Four-and eight-legged Critters

While chatting to a visitor n the veranda outside my shop last week, I spotted a movement across the road. Behind the fence of a large conference hotel, a deer was grazing peacefully. I pointed it to the visitor who was thrilled to see wildlife strolling around freely. 

 Gemsbok grazing along the main road which leads to the mountains

 Back home, my intrepid critter watcher, Missy was on my bed gazing fixedly at a spider! 

The spider was quiet small so I wonder if it's offspring

 or the male counterpart of my resident spider 

I'm linking to Saturday Critters with Eileen, here

HAPPY EASTER TO YOU ALL !

Kitties and critters

  Last week I had my resident rain spider made its appearance    from behind my bedroom wardrobe. I only noticed it I saw       madam Missy with neck craned upwards and staring at the   wall. 

Missy staring at the spider! 

Later that morning while I opened the shop, I noticed Lips, our veranda cat, staring at a creeper on the rail in front of my shop. 

As I rescued the praying mantis, it flew to my windowsill. Of course, I grabbed my camera and snapped it. 

Praying mantis

I removed the mantis from here and placed it in the garden far from Lips' wanderings. 

I'm linking to Saturday Critters with Eileen here

HAPPY SATURDAY TO YOU ALL! 

A prehistoric critter

Hoo-boy! I just don't seem to be posting regularly these days. Since my last post, I've had a few things happen to me which I won't post about here. They're not for the sensitive or faint-hearted! 

At least I manage to find critters and am here to share this cute lad on the shop veranda. 

Oh, and before I could photograph the critter, I managed a few snaps of the veranda cat, Lips! 

 Queen Lips of the veranda 

 Flap-necked Chameleon 

Lips hasn't noticed him. If she does, I doubt she'd show any interest. 

However, he's going up to the local reptile center.  He'd be much safer there than here where he may be killed by the night security or even stolen during the day by shoppers.
I'm linking to Saturday Critters with Eileen, here

Missy's critter

Er, Missy and Chappie found this little critter. 

In my lounge.

Behind the armchair.

At 2am. 

 Red-lipped Herald 

I was thrilled to identify my first snake without my trusty Grant to help me. 

Capturing it carefully (with an irate kitty trying to get her critter back again) and releasing it in the garden (with an inquisitive dog sniffing at my elbow) was nothing new to me. 

I'm linking to Saturday critters with Eileen, here

HAPPY SATURDAY TO YOU ALL! 

Spotty Critter

Recently a ladybird settled on my hand (that's the wrinkly pink background in the photo!) 

I'm linking to Saturday Critters with Eileen here

Feathered and hairy critters

Earlier this week I stopped to photograph the resident flock of guinea fowl in the cattle paddock next to the farm road which takes me home.

 Helmeted Guinea Fowl

 A hairy worm found in my house

I picked it up on a sheet of paper and put it on the lawn outside  

I'm linking to Saturday Critters with Eileen, here

HAPPY SATURDAY TO YOU ALL!  

Sacred Ibis

Hello fellow bloggers and birdwatchers.Recent times have seen me with untold Internet issues. At work and at home. So, while it's been difficult to regularly post on my own blog, I've also been unable to visit yours blogs. Please forgive me; I hope and pray that the challenges are receding! 

As always, when on the road to and from work, I'm on the look-out for birds. Last week I saw a flock of Sacred Ibis in the cattle paddock as I drive up the farm road. I noticed that some looked a little different to their flock-mates and stopped to photograph them! 

 Sacred Ibis (top and below)

 A juvenile Sacred Ibis - feathers are still sparse on the neck giving it mottled look

 Foraging for dinner

 Gluummp!

 An adult Sacred Ibis preening its feathers

 And ending up with one in its bill! 

I'm linking to Wild Bird Wednesday here

HAPPY WEDNESDAY TO YOU ALL! 

For the arachnophobes

After last week's post of the pet spider who shares my living space, I decided to post a few more acceptable critters. The bee below should be clearer but somehow I'm having challenges with the macro function on my camera . 

The moth below that is also a resident in my bedroom at home. 

 I'm linking up with Eileen's Saturday Critters here

HAPPY SATURDAY TO YOU ALL ! 

Crawling critters

Earlier this week a beautiful young woman walked into my shop and started to browse. As she turned to the other shelves, she squealed and said: "Look at that HUGE cricket." I stepped forward to look just as she squealed: "It's  GRASSHOPPER - I'm outta here!"And she was gone. I bent down, took my camera out of its bag and snapped the praying mantis. Afterwards I carried the picture frame with the mantis still on it and gently slid it onto a shrub in the garden. 

 The art-inspired praying mantis in my shop

The next day, Missy was out on the step. when I saw her pounce on something on the paving. It was another preying mantis Fortunately this mantis was too quick for the inexperienced little cat and flew up onto a beam above the veranda.

 Missy watching me photograph the praying mantis!

 A s;lightly different praying mantis also visits my shop area

 And back home. Bertha is still sharing my space - this time she's on the wall between my bed and built-in wardrobe. I love the way her many legs throw the shadows 

 

I'm linking to Saturday Critters with Eileen here

 

HAPPY SATURDAY TO YOU ALL!