The Watermelon Blog Green on the outside, social justice inside
"We can do better" (Kennedy)
Richest fluency
"This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul; and your very flesh shall be a great poem, and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body." Walt Whitman
Just out of hibernation in September Tiliqua rugosa, and about to find his mate, once again. One of the commonest reptiles here (Tiliqua scincoides is very uncommon). Brown and black snakes are also common, plus a third small species, there is the occasional bearded dragon and a small species, Egernia cunninghamii in small colonies, and numerous small skinks. A few months ago I rescued, two days in a row, with a hose, two baby stumpy tails who had brown snake fangs embedded into them, and brown snake bodies wrapped around them. Both survived the ordeal. I had seen a stumpy tail born just outside the window. Parents (?) stayed around for some time, then I gradually saw less and less of them. Watched the young one exploring day by day, then one day after a couple of weeks, looked out and there it was with a brown snake, fangs embedded in tail, body wrapped around trying to squeeze to death. I raced outside, saying 'get off my baby', tempted for a moment to pull them apart until sanity prevailed. Got hose, sprayed them until snake let go. Watched for a while, snake emerged again, baby stumpy tail went to bite snake, I raced out again, got hose etc. The scenario was about to be repeated about ten minutes later when around the corner came the BIG stumpy tail, headed straight for the snake who took off like a rocket! The big stumpy tail sniffed the little one, as if checking it was alright, and then eventually moved on. I would like to think it was the mother who came to the rescue. The baby looked stiff and sore for a few hours, arching back and so on, but next day was fine. A couple of weeks later, a second baby stumpy tail (who had turned up) was also bitten, this time in the side, and also in the process of being squeezed to death when I came to rescue with hose. This one has also, amazingly , survived (I thought the first survival might have been either because of the thick scales on tail, or the tail being mainly fatty tissue with poor circulation, but the second bite must have penetrated to some extent through the smaller scales on the flank. Perhaps they are immune to snake venom, though, not, presumably, to being squeezed to death).
"You are a person of some interest,one comes to you and takes strange gain away." (Pound)
"I find that I can have no enjoyment in the world but the continual drinking of knowledge. I find there is no worthy pursuit but the idea of doing some good for the world." (Keats)
"nothing startles me beyond the moment. The setting sun will always set me to rights - or if a sparrow come before my window I take part in its existence and pick about the gravel." (Keats)