Mating Dance

 

Mating Dance

Peacock spider (Maratus volans)

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

A courtship display or mating dance is a ritual set of movements designed to attract the attention of a potential mate. If successful, the couple will copulate and eventually young will be born or hatched.

Ritual displays are often colourful and extravagant. The Peacock spider (Maratus volans) is a jumping spider native to Australia. Brightly coloured, he also claps his third pair of legs and dances from side to side as he approaches the female. However, if she is not sufficiently impressed by his display, she may eat him!

About sixteen years ago, we were privileged to watch an incredibly special ritual never before captured on camera. The conservatory was empty of everything except a pair of step-ladders. As we attempted to fold the ladders to put them away, we noticed that they were inextricably tangled. On closer inspection, we realised we had chanced upon the mating dance of the step-ladders.

The ladder on the right in the above photograph, is a five-step ladder, a female. The male, on the left, has seven steps and is taller and broader than his mate. Note the black straps – a secondary sexual characteristic of the male.

The following photograph gives a closer view of the male’s technique. See how closely he embraces his mate. Can you see the female’s black feet?

We were delighted to be privy to this unique event and anxiously awaited baby ladders in the near future. We hoped they would be six-steppers, but would have been content simply to see sturdy baby ladders.

 View from another angle, female on left, male on right

Sadly, it was not to be, and a repeat mating was never attempted, for the ladders were separated and stored, never to meet again.

Conservatory cactuses

 

Conservatory cactuses

Our conservatory cacti are rewarding us with pretty flowers this year.

This is the one that flowered in May.

There is a belief that indoor cactuses will only flower once, but if they have sufficient sunlight, they will continue to flower annually. Some, like the Christmas cactus, may flower several times.

This is the currently flowering plant. It has just one flower, but what a beauty it is.

This cactus flowered some months ago, but something interesting is happening on the surface. Having investigated, courtesy of the internet, I have a horrible feeling it’s giving succour to mealybugs, in which case it will go in the garden for a holiday.

Update: blogging is so helpful. On Lyssa Medana's blog she mentioned Dragonfli, a company that provides biological, environmentally friendly solutions to naughty bugs. I have ordered some mealybug predator larvae (Cryptolaemus montrouzieri) They're not cheap, but it will be worth it, if they work.  I can't wait to set them loose on my poorly cactus. Thank you, Lyssa!

Now, which is the correct term for more than one cactus? Is it cacti or cactuses? Both forms are perfectly acceptable. Cactus is a Latin name, so cacti is the Latin plural, and the one most frequently used. Cactuses is the Anglicised version, obeying the rules of English pluralisation.

Fitting the new panel

 

Fitting the new panel

We had a call late morning from Alan to say that he and Dave would be with us in about half an hour. It’s very helpful when people give an approximate arrival time because it gives us plenty of time to make sure the cats and dogs are safely out of the way. 

             Carrying the old panel from the conservatory to the van.

Left to their own devices the cats would take the opportunity to walk slowly in front of everyone in that insouciant manner cats adopt when humans are trying to achieve something. On the other hand, the dogs, always happy to see new people, would insist on being noticed, licking and wagging. 

Thus, we began the task of herding them upstairs to our bedroom.

        

Vacuuming up all the broken glass fragments from the frame.

‘Would you like a chew?’ I asked the dogs brightly. They needed no second invitation and bounded up the stairs with enthusiasm. ‘Cats, cats, cats,’ I called, rattling the treats tin. Jellicoe appeared instantly, but Herschel decided to take his time and eventually squeezed under the stair gate to join the rest of us, while Barry went downstairs to await the fitters.

                    Carrying in the new unit - long and heavy.

Those of you who are not familiar with this blog may wonder why we have a stair gate at our bedroom door. We put it there when Frodo the Faller started his epilepticjourney. After his fits, in what is called the ‘post-ictal stage’ he would be very confused and stagger around. We were afraid he would stumble out of the bedroom and fall down the stairs. He spent more than enough time with the vets as it was.

 If we didn’t have cats who were able to open doors we could simply have shut the door.

Working outside

The men from Camberley Glass and Windows arrived as expected in two vans and began the process of removing the outer pane and the remainder of the shattered inner panel.

Team work!

 They were very professional, courteous and cheerful.  Barry took lots of photographs and video clips and promised them worldwide fame through my blog. I made that last bit up, but he did tell them that they would feature in a blog post, having first asked if they objected to being filmed. 

It was a beautiful day - blue sky, sun and no wind.

Contrails aplenty

Ladders and shadows

Alan up the ladder

It’s amazing how big the individual panels are, well over 6’ long.

