Insecticide

Now that the weather is really warm (mid 20s), ants can be constantly seen scuttling about. What is interesting is the sheer size of these guys; they are about the size of an average house fly. As you can imagine, they can be pretty agressive.
The first photo shows an ant with his unfortunate prey- a grub of some sort. I'm not quite sure what the other thing is. I mean, the creature/object in the photo that is not the ant or the grub. He (the ant) was also holding it in his mouth though, so I suppose it was edible. And also heavy. The combined weight of grub + other thing meant that the ant had to seriously weave and stagger in order to procede. Didn't stop him attacking the camera though, when I put it on the deck to steady it.














On a more cheerful note, here's a jolly caterpillar out for his evening constitutional a few hours ago. I'm afraid I don't know what kind of butterfly/moth he'll turn into, but I like his blue stripe (which, I notice, you can't really see in this photo). Infinitely nicer characters than tham thar ants.
(By the way, Alan is convinced the ants have overrun the house and is waging a silent battle. I alone stand between the ants and Alan placing the Exterminator on speed dial. Frankly, I think he has lost it. Two ants do not an army make....)














Finally then, the Lily of the Valley are out/is out(??) and looking/looks gorgeous. The last owner of the house planted them (hurrah!) but only planted one or two out the back, where the garden is in shade. A LOT were planted out the front (boo!) which is way, way too hot for them. The batch in front all died back almost instantly but the others are holding nicely, don't you think?

Big Teddy is Back in Action

Hi! Im back....great trip despite the weather. I wont bore you with the details. Heres a select few photos though.
p.s- As a follow up to earlier entry, Munster played Biarritz last Saturday in the Heineken Cup Final. In a tough and merciless game, they won, through sheer grit. Carried also, no doubt, by the 1000s of fans that went to see the match in Cardiff. Congratulations lads!
p.p.s- Congratulations also to Watford who won the soccer match the following day, on the SAME pitch (!!) to secure a place in the English Premiership next season. Bravo!















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Big Teddy is going on holiday!!!

I am going on holiday and will not be back to my computer until 23rd May. I might get a chance to blog between then and now, but it seems unlikely. I'm off to Ireland for a break and chances are, despite my wishful thinking, I wont be needing any of the articles you see in the photo. Except, perhaps, the honey. Oh, and the towel..
No, I am leaving one rain-streaked country for another; what can you do? I do hate the smell of damp fur...brrrr...still, no point grumbling and growling, it IS a holiday. Yippee! See ye later...

Spring Weather

So spring is in full swing now; even the washing gets to go outside these days. There is still a nip in the air in the mornings though and copious amounts of rain. The bottom two photos show what is in fact melted frost swirls on the front balcony, early the other morning. The red one shows the true colour of the balcony, but I thought my editing on the other one made it look kinda cool.