By The Creek

🇦🇺Expect spiders

[moons-hollow]

Alright given the new year I wanted to put together a small list of target species for the year!

- Arkys alatus (recorded within 5km of my house this should be doable)

- Arkys enigma (far, far less likely but I’m located between two sightings, it’s a pipe dream. Unlikely to travel to sighting spots this year)

- Regent Honeyeater/Anthochaera phrygia (I will be seeing captive ones this year but this list is for wild sightings. I live in the range and may go to known locations but I’m not going to go crazy about trying to track down a critically endangered bird.)

- Any scalyfoot (Pygopus)

- Badge huntsman (Neosparassus)

- Australian Rhinoceros Beetle (Xylotrupes australicus)

- Peacock spider (any of the species that has that colouration - I see plenty of the common-in-houses Maratus species)

[cycad42]

Dappled sun (Thylacinus cynocephalus)

[thegeekstressart]

You ever see something innocuous, minding its own business on the clearance shelf at Michael’s and before you know it, it takes over your life for a few weeks?

So it was with this desktop greenhouse.

I took it home and after taking an appropriate time to “season” my idea in my mind (read: a month or two) I set to make my vision of a mini botanical garden a reality.

I started by removing the heavy glass panels and building a raised floor above the latch. I wanted to use the base as a foundation on the building.

I wrapped the foundation in plastic stone textured flooring (meant for Christmas villages) and built a pond at one end of the same. I then gave it a more realistic paint job and designed a rough layout for my plants and displays.

I also knew I wanted to make the ironwork significantly more intricate, but I wasn’t sure how just yet…

Up next - PLANTS! I went wild making all kinds of plants. Some were specific species and some were more conceptual.

I made several trees with polymer clay and moss, cacti out of beads and flocking, cattails out of raffia, hot glue and coffee grounds, and giant monstera leaves out of paper and wire.

This part should have taken me a long time, but it really came together fast. I loved finding ways to replicate natural shapes and patterns using bits of this and that.

I did make adjustments to my plans as I went like eliminating benches in favor of a simpler overall design.

Then I needed to fill my pond with water. For this I used resin. Lily pads were added to the top layer, and I wired in simple LED fairy lights. The batteries are kept in the box under the foundation.

In a weekend frenzy I added more plants, metal (paper) steps, new (plexi)glass windows, a roof, wrought-iron vines (paper again), doors that open, and a hose reel disguising the latch. Suddenly, a project I thought would take months was finished…

I love my desktop botanical garden. Right now it sits on a simple lazy Susan in my office. But I’d love to get it a proper display box to protect from dust.

Thank you for coming on this little journey with me. This piece packs a lot of joy into a tiny space. I always love building miniatures, and I’ll be doing more in the future I’m sure.

[great-and-small]

The stubby legs of a sanderling may not look like much at first, but boy can these babies skedaddle when they need to

[dogpuppy]

[dogpuppy]

[syncarida]

theyre always doing this to me

[syncarida]

Juvenile echidna...

[syncarida]

it tried to walk on sandy slope that was too steep and fell over 💔

[byjove]

I love rat snakes they’re so cute and cuddly. Unfortunately, they want to get in your house and cuddle.

[byjove]

They love to live on your porch and deal with pests and be really chill and then sneak in when you least expect it. They’re trying so hard to be domesticated. Sorry bud, you’re so shiny and dark and beautiful but you’re an outside friend.

[junkdrawertales]

ratsnake perfec t for domestication put rat snake in House good friend to human very Companion and Friend have good time with ratsnake in house. Put Ratsnake In House. No problems ever ratsnake in house because ratsnake perfect size give Help and Support to human. A ratsnake perfect pet for human can trust ratsnake to be good companion to Human. friend ratsnake.

[byjove]

very compelling argument

[estera-shirin]

Absolutely devastating news from Australia that at least 11 people were killed in an antisemitic attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Sydney. One of those who was murdered, Alex Kleytman z”l, was a Holocaust survivor. His wife, also a Holocaust survivor, saw as he was shot. I cannot imagine the grief and pain she and many others are feeling.

My heart is with all the victims and their loved ones, as well as the broader Jewish community in Australia. May the memories of the victims be a blessing.

We deserve to be able to congregate and observe Jewish holidays without fear of violence, in Australia and globally.

[estera-shirin]

I also want to commend the courage of Ahmed al Ahmed, a man who happened to be walking by when the shooting began and rushed to disarm one of the shooters, despite being unarmed himself. Ahmed is the owner of a fruit shop and a father of two. He was shot twice during his brave intervention and is now in the hospital. I am praying for his swift recovery and the recovery of all the others who were injured in this attack.

