So yesterday I pulled on the boots for the first time in around six or seven weeks. Due to a new diagnosis I've been trying to avoid the sun the best I can but yeah, that doesn't really work all too well for someone whose job is nature writing! So I slathered on the sun screen, donned my fancy schmancy new hat (it isn't quite cowboy enough for me, but it's a start) and we headed out for a quick look around Maddens Falls.
It's such a lovely spot, and I was really hoping to find some insects, in particular Botany Bay Weevils (one of my favourites!) on the way to the falls but no luck. Instead, Matt secured himself 'best husband award' (and I should know, he's my second) by spotting a Diamond Python from the lookout over the falls.
At the time, we couldn't see its head, just the long, dappled body of the snake as it move across the branches of a gum below us. We watched it disappear behind a huge bush boulder and spent the next ten minutes or so, running back and forwards hoping it would pop up again somewhere soon. And it did just that, a little closer this time, still below us and in a spot not quite reachable by those who aren't overly intrepid (ie us) but it was so beautiful watching it curl its long body up in the sun before slowly starting to move once again.
This continued for some time - the snake disappearing, us scratching our heads and scrambling where we could to see if we could locate it. And each time it popped up, it popped up closer. It was humid, like pretty much every February, but by this point I was soaked to the bone. We ummmed and ahhhhed about waiting just a little bit longer, wondering if our luck would continue.
Finally it moved up a moss covered rock, really nearby, passing a young Eastern Water Dragon as it did so. Now it was moving above us. We headed back up, just in time to watch as it slithered vertically, brushing past bracken and sliding along branches, dropped from the gums towering above us. It knew we were there and tasted the air with its incredibly blue tongue. I assume we taste delicious because it spent quite a bit of time, tasting, assessing.
Eventually, it moved past us, over the moss and then leaf litter and deeper into the bush. We've had these snakes around the house quite a bit in the past but it just felt so much more wild there, out in the bush, with such a long and unexpected encounter. Can't ask for more from a husband than that, right?
Also, quickly, I cannot thank you all enough for the lovely messages you have passed on over the loss of our Elsie. I haven't had a chance to reply to everyone but please know we really appreciate each and every one. Today is the first time I haven't had a cry. Our other dog Cameron is looking brighter too and Matt and I have had a few good belly laughs over all the crazy things she would do. Thank you all again x
Diamond Python
Maddens Falls
