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The Land Down Under
4 days ago
“Things don't go wrong and break your heart so you can become bitter and give up. They happen to break you down and build you up so you can be all that you were intended to be.”
- Samuel Johnson
- Samuel Johnson
♡ ✐ ♡ ✎♡ ✐ ♡ ✎♡ ✐ ♡ ✎♡ ✐ ♡ ✎♡ ✐ ♡ ✎♡ ✐ ♡ ✎♡ ✐ ♡ ✎♡ ✐ ♡ ✎♡ ✐ ♡ ✎ ♡ So, fun fact about me: I LOVE nature documentaries! Ever since I was a kid, I used to watch them with my father and little brother. The best ones were the ones narrated/featuring David Attenborough. Whenever my brother and I would flip through the channels, see a documentary starting, and hear his iconic voice, we would should to Daddy, "David Attenborough is on!" He would find the channel on his TV in my parents' bedroom and watch while my brother and I would watch in the living room. They were always incredible and we learned so much. It gave my brother and me so much insight into the natural world and made us really appreciate the beauty and majesty of this planet.
Another person we really loved to watch was, of course, Steve Irwin, otherwise know as, the Croc Hunter. He was so great. He really had a way of reaching his audience and infusing his infectious excitement into anyone that watched him. We all really loved him and were truly saddened when he tragically passed away. I recently saw his son in a YouTube short wherein he was showing one of the rare turtle hatchlings that he successfully bred at their family zoo. I heard someone say to him, "Your father would be so proud." This was so emotional for him and honestly, I openly wept when I heard him say it. I hadn't seen the children since Steve had died. You saw them a few times on the show when he brought them on, but after he passed, I hadn't seen them. His son looks almost exactly like him. It's uncanny. I know he is surely proud of him and overjoyed to see that his family is happy, and that his legacy continues.
Now, after saying all of that, whenever I saw a nature documentary on Australia, they were always interesting. They would show you the iconic creatures (kangaroos, koalas, wallabies, etc), some less iconic critters (typically the ones that only came out at night), and, of course, every single creature that will murder you in the most horrendous ways (which is pretty much everything). I'm not...afraid...of spiders, but I feel that if I lived in Australia, I definitely would be.
...anyway...
We saw so many things about the continent and its animal inhabitants, but one thing we NEVER saw...was an Australia where the temperature wasn't blistering! LITERALLY every documentary I have EVER seen on Australian wildlife showed you these animals living in a burning land of fire and an unforgiving sun! It wasn't until I was an adult that I realized that Australia has a winter season. I really and truly had no idea that it got cold over there. I thought it was just summertime, all the time, like Florida and the Caribbean. It was thanks to having friends on the continent that I learned about the changing weather. I have absolutely no idea why they never explored a wintery Australia on TV, but I have never seen it. In the same way that whenever you watched documentaries about the continent of Africa, they NEVER showed you the cosmopolitan areas of the various countries. I had only ever been shown the untouched wilderness, the small villages with assorted tribes of the region, and the shanty towns that are impoverished and disparaging. They never showed the cities with paved streets, people dressed in business suits, and flashy clubs with beautiful women and intoxicating drinks. Again, this was something I didn't learn about until the internet age. Knowledge is power and now that we live in an age where there is an unlimited wealth of knowledge, the world is no longer an oyster, it's a vast sea! ...or, you know...a vast planet. ^_^
So! To any Australians reading this post, can you tell me about winter in the land down under? Is it a time of year that you enjoy, or do you prefer a different season? What does it look like outside your window in July? I'm really curious. Honestly, I'm curious about anything you have to tell me about your home, because even though there were documentaries about Australia, there really weren't that many, so my understand about the continent is still somewhat limited.
Oh! On a side note, I recently got to pet a kangaroo and they are SO SOFT!!!!!! ^___^
Another person we really loved to watch was, of course, Steve Irwin, otherwise know as, the Croc Hunter. He was so great. He really had a way of reaching his audience and infusing his infectious excitement into anyone that watched him. We all really loved him and were truly saddened when he tragically passed away. I recently saw his son in a YouTube short wherein he was showing one of the rare turtle hatchlings that he successfully bred at their family zoo. I heard someone say to him, "Your father would be so proud." This was so emotional for him and honestly, I openly wept when I heard him say it. I hadn't seen the children since Steve had died. You saw them a few times on the show when he brought them on, but after he passed, I hadn't seen them. His son looks almost exactly like him. It's uncanny. I know he is surely proud of him and overjoyed to see that his family is happy, and that his legacy continues.
