Why my garden does not thrive

The common ringtail possum grazing in garden

Nothing to do with nature - but the best cure for rose scratches

Dettol

First Marine Microscope Photo

First Microscope Picture - Can only get better from here

Not having used a microscope for over 30 years, I have just purchased one. Here is one of my first photos. My aim is to capture marine critters but sensibility got the better of me and I decied to start with my fish pond and bird bath. Salt water is very harsh, so freshwater is a good learning medium.

Today we reportedly has one month's rain in one day. I have been watching this tree coping from lack of water. The resliance of the Australian natives.

Taken 5 minutes later as the sun is setting. View to the south

another 5 mins

This shows you have to be lucky with timing!

Catostylus mosaicus (Blue Blubber)

This is a closeup of the bell on the Blue Blubber Jellyfish (Catostylus mosaicus) taken at Royal Brighton Yacht Club. In the last few weeks there have been reports of the Blue Blubber being in plague proportions. Large numbers have been washed up onto the bayside beaches.

Taken in my garden at Brighton, Victoria. Although not native to Australia, Coriander (Coriandrum sativum) is a useful herb to have in the garden. Insects seem to be attraced to the flowers.

I love the Melbourne Museum - This is their response to this photo.

Thank you for sending your hover fly image into Discovery Centre at Melbourne Museum for identification.

Hover flies are from the family Syrphidae and there are at least 169 species of this family in Australia and many more around the world. Unfortunately we don't have a Dipteran expert currently at the Museum and we are unable to say from an image whether the hover fly is a native or introduced species as many of the species look superficially similar and may require examination under a microscope to get to the species level.

If you are interested the link below is to a Brisbane website that has some nice images of various species of Syrphidae.
http://www.brisbaneinsects.com/brisbane_flies/SYRPHIDAE.htm


Kind Regards, Simon.

South Channel Pile Light in Port Phillip

Australian Fur Seal (Arctocephalus pusillus)

Black Faced Cormorant (Phalacrocorax fuscescens)

Jellyfish - Catostylus mosaicus (Blue Blubber)

The Blue Blubber is a common sight in Port Phillip. The internal cross can be seen clearly in this photograph.

Shrimp

This unidentified shrimp lives in the weed growing on the floating marina at Royal Brighton Yacht Club. The first shrimp was about 15mm in length, the second shrimp was about 5mm long.

isopod