Spider!

We’ve been on a roll here lately with spiders and Nightjar has sent us one more. This incredible set of photos showcases a spider preparing a meal. Photos are below the fold. Thanks for sharing, Nightjar.

I feel slightly guilty about what’s going on in these photos. I had seen a honeybee on our goldenrod and approached carefully with the camera. When I got there the bee flew away… and straight into an orb weaver’s web! The spider was very quick to wrap up the bee (1st picture) and to carry it along a thin strand of silk (2nd picture) into its hiding place among some dried chayote leaves (3rd picture). Fascinating to watch, but I couldn’t help feeling bad for the poor honeybee, it looked so pretty on the goldenrod… Oh well. [Read more…]

At the Zoo d’Amnéville 6

Racoons begging for food

Prettey pleaaaaase?
©Giliell, all rights reserved

Raccoons are very cute, but also an invasive species, which is why I like them best in zoos.

The next animal is just pretty, though a serious mistake by nature because the poor animal is usually only lean enough to hunt when almost starved and then their prey gets stolen by others. Why, nature, why?

Cheeta

©Giliell, all rights reserved

And now from pretty to drop dead gorgeous…

crane

©Giliell, all rights reserved

crane

©Giliell, all rights reserved

Crane

©Giliell, all rights reserved

Sawfly larvae

I have been wondering about who’s eating the beech leaves in the front yard and last week I found the culprits: Sawfly larvae.

Not that I mind, I don’t want a beech tree in front of the house so any help in keeping it small is appreciated. Though in these pictures they’re devouring the redflower currant, which I don’t appreciate that much.

Sawfly larvae

©Giliell, all rights reserved

Sawfly larvae

©Giliell, all rights reserved

Sawfly larvae

©Giliell, all rights reserved

Jack’s Walk

©voyager, all rights reserved

The sun is hiding behind gray and gloomy skies today and the forecast says that we can expect rain for the next 5 days. Five Days! That means that I won’t see the sun until next Thursday. And the dampness. Oh Dear, my Fibro does not like the dampness. I’m already having a double gravity kind of day.  Everything I do gets slower and more deliberate and requires more energy. I feel like I’m moving like a sloth. I call it The Creeping Jim Jams because my speed is set to creep and I’m all jammed up. Even my thinking gets slow. I think I might just ask the Mr. if he’ll go to Dairy Queen and get me a large cherry Blizzard. I’m going to go put on my jammies and binge watch A Series of Unfortunate Events on Netflix.

At the Zoo d’Amnéville

No particular order:

Prairie dogs, wallabies, secretary bird, kid (goat version)

 

Prairie dog

Wanna come in for a cuppa?
©Giliell, all rights reserved

Prairie dog

©Giliell, all rights reserved

wallabies

©Giliell, all rights reserved

Secretary bird

©Giliell, all rights reserved

goat kid

©Giliell, all rights reserved
Yes, we had to visit the goats three times. There#s something about them that draws the kids (human version) to them like a magnet

Jack’s Walk

Pumpkin Season, ©voyager, all rights reserved

The sun has come out of hiding and it’s a lovely autumn day. Just warm enough that you don’t need a jacket, but still cool enough that Jack wants to frolic. I’ve been playing with my camera and the scratches don’t seem to impact my photos too badly. That means that I can take some time before I buy a new lens.  This is good news because at the moment my money has more important things to do. Jack will be needing surgery soon to remove a lipoma (fatty cyst) on his right elbow. It’s grown to the size of a baseball and we’d like to have it removed before the snow starts to fly. The surgery is planned for Halloween, which can be winter-like around here so let’s hope autumn decides to stick around for a while.

Jack’s Walk

Soggy leaves, ©voyager, all rights reserved

It’s another damp and dreary day around here and the weather forecast is for more of the same for days ahead. There wasn’t even moody fog today, just dull skies and soggy ground. Even worse, I tripped and dropped my camera and scratched the lens. The camera seems to be working fine, but for the next while my pictures may have a bit of scarring. I’ve been thinking about getting a better lens and perhaps this is the universe’s way of telling me not to wait any longer. In fact, it might just be time for an early Christmas/Festivus present for voyager. I’ll see how bad the damage is over the next few days and if it’s only minor I may try and wait. I think I might need to save a few more pennies to get the quality I want. I’m using a Canon T5i with an EFS 18 – 135mm lens. Any suggestions?