Now, after saying all of that, whenever I saw a nature documentary on Australia, they were always interesting. They would show you the iconic creatures (kangaroos, koalas, wallabies, etc), some less iconic critters (typically the ones that only came out at night), and, of course, every single creature that will murder you in the most horrendous ways (which is pretty much everything). I'm not...afraid...of spiders, but I feel that if I lived in Australia, I definitely would be.
...anyway...
We saw so many things about the continent and its animal inhabitants, but one thing we NEVER saw...was an Australia where the temperature wasn't blistering! LITERALLY every documentary I have EVER seen on Australian wildlife showed you these animals living in a burning land of fire and an unforgiving sun! It wasn't until I was an adult that I realized that Australia has a winter season. I really and truly had no idea that it got cold over there. I thought it was just summertime, all the time, like Florida and the Caribbean. It was thanks to having friends on the continent that I learned about the changing weather. I have absolutely no idea why they never explored a wintery Australia on TV, but I have never seen it. In the same way that whenever you watched documentaries about the continent of Africa, they NEVER showed you the cosmopolitan areas of the various countries. I had only ever been shown the untouched wilderness, the small villages with assorted tribes of the region, and the shanty towns that are impoverished and disparaging. They never showed the cities with paved streets, people dressed in business suits, and flashy clubs with beautiful women and intoxicating drinks. Again, this was something I didn't learn about until the internet age. Knowledge is power and now that we live in an age where there is an unlimited wealth of knowledge, the world is no longer an oyster, it's a vast sea! ...or, you know...a vast planet. ^_^
So! To any Australians reading this post, can you tell me about winter in the land down under? Is it a time of year that you enjoy, or do you prefer a different season? What does it look like outside your window in July? I'm really curious. Honestly, I'm curious about anything you have to tell me about your home, because even though there were documentaries about Australia, there really weren't that many, so my understand about the continent is still somewhat limited.
Oh! On a side note, I recently got to pet a kangaroo and they are SO SOFT!!!!!! ^___^
He put its life and well being before his own. He was truly an amazing person who is still terribly missed but never forgotten, resting well forever in peace.
"You'll be attending a 2-Pac concert"
"You'll be having dinner with God"
Etc.
One year when my friend Chubbs and I were at MFF, a friend of ours who worked with an animal rescue had a baby kangaroo he was fostering. That little fuzzball was so cute! He carried the joey around in a sling bag so the kangaroo could feel like he was in his mother's pouch. I got a picture of Chubbs holding the kangaroo and he was smiling form ear to ear.
Oh, and you should definitely research New Zealand. Talk about being permanently temperate and receiving snow in the winter, especially on the southern island (which would be weird for us experiencing snow between June and September). My friend
EDIT: I completely forgot that Island is the Australia of my universe! So, I really need to research the continent a bit more, for sure!
https://bsky.app/profile/wekadraws.bsky.social
Tell her I sent ya!
“Blisteringly hot” is a perfect way to sum up the climate here. I was posting on Facebook about how ice cream here isn’t a seasonal treat; it’s available all year around. I’ve posted photos of ice cream trucks that are active in the middle of winter here. Some nincompoop once replied to one of my posts saying “I’d like to see you sell ice cream when it’s only one degree outside.” I didn’t need to respond; one of my friends from Canada already answered him saying “It doesn’t get that cold in Australia.” Strictly speaking there are places in this country where it does get that cold; in fact we have some very good ski resorts on some of the mountain ranges, but they are very much the exception. For me air-conditioning is one of the most glorious creations invented by man, and I don’t even live in the worst parts of this country. In some parts of Western Australia it has reached 50°C 122°F), one of my friends lives in the Western Plains regularly experiences 40°C days in summer (104°F).
It can be summed up nicely with this image. It’s not AI; someone created this sculpture as a form of art. https://www.awesomeinventions.com/m.....uck-sculpture/
I adore winter here, but in truth it’s pitiful. Once of the reasons you won’t see Australian TV programmes depicting winter is that there’s really not much to show about it. On average it rarely goes below 11°C (51.8°F) during the day, even in the very middle of winter. I’ve never worn an overcoat in my life, because my body doesn’t need it. There are some days in winter that I can go about with a sleeveless shirt. Winter here is also very short; the chill doesn’t begin until late June, and by late August it’s already starting to go. I applaud the arrival of winter, and lament its passing every year. “Spring” here is in reality an early summer. Unlike other parts of the world where spring is still a little cool, we’ve had days here this year where it’s already exceeded 30°C (86°F).
I’m delighted that you were able to pet a kangaroo; they are my favourite animal in the whole world. Little bit of trivia: Did you know that the fur of most native mammals here has shallow roots because it improves their chances of surviving a bushfire?