Winter Woes: Scorpions, Funnelwebs and Fires

 

Sutherland's Funnelweb Spider

The Funnelweb Spider kills in less than 60 minutes. The adjoining Tallaganda wilderness is home to a bewildering number of different species of these spiders - all equally dangerous. The large and aggressive males can be encountered as they wander through the bush - a good reason for heavy, close fitting clothing.  This fellow was in a small depression high in the wilderness.

Black Rock Scorpion

Still hibernating in the Tallaganda (but not for much longer), our local scorpions are not quite so deadly - although if you encounter a group of 30 of them, all bets are off. The bite is said to be the pain equivalent of a hornet's sting (we have acquired European Wasps - and having been bitten by a couple last year, I am not keen to experience this one's bite).

Pile Burn

Now is the time to prepare for the coming summer - and as our official forecasters have said it is going to be wet here, I am planning for a dry hot summer. This means firing up the piles of fallen timber and orchard prunings before the heat comes.