Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Snippets of summer #1

My stay-at-home human says she saw her 1st trenchcoat, her 1st woolly beanie and her 1st triple-layered lady complete with winter-weight stockings at the bus stop yesterday. 

Well, why not? It was a chilly 23degreesC.

She says we Sydneysiders are afraid of the cold. I don't know what she's talking about. I'm not so afraid.
Mr Thumper's always happier in winter.

There are some things about summer I'm not going to miss at all -

My stay-at-home human screaming every time she sees a big fat caterpillar.
Cicadas screaming every single day.
Alfred croaking for a girlfriend all night.
Bugs we don't know in the kitchen sink.
Magpies swooping on our heads.
Slugs sliding into the kitchen after rain.
Cockroaches under my paws.
Spiderwebs in our faces.
Ants in our food bowls.

Praying mantises...
...and grasshoppers... 
...and flies in the bedroom.
Moths in the bathtub.
Spiders in the toilet.
Skinks sunning on my bed.
Mosquitoes nipping my ears and toes.

But most of all, I'm not going to miss
the cold butt wash.
More bad things that happen in summer.

26 comments:

Pamela said...

Oh my, 23 degrees C brings out the coats and hats? It's -5 celsius here (10 days after the start of spring). So to me, all those things you won't miss about summer look great (except for the cold water bum wash; that's just wrong).

georgia little pea said...

We don't do cold well here. Down to 15-18 at night already. Brrr. Almost time for uggies :p

Jen said...

23C is summer to me!! LOL! But, thank you for the reminders of just why I love Canadian summers... they might be shorter and cooler but lots of those things you deal with, we don't have to!! :)

Hope you stay warm! :)
Jen and the Black Dog Crew

Lavinia said...

Your seasons seem the other way around compared to ours up here. Your "bug menagerie" list is scaring me, we're up for summer soon.

Hmm, my advice would be nets at the windows (and doors). And some good bug spray.

Oh yes, and if you have to get butt washes, I hope they use warm water. Nothing more uncomfortable than a cold butt...

Life Student said...

Okay, that's just... gross. I HATE bugs, and now... I have the icks all over!

I hate to break it to your woolly woman, but 23 C is NOT cold. Today we are aiming for a high of 6 C, which is better than the negative numbers we've had of late. There's still snow on the ground here, and I can't remember winter dragging on so long in years.

Karen Friesecke said...

I'd be jumpimg for joy if it was 23C today! In Toronto it is -1C this morning and it is supposedly Spring :O

Kristine said...

23 degrees is summer weather! It's time for tank tops and shorts and posicles by the pool. Lazing on the beach weather! I am now utterly convinced you should never, ever come to Canada.

I am sorry your summer is ending but since your winter is like my spring, I am not THAT sorry.

Elizabeth Keene said...

Oh, Georgia. :( The butt wash photos are just plain humiliating. Too bad you burned your bridge to the SPCA.

Those are some cool looking bugs, though. (As long as they can't jump on you.) I think they might all be flying to Virginia, USA now. Thanks.

Jean said...

I gotta agree with Jen - 23C is the PERFECT temperature to me - not too hot, not too cold, just perfect summer weather.
And while Canada has its share of summer bugs (and spring bugs and fall bugs and winter bugs), that list of yours - and their proximity to living/sleeping/body spaces - is just a wee bit creepy. Eewwwwwww!

georgia little pea said...

@Everyone - ahhh...the joys of summer in Sydney!

This summer was very hot and humid for a very long time. We had lots of days in the 30s. The weather variation in a day can be quite extreme too - more than 10 degrees.

And YES, the bugs can and do jump on you. We have resident huntsmen spiders that like looking down at us from doorways! They're big but harmless. All bugs captured are released back into the yard to torment us another day (excluding maggots, cockroaches, flies, mozzies, slugs and big fat woolly caterpillars ,whether or not they become gorgeous butterflies - sorry). At least. we don't have cane toads here!

And yes, Lavi, we use coils, sprays, citronella and capture to control the vermin! Some days, I think we can singlehandedly destroy the ozone.

Wishing all of you poor frozen bodies a WARM spring day :) xox

houndstooth said...

Okay, I can only conclude that you have mutant bugs down there where you live! Holy Jeebus! Those things are freaky! I sure hope none of them migrate here.

I hope you all manage to stay warm this winter! I'm hoping we get just warm enough here to go outside without our coats on!

Bunny

houndstooth said...

Yes, Morgan has her own blog! Dad helps her with it! I keep telling them that they need to do more than Wordless Wednesday.

I do have a lot of accessories! I inherited a lot of them from Treat who was here before me! We Greyhounds are rather known for our accessories, though!

Bunny

Pup Fan said...

Definitely not a winter fan either!

Anonymous said...

a cold butt wash??
I cant imagine what you did to have that kind of punishment...

georgia little pea said...

@Bunny - I remember the first time I saw a picture of you, you had PEARLS on!

@Pup - and you've had such a tough one. At least spring is on its way :)

@grrl - she has impacted anal sacs, uncommon for a big dog. Missy needs to be squeezed at least once a week. Crazy.

KimT said...

ugh, anal sacs!! Bugs! Well, we'll be heading into summer in the months ahead, and I sure do agree with you on it - thank heavens we get some warmth and sunshine to make up for it all!

Team Kenzo said...

Oh no, the heat! 23C is way too hot for us. Kenzo and Viva can only make it to 25C, higher than that means shut down and no activity what so ever.

georgia little pea said...

@CLM- it's true, bring a summer bunny myself, I can live with the bugs as long as I HAVE SUN!

@Kenzo - WHAT? Rufus the malamutey has to survive the 30s every summer, poor thing. Thank goodness for air-conditioning. Didn't know hovawarts were cold climate dogs.

simon pender said...

Bugs and poop-ass, that's a bad combination.

Juliette said...

Certainly took the glamour out of Aussie weather for me, at least in Uk summers, the worst we get is a hose pipe ban, lots of sudden lawn mowing activity (nuisance)and oh yes we go pink - because we get hot days so little that we sit right out in it till we have headaches!

georgia little pea said...

@Si - you must have some in Fitzroy. Or is your burb too cool for bugs? :p

@Juliette - it's not so bad. We learn to keep our mouths closed and to simultaneously wave our hands so we don't eat any flies.

Also, thanks for the laugh! I am having visions of pink ladies in bathers. Hose pipe ban? Is that like water restrictions? Didn't think you were a drought prone country.

Friko said...

You wuss.
I am jumping into an ice-cold river the minute my human's back is turned and I am old and have arthritis.

Put that in your bowl and slurp it.

Benno

georgia little pea said...

Dear Benno, could it be? Could I finally have met a dog as opinionated as me? Yours sincerely, The Wuss.

Oh P.S. thanks for dropping by :)

chandra said...

noooo ... not the maggots ... i'm going to vomit in my woolie beanie, which people in the northwest of the U.S. wear year round. big. sigh.

-c at ddy.

Dogs in Brazil said...

Hi Georgia,
just stopped by to see what going on over there. I realise we have a lot in common. We have lots and I mean lots of bug too. Do you eat them. We eat some of them. They are rather crunchy uuummm. We love the heat and lay in the shade. We don't get the cold bum wash though. Our water for bum washes comes out of a hose and mom waits til it cools down then comes the bum wash ugh.

georgia little pea said...

Dear Emmy, I've had a few flies, I admit. I catch them myself. My humans are not feeding me much so I have to find some extra protein somewhere. I don't like cockroaches though. They have prickly legs.