Australia - The Land Down Under

[MikeRocor]

We have 'roos like that around here. They're called "whitetail deer"! Tasty, but stupid.

If one crosses the road in front of your car, don't watch where it went. Watch where it came from because they travel in groups. But watch where it went TOO because they're stupid enough to turn around and try to get you again. And watch where you're going - after all, you -are- driving a car. The good lord gave you three eyes for a reason, you know.

 

[Condobloke]

The good lord gave you three eyes for a reason, you know

i have had kids....I have a fourth in the back of my head

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

A slightly different 'take' on the establishment of Australia.

'Used and exploited': These historians want Australians to rethink the convict era

Colonial Australia was a brutal place for convicts, but it was more political than previously thought.

www.abc.net.au

Well, well, well.

This American learned of some of these things quite some time ago! I couldn't tell you specific names, but I do know that a lot of people sent to Australia were purveyors of human rights and progress.

I think it the time of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert? If so, that was quite rich considering Prince Alberts' stance as an Abolitionist and continuing slavery in the United States.

 

[KGIII]

They're called "whitetail deer"!

Around here, they get over 300 pounds.

Then, there are moose. Those are 1500+ pounds and so stupid that I'm not sure how they're not extinct.

(They are all delicious. Kangaroo is also delicious.)

 

[Condobloke]

Meet the barefoot band of outback Queensland kids on a mission to start a junior cricket team​

ABC Far North
/ By Chris Calcino and Adam Stephen
Posted Sat 20 Apr 2024 at 12:32pmSaturday 20 Apr 2024 at 12:32pm, updated Sun 21 Apr 2024 at 1:13pm

The barefoot band of bush kids on a mission to start a cricket team

Henry Land travels 400km to play cricket every weekend. But after posting hand-drawn flyers around town, the Cunnamulla kid's dream of starting a local cricket team could finally come true.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Condobloke]

Lily, 11, was playing in a park when fire ants swarmed her body

Colleen Lavender has raised her kids to love the outdoors but they no longer walk around barefoot after her daughter disturbed a fire ant nest at a park. She's worried the spread of the ants could change the outdoor lifestyle Australians know and love.

www.abc.net.au

Fire ants are a damaging invasive species that pose risks to livestock and humans.

By land and by air, baiting program combats fire ant incursion in northern New South Wales

Helicopters are being used in northern New South Wales as part of a $600 million program to stamp out red imported fire ants, after nests were detected south of the Queensland border late last year.

www.abc.net.au

 

[KGIII]

I had a very brief encounter with fire ants in the SE part of the US. (They don't survive up here, thankfully.)

They suck. They hurt - and it's the kind of hurt that lasts for hours. It's not like being stung. It's like someone put a cigarette out on your arm. Well, not quite that bad.

I had good advice and washed the bites with clean cold water. It still sucked but that made it suck less.

 

[Condobloke]

ANZAC DAY. 25th April, 2024

The Anzac Day Tradition | Australian War Memorial

www.awm.gov.au

Lest We Forget

How the poems of Banjo Paterson's son kept the legend of the Rats of Tobruk alive

As the German artillery, infantry, and air force unleashed wave after wave of attacks on Tobruk, Hugh Paterson wrote poems to lift the morale of his fellow soldiers.

www.abc.net.au

'An extraordinary life' recognised as NSW's last Rats of Tobruk veteran honoured at funeral service

World War II veteran Ernie Walker remembered as "a gentleman and a good bloke" at funeral service in the Southern Highlands, after passing away at the age of 106.

www.abc.net.au

One of Australia's last Rats of Tobruk dies, just shy of 101st birthday

Sydney George Kinsman was a veteran of some of the biggest battles of World War II, including the Siege of Tobruk and First Battle of El Alamein, and escaped after being captured as a prisoner of war.

www.abc.net.au

 

[KGIII]

Lest We Forget

Let's hope we don't.

Australia and New Zealand gave their share and then some.

 

[Condobloke]

Australia and New Zealand gave their share and then some.

Amen.

 

[Condobloke]

Meet the Australian Wombat

A chance encounter with a wombat in the ocean leaves experts questioning 'unusual behaviour'

A couple holidaying in Tasmania's remote north-west have captured a wombat foraging in the ocean. The footage has surprised wombat experts, who say the behaviour is highly unusual.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Condobloke]

'It's not my thing': 106-year-old war veteran opts out of Anzac Day marches

World War II veteran Colin Wagener joined the military with three friends in 1938. He returned to Australia in 1945 after serving in Borneo, but has never joined an Anzac Day march.

www.abc.net.au

 

[bob466]

Well, well, well.

This American learned of some of these things quite some time ago! I couldn't tell you specific names, but I do know that a lot of people sent to Australia were purveyors of human rights and progress.

I think it the time of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert? If so, that was quite rich considering Prince Alberts' stance as an Abolitionist and continuing slavery in the United States.

The reason the British started sending convicts to Australia was because they lost the Americas...many of those convicts were guilty of stealing something minor like a loaf of bread to feed a starving family.

