Skip to main content

Lizard Hunting Season

"Shhh... I'm hunting lizards."
With Australia heading into the summer months Lizard Hunting Season begins. Well at least it does for our dog Oscar who gives them a serious barking tirade whenever he finds one.

Australian Blue Tongue lizards are pretty common where I live, specifically the Eastern variety. Because we live a short distance from bushland we get more than our fair share in the back garden and, on a couple of occasions, even in the house.



Eastern Blue Tongue.
Photo: Aust. Travel Guide
Despite their short little legs these lizards can run pretty fast and even jump relatively well.

When cornered they puff up their body to nearly twice its size and give a pretty intimidating hiss as a warning.

They also have a pretty nasty bite if you happen to get in the way of their sizable looking mouths. Oscar found this out the hard way one year when one got a hold of him. We heard his yelps from the garden all the way in the house. Needless to say he doesn't get too close to one that's out in the open and hissing at him.

However he will stick his face right into a hole where he knows a lizard is hiding (and hissing) - so there's a nose bite waiting to happen.

Anyway, I wouldn't mind these lizards in our garden so much if Oscar hadn't taken to sniffing them out at every opportunity, and then barking at them continuously, like they have no right to be there. It's annoying as hell when you're trying to work. Worse than when the neighbors dog won't stop barking when they're out because it's our dog that won't stop barking!

Even the lizards get tired of it because they don't exactly run away. In fact I've seen them swear under their breath and charge forward at Oscar. Ever since he got bitten he's wise to that maneuver.

I have a feeling it's going to be a long summer.

Oscar the Lizard Hunter.


TET Life Topics:

Comments

  1. Mum60November 12, 2014 7:51 PM

    We used to get those in the garden in Whyalla, especially at Wittwer St, our first home there, as the garden was unmade for awhile and just red dust as ours and the house next door were the last two houses to be occupied. One of the neighbours a couple of doors down used to let one roam around his vegie garden as they eat the snails!

    It would be good if you could get a pillow case or towel or something to either guide the lizard into or pick it up behind the head with a towel or cloth and just put it back in the bush. If you leave them alone they are harmless. Those bearded dragons will chase you sometimes, as I've only seen on the TV, and they can't half run, as you know!

    We read in the paper once in Whyalla that someone had found one of those stumpy-tailed lizards on their toilet seat! There was one on the wall next door in Jenkinson st, but a long-tailed one and it was right next to their bathroom window which was open and they hadn't got a screen on it, so I went round to tell them to shut the window! (that was the house with the Asian lady married to an Aussie and they had the three children, two girls and the youngest a boy)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TET (David Arandle)November 12, 2014 11:44 PM

      They come into our yard from under the neighbours fence which I've now started to block off all the entry points. But these lizards are good diggers and seem to just make new spots to get in.

      I have a box that I can usually catch them in and then put them out in the front yard because once they're out there it's harder to get back in (and I can't be bothered walking all the way down to the park with them). The neighbours have a nicely landscaped yard with plenty of good rocks to sun bake on and hide behind - and they don't seem to mind the lizards so much.

      I don't mind the lizards. It's Oscar who's a pain with them because he seeks them out. Then if Bailey sees them he's big enough and dumb enough to pick them up in his mouth and throw them around. It's just not safe for the lizards to be in our backyard.

      Delete
  2. ThesestarsDecember 04, 2014 12:52 PM

    Your summer is coming, and our winter is here. Didn't realize that. Are the Corella's coming soon too? Or is that a different time of year? Oscar thinks its his job to get those lizzies off his property. I hope he stays safe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TET (David Arandle)December 04, 2014 4:17 PM

      I think the Corells's are more of a Spring time phenomenon as they're usually here when the trees are very green.

      Since I wrote this I've seen Oscar on several occasions barrel straight in and grab a lizard by the body and start shaking it around. So he clearly knows not to go for it's head anymore.

      Fortunately he's not strong enough to break their skin and hasn't actually killed any before I've stopped him but it's pretty confronting to see how a normally cute dog can be so violent.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Comments are moderated by an actual human (me, TET) and may not publish right away. I do read all comments and only reject those not directly related to the post or are spam/scams (I'm looking at you Illuminati recruiters... I mean scammers. Stop commenting on my Illuminati post!).

Buy Gifts and Apparel featuring art by TET.

Popular posts from this blog

Bruce, South Australia - A Forgotten Aussie Town with Spectacular Landscape Views and Potential

The Bruce Railway Station. Now a private residence. V isiting the almost forgotten town of Bruce reminds me of visiting Silverton back in 2007, except Silverton has been revived into a kind of arts town with a very famous pub. Bruce, on the other hand seems a little too spread out, and a bit too out of the way to make a similar 'arts' kind of revival. Bruce's Pub appears to be an art studio with signs of restoration work in progress. The main part of town appears to be the Bruce railway station (now a private residence) and a pub, also privately owned and possibly was, or still is, and artist studio. Other buildings and homesteads are set fairly wide apart, and are mostly privately owned homes. You don't get much sense of being in a town as such. I'm told there are approximately 14 local residents/families? Once earmarked to be a commercial centre, Bruce fell by the wayside after successive floods and drought in its early years. Obviously the railway line is no lo...
3 comments
Continue Reading »

