A typical Australian backyard scene My office is at the back of the house, facing south-east. The weather comes from that direction and my windows are always streaked with rain and dust. The view is of the garden and the row of trees along the neighbours’ fence. The trees are…

New shoots in the collection — Some weeks ago, I collected fruit from my Atherton Sauropus aka Pumpkin Fruit (Breynia macrantha) and extracted the seeds. Half of the haul went to my friends at a botanic garden for their rare plants collection and the other half remained here. Of the eight seeds I retained, seven germinated…

Industrious AF Taps microphone Winces at feedback Hello. I have an announcement. It has stopped raining. For the first time in ten days, we have blue sky. The rain has made the lawn go feral. And in the fifteen minutes between the sun appearing from behind the rainclouds and the…

More giant insects from the tropics — Stick insects are one of nature’s most remarkable disappearing acts. But not this one, which parked itself in the carport for a few days before relocating to the car. Crypsis works best against a complex background, not concrete blocks and duco. But standing out was not a problem on this…

Unexpected connections… — I was about to leave when my friend asked, ‘Have you seen the Tropical Hydrangea?’ I hadn’t. Hydrangeas are staples of older, long-established gardens and they seem to have gone out of fashion, displaced by native species such as Grevillea and Melaleuca. They grow well on the Atherton Tablelands, where…

Living with wildlife in city and country — Possums have a mixed reputation. I love ’em, even when they run across the roof in the middle of the night sounding like Santa and all his reindeer. When it comes to the fruit trees, they tag team with the Sulphur-crested Cockatoos. The birds tuck in during the day; the…

But not by the camera — Look closely at this dragonfly. A big insect and a powerful flier, but a single thread of spider’s web halted it and held it fast. Yes, I deprived the Garden Orb Weaver of its meal by cutting the tether. …

Running the silk gauntlet — A certain amount of peril was involved in taking these photographs. Not Temple of Doom level — although a Kookaburra was calling in the background — but enough to make me tread carefully. …

Overlooked but not unloved — They skip through the air in a stop/start, rise/fall, quick/slow, tango/rumba/salsa type of flight. Their motion gives them the common name of Skippers. Oh, to be sure, some are called Darts and Darters and Swifts for their no nonsense A-to-B flying. But most have this fluttery way. More than 3,500…