All this happened long before Queen Victoria...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convicts_in_Australia

We are proud of our convict past because these poor people built this great country we live in today.

 

[Condobloke]

Marta Dusseldorp​

Australian actress
Marta Dusseldorp is an Australian stage, film and theatre actress. Wikipedia

70-hour weeks and learning lines on the weekends: The real life of jobbing actor Marta Dusseldorp

Marta Dusseldorp starred as crown prosecutor Janet King for three years. Now she finds herself working more and more behind the camera.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Condobloke]

I don't care what you are doing just now.....STOP....pull up a stump and watch this.

(The video will take 7 minutes out of your day) IF YOU HAVE A BIG SCREEN TV ETC....THROW IT UP ON THERE

A subterranean wonderland lies beneath the Nullarbor. A battle between energy and the environment looms in its future

The Nullarbor Plain is famous for being dry, flat and featureless — but it's a very different story beneath the surface, with an intricate cave system that has remained mostly untouched.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Condobloke]

Four states in firing line as more invasive fire ants nests found on army base

An outbreak of invasive fire ants in one of the largest catchments of the Murray-Darling Basin has experts worried four states could be affected if the pest spreads.

www.abc.net.au

Red fire ants can create rafts to travel in water to establish new nests.(Supplied: Invasive Species Council)

 

[bob466]

Lily, 11, was playing in a park when fire ants swarmed her body

Colleen Lavender has raised her kids to love the outdoors but they no longer walk around barefoot after her daughter disturbed a fire ant nest at a park. She's worried the spread of the ants could change the outdoor lifestyle Australians know and love.

www.abc.net.au

View attachment 19516
Fire ants are a damaging invasive species that pose risks to livestock and humans.

By land and by air, baiting program combats fire ant incursion in northern New South Wales

Helicopters are being used in northern New South Wales as part of a $600 million program to stamp out red imported fire ants, after nests were detected south of the Queensland border late last year.

www.abc.net.au

According to this...
https://www.fireants.org.au/treat/r...use-fire-ant-bait/fire-ant-bait-product-guide
this...https://www.bunnings.com.au/pestxpert-150g-nest-kill-granular-ant-bait_p3010423
Will do the trick.
Not looking forward to these ants coming to NSW.

 

[Condobloke]

New Info---re baiting/controlling of Fire Ants

@KGIII & @wizardfromoz please take note.

Treating fire ant nests | National Fire Ant Eradication Program

www.fireants.org.au

Treatment types

We use two different fire ant nest treatments, both approved by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) — fire ant bait and direct nest injection. Both treatments have different purposes, application methods and results.

Fire ant bait

Bait treatment is lightly scattered across backyards and garden areas as well as parklands and paddocks, by helicopter, utility terrain vehicle and/or hand spreader.

Fire ants collect the bait and take it back to the nest. The active ingredient/s are passed around the colony, leading to the death of the worker ants, larvae and queens. Multiple treatments may need to destroy all nests. Fire ant bait is safe for the environment, humans and pets.

Type of bait	Active ingredients	Typically found in	Expected results
Fast-acting bait (used to treat the immediate area around nests)	Contains indoxacarb or a combination of hydramethylon and pyriproxyfen	Cockroach baits / dog and cat flea collars	Reduction in nest activity in 1–4 weeks, and nest death soon after
Slow-acting insect growth regulator (IGR) to make the queen infertile (used to treat the rest of the property)	Contain S-methoprene or pyriproxyfen	Mosquito control / dog and cat flea collars	Nest naturally dies out in 3–4 months

It is made of small pieces of corn grit soaked in soy bean oil and an active ingredient. The active ingredients are the same as those found in household pest control products such as cockroach baits, mosquito control products, and flea collars for pets.

On an average residential block (approximately 500 m2) up to 100 grams of bait will be used in each treatment. The corn grit has only 0.045% (fast-acting bait) and 0.5% (slow-acting bait) active ingredient, meaning very small amounts of insecticide is used.

 

[Condobloke]

For a more exhaustive run down, instructions for residential properties, farmers business's, sporting groups, PETS and animals. etc

National Fire Ant Eradication Program

The National Fire Ant Eradication Program is a nationally cost-shared program funded by all Australian state and territory governments, and the federal government, delivered by Biosecurity Queensland.

www.fireants.org.au

Treatment types and bait safety | National Fire Ant Eradication Program

There are several types of fire ant treatment and these are considered safe for humans and most animals.

www.fireants.org.au

There are many links contained in these url's

 

[KGIII]

Fortunately, I'm too far north for them to survive. Though, as the climate changes, that too will change.

We're even seeing possums now, but those are mostly in southern Maine.

Also, we don't have anything really venomous (or poisonous) in my area.

We have storms that will take your power out for a week (plus winds gusting up to 120 kph happen several times per year) and bury you in snow, but we don't have much else like that. We don't even have major earthquakes as we're geologically stable.