More Of ... The Things You See Sometimes!

So, hubby and I have been busy over this long weekend doing a few things here and there around the place ... repairing, tidying up, cleaning, weeding, planting, watering, mowing and trimming. 

My dear hubby worked hard at getting some repair work done this weekend.  He was re-building the block wall he had to knock down a couple of weeks ago when he was looking for the source of a leaking water pipe.  The repair job wasn't quite as easy as he hoped and he was head-down trying to get it sorted.

At the same time, I was about the place trimming back some plants and pulling out some weeds that had exploded after the arrival of Cyclone Ita's downpour, when suddenly, I heard my name being called.


Some little visitors had crept up behind hubby and decided to help a little with some trimming back of the plants in the garden beds.  No doubt they thought it was the right thing to do!

No, these are not our goats but belong to our neighbour.  Occasionally the goats will wander into our bush paddock or front yard, but we don't really see them all that often.  Yesterday, they just didn't seem to want to leave and they found all sorts of lovely things to nibble on and chew through.

They loved the Ardisia leaves and the berries.

They also loved the Daylily leaves, but they were told off in no uncertain words that they were off limit.  They looked decidedly forlorn then.

Apparently there was something rather tasty in the wheelbarrow as well.

I didn't mind at all having them gobble up the weeds growing in the yard,

but I wasn't all that keen on seeing the leaves shredded on the Acalyphas in the front garden bed.

They took some convincing to move on!

Well, those were yesterday's visitors.  Today we saw a creature that didn't inspire the same feelings of good cheer.

We were cleaning up in the shadehouse and it took quite some time to notice this creature.  It was huge and hairy.  It would have been about the size of my hubby's hand, maybe a little larger as we didn't quite get to see all of it.  Not only is it bit and beastly looking, but it was damn quick too.  We've no idea where it headed off too, but we gave the shadehouse a bit of a wide berth for a while.  I think it might have been a Bird-Eating Spider.

So, there you have it.  We can get some interesting visitors here.

Wildlife on Wednesday ... It's A Jewel Spider

I noticed a little spider sitting on an enormous web last week and wondered about it's identity.  It had quite a crab-like appearance.  Thanks to a couple of helpful readers I've since found out it's a Jewel Spider ... Austracantha minax.

The common name, Jewel Spider, appears to be related to the look of the smooth enamelled appearance of its abdominal surface.

It's also referred to as the Christmas Spider, because according to some of the information I've found online, they are usually found around Christmastime in our tropical Aussie gardens, which is our Summer.  Well that's not the case in this particular situation.  This spider is sitting out in the courtyard in early Winter.

It's a tiny little thing, about the size of my little fingernail.  The males apparently grow up to 4 mm, while females will reach 8 mm.  So mine must be a female.

This Jewel Spider has remarkable mottled white patterns on a black background on its back, and has six large projecting spines around its abdomen.  This is the reason for another of its common names ... the Spiny Spider.

Apparently Jewel Spiders build a vertical orb web about one to two metres above the ground ... which is exactly right in the case of the Jewel Spider out in my courtyard.

The support silk lines are apparently deliberately made visible, while the orb web remains invisible.  The anchor lines have many fluffy white balls on the silk which means large animals, like we humans, can actually see these silk support lines and avoid walking into the web and destroying it.

The female spiders sit all day and night on their webs.  Unlike most Orb Spiders that destroy their web after a day and move on elsewhere to build a new one. 

The male Jewel Spiders apparently hang around nearby on a branch.  I've looked for one, but haven't been able to find it yet.

These spiders eat flying insects which get trapped on the silk.

I'm adding a little video clip I managed to take with my old ageing camera.  It's not the best quality, but you can clearly see the Jewel Spider wrapping up its lunch.

Here's another little clip showing the spider repairing its web after the insect got caught in the silk lines.

They're Back! ... The Year In Photographs ... May 23, 2013

The Agile Wallabies have returned to our yard, and there's been quite a large group of them grazing on the grass out there.

A couple of them have now resorted to not only eating the grasses growing above the ground, but they've begun to dig out the rootstock.

This particular mother is giving a life-long lesson to her tiny joey about where to find the really delicious treats!

Mosaic Monday ... Bummed Out!

In reference to today's post title, I have to say I was a little 'bummed out' not to get a better shot of this marvellous creature that came visiting last night. 

Our lovely dog, Albert, alerted us to the fact that there was a very interesting visitor trying to get into the shadehouse, but unfortunately all I managed to get were a few rear end shots of this very special mammal called an Echidna.  We haven't seen one of these on our property since we moved in over ten years ago now, so it was a real treat even if we didn't get to see the whole creature.

