a collection of ramblings
For this week's Wildflower Wednesday, I present: a flower of whose identity I am not at all certain. You'll have to forgive me. I believe it is a species of rock anemone, mostly because of its similarity to individuals of that group and also the fact that's it's a flower, growing amongst rocks. My acuity… Continue reading Wildflower Wednesdays: Anemones in the Air
The Blues are a subgroup of the family Lycaenidae, which comprise some 30% of butterflies species worldwide. They are a pain in the butt. The first problem: they're tiny. They hold the smallest butterfly in the world - the grass jewel - and often the difference between species comes to one spot on the hindwing… Continue reading Blue
Painted Ladies are the most widely distributed butterfly: found on every continent except for Antarctica and Australia, they're so ubiquitous even halfway across the world, in a continent I was totally unfamiliar with, they were the sole butterfly I managed to identify in Jordan. This individual was spotted at the other end of the continental… Continue reading Lady of the Flowers
A spiderweb glistens with raindrops in the early morning in Bangalore.
Our hike in the Himalayas last August was not defined by its birds, surprisingly enough. Rather, it was defined by its flowers. I tend to avoid flowers, except when as an attraction for butterflies, as a photography subject: stationary plants seem too easy, too facile. But the sheer range we saw in the mountains made… Continue reading Wildflower Wednesdays
I first saw a blue pansy in the butterfly field guide I picked up on a whim at a stall from our local nature society. It captivated me: I found the brilliance of its colors, elegance in its wings immensely attractive, and vowed to see it in Singapore. It would be years (well, two) before… Continue reading The Pansy’s Pose
Pulau Ubin is the last rustic island in Singapore. Of course, here, the definition of rustic is flexible - but Ubin is about as rustic as you can get. There's no highway connecting it to the mainland: instead, you take a bumboat to get there. People still go fishing for their food. The coconuts grow… Continue reading Reed Life
An insect (unidentified) that I spotted at Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve a few months ago. What do you think it's trying to say? Note: this post is scheduled, and all following posts till the 29th of December will be too. Where will I be? Wait till I get back to find out!
It has been raining in Singapore lately. Not, of course, as much as Chennai - but enough that the patch of grass outside our home is filled with a different fungi each day, and that we can set our clock to the 3:00 monsoon. These red pinwheel fungi are one of the results of the… Continue reading Red
I have some very, very exciting news to share, but that will have to wait till Tuesday, unfortunately. Till then, have some details of what I am tentatively labelling apple blossoms, spotted at the ever-fruitful (I AM FUNNY AND NO ONE CAN TELL ME OTHERWISE) Llobregat Delta.
somewhere up a tree 