[headspace-hotel]

don't read the notes somebody is being absolutely repulsive in there

[collemblogging]

Love my this #MyThis

[wiley-treehouse-gardens]

A bug with very good camo. South Africa, 2025

[vintagewildlife]

Red-bellied jumping spider (Philaeus chrysops) By: Bucciarelli From: The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Animal Kingdom 1968

[elbiotipo]

Also I am asking all of you, once again, to learn about ecosystem conservation and restoration instead of wallowing in "we are already past the point of no return" or that it will take "millennia" to restore ecosystems.

You have to understand that nature does not work in the same timeframe as ours. Protecting and restoring ecosystems is RIDICULOUSLY inexpensive and requires very little industrial technology; shovels and saplings are not exactly high-tech. But it takes time and long-term projects with people determined to do it. Maybe we are too focused in our "we want it now" thinking, but what you see today is not what you may see in 10, 20, 50, even 80 years if you live that long.

But it works. It's working right now, and when capitalism is replaced by socialism and we stop thinking on short-term gain, when our societies are focused into the common welfare instead of accumulation, it will even work better. Again I could point out to individual examples but instead, I encourage you to learn about ecology. We are well past from the catastrophic "Earth will die and there's nothing we can do" predictions from the 80s. We know what to do, we know it can work.

[elbiotipo]

First-of-its-kind study definitively shows that conservation actions are effective at halting and reversing biodiversity loss

A new study published online today, April 25, in the scientific journal Science provides the strongest evidence to date that not only is nat

This article talks about this very much in the "see? ecology can help the economy too!" tone that unfortunately is sort of necessary to convince people in the current capitalist system. But I don't want you to focus on this right now.

I want you to KNOW how doable this is. How inexpensive this is, how POSSIBLE THIS IS. That people working and loving the land and nature they live in is possible. That these projects WORK, THEY DO restore and preserve ecosystems. That humanity is neither a plague that destroys everything or a passive bystander on its own destruction but that these are actual things that can be, are, and will be implemented, backed by actual science and results. This is not empty #hopecore #hopepunk feel good stuff, these are things you can learn about, even work towards, and you can most certainly demand they are part of our society.

Are you listening to me?

[solarpunkcast]

"I'm just losing hope." Then get some fucking conviction. Millions of people around the globe are working their asses off and seeing results. What they are doing IS WORKING.

This orange peel story was huge years ago: https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/a-fruitful-experiment-in-land-conservation/

Beavers reintroduced to historic wetlands improve them at such a level that we can see the improvements from space: https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/nasa-satellites-reveal-restoration-power-of-beavers/

Africa is successfully slowing desertification and restoring historic farming soil with their Green Wall project: https://welcomeafrica.org/en/africa-combats-desertification-with-a-belt-of-life/

There has even been success at regrowing coral reefs--something which I am old enough to be told was impossible. But people have been hard at work for decades since then, and this is one of the results: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/03/240308123248.htm

REPAIRING THE DAMAGE IS ENTIRELY WITHIN THE REALM OF POSSIBILITY.

THERE IS ALWAYS HOPE IF YOU HAVE THE CONVICTION TO BACK IT UP.

[spiceupyourfcknife]

In Scotland there people have been trying to restore the forests for the past 50 years (successfully I might add)! The only thing stopping the whole country from being covered in beautiful forests bursting with biodiversity is overgrazing by sheep and deer as well as the controlled burnings done to make the ground better for grouse shooting! There's more than just blind hope that we can restore the ecosystems we live in, there's evidence that we can.

In this interview Ron Greer & Derek Pretswell explain their conservation efforts and experiments and it really clearly shows how everything benefits from forest restoration efforts.

If you can, I'd recommend watching it, its only 30 minutes and its really inspiring to see what can really be done.

Keep in mind, everyone in this video has a scottish accent, one ecologist's accent is relatively thick. That being said the closed captions are pretty good for the most part, though I think they're autogenerated as it translates "loch" as "law"

[markvomit]

[ratbugs]

this is what I look like every time I tell my dad another weird bug fact he doesn’t want to hear about

[collemblogging]

everyone loves a classic! (vitronura giselae)

[voidbirds]

I've been watching the Welcome swallows tend to a nest above my local grocery store and today I stole their child! Kidding, child managed to get stuck in the shop and couldn't figure out the glass windows (Don't worry buddy happens to us all).

I got laughed at as I was bringing him outside, 10/10 will steal again.

[inaturalist-unofficial]

[xiiidarkside]

[hammerhome]

manchineel perfec t place for rest under in rain

[i-wear-the-cheese]

shade very Soft and Comfort human sleep soundly put human under Manchineel Tree. Put Human Under Manchineel Tree. no problems ever under mancchineel tree because good Taste and Sweet fruit for tired hungry human. Amanchineel Tree yes a place for a human put human under manchineel tree can trust manchineel for giveing good shelter to human. friend manchineel

[chimerarachnid]

Just a busy, little furry friend very hard at work.