My February Changing Seasons post will be divided into two parts. Part 1 contains the serious environmental message. Part 2 is more lighthearted.
This post contains images that may distress some viewers.
February – in the dying days of summer, danger lurks.
Watching you.
Watching me.
Be careful or you may end up ….
It gets worse. Wait for it ….. (now is the time to look away).
It’s murder out there.
Since March 2018. I have been participating in the monthly Changing Seasons challenge hosted by Su at Zimmerbitch. When I flagged that this would be my last post for the challenge, a number of people asked me to reconsider. I will keep my options open. What won’t stop, is telling stories with my photos.
I would like to thank Su for hosting the challenge. It is ongoing so you should feel free to jump in and give it a go.
I would also like to thank our neighbour’s cat, Monkey, for his guest (and starring) role in this post. He needs his own series, don’t you think? When my dog dragged the dead rat out from under some bushes, I thought at first it had been poisoned. But Monkey has been hanging around a lot lately, sending my dogs berserk with his little bell. So I suspect Monkey of having something to do with that rat. On that note, no birds were killed in the making of this post. We had the hose trained on Monkey as a precaution.
And with a flick of his tail, he disappeared into the setting sun.
Kind Regards
Tracy
Other reading
The Changing Seasons – February (Part 1)
Reflections of An Untidy Mind 
The black widow spider with the telltale red hourglass marked abdomin is a frequent house guest in British Columbia, as is the brown recluse spider. Both deliver painful bites. Tracy the photographs are gorgeous, even the spider portraits. Is that a suitor who finds himself in a bind?
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Quoting from the Australia Museum. “Only the female bite is dangerous. They can cause serious illness and have caused deaths. However, since Redback Spiders rarely leave their webs, humans are not likely to be bitten unless a body part such as a hand is put directly into the web, and because of their small jaws many bites are ineffective.” And yes I did accidentally put my hand in that web. After I accidentally destroyed it, she was keen to get back to her ant. There was a male hanging around too. I’ve another photo but I didn’t post it. He is teeny in comparison and she often eats him when she has had her way with him.
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Now I’m correcting my corrections. 🙂 Just goes to show I know nothing about spiders, but thanks to you, Sid, I can learn. Yes, it could be male that she has got hold of. I have another photo with what I thought was a male. But the body of the unseen spider is more pointed. But that may actually be a juvenile. Please keep me honest, Sid. I need lots of help. Spiders aren’t my thing.
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3rd time lucky. Having gone back to the original photo, my brain’s trust thinks it is an ant. So I come full circle. Sheesh.
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Your photos are great, the black widow, that’s getting close
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Thank you, Alice. I’ve never encountered an aggressive redback spider. It is related to your black widow apparently.
Most of the time, I don’t even know they are there. But I accidentally dislodged its web when I picked up the watering can. It is a tremendous privilege to observe them. It was keen to bind up its catch and make itself scarce from my sight again. I’ll be a bit more careful next time I pick up that watering can though.
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We have them where I live in coastal S Carolina. They are usually spotted in the garage there is also the brown widow it has a orange hourglass
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They sound similar in that they are quite unobtrusive. Have to be careful when cleaning off the cobwebs though. 🙂
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Monkey is gorgeous! That last shot of him licking his lips is priceless. If I had rats like that, I’d want Monkey for my neighbour! Lovely series of photos.
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I’ve never been a fan of cats, Heather, because they kill a lot of wildlife. Still I prefer Monkey over poison for killing the rats. Perhaps he has cleaned up his own yard because he has never been one to visit much in the past.
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Cats are definitely a good alternative to the poisons.
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I’m so glad you’re considering continuing with The Changing Seasons (not that I’m biased or anything).
I love the way you’ve put this post together — visual story-telling at its best. Monkey is a very distinguished-looking cat. Wise move to train the hose on him; he does look lethal to wildlife.
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It is okay to be biased. 🙂 I was surprised at Monkey’s intensity. He doesn’t normally hang around our yard. I think he may need several more bells to warn the wildlife.
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You know how I feel about your Changing Seasons post already, so I won’t bore you with repeating myself 😉 Just know that I was SOOO HAPPY when I saw you did another post!!! 😄
And you should have seen me scrolling down the post whenever a spider popped up!! Lol! 😂
Monkey is awesome, total badass kicking looking cat! Definitively deserves his own post/blog/series!
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Thank you, Sarah. Lucky I warned you about that spider. But it is cute. 🙂
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Cute?!? Not the word I would choose. 😉 LOL!
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What a feast – such great photos Tracy.
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Glad you enjoyed them, Paul.
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