Contrasts

It rained again last night, so the hyacinth flowers started to pop open, the first daffodil is in bloom, and the camellias keep adding color to the front yard. I weeded the garden thinking about how much water we get and yet, this continent is the driest inhabited continent on Earth. You'd never guess that in our "back-yard," the Outback is an endless desert in which life struggles to survive. I mean it. Just one example, of the top 25 deadliest snake species in the world, 21 are native Australian. It is believed that these species evolved to kill prey fast and strong because of the extremely harsh conditions in which they had to survive. When the temperature stays above 45C for days and there is no water in sight, a snake has to kill a big prey quickly, before it fights back, and efficiently, so a large kill can last the snake for a long time, sparing it from hunting too often. Another sign of a wet winter, the hydrangea is blooming (here in the picture).