at my local wildlife.

It seems that most snakes will avoid you if they can, after all you are not on their diet. I felt sad a few years ago when while mowing my back lawn I inadvertently injured one hidden in the grass. At first I thought I'd hit a blue tongued lizard as it had a pale underbelly - it turned out to be a tiger, or a reasonable facsimile of one. Whatever, it was despatched with the sharp end of a shovel (it wouldn't have survived anyway). It wasn't all that long - probably a couple of feet or so - and I have no idea as to how large they grow, but it made me think what could have happened should I have passed it by with the mower and then stood on it.

Snakes, per se, don't worry me, though I'm always wary until I identify them. Spiders though are a different matter. I know that outside the funnel web, red back and white tail they will cause no damage but they still give me the heebiejeebies.

[Lee]

All harmless banter! I more worry about snakes and my dogs, because they are dumb enough to sniff them!
In my experience, most people who get bitten are usually trying to catch/kill the snake anyway! They lose their bravado pretty quickly then I might add.....