Is AI Art 'Art'? The Say NO to AI Art Movement, and Why Human Artists Will Adapt

AI Art No T-Shirt by TET Also available on other items . Right now there is a big debate over not just whether AI art is 'art' but whether AI's are actually ripping off the work of actual human artists, without their consent, to create their images - particularly images 'in the style of' specific artists. From my own observations this debate started to get more traction when artist's signatures began appearing in the output of AI Art  image generators. Is It Art? Cool Froyd the Cat Sketch by TET. My style is very much influenced by classic Disney and WB character styles. To get some clarity on how real human artists work (of which I am one)... we, that is all of us... take influences from the art that has come before. i.e. whatever artists we like, have studied, seen etc. we are influenced by. It shows up in our work, intentionally or not. If you really study my own cartoony art style you'll see I'm heavily influenced by early Disney and Warner Bros cart...
Post a Comment
Continue Reading »

Boom Crash Opera Born Classic But Not Again

Boom Crash Opera are an Australian Band that reached the peak of their popularity in the mid to late nineteen eighties. They are a band that I knew about at that time but was never really excited by until they released their ill fated double album Born and Born Again in 1995 (Album cover pictured). At the time of its release I was very much into emerging Australian musical acts and was also looking out for new sounds that were different and had kind of a futuristic/electronic sound. Artists that I was buying at the time included; Swoop , Nine Inch Nails and Pop Will Eat Its Self . As well as a really interesting release by David Bowie, the concept album, Outside . Born was a fairly radical departure for Boom Crash Opera (BCO). The first single, Gimme , was often compared to the sounds of Gary Glitter, particularly his single, Rock n Roll part 2 , because of the pounding drum loops. Watch the video below. My favorite single from the album is dissemble which probably went now...
16 comments
Continue Reading »

Kids today are smarter than their parents?

Mother's Bed Art Board Print by TET. Available from RedBubble . How often have you heard it said that kids today are smarter than their parents? I’ve heard it quite frequently in the media – even Dr Phil has said it. I say speak for yourself. It’s not true and don’t let the media fool you. Today’s kids may have access to more information that may give them more choices but in my experience, they only take in what they want to hear and still make stupid, uninformed decisions. Just like we used to at their age. Like any cross section of people there will be exceptions. There are kids that are genuinely smarter, more mature and responsible for their age. However the vast majority know everything they need to know by the time they turn fourteen. They’re ‘adult’ enough to be responsible for all their own decision making so parents should just let them do what they please…right? Just like we thought at fourteen. Don’t be fooled. Just because your son knows how to download MP3’s onto an i...
15 comments
Continue Reading »

How to Transfer Any Line Art to Your Griptape - Easy Skateboard Griptape Art Tutorial

Dog Star Griptape Art by TET Griptape art is once again gaining popularity amongst modern skateboarders. For those of us who have tried to create our own griptape art, using paint pens, you'll know reproducing your design onto the grip, without making any mistakes is incredibly challenging. Mostly because you just have to go for it and draw the design freehand, with paint pens, directly onto the griptape. You can make the odd mistake here or there but if you get the proportions of the design completely wrong, it can be very difficult to fix. Often you just have to live with the mistake. To address the problem I've come up with an easy way anyone can transfer a line art design to their griptape, removing almost all the anxiety of getting the proportions wrong. In fact, you could do this with any line art design, even if you have no drawing skill at all. Watch the video below to see my technique in action and/or skip past the video where I highlight the basic steps to get your de...
Post a Comment
Continue Reading »

James Gunn's Social Media Monkeys Joke Was a Highlight of His Superman Movie For Me

B efore James Gunn's Superman Movie was released there was a whole rumor going around that the movie would feature monkeys on computers trolling Superman's social media, sparking much outrage. #supersh*t. I didn't know this was even a thing until just prior to writing this article. I did a search to see if anyone had posted a clip of the monkeys scene from the movie and got pages of discourse featuring videos and articles prior to the film. Most of it from Gunn detractors (let's say) seeing it as some kind of childish swipe at them... well not them specifically but, you know, those other people who have every right to hate on anything sight unseen. Anyway, I'm not going to give even one such example a link or air because it's kind of sad watching someone devote so much commentary to a throw away gag that is absolutely a nod to James Gunn's Superman trolls.  The whole reason this post exists, is to say I loved the joke, because fourteen years ago, and I...
Post a Comment
Continue Reading »

Embarrassing Yourself with Doof Doof Music

Ever since Spinal Tap popularized the notion of turning an amp up to eleven audio systems have been rising to the challenge of louder, more awesome sound. In particular, car audio systems have embraced the notion of the bigger the noise the better the sound must surely be. What I'd like to know is, if these sound systems are so good, why do they make all music sound the same... Doof, Doof, Doof? You've all heard them. Pimped up cars, with audio systems seemingly worth more than gold, volume blasting way past eleven. Sound waves booming long before you make a positive visual on the car... Doof, Doof, Doof. It has to be the audio system right? Surely all these people can't be playing the same tune? Doof, Doof, Doof. Could it be that the more money spent on a car sound system the less musical range it will actually play? Maybe these people can't afford to buy music after purchasing the audio system so they all play the same demo track? Doof, doof, doof. In my own car I hav...
14 comments
Continue Reading »