Dave up the ladder, vacuuming

                    A nice cup of coffee after a job well done!

                            Thank you, Dave and Alan!

New glass

 

New glass

One of the joys (!) of living on a relatively small collection of islands like the British Isles is the variability in the weather, or should that be unpredictability? Weather forecasts often can and do change rapidly. It makes for interesting living and the typical Brit’s preparation for a day out can include clothing for all eventualities, since we never know with any certainty how a day will turn out.

 The replacement panel for our conservatory roof was scheduled to be fitted last Thursday. The weather forecast gave a yellow warning of heavy rain so we postponed it. We had a little rain, but not the torrential downpour we had been promised. The glass could have been fitted after all.

It’s now scheduled for the coming Wednesday and the forecast is for heavy rain again. Very often, the bad weather simply passes us by, as we seem to live on the edges of weather systems. The glass fitters assure us that the conservatory will only be exposed to the elements for about ten minutes . . . but which ten minutes?

Whether the weather be fine,

Or whether the weather be not,

Whether the weather be cold,

Or whether the weather be hot,

We’ll weather the weather

Whatever the weather,

Whether we like it or not!

 

The Seventeenth Blog of Augustus Lazarus Cooke (Gus)

The Seventeenth Blog of Augustus Lazarus Cooke (Gus)

Here I am with Bertie - he's quite confused - doesn't know why he can't play with the kittens.

Hello everyone!

I know it’s only been a little while since I last blogged but I wanted to tell you how life has changed.

Do you remember me telling you that Mr H kept saying, ‘You don’t know what’s coming your way,’ and how Mrs H laughed and said, ‘They’ll be all right,’ and I thought it wouldn’t be anything nasty? Well, it isn’t anything nasty as far as us dogs can see but we’re not allowed to get close enough to really find out.

Just after the Boss’s birthday he and Mrs H rearranged the furniture in the sitting room and got the big puppy pen out of the garage and put it next to the patio doors. All us dogs thought there must be a puppy coming and we were thrilled. After that Mr and Mrs H took us for a walk and then they went out again on their own but this time they took Winston’s basket with them. Bertie got really excited and sniffed it all over and we all thought it was a big mistake about Winston dying and maybe he was coming home after all. It wasn’t and he didn’t but what they did bring home were three tiny cats – kittens they’re called - and they’re distant relations of Winston and Monty.

We wanted to make them welcome and play with them but we weren’t allowed and anyway they weren’t very friendly. They hissed at us and growled and we backed off. I think they were afraid, actually – we must look ever so big to them.

Mrs H took them into the conservatory and they rushed off and hid under the bureau and the low coffee table. They didn’t want to be stroked and they didn’t eat anything. Naturally, we were curious so we stood in the kitchen looking through the glass door and they ran as far away as they could.

Then Bethan and Robert came. Robert loves cats though they make him breathless and Mrs H calls him the Cat Whisperer ‘cos he picked them up and they didn’t struggle.

This weekend everyone else came so the kittens were played with all day and they were really tired. They’re not scared any more but we’re still not allowed to meet them nose to nose apart from when they’re in the puppy pen at night. I’m looking forward to the day we can all be together ‘cos I liked Monty and Winston and I miss them curling up with me.

I expect they’ll tell you about themselves but here are some photos of their first day with us. I don’t think their eyes could be any bigger!

Herschel

Isambard

Jellicoe

Got to go – supper time. There’ll be more room in the kitchen now that Tia, Foxy and Buster have gone home.

Be good.

Hwyl fawr am nawr! (That’s Welsh for ‘Goodbye for now!’)

No more this year please!

The Frost performs its secret ministry,

Unhelp'd by any wind.

From 'Frost at Midnight' by Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1772 - 1834

On Tuesday Jack Frost painted intricate patterns on our conservatory roof. His mastery of the icy brush is sublime and astonishing.

Before homes were centrally heated, when the one source of heat in the house was a coal fire in the communal sitting room it was fun to toast crumpets on the end of a long toasting fork, roast chestnuts, throw salt on the fire to see the flames flare briefly in a gorgeous show of dazzling greens and blues. It was homely and companionable to sit close to the fire although I knew I risked scorching my legs and developing chilblains on my hands and feet. I tried to hoard the warmth in my body like a storage heater to sustain me as I scurried out into the arctic extremities of the rest of the house, filled my hot water bottle and dashed to bed in my freezing room. The sheets felt glacial as I tucked my feet up inside my nightdress, turning myself into a foetal entity in a cheerless womb. Gradually, the bed became warmer, I relaxed and slept and stretched, to wake hours later to the unpleasant sensation of cold flabby rubber, unless, of course, there was a cosy cover on my hot water bottle.

