Mother Nature

October 29, 2001-You Can’t Fight It

I had my first confrontation with Australian wildlife & I came out victorious. As I stepped out of the shower this morning, I noticed a large object perched on the mirror. At first, I thought it might be a wayward bat, but on closer examination, I realized it was a very large moth. It wasn’t going anywhere, so I got dressed, took a photo of it, & got my trusty plastic container with lid. This wasn’t officially Tupperware, my container of choice, but it would do. It was translucent so I could see what I was capturing & not maim it by misjudging its size. There was a handy lid to keep it where I wanted it until release.

This monster moth, however, had a feisty Aussie disposition. It wouldn’t give up & flew madly around the tiny bathroom with me flailing at it with the plastic box. I couldn’t really chase it since there’s no room to take more than one step in any direction. I just kept twirling in hopes it would tire or commit suicide in my waiting plastic tub. I tired first & decided I would just shoo it out through the open balcony door. I herded it into the hallway & immediately saw I’d underestimated my quarry. It took refuge in the closet & all the clothes shaking I did wouldn’t dislodge it. After removing several items I saw it hunkered down on the hem of a pair of slacks. I easily scooped it up, slid the lid in place, carried it to the balcony, & set it free taking care to close the balcony door beforehand. I consider that we’ve really been lucky not to have had any ambassadors from Mother Nature before this. Oh, did I mention that we have no screens? In Australia, when you build a house or buy an apartment, screens are extra. I guess it’s a macho thing.

For those of you wondering why I got dressed first, I would like to say that a friend once took a picture of a dress hanging on a bedroom door. He put the dress up for sale on E-Bay without realizing that along with the dress was a reflection of him in his undies in the full-length mirror on the door. Let me just say he got a lot of hits.

We leave for Cairns early tomorrow morning. We’ll be there for five days & then head for the Center to see Ulhuru (Ayres Rock) & Alice Springs. We’ll try to keep in touch with you via cyber cafés.

Toby