Monthly Archives: August 2011

Fireflies!

Posted on Tuesday, 30 August 2011 by Joy Window

Last night we saw fireflies for the first time this year. They usually appear in early spring (September) for a couple of weeks, so this year they’re a little early. The males fly and flash, looking for answering flashes from … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals on land, Insects | Tagged | 3 Comments

Desert beetle

Posted on Thursday, 25 August 2011 by Joy Window

My cousin Jan and her partner Rodney went to Lake Eyre during its recent flooding to see what they could see. One thing was this desert-living pie-dish beetle (one of the Helea species, perhaps H. waitei but I’m not sure). … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals on land, Insects | Tagged | Leave a comment

Abbey Museum Medieval Festival 2011 – part 1

Posted on Monday, 22 August 2011 by Joy Window

In July we went to the Abbey Museum Medieval Tournament, a yearly event on the Sunshine Coast, north of Brisbane. I lived in a SCA (Society for Creative Anachronism, a re-enactment society) household in Sydney, although I wasn’t a member, … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Travels | Tagged | 2 Comments

Blue-tongued lizards

Posted on Thursday, 18 August 2011 by Joy Window

There are four species, including two subspecies, of blue-tongued lizards in Australia, and I saw a couple recently. The shingle-back, stumpy-tail or sleepy lizard (Tiliqua rugosa) lives in the drier areas of our continent, west of the Great Dividing Range … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals on land, Lizards | Tagged | 7 Comments

The usual dry spring

Posted on Tuesday, 16 August 2011 by Joy Window

Although it’s still officially winter here by the Anglo calendar, both daytime and nightime temperatures are rising, and the birds at least are already well into nesting and breeding. The indigenous people had their own way of marking the seasons, … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Snakes | 1 Comment

The thing on the ceiling

Posted on Friday, 12 August 2011 by Joy Window

Luckily for me, any spider phobia was nipped in the bud at an early age by my Dad. He used to laugh (not unkindly) when a small me confessed to being frightened to go to the outside toilet when the … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals on land | Tagged | 2 Comments

Thar they blows!

Posted on Tuesday, 9 August 2011 by Joy Window

A friend visiting from the Big Smoke is always an excuse to throw down the work computer (not literally, of course) and do a bit of sight-seeing. Enticed by the perfect winter weather (23C/73F and gloriously sunny), we headed for … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Baby Boiga bites blogger!

Posted on Friday, 5 August 2011 by Joy Window

Yes, it’s true. I blush to admit it. I got bitten by a snake! So much for the ‘famous last words’ at the end of my last post! Am I used to having snakes around and so a bit blasé … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals on land, Snakes | 3 Comments

Steve lives! (part 3)

Posted on Tuesday, 2 August 2011 by Joy Window

More comments from friends about the late Crocodile Hunter: I have always thought of Steve Irwin as a likable boofhead rather than a serious contributor to our understanding of biology (durrrh!). Though his almost childlike enthusiasm was genuine and endearing, his need to … Continue reading →

Posted in Snakes, Travels | Tagged , , | 6 Comments