Now the next challenge faced me. I had to leave my warm, comforting nest and step out onto the cold floor. I would delay the moment as long as possible, the tip of my nose attesting to the extremity of the temperature. Even thus, when I looked at the window panes, I wondered at the beauty I saw etched on the inside of the glass, glittering and glistening in the early morning light. Curiosity would overcome dislike of the cold and I would draw closer to examine the remarkable and transitory works of art.

Those days were long ago and though I certainly do not miss the iciness of an unheated house, the compensations, for a child at least, were not to be understated.

I hope we have seen the last of heavy frosts this year. This week's offering did not touch the grass or the pond – I suppose it was an 'air frost' - the temperature was 1˚Celsius (33.8˚ Fahrenheit) I know that if the pond freezes the frogspawn will be killed. When this happens it turns milky white and then decays and another generation of frogs is lost, to this garden at least.

SkyWatch Friday Season 4 Episode 37

This afternoon the sky became very dark, the clouds ominous and there was thunder, lightning, hail and then heavy rain. I took the photographs from inside the conservatory.

It was nothing in comparison to what Perth, Australia, experienced earlier this week!

I wish I could paint as well as Nature  . . .

The garden is flooded -again! but hey! the clocks go forward on Sunday so the weather should become more reliable then - shouldn't it?

Thank you to the SkyWatch team for their dedication to this meme. Why not look at other skies from around the world? Just click here.

Winston’s late October blog, Camera Critters #81, Pet Pride

Winston here . . . p'rrrrr, p'rrrrr . . .

I told you about the conservatory, didn't I? Well, the men came back but there's still a leak so they've got to come back again. They're never done a roof with a flue going through it before so they're learning new skills. Monty and me really like the new roof – we can watch the birds and planes through it. It was ever so nice of the humans to put it up for us.

Anyway, the conservatory's all freshly deckerated and clean now and the furniture's back, only not so much and Mrs Human put some new throws on the chairs and stools. Trouble is me and Monty keep getting our claws caught in them – oops! She took our cat tree outside to clean it and left it out in the rain. Then she discovered the poles were only cardboard and they went all soggy and bendy. She said it was like a towel of pizza but me and Monty didn't mind – it was fun trying to balance. She said it was looking a bit very shabby anyway so she threw it out and me and Monty lost our look-out post. We was a bit miffed by that don'tcha know.

On Thursday a big box arrived and it was ever so heavy. We knew thought it was for us and we enjoyed sniffing it and sitting on it. I was the first one to check it out. Monty joined me and we posed prettily for our photos.

Then Mr H opened the box and that was even more fun. This was one of the things in the box - I don't think we would have fitted in anything smaller. Monty just had to get in the box - it's a cat thing, don'tcha know. Never known a cat yet that could resist a box.
He and Mrs H took all the bits in the conservatory and soon – well, not all that soon – he'd built us a brand new cat tree. He didn't start very early and it was dark by the time he finished so the photographs Mrs H took have got all sorts of reflections in them. Quite interesting, she thought. I think she should clean the windows again don'tcha know. This is the basket I was in earlier. Monty don't know whether he's coming or going! Everything had to be explored. It all smelt very strange but we think we like it, specially when the humans put our nice prawn treats in the different bits.

Still don't know what this GUS thing is though . . .

TTFN
Thank you to the hosts of Camera Critters and Pet Pride for organising these memes.
To admire more stunners please click on the underlined names.

Six Word Saturday

We are painting the conservatory today

. . . or at least we will be once we've decided on the colour and bought the paint! The new roof is in place and we are delighted with it though there's a leak round the flue. It's never a good idea to have a roof vent but it was preferable to the alternative of having smoke from the woodburner swirling round the room. A little more sealant should solve the problem.
We are not going to clutter again . . . we are agreed - for the moment!

Thank you to Cate from 'Show My Face' for creating and hosting this meme
To see what others are up to please click here

Winston’s October blog

Winston here . . . p'rrrrr, p'rrrrr . . .
I didn't get a chance to blog last month – too much going on, don'tcha know.

The humans cleared everything out of the conservatory and that was okay coz it gave me and Monty lots of room to charge around and practise our gymnastics – well, it's more modern dance really with lots of leaping and twisting and vertical take-offs. We sang quite a lot too coz it was echoey and our voices sounded really loud and musical.

