I’ve been offline for a while and am kick-starting my return today with this gem. Who could resist?
Shelob, the Hairy Field Spider
If you are afraid of spiders, you might want to skip this one. However, knowledge is power and learning a little more about these fascinating creatures may help you to overcome your fear.
Winter, such that it was, ended overnight. We woke up one morning with the electric blanket on and went to bed that night with the air conditioner set to its coldest.
The heat is debilitating (it does not lend itself to any form of work!) and on top of that it is very dusty and dry – the bush looks like it will never recover and seems to get browner by the minute.
Out walking yesterday morning I noticed an encouraging sign; one lone green tree, an interloper peering out through the grey. The rains can’t be far off now and I’m really looking forward to that.
When I got home and looked closer at the picture I had taken and noticed something else.
Do you see them?
So, despite the sweltering heat and in the name of science I called the reluctant dogs and we all traipsed out again to get a closer look.
Closer
And closer …
Closer still
What lives in these messy nests? Looks like it could be a spider so, much to Piet’s disgust (he’s quite happy to face down a charging buffalo but the sight of a tiny spider will have him cowering and yelling for me to save him), I decided to take one home to open up and have a look.
I put the nest inside a plastic dish and the first thing that happened was a whole bunch of tiny spiders rushed out, waving their legs at me in indignation. It was like a spider village in there! They were mostly jumping spiders (Salticidae) but there were also a couple of other species, too small for my aging eyes to recognise.
Most of those little black dots are spiders
A tiny salticidae
On opening up the nest the first thing I saw was a wasp nest. I find this interesting as often wasps predate on spiders, usually using them as a food source for their larvae, and I wonder what the relationship is in this case. It must be quite disconcerting for the spiders to live together with an animal which may be eyeing them out as a meal for its offspring!
Next I found a nest-within-a-nest.
And inside this nest was Shelob — the true boss of the place! She curled herself up and pretended to be dead, which made closer inspection a lot easier than if she was scurrying about trying to escape.
I asked for help with identifying this spider from the Spider Club of Southern Africa Facebook page and was informed that ‘Shelob’ belongs to a family of spiders known as Araneinae , or orb spiders, and that she has a delightful common name — Hairy Field Spider.
Shelob, the Hairy Field Spider
Hairy Field Spiders are not harmful to humans, but Piet was not sure that releasing Shelob into the rose-bush which grows under the light outside the lounge was a good idea. I know she will do good, helping the geckos and frogs to catch the mosquitoes that will come when the rains finally begin.
WTF Friday – Which Way Africa Style (Part eight)
Sadly Cee’s Which Way Challenge comes to an end next week, so this will be my last entry for this challenge. Cee will be hosting a brand new Compose Yourself Photo Challenge starting next week and I look forward to taking part in that.
I will continue to enter her other challenges and will also try to continue with my own WTF Friday theme.
After what feels like a record long dry season we are finally heading towards the rains. The dust will settle and the cooler temperatures will be a relief.
I took the next three photos while driving through the Mashonaland Province of Zimbabwe a few years ago.
It was during the rainy season.
Advertising pays!
Grid
Waiting for a Taxi
The Colour of Cupcakes
Piet’s daughter turned 21 earlier this year and we celebrated the event on a wine farm near Stellenbosch.
Happy 21st cup cakes
Click here to see more interpretations of the Sense of Taste.
Silent Sunday Sunset (I)
WTF Friday – Which Way Africa Style (Part seven)
It seems the whole of Southern Africa has retreated to the Dark Ages – literally.
In short, there is not enough electricity being generated – in the entire region – to meet demand.
There are many theories and rumours about why this has happened, ranging from ineptitude, to not enough rain to feed the rivers providing the hydro-electric power, to sub-standard equipment supplied during a dodgy tender deal. I suspect all are true to some extent but no-one is prepared to shed any light (sorry) on the matter and tell us what is really going on.
What this means is that we are now being subjected to load shedding. In my case, for six days a week we have no electricity for eight hours a day and on the seventh day – fingers crossed – the electricity does not go off at all. Last week it was only five hours off for five days of the week, so it is getting worse: the poor folk in Lusaka are enduring ten-hour cuts, with a fourteen hour cut one day a week, so I am thankful I don’t live there!
