I've almost forgotten how to do this - it's been so long since I last posted. And to make it worse I haven't even had time to read all my favourite blogs. But I think I'm almost back to my normal routine and catching up on all that has happened in blogworld over the last few weeks.
Today I did something I've never done before - I was asked to deliver a eulogy at a friend's funeral. That really took me out of my comfort zone, but I've discovered that when you mean what you say it's really quite easy. Ev had lived a long and good life. We laughed a lot during her funeral service because she had brought joy to the lives of many others. Death is a part of living unfortunately.
I was reminded of this when we visited our bush bock last week. The leaves on nearly every eucalyptus tree I looked at were severely damaged, and I was getting a bit worked up about the fact that they didn't look perfect. Then I started looking for what was actually doing the damage, and found lots of caterpillars, beetles and insects having a wonderful time eating their way to maturity. And the birds were having a wonderful time gleaning their supper as well. I've never seen so many White-naped Honeyeaters in the Manna Gum near the house. So the biodiversity in my environment was clearly evident and I got my camera out to record some of the nibblers. I've got no idea what they are.
What superb photographs you have posted. Thank you. The world is an amazing and beautiful place - except for the moneychangers of course.
ReplyDeletew.
Hi Boobook
ReplyDeleteWelcome back to the Bloggosphere.
Great to observe the cycle of nature like that - including your friend's passing. I am glad you could share a few laughs - in her memory.
Nice post about the Caterpillars. I shall leave the ID to the experts.
Cheers
Denis
A nice collection there! If you are interested in ID's,
ReplyDelete#2 is the Gum Leaf Skeletoniser Uraba lugens).
#5 appears to be an Anthelid (Anthelidae).
#4 may not actually be caterpillars. They seem to be Sawfly larvae.