BACKYARD BEAUTIES

Did my good deed for the day, saved a cute little fella from a fate worse than death. Set down a pile of damp newspapers on the nature strip for the garbos to pick up for recycling, when out hopped this native frog. As much as I tried to coax him to head somewhere safer before being flattened under all that stuff on the garbage truck, he was determined to stay in his newfound favourite damp spot. So, out he had to come, managed to get him to smile for the camera before depositing him in another damp spot out of harm’s way.

While out in the backyard, thought I’d remove this rather shaggy looking spider’s web draped between some shrubs, when what I thought was a half digested fly in the middle of the web started to move. If you’ve read any of my previous entries on encounters with the arachnid family you’ll know they’re not exactly my favourite choice when it comes to the insect world.

But this little thing, and he was barely the size of a five cent piece, was something to behold. My mate next door had seen them before in Queensland, and he referred to it as a crown of thorns spider. What it lacked in size it more than made up for in looks, so he retained residency rights in the garden.

Then to add to my discoveries we’ve had a visitation around here in the past few days, not quite in Biblical proportions, but wherever there’s a light on Bogong moths have moved in. These are no fluttery miniatures, you can actually make a meal out of them. Couldn’t convince them to open their wings during the day, but when they do the bigger ones are as large as your hand.

What an amazing world we live in. With so much conflict and drama happening both near and far, it was kind of nice to take a few minutes to appreciate some of the more unassuming wonders of creation.