Michael's Birthday cake

Evidence that the monster tasted good...
and with no mouth, he can't contradict me :-)

South Point Temple

South Point Temple celebrated the birthdays of its Gods. Two visiting monks went into trances and accepted baby god spirits into their bodies. With these Gods present, they passed on blessings.

Blessings given

God spirit enters

Spike Ball

Drum

Sword

Painting blessings

Altar

Lantern

incense pot detail

offerings

incense pot

Dragon chair

Paint pots and chops

Heads

Flags

South Point Temple held its Gods Birthday celebration this week. The incense sticks in front of the flags are as tall as an adult - there are 34 in this photo.

shoes

... stragglers at sunrise

profile

You can see the webbing that helps to hold the eggs against the females body.

Ethel Beach Cliffs

Ethel beach was crowded this morning - with crabs and people photographing crabs! Not a lot of room left to move.

Splash!

It was a bit rough at Flying Fish Cove on Monday morning for the poor females trying to spawn. I watched one female nearly drown, then after looking a bit dazed, run off in disgust.

Female

The female crabs started their spawning early yesterday morning.

"A Night of a Thousand Stars"

We had a lovely time at the CI Charity Ball. My dress reflected the theme for the night - lots of sparkle :-)

Quiet moment

A rest before taking to the dance floor.

Big Brother

Not the biggest I've picked up - but a fair difference in size from the baby in my hat!

Minni Me

This is the first baby Robber Crab I have ever found! It is small enough (body size of a 5 cent piece) that in all likelihood, it hasn't been out of its protective shell for very long (like a hermit crab). I made the mistake of treating it like a hermit crab too - I picked it up with my hands and it latched on with its tiny pincer and wasn't going to let go. I got to test the theory - tickle it on the underside of its tail to make it let go. Thankfully it worked! I put it in my hat and one of my tourists took this photo because I didn't have my camera with me. She kindly emailed it when she got home - thanks Angela.

Dancing crab canvas

The red crabs are attached to the canvas using strips of plastic. When a breeze blows across them they dance, representing the shimmy red crabs do when they shake their eggs into the ocean.

Blue Crab acrylic on canvas

This next piece in my Indian Ocean series was very difficult to design - mainly because I was trying to keep the same style but with stones and water added into the background instead of just leaves. It took me two goes and I'm still not 100% happy with the mossy rocks.

Red Crab Canvas

I struggled a bit with some of the colours and patterns in this piece. Thank God acrylic is such a forgiving medium to work with - I repainted one leaf several times.

Wearable Art

This is the "Miss Origami" piece I have made for the wearable art section of the Art Exhibition this year. My friend Vanessa is going to model it for me because I am going to be in America.

acrobatics

Red Tailed Tropicbirds put on a great performance when they are courting.

Red Tailed Tropicbird

Common Noddy

Centipede

This evil invasive creature was about 12 cm long. Shortly after this photo was taken, it got squashed.

Golden Bosunbird nest

Golden Bosuns return to the same nesting sites every year. Normally they nest in crevices high up in cliff faces that require absailing skills to access. However, there is one nesting site left that sits outside some units in Poon Saan. This year, workmen had to remove the dead stump because of renovation work taking place at the units. Surprisingly, this didn't stop the pair from nesting in the same spot. The workment built a cave like structure to give it some privacy. But it doesn't cut out any of the noise the workmen make - the Bosunbird just tucks its head into its wing and goes to sleep.

Mangrove Roots

Bruguiera mangroves grow between 25 and 40 metres above sea level at Hosnie's Springs where they are fed by fresh water springs. It is believed that they were established around 120,000 years ago when the terrace was at sea level. Since then, the tectonic plates have been pushed upwards. It is considered a very unique environment, as Brugueira in other parts of the world grow in shallow salty intertidal zones.

Banded

This female Goshawk has just been weighed and banded and looks pretty unimpressed about the whole process. She was caught using a fluffy lure on the end of a fishing rod.

Abbott's Booby

Wow! My first good shot of an Abbott's in the wild. I'm happy :-)

These birds are on the threatened list and can only be found on Christmas Island.

Brown Booby

How wonderful it is when you get a shot as clear as this!

Brown Booby Chick

This chick is only a couple weeks old at most. It still has its egg tooth.

Holding chick

This cute little chick christened me - that's gotta be good luck :-)

Goshawk & Lure

Bird Week has begun again... One of the experts (Nick Mooney) has been luring Goshawks down with imitation mice on the end of a long fishing line dragged behind a slow car. This young female made several attacks. At one stage she carried it off into a tree and Nick had to tug it away from her.

Gecko

I started this painting with the intention of selling it at the next Art exhibition, but... I like it too much. And it is my first completed acrylic on canvas, so it's special :-)

Tourism Expo

My stall at the Indian Ocean Territories Tourism Expo.

Whale Shark Silhouette

This Whale Shark is sooooo out of season! August is just unheard of... until now!

Pea Shrimp in bubble coral

A very difficult little critter to photograph because he was tiny and kept running away and hiding.

More Red Crab Dance

Red Crab Dance