Steve Irwin - from an overseas visitor
Every day I think about Steve, Terri and Bob (the dad of Steve) and Bindi and baby Bob. I can’t stop crying for their loss and mine. I depend on Steve to be in this world to take care of the animals with his love of everything and now he is gone. It is too much for me because I know that there will never be anyone in the world like Steve. Bindi is going to be as spectacular as her dad I am sure, Bob will be a new and improved Steve in the making. I will stand by and watch them and pray for them. Steve will always be by their side – the world loves Steve and he is a hero and legend, an Animal God. Now he is in heaven chasing the crocs and loving them. He is very busy up there! When I die I will look forward to meeting Steve and hanging out with him. There are not words enough to say to Terri how sorry I am for her loss and I will pray for her every day. I adore them they are an incredible family, one of a kind, ‘true blue’ amazing wonderful people. God bless all of you and Bob I love you, I am sorry for your loss but you created this legend and you are a legend as well.
Debra, Long Island N.Y. USA
Cane Toads
I read with interest Paul's contribution about cane toads and have to point out that we've all got our very own Cane Toad Departure Lounges in our kitchens, no need to drive the little fellows anywhere at all (not even with a golf club)! Friendly toads can share the roomy expanse of an empty plastic shopping bag and then enjoy a quiet snooze within the humming confines of a household freezer. With the current humidity, toads will be lining up to jump in, just like they're lining up right now to lay their eggs in our dams and pools. Why not offer them a cool and attractive alternative? Then once they're off dreaming in their painless, permanent sleep (complete with permafrost), you can mulch them if you really feel the need. If not, you can always put them into the wheelie bin with last week.s chicken bones and steel cans.
Penslave
Ed: The most humane way to kill juvenile and adult cane toads is to catch them and put them into a secure container with air holes (plastic takeaway food containers are ideal). Place the container in a refrigerator overnight which causes the toad to go into a coma-like state. Then move the container to the freezer the next morning and freeze until the next garbage collection day or freeze it for a couple days and then bury them in the backyard compost bin or garden bed.
DO NOT USE DETTOL or CAUSTIC SODA or GOLF CLUB or anything similar as this is unecessary cruelty.
Check out fdrproject.org for more information.
Twin Bridges
I don't know if anybody else thinks like this, but I think the areas most popular and pretty area has been systematically downgraded by do "gooders". When I first moved to the area there was a nice little place called Twin Bridges where families could come for a swim, camp, BBQ or whatever. The natural undulations formed secluded pockets where you could feel like you were relatively alone. Then some bright spark levelled the place and it's been downhill since then.
Now we have those ugly iron posts. A once beautiful spot is now just an eyesore and as a foot note I wonder if someone has a car accident in which those posts come into play, who will be sued?
Charles Mitchell
