Tag Archives: Nature

Mar 12 2018

Weekly Photo Challenge: Story…

It’s early Spring in Cyprus at the moment.

20/3/18 is the official date for the start of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere, ( I checked, just to make sure) but the hillsides in Cyprus are already in full Spring bloom.

The trees are bursting out into blossom, the ground is full of wild iris, orchids, and field gladioli, not to mention the numerous other small flowers that pop up through the undergrowth and the weather is glorious.

It’s a time for walks in the hills with a camera in hand…

My story starts with an Almond tree, in full blossom…

 

and then I spot a bee…

 

Let’s follow the bee…

 

Oh, that nectar is so worth a deep dive…

 

And it’s so good I’m going in for more…

 

Finished! Time to go home…

 

Now, where’s my hive?

 

 

Story

Dec 13 2016

Oman road trip: The Dhofar coastline and a midnight visitor…

Leaving the comfort of the Salalah Marriot, we headed up the coast. Oman is doing some major road expansion and the road from Mirbat to Hasik, which winds through crinkly foothills, is being straightened and expanded to meet up with the incredible road constructed from Hasik to Ash Shuwaymiyah, linking these two towns through a mountainous range.  Continue reading →

Aug 21 2016

Weekly Photo Challenge: Rare #3

A rare sight- A live Conus textile (Linnaeus, 1758) on the prowl, siphon extended.

Cone snails are one of the most venomous creatures on earth. Among the most toxic are the textile, geographic, and tulip snails and there is a higher risk of death if the geographic and textile snails are involved. All capture their prey by means of harpoon-like hollow teeth (radula) that are rapidly jabbed into their prey to inject the toxic venom. Attacks on humans usually occur when a cone snail is either stepped on in the ocean or picked up from the water or the beach.There are known human fatalities from this species.

Their geographical distribution is throughout the Indo-Pacific region, Australia, and the Indian Ocean from eastern Africa to Hawaii and French Polynesia.

The textile cone lives in the sand beneath coral and rocks in shallow waters. If you do come across one, admire quickly and walk away. Do not pick one up…..

 

 

Aug 21 2016

Weekly Photo Challenge: Rare #2

A white carpet anemone (Stichodactyla sp.), a rare find in the inter-tidal zone at an extremely low tide on a lonely beach   near Shannah, Oman. An Indo-Pacific occupant, living on reefs or on the sandy bottom, these anemones can attain a size of two and a half feet in diameter. Potentially harmful to humans ( a potent sting) they act as a host for many types of clownfish.

Rare