Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge: It’s All About Nature
How could I not resist this photo challenge. Showing self restraint here is a bit of the nature from my part of the world.
Tag: huntsman spider
Mirror Images or Reflection
Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge: Mirror or Reflection
This post contains an image of a spider – for those who don’t like spiders
The old Volkswagen hub cap
Looking across the street
The Huntsman Spider takes a good look at herself
I can’t help myself when there is a mud puddle around.
A sunset
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Where
The word prompt from Debbie at Travel With Intent: Where
Where have these photos been taken?
From my desk in the office through the glass door
A chook often comes to see what I am doing
A Noisy Friarbird looking in the door
The Kookaburra heard me move I think
A Brush-tailed Possum found a snack
A tiny Spotted Pardalote investigating for insects
The Rose Robin was tweeting away
Sometimes a Huntsman Spider will find insects hovering around the computer screen
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This is October: Part Two
Part Two will be the animals, reptile, amphibians and insects I came across in October
I put out a bowl with water for animals that come around the house for drinks when the weather is warm. I found a frog in the bowl which needed to be rescued. I think it is a Common Eastern Froglet.
One morning we looked on the verandah and there was a Carpet Snake skin hanging from the rafter. It was over 2 meters long.
Isn’t the skin beautiful?
Brush-tailed Possums are coming into the shed. I surprised this one who has a mosquito on its nose.
I set the live trap as the Brush-tailed Possums are getting into the roof cavity. I heard a crash on the verandah and saw a mother Possum with a baby on her back so I set the trap off. I can’t believe I actually gave the piece of apple to the baby.
A Red-necked Wallaby enjoying the morning sun in front of the house.
When you are small and still in the pouch, you have to do some investigating when ever you can.
It was hard to find the grasshopper amongst the leaves.
The Bull Ants know when you are about. Time for a quick photo as they Bull Ants poured out from the nest, running away before they ran up my legs.
These lovely ant enjoyed walking about the plants looking for whatever ants look for.
The Wolf Spider and the Millipede inside escaping the rain.
Further up the wall a Huntsman observed the carry on below.
Looking among a timber stack, I disturbed a Huntsman Spider having a rest.
Look at the mouth of this butterfly.
The inside wings of a Ringed Xenica. The first time I have seen a Ringed Xenica on my place.
The outer wings of the Ringed Xenica are far more showy
The Native Stingless Bees get right inside of the Dietes to get the nectar or pollen.
This fly may look quite pretty but boy can they bite.
Just resting on a leaf before buzzing off to buzz around the house or just annoy people.
A dragonfly enjoying the sunshine.
Some dragonflies being “friendly”
Ready for Part Three?
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Thursdays Special: Pick a Word in September
Most times I just have one photo per word for Lost in Translations Pick a Word. This time I have a few more for the September Pick a Word and perhaps using my artistic licence for the matching photo.
Vantage
The view from Raspberry Lookout. My property is a few hills over on the left.
In order to get a good take off, you must have a good vantage point.
Bifurcated
You can’t fence me in
Intruding
Sometimes I feel like I am intruding when photographing butterflies and spiders.
Three’s a crowd when the males chase the female Orchard Butterfly.
Two Line-blue Butterflies getting “friendly”
Yes, the Huntsman Spiders were in the dining room but I don’t think they had eating dinner on their mind.
Jagged
Once a butterfly gets old, the jagged wings are the first sign of age as on this Australian Gull Butterfly
Quayside
The yachts moored late in the afternoon after sailing from Grafton to Ulmarra.
Quayside on the Great Canal, Venice
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More Bugs
I couldn’t resist posting some more insects in Dutch goes the Photo‘s Tuesday photo challenge as lots of people have enjoyed my previous post Bugs.
I must do a warning before you start perusing this blog – it does contain sex
Here is a Cricket in a Crinum
The wonderful dragonfly doing a hand..errrr….leg stand on the water plant seed head
Dragonflies like playing peek-a-boo
The lovely Caper White Butterfly. They migrate through my place every year.
Now for the saucy part
Lineblue Butterflies doing their thing in my garden
Dragonflies doing it on the dam
A couple of moths transfixed in the cactus garden
I couldn’t let a blog on insects go without sneaking in a “not really an insect” my beautiful Huntsman Spider who lives in my place. She is now somewhere in the laundry where, I think, she may be hibernating, if spiders do that sort of thing.
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My April: Full of Flowers Birds and Insects
April. An Autumn month where the hot days give way to warm days, a hint of rain and cool nights. Migratory birds stop off, some plants flower and the weather is great for getting into the garden.
My garden helpers. Well maybe not all the time but they can help out with the insect control. They are constantly digging somewhere.
The end of March saw floods around the region and as a result, the floodwaters that entered the ocean caused the beaches to become foamy wonders. Here is a selection of the water at Sharpes Beach near Ballina.
I love the structural shapes in cacti
Some cacti were flowering
Other flowers bloomed in their own showy way. The camellias were beautiful this year.
Other flowers were just as spectacular
The Hibiscus is one of my favourites
The deep red of the Dahlia is stunning
The bees are loving the Pentas.
The fungi were everywhere in March but now just the few last fungi are popping up here and there. This is a wonderful pink fungi.
It looks almost planetary from the top don’t you think?
