This will hurt me...

Southern brown bandicoot. Howrah bike path. December 2012. Theme Thursday and it is bushfire season AGAIN . Every year it seems that the combination of heat, wind and a whole lot of plants that have evolved a variety of strategies to survive/ require bushfires make for a torrid time down here at the arse end of the world ™. Yes, even the plants are against us. A whole host of our native flora posses epicormic shoots or lignotubers that sprout after a fire and have developed fire-resistant or fire-triggered seeds. Thus, they don't dislike fire, they love it! Indeed, the most dominant species actively encourages fire, as eucalypts contain flammable oils in the leaves that have probably evolved as a way to eliminate competition from less fire-tolerant species. So AGAIN we face the unenviable truth of another period of nail-biting and stressing. Here in Hobart it's been 33°C with strong winds with the forecast of 38°C tomorrow and with 45 km/h gusts spell a whole world of ...

Echidna on the prowl. Melbourne Zoo, April 2011. No not an enchilada . Nor an anteater . Not a hedgehog . And no, it isn't a porcupine . It is not a practical joke, pincushion or extradimensional being who only can reach Earth's reality through a schism in time and space. It is a monotreme. It lays eggs, but feeds its baby milk. It feeds its baby milk but it doesn't have nipples. It is an echidna . They live in Tasmania, but don't make very good pets.

Here is that rogue gang of emus at ZooDoo that Henry didn't like. The key problem with the emu is not ill will, a nasty disposition or anything of the sort. No, the problem with the emu is that, well, they're stupid. Imagine, if you will, something with the brains of a chicken, but is two metres tall, can run faster than Usain Bolt, and is pretty much always hungry. Now imagine that you are one metre high, you're pacey for your size but have limited leg speed, and you're holding a big bag full of emu food. Now you might be beginning to understand Henry's distaste for the emu...