Saturday's walk around the nursery - Part 1

These are miniture cacti and are 2 inches or less in height. Many of these are imported from around the world so maybe you have them growing in your garden too. It is always a peasure to walk around the nursery and see what is in bloom and available.

When you are creating these container gardens, be sure and use very porous soils. For dish gardens and mixed planters, choose ones the same rest periods.Here are some suitable miniature species of cacti and succulents that are most suitable for growing indoors.

For dish gardens and indoor container gardens, we need small plants that don’t grow out of bounds. There are a number of cacti and succulents that fulfill this need. These are often used as house plants, and are especially suitable for apartments and those with limited indoor space.

Pilansberg Game Reserve - Part 2

At lunch time I stopped by the restaurant to get a bit to eat and the warthog was making a meal of the lovely grass in front of it. No digging for wild plants for him, he has cultured tastes.
A car had just ridden by this point and the people inside did not notice the elephant so well disguised as a rock on the side of the road.

This lioness was watching a herd of Wildebeest across the road. Okay it was lunch time and I suppose her stomach growls too!!

Rock Hyrax are the favorite food of the eagles and are always on the lookout for them.

One of the Acacia trees gets this pretty flower on it.

The insects are busy collecting pollen on the wonderful of varity of buds around.

The giraffe is almost 20 feet in height when fully fron and it always seems as if they are looking down their noses at you.

This was was of my attempts to catch a dragonfly in flight. All the others had not been very successful, but at least on this one I could make out what it was I was trying to take a picture of, the rest were just blurred lines. LOL!!

This cute red one was kind enough to settle down nearby in order for me to take its picture. We have about 160 species of dragon and damselflies in SA.

These pretty wild flowers are almost translucent and about 3 inches in diameter.

A Copperhead and Burmese Python

We have a lovely Snake Park nearby. This is a Copperhead which I am sure a lot of you already know. These pictures were taken through glass and in the first one, it had a blue light in the corner.

Like all pit vipers, A. contortrix is an ambush predator: it takes up a promising position and waits for suitable prey to arrive. In the southern United States, they are nocturnal during the hot summer months, but are commonly active during the day during the spring and fall.
Like most North American viperids, these snakes prefer to avoid humans and, given the opportunity, will leave the area without biting. However, unlike other viperids they will often "freeze" instead of slithering away, and as a result many bites occur from people unknowingly stepping on or near them. This tendency to freeze likely evolved because of the extreme effectiveness of their camouflage. When lying on dead leaves or red clay they can be almost impossible to notice. They will frequently stay still even when approached closely, and will generally strike only if physical contact is made.

Within its range it occupies a variety of different habitats. In most of North America it favors deciduous forest and mixed woodlands. It is often associated with rock outcroppings and ledges, but is also found in low-lying swampy regions. In the states around the Gulf of Mexico, however, this species is also found in coniferous forest. In the Chihuahuan Desert of west Texas and northern Mexico, it occurs in riparian habitats, usually near permanent or semipermanent water and sometimes in dry arroyos.
These Burmese Pythons are really beautiful. These two must be about 7 feet in length.

Huge! Expect an adult size of 15-20 feet long, and 100 to 200 pounds or more. Their huge size makes them both expensive to keep and potentially dangerous, so think first about committing to caring for a snake this size. It is not easy to find someone to take a large snake if you can no longer care for it. Never, ever release your pet - released Burmese pythons have invaded and are breeding in the Florida Everglades and have become a serious threat there. Owners have died due to handling mistakes with these snakes as well - they are not suitable for beginners and are generally best left in the wild.

Temperament
Burmese pythons are generally considered quite docile especially compared to other large snakes. Hatchlings can be quite skittish but are usually quite readily tamed with consistent handling. Still, these snakes are huge and quite aggressive feeders, and they can inflict serious injury to their handlers and have been involved in several fatalities (due to owner complacency, ignorance, or error). A second person should always be present when handling or feeding constrictors over 8 feet long.

A visit to the zoo - Part 2

Amendment: Thanks to Jose of JM Travel for giving me the name of the catfish. It is Tinfoil Barb (Barbonymus schwanenfeldii), from Southeast Asia.

My first stop was at the auqarium. They have long display cabinits with some of the shell found along our coast along one wall.

The two pictures below are of a Common or Gaint Gourami. This is a stunning fish when it gets large. In their natural environment, natives have reported lengths of 60 cm (24 inches) and it has even been suggested that the Giant Gourami can get as large as 70 cm (28 inches). When they are small, they have an attractive banded coloration of black and gold. As they get older they turn the color of the fish in the photo or sometimes completely black. This is truely an ugly fellow. :)

The Tiger fish is found in many African rivers and lakes. They swim in schools hunting whatever fish they can find. There is no record of them attacking humans although fisherman have been known to loose a bit of their fingers at times. This fierce predators has the unique status as Africa’s premier game fish.