It was fun helping Mr and Mrs Human moving all the furniture, specially the two really big heavy speakers. Mr H said some funny words when he knocked into something and it fell over. He was ever so cross! You can't move in the dining room though coz that's where they put it all. They took the drawers out of the desk to make it lighter to lift so natch me and Monty had to explore. Mrs H took a picture of me in it – if she'd been a bit quicker she'd have got both of us in.

Still, she does her best I s'pose.

Then two men came and they pinched the conservatory roof. Honest! They took everything and then they put up another roof only it didn't have no glass in it. I mean – what were they thinking? There was lots of banging and sawing. Me and Monty don't like a lot of noise – we're quiet fellahs don'tcha know. Worse than that - we was shut out of the conservatory. Well, the humans thought we might get out - we've told them we're not like the Burmese cats they used to have. We don't climb – well, not much anyway. We had to stay in the rest of the house with the dogs. I mean to say, the conservatory belongs to us. We spent our early days in there when we first came to live with Mr and Mrs Human before we met the dogs properly and when Monty was so ill. We have our meals in there and everything and our scratching post. We like to sit on that and watch the birds and look down on the dogs.

The men came back the next day and put some blue glass in the roof. Me and Monty think that's quite cool. We was allowed back in the conservatory then but Mr and Mrs H didn't put none of the furniture back. Then the men came back a few days later to finish off and we were shut out again. Today it rained – and there's a leak round the flue so they're coming back again next week to mend it. Still no furniture. Mr and Mrs H say they're going to do some deckerating and today Mr H filled in some holes with some stuff that grows just like a mushroom. The first lot grew so much some of it fell off. Mr H did some painting over some cracks with some thick stuff and he used a float – I thought they was used for swimming.

What else has been happening? Well, I told you Nina and Gareth had come back from Noo Yawk and they were sad to leave Man at'em. They're moving back into their house on Tuesday and their stuff's coming from Noo Yawk on Wednesday. Oh and Kiri's hurt her leg and has got crutches and now she's going to school in a wheelchair with her leg stuck straight out in front of her. Elliot was eleven yesterday. We haven't seen him lately because we make him sneeze and he had some important exams to do. We make Gareth and Gillian sneeze too and Mr H. We don't mean to - it just happens.

Mr and Mrs H keep talking about GUS. I don't know what that is but it's coming soon. I'll keep you posted.

TTFN

Busy, busy, busy . . .

It's been a busy week so far and it's only Wednesday!

I arranged for the chimney sweep to come on Monday. We have two multi-fuel burners, one in our sitting room and a smaller one in the conservatory. Originally, the new conservatory roof was scheduled for installation a week ago but it was delayed. It was not a problem – the conservatory had been cleared out so the sweep had plenty of elbow room but when he started on the sitting room fire he found a snag. We knew that the chimney was only partially lined because the stove installers had not been able to fit the liner round the dog-leg bend. This had not troubled the sweep who came last year but Monday's man wanted to do a thorough job. His opinion was that the chimney was very dirty and if left the soot would fall outside the partial liner, building up over the years and impossible to reach. His solution was to disconnect the burner from the flue and move it to one side to gain access to the chimney. It's a cast iron stove and very heavy but between us we managed to move it – though to be honest I don't think I added much power to the enterprise.

While the sweep was engaged in his work a man from the gas board came to replace the meter. He inquired what gas appliances we used and I told him it was just the hot water boiler in the garage and the kitchen range. Then he asked if he could have a quick look at the boiler. I said, 'You're welcome to try – it's a bit hugger-mugger in there.' He took one look and we decided he should go in through the vehicle entrance. It was still pretty chocker but after we had moved a few things he was able to gain access.

Every time we have to find somewhere to store something and Barry says, 'It can go in the garage' my heart sinks. At the last count I think he had four sack-barrows each designed for a specific purpose. I don't often use my car - just as well really! The gas boiler is in the far right corner to the right of the overflow freezer, which is not connected most of the time. It cannot be seen from the door. The door into the house is on the far left.

He checked the boiler and then proceeded to drill a hole in the porch wall where the meter is housed. So now the chimney sweep's vacuum cleaner was going full blast and a loud drill was rattling the house. The cats were very unsettled, their eyes huge, and the dogs were restless and barking from time to time. Many 'cold callers' decided to contact me so I also took several phone calls which caused Frodo to howl – the pitch of the telephone's warbling tone hurts his ears.
When the sweep had completed his cleaning he manhandled the stove back into position but before he did so he noticed the remote control motor receiver box but couldn't see how it worked or where it fitted. I didn't know either so told him not to worry about it because Barry would sort it out when he got home. That was a mistake! It took much fiddling about, not a little cursing and many deep sighs were heaved. It would have been much easier to fit the magnet which retains the motor before the stove was moved back but Barry wasn't at home so it couldn't be. Eventually it was accomplished and calm was restored.

