UPDATE 071005 -Daylight flying moth is what the orange butterfly is called.
Spent my lunch time at pongol park today, something i havent done for some time. The sky was overcast, even after the clouds had dumped a ton of rain of sengkang they still looked like that had more to drop. The humidity was crazy, was sweatin like a hog i tell ya..anyway took lots of pics, pretty average for me i guess some of the shots i have posted are not very good at all esp the the green fly like insect but i just wanted to show you all what i saw today. This orange type insect is pretty common but for the life of me i couldnt tell ya what its called, so if anyone knows please drop me a message. had to drop to one knee for the pic and one pic is all i had of it.
I know, i know ...not another fly..but hey these guys are everywhere look at the design, this fella has break lights and all.
Not my fav insect but at lest this fella sat still while i fumbled around trying to take a shot..the ferrari of insects..
This guy is just stunning, the pic sucks its blurred at all the key points, but i just wanted yo uto see the clrs, looks like it was airbrushed.... and the wings. really beautiful....alas it has no name and for now shall be called the green fly....
Found a couple of apple snails at the edge of the pond, something i have never seen before, i love apple snails, i keep a couple of them as pets for some time..not the most exciting of pets though but beautiful to watch as they glide along the glass of a fish tank. I was rather tempted to keep take a couple and keep them as pets but....i think Pepper aka fatty would be jealous...
Just did a bit of research and found out what apple snail eggs look like! i saw tons of them, the next time i go i will take lots of pics!
With all the rain we have been having the water level in the pond has risen
almost 2 feet over the past week or so and i think the snails
are using this
opportunity to feed in areas that they dont
normally wander around(can you see the little blob?)
Not far from the apple snails i came across the carapce of a turtle, actually it was more like the scutes of the carapace it was really thin. and it was lying really near the waters edge.
the inside of the carapace...looks like its just the scutes and not the whole top shell i found(some turtles do shed abit ..but nothing like this)
about 10feet away from the scutes i found the Plastron and it was totally cleaned out of any bits of turtle flesh, about 7 inches long, no idea how the turtle died..maybe old age...maybe a fish bit its head off or a bird pecked it to death....i dunno how it died but i do know what was feeding on it...
Varanus salvator- Commonly known as the malayan water monitor. This bugger was lying in in the shallows..hidden by the reeds Around where i found the turtle shell was an excellent place for this big reptile to take shelter and feed peacefully and should anyone come stumbling along it would would only need to turn around and it could disappear into the water. Great spot for it to sun itself as well, which it needs to do to help digest its food. I saw 3 monitors in the space of 100m and this was the biggest, around 1.5m(no where close to the giants i have seen at sungei buloh) and looked pretty fat. The other two i saw were smaller maybe 1m and pretty skinny. Male or female? i dunno, these guys are great scavangers but also know for being adept swimmers and tree climbers, i reckon they do get the odd fish or chick and bird eggs or even a turtle once in awhile....come to think of it i didnt see any live turtles.....hmmmm
Any typos and or spelling errors are in your imagination.
pics have been resized for posting purposes, if you click on them they get bigger but you still wont get the full sized pic.
I am sure some of you will be wondering about the choice of song lol but hey i am eclectic when it comes to music. and i am sure right about now your thinking this guys is either a wallace and gromit wannabe or has too much free time and more than abit of plasticine, well its the latter! Dont worry folks i am not going all soft on ya, in order to strike a balance i have posted a pic of my if i do say so myself rather manly belt buckle........ lol..
Took some pics today, odds and ends.
PS...TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK OF THE WHITE BACKGROUND AS OPPOSED TO THE OLD BLACK
problem was just that lense. These are two pics i took with the lense, i had to sharpen them up on paintshop....sigh the sparrow would have been a good shot......cest la vie. like a fisherman i shall tell tales of the one that got away.
A couple of shots from pongol park Eurasian Sparrow, Yellow bittern, Batik Golden Web Spider,Multi-coloured St Andrew's Cross Spider( i think).....
My baptismal godmother/aunty and uncle came down to visit and as the pics will show a good time was had by all. My Aunty Henrietta and Uncle Wilson have been coming down yearly from england where they stay and we always try and get together and this time we had dinner at my mums place. I love hearing about stuff from before i was born, stories bout my father, grandmother and many other members of our extended family, she happens to be my dads youngest sister as well.
the inside of the carapace...looks like its just the scutes and not the whole top shell i found(some turtles do shed abit ..but nothing like this)
about 10feet away from the scutes i found the Plastron and it was totally cleaned out of any bits of turtle flesh, about 7 inches long, no idea how the turtle died..maybe old age...maybe a fish bit its head off or a bird pecked it to death....i dunno how it died but i do know what was feeding on it...
Varanus salvator- Commonly known as the malayan water monitor. This bugger was lying in in the shallows..hidden by the reeds Around where i found the turtle shell was an excellent place for this big reptile to take shelter and feed peacefully and should anyone come stumbling along it would would only need to turn around and it could disappear into the water. Great spot for it to sun itself as well, which it needs to do to help digest its food. I saw 3 monitors in the space of 100m and this was the biggest, around 1.5m(no where close to the giants i have seen at sungei buloh) and looked pretty fat. The other two i saw were smaller maybe 1m and pretty skinny. Male or female? i dunno, these guys are great scavangers but also know for being adept swimmers and tree climbers, i reckon they do get the odd fish or chick and bird eggs or even a turtle once in awhile....come to think of it i didnt see any live turtles.....hmmmm
ob the last naan for sometime as the shop is closing down. As is our normal pattern after unch 
we went to pasir ris farmway to look at puppies! as always we each had our own favourites .
have also added some pics of the star with the family, nanny and me..the one with me reminds me of the game othello.
lazy to take anymore
Went with frodo to take some pics of the esplanade, many frustrating moments..drizzle...couldnt get a good clean shot of both domes, equipment issues..hunger..you name it, it happened. anyway took 80-100 shots and i am not really happy with the results....forgot to adjust my iso settings, left it on 400 so the pics are a bit grainy, you may not get the effect as i have resized them for my blog. I must get a good telephoto as there are many good locations to capture the full esplanade but the shot points are rather a long way off and my 18-55mm is just not enough....sigh..