On a young eucalypt I found this amazing growth which I was informed is called Witches Broom. The ants seem to enjoy scurrying over it.
I have had a visitor in my house since early this year. She has been moving from room to room but has moved into the laundry. She is the biggest Huntsman Spider I have ever seen. When she stretches her legs she has a 16cm span. How big is your hand?
One day out in the garden, I dug out some old plants and also dug out a spider. At first I thought it was a Funnel Web Spider but it was a Mouse Spider. Both species of spider are quite venomous. It was too fussed about being disturbed.
The Line Blue Butterfly stopped for a rest on the hanging pot support.
The Eastern Yellow Robins have been zooming around the garden chasing one another. The female Robin sat on the bush just outside of the window. I think she was looking in the window.
The Yellow-faced Honeyeaters have returned for the winter.
The Plumed Whistling-Ducks have also come to rest for a while. I found a large flock in Waterview Heights, a outer suburb of Grafton. They were walking up and down the edge of a dam, chatting among themselves.
The ever present Kookaburra is not far away when I am digging in the garden, either sitting in a tree or like this bloke, on a fence post.
That was a bit of Bushboys World in April. Hope you liked stopping by.
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Mystery
It’s Tuesdays Photo Challenge from Frank.
Who left their basket behind?
Who is hiding among the leaves?
“Hey Steve……have you seen Peter”?
Who is lurking among the CDs?
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This was my March
March was a month of contrasts, a couple of hot days followed by a bit of rain and then Cyclone Debbie came along. I was fortunate not to be in the path of Debbie but on the edge of the system. I missed the strong winds and abundant rainfall. I still managed to have 476mls of rain for March. This rainfall ended the long dry period over Summer when usually the rains come. The total rainfall for March exceeded the total rainfall for the 6 months prior.
The few dry day did allow for some wandering about and finding some interesting stuff. The weather also bought out a good variety of fungi which have their own blog.
So onward to the stuff of March.
Isn’t this little boat the cutest?
The flood waters made the creeks run and the creek at Emerald Beach broke through the sand and flowed to the sea. The strong tannin coloured water gave the rocks an interesting hue.
Rust. As you know I love rust, the colours and textures rust gives to metal.
More rust on the fence around the riverbank park in Grafton.
In Lismore, wandering the back lanes I came across this furnace door that is still in operation at the rear of a cafe.
One of the treasures of Lismore is the street art in the back lanes. The recent flooding of Lismore didn’t damage most of the art works although some may need a bit of a clean and touch up. The following selection is from just one lane way.
The art on the door is perhaps a portend.
The fish managed to swim out the flood waters I am told.
I love this ghostly face.
How clever.
The butterflies in the rainforest.
Speaking of butterflies, I just love photographing butterflies. Of course many a while is spent chasing them around trying to get THAT capture. The Common Yellow butterfly seemed to enjoy time on the ground.
The Small Green-banded Blue butterfly kept trying to hide from me.
I haven’t had such a variety of flies at my place or perhaps I haven’t really taken a close look at them. The yellow face and bottle green body look great.
The green eyes are striking. The long proboscis also lets this fly give you a very sharp sting.
This beautiful Huntsman spider lived in my house for around two months. She has now gone outside I think as I haven’t seen her for a couple of days. Her leg span from front to back or side to side is 16cm. Her body length is 5cm. How big is your hand?
The Fire-wheel trees are flowering.
I have a number of Golden Lycras that my aged neighbour loved. He gave me lots of corms and this year they flowered the best ever. They gave me lovely memories of him. The view from the top.
They looked so lovely in the morning sun.
This Hibiscus was in my parents place and the cutting has lived on at my place filled with abundant flowers this Autumn.
The miniature Hibiscus adds small red spots in the garden
One of the original Hibiscus. This one is in my besties garden. Such a delicate flower. The petals almost look transparent.
Another tiny native flower that I have found around my property. The flower is about 12mm across so imagine the size of the insect that was getting some nectar or pollen.
The Bromiliads had a good flowering this March. They gathered enough water that’s for sure.
I hadn’t seen white Crocus before. Stunning flowers aren’t they?
I have loved the colours of Coleus since I first saw them in my grandfathers garden.
The rain has revived the Lichen.
Wandering around the garden looking for snacks, the Bar-shouldered Dove and Emerald Dove shared the space.
A little Jacky Winter enjoying the morning sun.
The Brown Pigeon sat in the Poinsettia striking a lovely pose.
Not the best angle for a Blue-faced Honeyeater though.
The little Forest Kingfisher sat in the tree looking about then suddenly plunged to the ground. When he resumed his perch, he did the bash bash on the branch to tenderise his snack. It looks like he managed to find a frog in the garden.
The Forest Kingfisher has beautiful colours don’t you think?
Thanks for taking the time to have a look at my March.
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A Different View – A View From The Side
I looked at a lot of photos to get the right one for Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge. Then I remembered the lovely “girl” who has been living in my house for around three weeks now. She has been moving from room to room and every morning I like to go looking for her. Today she is in the hallway and in a great spot to help me take part in the photo challenge.
Here she is
Isn’t she lovely. A Huntsman who is harmless and helps keep other insects out of my house. She loves cockroaches and other insects. They catch their prey by leaping as Huntsman Spiders don’t make a web.
Here is a photo so you can have some idea of her size
I didn’t want to get too close in case she ran away.
