More from the garden

I don't mind spiders. This one, a garden orb, sits straddled between two ropes that make the clothesline and makes more than her keep in fly catches. You can see her chewing on her latest, one fresh in the fridge and the pantry to the left.

Garden Orb

And there's this tiny little man, half the size of our smallest coin, flying around on his web thread. He is really quite the character. This was taken at distance because the eyes on this little guy are amazing - they're a veritable scanner and he can see me, in size and colour so every time I approached he would jump away. I am delighted to have identified him, the shape of his thorax and crown markings making him very distinctive.

Jumping Spider - Stilicid (Opisthoncus Mordax)

He's watching me.

Loving nature and respecting its presence in your life has its challenges. Everyone has their 'thing' and for me it's wasps. These guys have settled near the orb and are very good at keeping the fly population down. They only build colonies of about 15 and, left alone, they keep to themselves. Provoked, they will attack and bear a nasty sting.

Paper Wasps

Their stringlike home is called a "pagoda" and is constructed from their saliva. When every core of my being cries out "get rid of them!" I resist. For they have their place too.