The odds against identifying this tree frog were not good, as they have very variable colouration, so I hope that I am right in saying that this is a Natal Forest Tree Frog. We live close to the edge of its range, and that reduces the odds of seeing it here, in our inland garden, when they are more common in the coastal region. Continue reading “Against the odds: Finding tree frogs in flowers”
What to do if you love wild birds, but you also love cats? We decided to choose a compromise that we think of as a middle way. Continue reading “Cats and the wildlife garden”
When I see birds and monkeys enjoying these purple berries, I invariably think of the song “Wooden Ships”. The link between the Waterberry tree (commonly referred to by its Zulu name umDoni) and the song is purple berries. Continue reading “Say can I have some of your purple berries?”
Many nature lovers also love domestic animals. Part of letting nature back in can be in the form of sharing our lives with our companion animals. Although there is potential for conflict, pet dogs can coexist with wildlife in a suburban garden. Here are some pointers to good neighbourliness between domestic dogs and wild animals in suburban spaces and gardens. Continue reading “Wildlife gardeners, dogs and other animals”
One very hot day summer’s a small group of vervet monkeys visited our garden. Continue reading “Gracefulness of the maternal bond”
The summer garden is made special by gorgeous flowers that attract birds and insects, and most noticeably, the industrious honeybee. Continue reading “It’s not this time of the year without … flowers and honeybees”
I first time I saw this snake was when it fell out of a grapevine over our back deck. I was sweeping the deck and it fell on the deck right beside me, much to my surprise, its surprise and the surprise of our two dogs. Continue reading “The snake that tamed me”
Tiny, but able to attack prey up to three times its size this brightly coloured flower crab spider (Thomisus genus) waits on a nasturtium flower in our vegetable garden for potential victims. Continue reading “Tiny ambush hunter”
The theme of this week’s photo challenge is “transmogrify”. Here are some river frog eggs about to transform into tadpoles. Continue reading “Frog’s eggs morphing to tadpoles”
