Musings on life and times
The St Andrew’s Cross Spiders (Argiope keyserlingi), are so named for their bright web decorations which roughly resemble the Cross of St Andrew. They are non aggressive, and low risk (non toxic) to humans. The pine needle visible in the top photo is just nuisance value when the menu calls for insects, even up to twice its size!
The damage to unopened palm fronds is a good example of “fraying”. The second photo shows a native Sulphur Crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita), the ‘vandal’ that causes this fraying. It is the beaks and claws that do the damage, rather than simple ‘rubbing’, but the result lasts for the life of the frond.
This entry is my response to the challenge of what ‘fray’ means to me. Other entries will be found over at The Daily Post here
We are very fortunate in Eastern Australia to have a wide variety of native birds, many of which are not intimidated by the onslaught of suburbia. One such species is the Australian King-Parrot (Alisterus scapularis)
In our experience, they usually travel in pairs, the red headed male looking after his partner, or vice versa. While we do not feed them, we do plant lots of native shrubs and trees to encourage their visits. The other day, this couple seemed to think there might be a feed if they hung around for a few minutes. When there was nothing forthcoming, they left to forage elsewhere.
Any tasty morsels on this orchid? If not, I’ll turn my back on you!
… while hubby keeps watch from the safety of the tree.
