Since we’re apparently running spider week, here are mine. I took the pics last year at my parents’ place.
The pics are shot with the magnifying lens and each spider baby is about the size the head of a pin.
©Giliell
©Giliell
©Giliell
More butterfly pictures. I am envious of the scarce swallowtail. I have never seen one of those live. What a sight.
© Nightjar, click for full size.
Enjoy!
Iphiclides podalirius
Vanessa atalanta
Vanessa cardui
Barachois, Gaspe Peninsula©voyager, all rights reserved
This is one of two public beaches in a small community that sits on the northern edge of the Malbaie Salt Marsh called Barachois, which fittingly means salt marsh in French. We don’t come to this beach very often because it is mostly sand an I find sandy beaches pretty boring. I’d much rather go to a stony beach where you can beach-comb for treasure. I’ve found all sorts of interesting things on the beaches of Gaspe; fossils, agates, seaglass (I have a large collection of this), pretty stones only some of which I can identify, bones and driftwood. I collect and then negotiate with my husband about how much I am allowed to take home. As a result I have collections here and there. At home I’ve made a little beach that grows year by year, but here my treasures mostly live in jars because the real beach is so close by. I say you can keep your groomed white sand beaches. Give me the sticks and stones and bones on a beach full of treasure.
Amazing how expressive a few cuts in the wood and an occasional hole can be.
©Charly, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
Weighty things on his mind today, ©voyager, all rights reserved
Jack did a lot of swimming at the beach today. Usually he’ll go after a stick a few times and after that he prefers to just paddle around close to shore. Today, though, he couldn’t get enough. Again and again he wanted us to throw out a stick for him to bring back. He kept it up for close to half an hour which is a lot of exercise for a 10 year old puppy. By the time we got home he was totally exhausted. He followed me into the bathroom, laid himself down and proceeded to sleep for the next 2 hours just as you see him here.
Our tree this week comes to us from down under. It’s an almond tree is glorious bloom sent to us by Lofty, who says,
With our crazy seasons the almond trees think it’s spring already.
The photo was taken several weeks ago which is definitely too early for spring blossoms. I sincerely hope the trees will settle into a good growing season despite the premature start. I’ve never seen an almond tree before and had no idea they were so pretty. Thanks so much for sharing, Lofty.
©Lofty, all rights reserved
©Lofty, all rights reserved
Gargantua Mountain, ©voyager, all rights reserved
Today we’re sharing Jack’s drive to get to his favourite beach. The road we take winds through Gargantua Mountain and it doesn’t matter how many times I see these cliffs they always take my breath away. It amazes me that trees can grow and thrive in these conditions, rooted in rock and hanging on the edge of a precipice. Everything here seems to grow madly and even the road isn’t safe from the creep of nature. All along it now we see plants biting into the tarmac and steadily moving forward. Every year it gets worse and there’s no effort to halt the growth. At one time there was a thriving campground and restaurant on the mountaintop, but the owner died several years ago and no-one took over. Now the buildings sit empty and the road is just used as a shortcut from here to there.
Nightjar has sent us some roses today and they’re all so pretty that I just can’t pick a favourite. The white rose looks so delicate and fresh, the yellow rose has that beautiful salmon blush and that last rose is bold and bright in shades of fuschia. Even better, they’re all memory roses from the garden of someone special. Nightjar says,
These are not from my garden, but from my grandma’s garden that since she died is kind of abandoned. I still go there sometimes to deweed a few things, but I don’t have enough time to properly care for it. Somehow, beautiful flowers still grow there every year, including these roses! The house is about to be rented, and from what I heard about the family that will move there, I’m hopeful they will keep the garden alive. But I will make a few cuttings of these roses, just to be sure…
©Nightjar, all rights reserved
©Nightjar, all rights reserved
©Nightjar, all rights reserved
It seems to be spider week here at Affinity. Opus has sent us some incredible photos of a bright orange beauty.
I can’t remember if this appeared previously on Affinity, but even if it did it might be worth a second run. Several years ago I was walking down the driveway when I noticed that an acorn was walking the same direction that I was. It was actually a spider, probably a Marbled Orb-weaver spider. I was able to take a number of photos before releasing her to (hopefully) lay her eggs. It was a rainy day, so reflections were a problem. No matter, she was absolutely gorgeous! (In case anyone is interested: Nikon D700 and Tokina 100 mm macro lens)
The spider is gorgeous, Opus, and so are your photos. They are definitely worth a look. Thanks for sharing.
©Opus, all rights reserved
©Opus, all rights reserved
©Opus, all rights reserved
David in New Zealand has recently been to the Adelaide Zoo and he’s sent us some very adorable Giant Panda pictures. David says:
This is Funi, one of the two Giant Pandas we have. They’re on loan from China as part of the breeding programme, but so far, no cubs. Wang Wang (yes, he’s the boy!) was hiding, but Funi seemed quite comfortable sleeping here. I have had days like that, but I didn’t always choose to sleep on the rocks.
Well, that does look like a heavy head to hold up. Thanks David.
©David Brindley, all rights reserved
©David Brindley, all rights reserved
©David Brindley, all rights reserved
Wonderful photos and a tongue in cheek title from Nightjar, who says,
Prompted by Charly’s post “Itsy Bitsy Spider (Not)”, here is a really itsy bitsy spider I found on one of my zinnia flowers. Not bigger than a typical ant, I only spotted it because it is totally not camouflaged.
Nope. Definitely not camouflaged, but certainly very, very small. Good eye, Nightjar. Thanks for sharing.(click for full size)
A tiny Crab Spider on a Zinnia, ©Nightjar, all rights reserved
Tiny Crab Spider, ©Nightjar, all rights reserved
The Rivière aux émeraudes, ©voyager, all rights reserved
It’s fairly windy today and there are small whitecaps on the ocean so we decided to take Jack swimming in smaller, calmer water. He didn’t seem to mind. As long as he’s wet he’s all Happy Jack.
This is the backside of a place called Corner of the Beach. It’s a popular spot for tent camping, for those in the know. It’s just off the highway and easy to get to, but it isn’t well-marked. There’s seldom more than a few people here at a time and it feels like you’re deep in the wilderness. It’s quiet, except for the sounds of nature and at night there’s very little light pollution and the skies are ablaze with stars.
The second bird instalment during the week comes right before the weekend.
Today’s Friday Feathers come from Nightjar who managed to capture barn swallows. The one with the feeding is my absolute favourite. As usually, click for full size.
“Muuuuuuuuuuuuuuum!”
© Nightjar, all rights reserved
“This is so unfair, I never get first dips” © Nightjar, all rights reserved
“Was that all????????”
© Nightjar, all rights reserved