This makes keeping up to date with work – and more importantly, blogging! – very difficult and until we can make a plan with a generator and/or solar power both are going to be a bit sketchy and intermittent.
Any Zimbabweans reading this will be wondering what I am moaning about – they have dealt with severe load shedding for the last fifteen years (some are lucky if they receive two hours electricity supply a day) – and I apologise. But having thought I had left all that behind me I am taking a while to re-adjust.
In the mean time, here are my entries for this week’s Which Way Challenge.
Once a week Cee from Cee’s Photography Blog runs a Which Way Photo Challenge – everyone is welcome to take part. You can read the rules for the challenge here.
Birchenough Bridge, Zimbabwe – taken in the late 1980’s
Rural fuel station in Zimbabwe
Eastern Highlands, Zimbabwe
Disgruntled
For one reason or another I have been mostly offline for a number of weeks. Today has been my first ‘proper’ day on WordPress and it now looks and feels like a place I’ve never been to before!
In addition to the flickering follow box (which indeed does seem to only work when it feels like it!), I now also have to re-acquaint myself with the new Reader lay-out. Good grief!
I share all the sentiments expressed by Sue – I am sure the majority of us do! – and only hope that the “Happiness Engineers” take note.
The Gorilla Mystery, Disney
Dear Happiness Engineers,
You’ve done it again, haven’t you?
Everything stops functioning properly, then suddenly the options we once had… and are used to… disappear. Only to be replaced by yet another ‘mobile friendly’ option that is proudly announced and slipped beneath our backsides when we least expect it.
This time it is the removal of the nice, static options at the top of the screen… the options that allowed us to ‘like’, ‘follow’ and reblog posts. Instead we have the flickering multifunction pop-up box that only bothers to do so when it feels like it… and only chooses to show the options it thinks you want.
For those who are not technically minded in the least, the loss of the static buttons makes things more awkward. Strangely enough, not everyone knows those options are available at the end of posts if you actually click into…
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In the Eye of the Beholder
Arachnaphobes beware. Spider pictures! (only at the end of this post though)
For more creepy pictures pop over to the Daily Post (if you dare) to have a look at the other entries in this week’s challenge.
I’ve been under cover, so to speak, during the last month or so and have not felt up to doing much at all. The reason? The Sun. A quick trip to Johannesburg, a visit to a dermatologist to check on a dodgy mole on my chest and the subsequent treatment (read Torture) he prescribed has confirmed to me that The Sun is Not Your Friend! Do not trust the Sun!
The cream, which I have to apply twice a day, draws out any pre-cancerous cells that may be lurking below the skin’s surface (and which were made that way by the sun), turns them a fetching shade of bright red and then kills them. Once dead, these cells change into dark brown, oozing scabs before they fall off.
Until recently I thought my skin was relatively clear and blemish free and I’ve always tried to be diligent about applying sunscreen – usually only when we have been on holiday though, not every day. But the way those initial little red dots have amalgamated to cover my entire face and neck, making me glow in the dark, has been a sobering reminder that applying sunscreen as part of our daily routine is vital for all of us, and could be life-saving. This treatment is painful and inconvenient but it beats the alternative. It’s sunscreen every day and large hats for me from now on.
One of my Muslim friends has kindly lent me a burka to wear if I venture outside (I have to avoid all exposure to the sun during my treatment) but it’s hot and uncomfortable under there and I’m avoiding any outings if I can help it.
I was going to share a couple of selfies (sans burka) to illustrate but decided it just looks too bad. That shiny red face is not a pretty sight – even Tikkie barked at me when I got home from town the other day! (and if you really want to see, this is what it is like)
So instead I am posting a couple of pictures which I took with the new macro lens Last Born gave me for my birthday.
I think this is a wolf spider, a member of the Lycosidae family and, although many people find spiders creepy, these ones are harmless to humans and I think they are beautiful.
This little guy had just crawled out of his burrow when I came across him the other evening and he obligingly stood still just long enough for me to get a couple of shots. I couldn’t decide which was the best, so have included them both.
I'll Give You a Letter For That 