So, now we’ve all recovered from any hangovers (or in my case, colds) that we’ve all experienced, how did you spend New Years Day? (Click on the pictures for larger versions)
I spent mine here:
And saw this delightful little fellow, whom Tizona seems convinced is a drop bear. It’s actually a baby brush tail possum. As I recall, he was a rather thirsty little guy. It was 40C out there (hold on a sec, our US friends, I’ll find it! 104F), and I poured the poor little guy a bit of fresh water. He lapped it up, and looked rather greedily at the bottle I was holding, as if he knew that if he looked sufficiently cute, he’d get more of it.
And just to placate Tizona, see if you can spot the hoop snakes in this picture:
The Tizona Group 
January 1, 2008, 9:55 am at 9:55 am
Lovely pictures, Ash. Brushy tail possum, my ass. Tiz a drop bear, right Spot? 🙂
January 1, 2008, 9:59 am at 9:59 am
Oh, do hope your cold is better, Ash. Well not better actually, but going away.
January 1, 2008, 9:59 am at 9:59 am
‘Tis indeed a brush tail possum; I presume Tiz is not a drop bear, also.
January 1, 2008, 10:04 am at 10:04 am
Oh, Tizona, the cold is great. I’m not so well, but the cold is doing really well.
January 1, 2008, 12:04 pm at 12:04 pm
Tizona, with a 14 month-old kid, I get to feel that way withut the drinks. You can’t diagnose Hperactivity Disorder for another few years, so I have to accept that his behaviour is normal, in which case: WHY WASN’T THIS IN THE MANUAL??
It’s absolutely miserable weather outdoors – high winds and rain. In oher words, perfect lazy day in the house. The boy exhausted himself by lunchtime so his mum and I got to snuggle up on the couch and watch an entire DVD uninterrupted. And I had enough time to blog. Luxoorie!
We’ve all just got over our Christmas cold, Ash. Get well, soon.
January 1, 2008, 12:11 pm at 12:11 pm
Thanks Dminor. I’m a miserable patient.
Tizona: it’s a damn possum!
January 1, 2008, 12:14 pm at 12:14 pm
By the way Dminor, count yourself lucky you got a manual. I either lost mine in the move, or I never got a copy.
I mean, what the hell are you supposed to do when they’ve just dirtied a nappy, are crying for some reason, and have just vomited on you?!
January 1, 2008, 1:10 pm at 1:10 pm
Dminor, you may have to upload your avatar, once again…Sorry…lol.
January 1, 2008, 1:41 pm at 1:41 pm
The avatar took me a few times too Tizona.
It does require cropping and stuff, doesn’t it? That’s the only way it took mine, although she now doesn’t look as cute as always.
January 1, 2008, 9:00 pm at 9:00 pm
Dminor’s avatar has fallen foul of Kevni’s Internet Police I reckon!
And, Tiz, sure looks like a Drop Bear to me! Ash is just trying to lull you into a false state of security…
My wildlife news is that although I knew I had one, I actually have two blue-tongued lizards living in my garden! Either one has just moved in recently, or there have been two all along but they look a little bit alike and I had just never seen both at the same time before.
But there are definitely two! In a little bit I’ll try to get a picture of them. What do they like to eat?
January 1, 2008, 10:04 pm at 10:04 pm
Spot
What do they like to eat?
Avatars, maybe?
January 1, 2008, 10:08 pm at 10:08 pm
I feed my kookaburras raw mince; I don’t even know whether blue-tongues are carnivorous or not! I’ll try them on some little bits of raw chicken; everything likes chicken, no?
January 1, 2008, 10:17 pm at 10:17 pm
Spot
Been meaning to ask…How large are these blue tongued creatures?
BUT, just found the answer to diet….I think.
Ecology
These lizards occupy a range of habitats from desert, semi-arid savannah, woodland and temperate suburban areas through to tropical jungle. They are omnivorous, and may feed on berries, flowers and other plant material, fungi, insects, spiders, or other small animals, carrion, and are very partial to snails and slugs. They may grow up to 60 cm (depending on the species). Solitary for most of the year, mating occurs in September-November. Pair bonding may occur over successive years (Bull 1988, 1990). The young are born (live) 3-5 months after mating (December-April). Litters may have 5-18 individuals.
Predators include kookaburras, raptors, and snakes such as the Eastern brown snake or the Mulga snake (Valentic 1996). Dogs and cats have also been known to attack bluetongues in a suburban environment.[1] When a blue-tongue is threatened it will face the threat opening its mouth wide, sticking out its blue tongue in an attempt to scare away the threat.
Wikipedia
January 1, 2008, 11:07 pm at 11:07 pm
One of them is in the weeds behind my shed in amongst all the rotting wind-felled mandarins; maybe they like fruit? His tail looks a little worse-for-wear too. And Charlie Mason the rent-a-dog is completely ignoring him – maybe lizards don’t have a scent? Or is brave Charlie Mason not sure of what the heck it is so he’s sticking with the “If I pretend I can’t see it, I don’t have to deal with it” line? That’s what he does with horses on the beach…
My camera’s recharging right now. My neighbour suggests dog food so I’ll have a go at that.
Jeepers, what a sad little life I lead, spending my new year feeding dog food to big stumpy-tailed blue-tongued lizards!!!
January 1, 2008, 11:26 pm at 11:26 pm
They go mostly for fruit I think Spot, but I bypassed the owning of a blue tongued lizard and went straight for a snake. And it’s not a drop bear! Drop bears look like koalas!
January 1, 2008, 11:42 pm at 11:42 pm
How’s your cold, Ash? As a recent convert to this new-fangled “air conditioning” thing, I’d go with the suggestion of the other day. Crank the air down to about 15 and crawl into bed under a big doona with a hot highly-alcoholic drink.
Oh, and just leave the TV on for Ember, give her the remote, put a bag of pretzels and a litre of Pepsi (with a sippy-lid!) nearby, and maybe put Domino’s on speed-dial in case she wants anything a little more substantial.
January 1, 2008, 11:49 pm at 11:49 pm
Here’s the guy in the weeds & fallen mandarins behind my shed.
January 2, 2008, 12:01 am at 12:01 am
Spot
Are those tomatoes on the ground, OR droppings of the infamous, Drop Bears?…lol.
January 2, 2008, 12:10 am at 12:10 am
Ho ho ho. Mandarins, kind of like large tangerines. I can’t eat them fast enough, and everyone’s trees fruit as the same time so you can’t give them away, so they end up on the ground, feeding ferocious omnivorous blue-tongue lizards!!!
This one looks like he’s already eaten, but! Look what he does with his eyes when I get too close – spooky!
These guys are probably what scared all my drop bears away!
January 2, 2008, 12:38 am at 12:38 am
Which RSS-feed reader do you guys (Tiz, Ash, anyone else) use? I had been using RSSBandit but the latest update of it is making everything go sooooo slooooow…
I want to try a different one but don’t know which to choose. Suggestions?
January 2, 2008, 12:53 am at 12:53 am
My cold’s doing great Spot, I’m not so well, but the cold’s thriving. The babysitter offered to take Ember today, so I leapt at the chance and slept for half the day.
For RSS feeds, I use SharpReader. It came recommended by News Corp, and it’s excellent.
January 2, 2008, 4:29 am at 4:29 am
Bluetongues eat snails.