Blue tongue lizard
It has been hot today and the kids got into the dam, after they came home school ,to cool off. However the weather is changing and I could hear thunder so i went outside to make the kids come in , and I found this blue tongue lizard sitting in the sun. Now, I am not all that keen on things slithery and crawlie but blue tongue lizards are reasonably harmless- if you get bitten the wound festers for some time ( though I have not been bitten). They are also quite docile so it's possible to get quite close without them getting aggressive ,unlike the snakes that also live around here ( thank goodness I don't see them often!) Blue tongue lizards are about 45 cms long ( 18 iches) and eat mice and insects.
Yesterday was the Melbourne Cup- a horse race that stops the nation. A lot of people , if they only bet once a year, will have a wager on the cup ( I don't - it's almost impossible to pick a winner)- the racing distance is two miles ( 3200 metres) and it takes a true stayer to cover the distance. It has produced champions that live on in the national lore like Pharlap- a galant horse that won once and came second the second time around carrying the biggest weight ever. He was taken to America for the Kentucky Derby, but died in mysterious circumstances, thought by many to have been poisoning- the nation was grief stricken. If we admire someone for their courage and determination we say "A heart as big as Pharlap's". Pharlap lives on in the national memory for he won in the depression years when it was still possible to wager pennies and tried his heart out and won the affection of a nation. Yesterday The Melbourne Cup produced another rare moment- a mare ,Makybe Diva, won the race for a third time- this has never happened before. It is fitting that a mare should parallel the legend of Pharlap and perhaps join him in the affection of the nation. I don't think I shall ever see this again.
5 comments:
I live in the home of the Kentucky Derby and spent many formative days blindly picking a horse for my mother and had a relative that was one of the better trainers back in the early 20th century at the race track. I've never been to the Derby but I do bet and love to make the race track at least once a year...it can be very very addicting.
Thats an interesting bit of history on Pharlap...what year was it?
Yay Makybe Diva! That's so cool, Dijanne!!
PS...I find the lizard a bit creepy. He's just a little too snake-like for my taste! But I'm glad to hear he's a useful and non-aggressive sort.
Hi Dijanne, Your photo reminded me of this time two years ago when I was in Australia and stayed in the Blue Mountains. I saw two of these lizards doing rude things in the bushes! Quite made my day. We had a sad racing day in the UK yesterday, when the 3 times winner of the Cheltenham Cup (Best Friend) dropped dead at the final hurdle. He had a heart attack. Very sad. I absolutely love your quilts, and now I've found your Blog, I'll be sure to tune in when on line. Annabel Rainbow
Cool lizard! And that's a really interesting story about Pharlap...
But I want to see that blue tongue! We have little blue tailed lizards here in Georgia. Small and fast, uncatchable. I'm fond of all manner of reptiles and would probably be a dead idiot if I lived in AU.
There was a film about Phar Lap back in '83 that died at the box office, but I caught in on TV. Sad tale. I hope her majesty Makybe Diva doesn't risk coming to the USA, stays home and founds a dynasty.
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