Don't be fooled by the prettiness of the fish below: Piranhas are normally about 15 to 25 cm long (6 to 10 inches), although reportedly individuals have been found up to 43 cm (18.0 inches) in length.

Locals often use piranha teeth to make tools and weapons. Piranha are also a popular food, although if an individual piranha is caught on a hook or line, it may be attacked by other (free) piranhas.

Piranha are commonly consumed by subsistence fishermen and often sold for food in local markets.

In recent decades, dried specimens have been marketed as tourist souvenirs, Piranhas occasionally bite and sometimes injure bathers and swimmers. A piranha bite is sometimes considered more an act of carelessness than that of misfortune, but piranhas are a considerable nuisance to commercial and sport fishers because they steal bait, mutilate catch, damage nets and other gear and may bite when handled.

There exists a legend that piranha can and will skin and eat a human-being alive, and is said to have been started with American President Teddy Roosevelt's visit to Brazil, and a spectacle setup by Brazilian fishermen. To guarantee a good show for the adventure-loving Roosevelt, local fishermen blocked off a portion of an Amazon river with nets and dumped hordes of starving piranhas into it when the U.S. president explored the region on a hunting trip. Then they sliced up a cow and tossed it in the river, setting off a wild feeding frenzy and producing the now-fabled instant skeleton effect. Roosevelt presented piranhas as vicious creatures in his 1914 book Through the Brazilian Wilderness. Hollywood would later emblazon the image for posterity. An example of this perception of piranha in media was presented in the James Bond film 'You Only Live Twice', where a henchmen named Hans is shown feeding live humans to pet piranha owned by the film's main antagonist, Blofeld.

I do not know what kind of fish the one below is but it had very pretty red fins.

Some type of catfish which maybe Tom would know. This speciman was very large about 2 foot in length.

Winter garden birds - Part 3

Red-collard Barbet

Southern Boubou
Blue Waxbill
Heuglins Robin
Grey Lourie
Burchels Glossy Starling

Pilansberg National Park - Part 1

We have a small game reserve near us which is only one and a half hours drive away, so I can leave at 4am and get there when the gates open at 5:30.
On this particular day, the first thing I saw was very fresh elephant dung but could not find the elephant. It is amazing how such a huge (5-6 ton) animal can just melt into the bush and you cannot find them.

Coming around a corner, I meet this White rhino standing looking at me, and I wait for him to amble across the road.

Because of the recent rain, the bush is very green with enough food for all the various kinds of animals found there.

I head down to this lookout point which is built by a dam and love the reflection of the trees in the water. I sit there a while drinking my coffee which I have brought with me in a flask and enjoy the sound of the birds in the trees.

I hear the roar of a lion nearby and quickly get into my car to see if I can find him, but alas, there is only his footprints in the sand.

A Glossy Starling sits in a nearby tree looking for food.....

....and this baboon sits on a hill acting as the lookout.

and Blue Wildebeest. Becuase the park is enclosed with a fence, the game wardens put these salt licks out for them in various places. Young wildebeest are brown when born and don't look anything like their parents yet. They can run as fast as the adults 20 minutes after birth.

The Redwing Starling has a mouth full of berries which he takes to a nearby pole to eat.

There are lots of herds of zebra........

A visit to the zoo - Part 1

It was a beautiful autumn day and ideal weather to visit the zoo which includes a reptile park and aquarium. Although many of our trees are evergreen, there were still some like this White Stinkwood who's leaves were dressed in many colors.
From some of these trees, hundreds of caterpillars were hanging or lowering themselves to the ground.

The gardens had lots of flowers including this Disia plus ant. :) I am know a flower expert but I have always wondered if these are related to Irises. These are smaller but quite pretty.

All along the pathways are these little waterfalls and they give off a very restful sound.

I find it strange that these Flamingoes never fly away but I guess with food and water readily available, where would they go to?

The Goliath heron is the largest of the heron family, is found on large shallow inland waters and estuaries. It stands motionless in the water for long periods of time waiting for prey. It feeds on fish, frogs, small reptiles, and crustaceans and will take carrion if available.

Goliath Herons breed from June to January. The nest consists of a platform of sticks up to 1,5 meters in diameter which may be placed in a variety of situations from tree to cliff to marshy island. They are usually solitary breeders but also nest in colonies or a mixed heronry. The eggs are pale blue or greenish blue, usually two but may be more.