So… going back a few days, the trip here was terrible. About 32 hours of no-sleep, loud plane noises, bad food and general discomfort. It seems to have led to more jet-lag than I typically get as well, which I’d prefer not to have. But, I got here safe and sound which matters most 🙂
Adam looks younger than last year, perhaps because his hair is short and his beard gone. He gave me a rather spectacular item for Christmas (a Monster Hunter satchel-bag containing – amongst other things – a book on how to run PBM games!) and took to my MTG decks like Yossie to a tree:
I bought a bunch of candy and other junk at the grocery store the first day (reeling at the sticker shock…) and we just played MTG and watched TV in the evening. I wanted to stay awake until at least 6, which I managed to do. But when my head hit a pillow around 7:30 I was out like a light.
The next morning I woke very early (3:30 am) and was unable to resleep. I slunk out at about 5:30 for a walk around Randwick, including Centennial Park. It was on this walk I spied these fellows:
The one on the left was about 6 cm in length and had made his home above a storm water drain. The one on the right was living under a bush and was tiny – about about 1 cm. It’s so easy to find spiders here, of all sizes. Here’s another:
That’s an old classic – an orb weaver. A big fellow as well, about 8 or 9 cm in length. To get him in focus I had to put the camera very close, and he became alarmed and waved his feet a bit. It was, I must admit, a bit scary.
And here’s another guy:
The cockroaches here are big! Including antenna, the above guy is about 10 cm in length! They have no fear as well. I put the camera very close to this guy and he got interested and approached me. I like the detail on his wings. I saw a lot of them on my walk, just strolling along the ground or on trees. Curious!
And then, this:
I think it’s a cicada season. In the bush behind the Lindsay Gallery yesterday the din was impressive. I look forward to my Newcastle bushwalks.