They're not all bad

St. Andrews Cross Spider (Argiope keyserlingi)

The big Huntsman spiders are absolutely loving the warm and wet conditions just now and you're taking your life in your hands if you head outside into the yard after dark! Not all of the spiders here are scary though. We have a lovely St. Andrews Cross Spider in the garden at the moment. They're so called because of the big white cross that they build into their web. It's not clear why they do that but I've read a few theories which suggest it may be for camouflage, it may be to attract pollinating insects as it's brightly coloured in the UV, or it may be for defence as the spider shakes the web vigorously when threatened which makes the cross suddenly appear like a solid block. Whatever the reason it's good for me as I've not walked into the web yet.

Merry Christmas!

Only one day left at work now before the break so Merry Christmas to you all and all the very best for the New Year.

Here and there

My sister's going nowhere

Noone at home is going anywhere!

It seems there's a bit of a contrast right now between Scotland and Australia looking at the photos that have been sent to me. As opposed to the endless cold snap gripping the UK right now, we're well and truly heading into summer and although there are as many wet days as others, we're experiencing the odd sunny one too!

Wattamolla - Royal NP

'The Forest Path' - Royal NP

A few of us headed down to the Royal NP last weekend for a spot of snorkeling at Wattamolla before a bit of a walk in the forest. In general, the Australian wildlife has a similar attitude to me in that going out in the middle of the day is silly when it's hot. As a result, there wasn't much about but as I always say, it's just great to get out of the city.

Frog (Limnodynastes sp.)

Australian Ladybird (Coccinella transversalis)

Obligatory skink picture

This weekend we went up to see Emily's folks in the Blue Mountains which always means it's time to get the camera out for a wander round the garden. It's also good to hang out with Kiwis when Australia are being hammered in the cricket. Australia is not a bad place to be right now!

Maria's one-eyed cat - Pirate