Yes, I know it looks like a Hedgehog, but we don't have those here in Australia.  We do have the Short-beaked Echidna though, and it's not related to the Hedgehog at all. 

Echidnas are a very special animal.  Both the Echidna and the Platypus share the distinction of being the only remaining surviving 'monotremes' in the world.  What's a 'monotreme', I hear you ask?  Well, monotremes are a primitive link between the reptiles and the more advanced mammals.  Montremes are mammals that lay eggs, instead of giving birth to live young.

Now getting back to the post title ... If the real definition of 'bummed out' is "feeling depressed and sad about an issue", then this little creature fits the bill.

Our dog had a busy day yesterday.  Albert had this lovely little Ring-tailed possum cornered under the end of the verandah roof.  The poor possum was sitting there, looking very morose, for half the day yesterday.  

We tied up the dog, but he kept on barking every now and then, and the possum would be startled into inactivity every time.  It took hours and hours before the little poss eventually risked escape.  It managed to crawl along a stick I had jammed into the corner, and up onto the roof ... I'm sure I heard a little high-pitched scream of "Freedom" as the sun set in the west.

I'm joining Mary for her Mosaic Monday meme.

Wildlife on Wednesday ... Some Mother Do Have 'Em!

Mother Agile Wallabies (Macropus agilis) can have a busy breeding life, and they can live for up to 10 to 14 years of age.  After I've related some facts, you'll understand why I think these girls love having a bit of a rest ...

... even if getting a comfy rest is almost impossible!!  I'm thinking this little joey is probably a little uncomfortable, but it's the mother who looks far more uncomfortable!!!

Female Agile Wallabies can start breeding when they generally around 18 months of age ... talk about child brides!!!  I guess the rewards are great though.  Not only is the species healthy in numbers, I've observed that mothers and their offspring can have a seemingly very close relationship.

Breeding happens any time throughout the year for our northern tropics Agile wallaby females.  It's almost a continuous cycle ... what is termed 'aseasonal'.

A joey is born essentially in a 'fetal' state, at a very early stage of development.  It's blind, has no fur and is about the size of a jelly bean.

(Photo courtesy of Google images).





What's simply amazing to me is that this neonate can then crawl from the birth canal, across it's mother's very furry abdomen and into the pouch where it finds a teat that it can attach itself to.   What an incredible feat!

 While gestation only lasts for a month, pouch life for a joey can last seven to eight months. The mother plays a very important role in protecting and nurturing the young one until it is able to fend for itself.

Some joeys seem to overstay their welcome though.  This fellow seems a little big to be still trying to get back into his mother's pouch.  Ouch!

Although ... with such a sweet face, could any mother say no!

Most joeys are weaned at around ten to twelve months, but will then follow their mother around for about another twelve months before they become fully independent.  This is termed being a joey 'at foot'.

Females will often mate shortly after giving birth to a teeny joey.  The fertilised egg that results from the mating remains dormant ... this is known as embryonic diapause ... which means its development is temporarily halted until the older joey actually leaves the pouch and the 'vacant' sign goes up!  This little one becomes a joey 'in waiting'.

All this means that female Agile Wallabies can actually have three babies at a time ... a joey 'at foot', a joey 'in the pouch' and an 'embryo in stasis'.  Now that's one very busy Mum!!

The female in the photo above had both the joey 'at foot' and a joey 'in the pouch' ... but it was impossible for me to tell if she had a teeny tiny dormant embryo in waiting.  It's certainly a possibility, if there was a male handy at just the right time.

Sleep on Mum, I say ... sleep on!  You need all the energy you can possibly muster if this is your life for over ten years.

I'm joining the Windows On Wildlife meme for the first time today.  I'd encourage any other bloggers with a post about wildlife that you'd like to share to join me on this relatively new blog meme.

Wordless Wildlife Wednesday ... Mum's Dozin', I'm Chillin'.

I'm joining Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wildlife Wednesday ... Frog's Legs? Mais non ... I'll Take The Whole Frog Thanks!

I'm joining Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wildlife Wednesday ... This Is What A Wallaby Pedicure Looks LIke!

(Psssttt!  From now on known as a wally pedi!)


 I'm joining Wordless Wednesday

and Tina's Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wildlife Wednesday ... I Know They're Around Here Somewhere!!

(Before viewing the video clip, please scroll down to the bottom of this page and stop the playlist playing).


Title:  I Know You're Out There ... I Can Hear You!

I'm joining Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wildlife Wednesday ... True Love.

I'm joining Wordless Wednesday

and Tina's Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wildlife Wednesday ... Double Trouble!

I'm joining Tina's Wordless Wednesday

and Wordless Wednesday