This is the remote control motor receiver, cause of frayed nerves! It controls the damper.

At 8:00 am on Tuesday morning the roof installers arrived to start work. It was a very noisy day and the cats were miffed because they weren't allowed in the conservatory. Buddy was upset too as he likes to lie in the doorway between conservatory and kitchen and keep an eye on proceedings. The old roof was dismantled and removed and the framework for the new one installed. It's steeper than the original and some of the brickwork has been exposed and will have to be plastered. When the men left yesterday the roof was open to the elements and I wasn't happy about that even though rain wasn't forecast.

Fortunately we had a dry night.

Doesn't the sky look clear? It should - there's no glass!

The workmen returned bright and early today to fit the glass, only to discover that one of the panes was the wrong size! The glass is blue K glass. It is self-cleaning, heat reflecting and insulating. It looks very attractive and we are looking forward to star-gazing as the nights draw in further.

We currently have a glass roof with two polycarbonate panels, through one of which the flue should pass. It looks rather strange but should only remain like that for about ten days. The flue panel has to be specially cut.

The polycarbonate spoils the overall effect but shows what a difference the glass has made.

The men also found that the fitting brackets for part of the guttering were missing. Why are jobs never straightforward?
We're going to redecorate before we put everything back in the conservatory. It's a good thing we're not desperate to use the dining room!

We have too many chairs most of the time but need 15/16 when everyone's gathered together.

All the conservatory furniture is in here plus two enormous Quad speakers (Barry lusted after them for years) and the associated hi-fi.

At the window end of the room Gareth and Nina have stacked many of their personal belongings that need to be kept securely until they are back in their own home in October.

Rigs

Recently, courtesy of chick-lit (thank you, Catherine Alliott) I discovered the term 'rig'. It describes a castrated male (we're talking domestic animals here!) which retains some sexual interest – hormonal maybe? This means that the affected animal still has interest but not equipment to indulge in reproductive acts (oh, okay, SEX!) Strictly speaking it refers to an incompletely castrated male in livestock species (horse and cattle)

I think Monty Ocicat may be a feline rig. Last night I hauled him off Winston because he had taken him by the scruff of the neck – as all members of the cat family do (don't you remember those natural history programmes you watched with your family and the difficulties provoked by multi-generational viewing when something explicit was aired? Oh, where to look? Control your breathing – you're watching something entirely normal. Why are your parents clearing their throats so much and brightly suggesting a cup of tea might be nice?)

To continue, having grabbed Winston's neck, Monty mounted him and went through the pantomime of attempting to mate him, padding his back feet and keeping tight hold of his scruff. Not unnaturally, Winston objected strongly to this. Sometimes when Monty misbehaves he is given 'time out' in the conservatory, but on this occasion he was allowed to remain in company.

There are occasions when Winston tries things that Monty doesn't care for. He attempts to suckle from Monty who happens to be the same colour as Winston's mother. Our chocolate Burmese, Clown, often tried the same thing with his lilac brother Angus and well into maturity buttheir mother was brown! Monty tolerates the attention for a considerable time but once the teeth come into play as well as the kneading paws he administers a sharp rebuke and is left in peace.

I think Monty is tolerant because he is partial to kneading when curled up with Jenna-the-Labrador. He doesn't go as far as trying to suckle from her but his rapturous, increasingly loud purrs accompany ever more insistent padding until even Jenna's thick fur can no longer cushion the pain of his needle-sharp claws. She growls at him and he desists but remains at the side of his favourite dog.

Some one came knocking ...

Some one came knocking
At my wee, small door;
Some one came knocking,
I'm sure-sure-sure
Walter de la Mare
Today Barry was in the conservatory tending to cucumber plants when he heard a tapping.It seemed to be coming from the direction of the wood-burning stove. Flower on cucumber plant


It looks much better when alight!
This has a glass door and it's wonderful in the winter to see the wood glowing.To his great surprise he saw a blue tit behind the glass tapping to find a way out. This is the steel chimney leading up through the conservatory roof

View from outside showing the chimney leading out of the conservatory and up beyond the roof line

Showing the straight stretch to the cowl
It must have got in under the chimney cowl and had difficulty finding its way out again. As he watched it disappeared behind the baffle and we hope it managed to fly up the chimney and out into freedom.

Close-up of chimney cowl

This is not the one that got away!

We shan't be having any fires for a couple of months yet, otherwise we might have been 'treated' to the smell of roasting blue tit - poor little thing!