What have they missed,

Anthony? That's a great question to open up, and I'm so pleased you did.

They miss the fact that this is a tree species, Greg, that loves living in its environment, that is perfectly adapted to its environment.

In literature, in poetry, and just in general conversation over the years, I believe we quite lazily have fallen into this trap of sort of going, the tortured anguish the snow gum weathering your tough mountain climate um i believe that the snow gum is the most joyous tree on earth apart from the most beautiful it it loves living up there it is a triumphant survivor it is not a cowering victim you know the first line of this book is the last first line that anyone is expecting when they pick this book up.

And I absolutely adore giving readers a crazy first line.

You know, the previous book, if I can indulge you, you know, my biography of Kosciuszko, the first Australian book to, you know, in 180 years since his name was stuck on the mountain by a fellow Pole, you know, You know, the first line of that book was, did you know that the letter Z is worth only one point in Polish Scrabble? And you're not expecting that.

You're expecting a line that goes, the name has sat there for 180 years, but who was this admirable Pole? You know, and I ain't given readers that, and there's a whole bunch of reasons I used that Scrabble sentence.

Yeah, and like luxury camping and, you know, kind of jazzing up some of the hiking routes and stuff like that in ways that has a lot more impact on the landscape than, yeah, than it should because we're trying to basically create start to overcompensate for the fact that the snow is starting to be on the way out at lower elevations.

Do their work, it just, just in the, in the, um, in the near vicinity.

E-exact- exactly right.

Now what happens is we're getting a window which is as long as three months in the summer, and it's a warmth window.

It's related to, to minimum temperatures overnight, and, you know, without getting bogged down in the weeds of the exact temperatures, but it's, it's more or less, uh, you know, nights that are, that are warmer than about 10 degrees.

And as I say, a couple-of-week window is now a three-month window, and the bugs are just getting out there.

They're breeding like crazy, and they're having a crack at every single tree they can find, including the super healthy ones, and that's what's happening to the snow gums.

And if you go to Perisher, if you go to Thredbo, especially the New South Wales resorts, right? Because they're a little bit higher than the Victorian resorts, and it's the highest trees at the moment we've got the problems with.

[laughs]

Do their work, it just, just in the, in the, um, in the near vicinity.

E- exact- exactly right.

Now what happens is we're getting a window which is as long as three months in the summer, and it's a warmth window.

It's related to, to minimum temperatures overnight, and, uh, you know, without getting bogged down in the weeds of the exact temperatures, but it's, it's m- more or less, uh, you know, nights that are, that are warmer than about 10 degrees.

And as I say, a couple-of-week window is now a three-month window, and the bugs are just getting out there.

They're breeding like crazy, and they're having a crack at every single tree they can find, including the super healthy ones, and that's what's happening to the snow gums.

And if you go to Perisher, if you go to Thredbo, especially the New South Wales resorts, right? Because they're a little bit higher than the Victorian resorts, and it's the highest trees at the moment we've got the problems with.

[laughs]