Rhonda Bracey: At Random

We’ve been in this house for nearly 10 years. In that time, I’ve seen plenty of Australian Wood Ducks (aka Maned Geese) when I’ve driven to and from town — they tend to live near the water courses on the low-lying land close to the estuary. And I’ve seen maybe three snakes (likely dugites) in 10 years crossing the road on that same drive.

So imagine my surprise when a family of wood ducks wandered across our front lawn a couple of weeks ago! We’re up a hill at least 200 m from a natural water course, and we’ve never seen adults here, let alone adults with seven babies!

Then just two days ago, something caught my eye outside the office window at the front of the house — it was a snake, likely a young adult dugite. It slithered across the concrete pad, took in some shade behind the portico pillar near the front door, then slithered over the lawn and over the retaining wall beyond, then disappeared. The previous owners of the house (who built it) said they’d seen three snakes in the garden/around the house in the three years they were here, but in our 10 years, I’ve never seen one. Until now.