Snakes, spiders, sharks, crocs. We have them all. And to outsiders we maintain, naay relish in, an air of nonchalance in our acceptance of these things. In fact we revel in our apparent disregard of them.
Danger? I laugh in the face of danger.
Except not really.
On a recent bushwalk with a friend in our suburb, we faced a new creature. Our screams, well my screams, were ear-piercing.
The fear and terror of its massive claws cannot be underestimated. It barred our way across a creek.
Behold what stopped my friend and me in our tracks.
The three billy goats gruff did not face a meaner guardian of the crossing.
Perhaps our fear was compounded by the novelty of seeing a yabbie in our suburban creek? First one I’ve seen in greater Sydney.
Now to calm your beating heart, here’s some flowers we saw along the track.
And to make you smile at the unusual beauty of the bush, here’s some shots of Scribbly gums. They always make me smile. Such a fun tree. All that childish scribble.
lucinda sans 
Awww…yabbies! A sign of a healthy waterway. Remember how they used to be everywhere when we were kids (like frogs and tadpoles) but they seem to have vanished in so many places. We used to spend hours yabbying as kids (string with a piece of meat on the end) and we’d catch them by the bucketful. Yabbying is one of my favourite and best childhood memories. We’d either throw them back in at the end of the afternoon, or my uncle would cook them for us as a meal. Beautiful – tastes a bit like crab. How big was this one? Ours in Vic are small. The ones is Tassie were quite big.
I grew up in the western suburbs of Sydney. Polluted watercourses meant there weren’t yabbies. I did go yabbying a couple of times when we visited rural areas in WA and NSW. This one was massive. Maybe 15cm.
A “yabbie”! Is that a crayfish or a lobster – or something else altogether?
Alastair, it’s a type of freshwater crayfish. Pretty common on dams in Australia. Kids used to always go yabbying (like fishing).
Maybe that’s why he’s running for it!
We only have lobsters and crabs in the ocean, so I would be amazed to see a crayfish in a freshwater creek! The scribbly trees are cool even though it’s an insect effect (I had to look that up). I am happy we don’t have lizards or scorpions here, and no poisonous spiders or snakes in our region. The worst thing that could happen is coming between a mother bear and her cub – or running your car into a moose!
Love the flowers – they look like fireworks!
The bugs only seem to affect one type of gum tree. I’ve always loved them. Tonnes of spiders here. In my house, garden, on my windows, everywhere. We learn to not walk in long grass – I have this inbuilt fear even doing so in countries without snakes. And do not lift things in gardens or the bush, like rocks and bits of fencing or building supplies. There will probably be spiders in or under, and maybe a snake. We’ve had snakes at my school. We warn the kids not to lift things on our school farm.
Wouldn’t fancy running into a bear, especially one with a cub. If I see a spider, I can guarantee it won’t bit me. And I stick to paths in the bush so if I see a snake, I can take evasive action. What would I do if I saw a bear and it saw me?
Only recently we have started avoiding walking in tall grass because ticks have arrived in our area. Lots of spiders and some snakes but none poisonous. If you hike or camp in bear country you need to be educated. The first rule is to walk with bells on (literally) because it will scare them off. Not a good idea to sneak up on them! As a kid we loved turning over rocks and logs to see what was underneath, usually small and harmless centipedes and salamanders.
She will have rings on her fingers and bells on her toes. (To scare bears.)
I love the suburbs!
Your opening line made me think of lions and tigers and bears, oh my! haha
Never heard of yabbies – glad Alastair asked what they are! Also love the gum tree, very cool! Spiders and bugs don’t bother me but I am grateful for a break from them when the weather cools off. Don’t have too much experience with snakes, and certainly not harmful ones. There was a snake in my work parking lot about 5 years ago and I don’t think I’ve had an encounter with any since.
I haven’t seen snakes around my place but spiders I have plenty, including deadly red backs.