Extremes

I've come to realize that Australia is a land of extremes.  Nothing here is really ever normal, standard, common, etc.  Most things exist and occur in extreme states. 

Exhibit A: Bugs

It wouldn't be enough for the bugs and spiders here to be "normal-sized."  Nope- not in Australia.  Here, these critters must be at least as large as your palm- at least. 

Exhibit B: Snakes

I grew up in the desert, so snakes weren't exactly all that scary or foreign to me, but that doesn't mean I ever liked them. The silly rattlesnakes in Arizona of course are nothing compared to snakes in Oz.  It absolutely terrifies me to know that the top two most venomous snakes in the world live not just in this country, but in that Australian state that we now call home- Queensland.  What an honor?  Take a look at this list of the top 25 most venomous snakes in the world.  Notice how just about ALL of them are on this lovely continent?!  Makes you glad that at least this is an island, so they are technically stuck here... unlucky for me...

Exhibit C: The weather

Well I guess there are not extreme COLD temperatures here, but the heat is definitely extreme!  It's been in the 90's and 100's here for what seems like months now.  And just when I started to hear about extreme droughts and bush fires (that's what they call wild fires here), the extreme RAIN comes along.  It started raining last night around dinner time.  It has not stopped once since then.  And it is supposed to be this way through Sunday.  And in true Aussie-fashion, it's not just regular rain, it's some of the hardest and loudest downpours I've ever experienced.  We went from droughts (which was evident in our sad, dead lawn) to flash flood watches and a pond in our yard.  In the span of 12 hours (9AM to 9PM), five inches of rain has fallen!  I've always been one who prefers warm weather and sunny skies, but this is actually kind of a nice change seeing as how I've had blazing heat and sun since May basically.  But again, I like these types of days in small doses, so ask me again later in the week how much I like it.

About 9:00 this morning

5:00 PM - Street Drains starting to overflow