The few little things that we have grown in the garden this year have actually tasted great, although not exactly kilograms of them. We have a Strawberry plant that has lived outside through snow and whatever weather is thrown at us, and produces happily each year. Today I found a last strawberry hidden away on the plant.
A competition to see if anyone can correctly identify some of the more bizarre things that have ended up on the dining table over this year. There are five things to identify, of which one is a plant type.
Our garden is an eco-system, well thats the opinion of the teacher at our daughter’s school and in fact applies to all the form who have a garden. Thinking about it we have foxes, bees, hedgehogs and numerous other invaders and visitors. Compost is made and goes on the soil, an oak tree grown from an acorn from Wisley Gardens, apple tree and so on. Anyway whilst photographing this melee of activity today ( whose homework is it?) I met some large and curious spiders. The garden spider is alive and well in New Malden. What however is interesting and there may be a simple reason, is why hardly any of these exist at Wisley RHS gardens? any clues?
Garden Spider by chris Bushe
Garden Spider by chris Bushe
Garden Spider by chris Bushe
As my general growing and farming ability improves, I thought I would share a few decent photos of the first ever apples growing on my Cox’s apple tree and a strawberry.
Strawberry living in New Malden
Over the last few years I have become more cogniscent with nature and insects due to the interest from my 12 year old. Sitting in the garden last week I saw what I thought was a piece of paper or rubbish in the plant pot that is filled with bright blue and yellow pansies and reed type leaves. On closer inspection it was moving and had legs. Quick rush to get camera with Macro lens attached.
Told 12-year-old when she got home and cue excitement and Google searches. No doubt it was a Crab Spider. Now this must be a particularly stupid one as one of their attributes, other than that they resemble a crab, is that they change colour and can camouflage themselves. Considering the pot is filled with bright blue and yellow pansies and green reed type leaves, said Crab Spider did not do a good job being bright white.
Few facts about Crab Spiders. Crab spiders (Thomisidae) resemble crabs. Their first four legs extend out to the sides and are longer than the back four legs. Crab spiders are almost always found outdoors. They do not make a web; instead they catch their prey using their front legs. The crab spider can stay in the same place—a flower or a leaf, for instance—for days, or even weeks, waiting for its dinner to arrive. The good news for me is that the spider is not poisonous, well to me at least, and lives worldwide especially in North America. We recently had a Texan visitor so I am blaming him as all sorts of strange things come from Texas, and most things seem dangerous and poisonous there!
This spider has very strong front legs, and it uses them to wrap its prey. The spider then injects venom into the prey to immobilize it. It eats insects and bees. This is bad news for the many Bees that live in our garden. Crab spiders are reminiscent of water crabs in both shape and movement. They can walk forwards, sideways or even backwards. Crab spiders range in color from pale yellow to white or green. They change their color to match their background, so you may have to observe a flower or leaf for a long time to be able to detect a crab spider sitting on it. Goldenrod crab spiders can change their color to match the flower they are sitting on. It takes about 10-25 days for the goldenrod crab species to change its color to match the flower it sits on. So lets see what our little specimen manages to do in the most few weeks. The good news otherwise for Crab Spiders is that they do live 2 years!
Doing a search on Google images, there are many different types of Crab Spider but this one most definitely is one!
Crab Spider visiting New Malden
I am living it seems in a parallel universe and clearly was away the day, week or month, they taught us how to design a Renaissance church. This is a weekend homework item. Two versions scanned in, neither played with, the first greyscale and the second monochrome. I remain impressed……..
Renaissance church designed by 12 year old
Renaissance church designed by 12 year old
Opinions please. Which is best choice? Should this author ever complete a non-medical book?
Mordor Returns
Am glad to see that Surrey Comet have run my hideous story of the Wee Waiting room at Motspur Park! I feel proud to be part of the Surrey Papparazzi that have disseminated this story. What makes me laugh is the large photo of the reported that one might think was the Wee culprit if one read too fast the story below. I am also a little confused as to why the photo of the chief reporter is the headline here! What he does not make clear is that not only did I take the photo and send it to him but also provide him with the full story. Curious and curiouser.
http://www.surreycomet.co.uk/news/10129005.Train_staff_lock_up__toilet__waiting_room/
Toilet at Motspur Park Station
We all want better sanitary conditions. Most of us want toilets on stations. None of us want the station waiting room to be used as that toilet. Sadly this is what South West trains tell us has happened at Motspur Park station, a leafy suburb ( well sort of ) on the edge of Surrey and london. The result of this behaviour is that the waiting room has been closed. Now a few questions come to mind. Do the citizens of Motspur Park have more sociopathic personality attributes than most? Do they have more troublesome bladders ? Why this station? Maybe some of my online readers can make their own suggestions as I have no idea. Motspur Park is not exactly ablaze with night life unless you fancy a night out in the Earl Beatty pub next to the station, where one now has to pay for parking, followed by a sumptuous supper in the Kebab house or maybe any one of the 3 restaurants that light up the high street. Not a nightclub in sight. Indeed the only real trouble in this area over the last 10 years has been graffiti, and even that seems to have died a death this last few years.
No, this is a situation that requires Sherlock Holmes to come forth. The solution? Well there are many pharmacuetical companies out there that manufacture medicines for those with bladder hyperactivity and the suchlike. This is an excellent opportunity for them to undertake some remedial behaviours in the local folks and sponsor the re-opening of the waiting room. Could we maybe have CCTWee? A live webcam perhaps?
Hmm. Better stop there.
Toilet at Motspur Park Station
My 12 year old daughter is on a mission to repair these jeans with her mother’s new sewing machine. Do you think they can be saved? Bernina 1000 to the rescue. All will be revealed
chris1957
Arcticterntalk.org 