January 31, 2013

While watering the plants on the veranda I noticed this little Jumping Spider on the rim of a pot.
Quite a contrast to yesterday's puppy post!
Speaking of puppies - all six are strong and doing well. Click on the Schnauzer link to the right of this page to go to their page.

January 30, 2013

Pink Puppy Paws - 24 of them!

Today was a tiring but exciting day in our household.

Lulu, my Miniature Schnauzer gave birth to six puppies - three girls and three boys.

Mother and offspring are doing well, while Daddy has been a real star.

(I have never witnessed a male dog show interest and support during the birth of his children!)

@maggiezlenz also celebrates 14,000 views today!

Your support keeps me motivated. Thank you♥

January 29, 2012

Crawling out of the woodwork!

This Black Collared Barbet popped its head out of a hole in the corner fence post and 

eyed me very suspiciously before it decided to rather take off! 

January 28, 2013

The heading on this page does mention that the blog is about "wild and wonderful thingz" Well....

Today I had a wonderful surprise! Normally when I go to Google and they have a different 'doodle' I always hover over the picture with the mouse pointer to see what the picture is all about.

Much to my surprise I found a birthday message for me!   

It took me a while to realise that it was because I was logged in on my Google account ... duh!  

Needless to say, and thanks to Google,  my photo today is of my fleeting moment of fame!

Not a good shot because of electronic interference - a screenshot was perfect- 

but then it would not be @maggiezlenz would it?

January 27, 2013

Mouse birds are normally very flighty and I had to steal this shot through the screen door. 

The bird was immediately aware of me and took off with the mouthful of leaves.

This is an indigenous plant that grows on the back fence.

The Mouse birds love the leaves - feathered hedge trimmers!

January 26, 2013

 While I was enjoying a Cappuccino this morning I spotted this wide eyed little Jumping Spider sitting on the backrest of the kitchen chair opposite me. "What? No Brioche?" it seemed to say!

Dedicated to the new French viewers of this Blog -  I truly appreciate your support!

(A special thank you to a special friend for the birthday gift of a box of Nescafé Cappuccino sticks - loving it!!)

January 25, 2013

Blending in.

This Dragon Fly nearly went unnoticed! 

January 24, 2013

Today has to be the hottest and most humid day we have experienced so far this summer!

Even the overgrown lawn looked wilted from the heat.

This little orange moth provided a splash of colour and did not seem to mind the sun        

January 23, 2012

This Orb Spider has an intricate layered web in the covered parking at the hostel. 

In front and behind the flat web that you can see in the photo is a jumble of  threads going in all directions that act as anchors to the railing where the web is situated.

The only way I could catch the beautiful colours of the Spider was at this angle where I could avoid the hap-hazard threads that threw the camera out of focus.

January 22, 2013

Today's post is dedicated to THE most special  Mother in the world.

It is such a joy to watch you still do what you love best - fishing!

 Happy 86th birthday dearest Mommy.

May this year hold many happy hours at the waterside with plenty of fish in the basket!

Thank you for your patience and your unconditional love. 

January 21, 2013

We still had the occasional shower today, with quite a heavy downpour in the afternoon.

Afterwards everything seemed drenched. The light on these grass seeds caught my eye. 

January 20, 2013

Today I was rather busy and did not leave the house.

These are more of the photos I took yesterday in the park

A Dikkop watches as I try to take a photo of it.

It was raining quite heavily during this shot

On the prowl....

Water flowing across the road. This was quite a common sight yesterday

Even the Warthogs were clean! Always covered in mud, I never knew they had white hair.

January 19, 2013

What was meant to be a quick trip in the rain to the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park turned out to be a five hour drive. It's a different world out there in the rain and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

I was thrilled to see a familiar 'face' in the form of the old one-fanged Baboon that featured in this journal last year on 23 March. He was in the road with his family and did not seem to mind us at all.

We sat there for ages and watched them interact.

He certainly needs to see a dentist ☺

It is great to see so much water in the park. 

.....and finally - this was the scene @maggieztree today:

For those who do not know - I try to take a photo at this spot every time I visit the Park.

It you want to see how this scene has changed since I started doing this, please type "atmaggieztree" into the search box towards the top right hand corner on this page and click search.

January 18, 2013

Have you ever watched a Dragonfly for a while?

They must have amazing eyesight because they would remain on a chosen perch

 then suddenly take off  to catch an insect in mid-air.

Amazing is that most times it would come right back and settle on the same spot again!

January 17, 2013

          These flies are not very common in my garden and I am very happy that I found this one!

                                                                                                                                                             

January 16, 2013

Today I had no time for photos.

These are three of the many Butterflies that I have photographed in the last two weeks.

January 15, 2012

Today was hectic and I so wish I had more time to spend with my camera.

This chap did his best to lend a dash of colour to an otherwise very drab, green environment.

Perhaps it is my imagination, but I think spot a heart shape again... or two...  or more... ;)

January 14, 2013

Yesterday a teeny weeny insect. Today the opposite.

This beautiful spider is sitting on the face brick wall on the porch right now.

It is quite high up and I had to balance the tripod on a pot plant while I stood on a chair.

My first thought while I was precariously balanced: I am SO thankful that it is not a Jumping Spider!

Can you imagine the insurance claim if I had taken a fall - I don't think they would believe me

January 13, 2013

While admiring the bark on this old tree, we noticed a few very tiny specks of green. 

This is clearly a baby Leaf-hopper -  so small that it is translucent 

January 2, 2013

It was a cool rainy day today - 40mm so far. Such a relief from the energy-draining heat!

I only ventured out as far as the succulents on the veranda (in an assortment of small containers) 

The one in the photo is about the size of a golf ball - beautiful to look at, but certainly not to touch!

Last week I joined a group called "Focus on Life" at www.thestudiosublime.com 

Thanks to Sally Russick for making  this possible - I am really enjoying it!

My posts can be seen to the right of this blog page.

52 weeks, 52 photos - there is an open invitation to join at any time! Just click on the link and read all about it.

Join, or view the posts of all the participants

January 11, 2013

Amazing how a fly can look quite gruesome when viewed up close!

This one was probably asleep on the log because it let me get really close.

We tend to get shivers down the spine at the sight of a cockroach, 

but considering the feeding habits of flies, they have to be the dirtiest insects around. 

They are not picky at all and the smellier the meal, the better!

January 10, 2013

A pretty Butterfly!

Today has been a sweltering day and energy levels are running low.

We had a bit of rain late this afternoon but the house has not yet cooled down

January 9, 2013

 Although this bug blended well with the bark of the tree, its face gave it away!

One of my very first posts to this blog on 27 March 2011 was of the same type of bug.

This one has more prominent 'horns' on its thorax

January 8, 2013

Today was a rather busy day and I did not venture outside at all. It was too hot anyway.

Much to my surprise, this little critter flew in and sat on the cord of the flash drive where I was working at my desk - it was probably trying to find a cooler spot to rest, but I prefer to think 

that nature came indoors to visit me today ;)

It patiently posed for a few photos while I fumbled with the settings and then took off, 

disappearing out the door.

January 7, 2013

These tiny little Caterpillars are eating the new leaves of the Tree Fuschia aka African Walnut tree, Weeping Boer Bean or Huilboerboon. A new sighting for me - they are only about 10mm in length!

(spot the heart cut-out in the first photo?? )

 Further examination showed these strange tiny packages shown below- attached to the uneaten ends of the leaves. Is it poop or is could it be a cocoon of sorts?

I tried to open one, but because it is so small, could not find anything significant in it.

The package is about the size of the Caterpillar's head. Judging by the size of the body, I somehow doubt that it is poop.  The first photo shows the Caterpillar blowing a bubble.

Could it be that it 'sucks' nutrition in the form of fluids and then deposits the remains in the form of a little roll on the leaf? I can not find any information on Google.

January 6, 2013

Horsing around!

These Zebras entertained us for nearly an hour yesterday in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park.

We stopped next to a small pond in the quarry to photograph birds.

It wasn't long before the Zebras made an entrance. They did not mind us at all.

They were running in circles chasing, biting and occasionally kicking one another.

After a relaxed drink of water from the pond  next to our car, the fun would start all over again!

I doubt that it was serious - it really looked as if they were fooling around.

I have often watched Zebras, but never seen them at play.

If you click on the first photo, a slide show will open. 

This will allow you to view all the other photos by using your right arrow key. 

Unfortunately I had to reduce the size of the photos quite drastically because there are so many.

 The one on the left is asking whether you enjoyed the photos as much as I did taking them!?