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Eleven weeks until Christmas

Eleven weeks until Christmas, that's what my daily update from Royal Mail said this morning. What a depressing thought, it has been warm and sunny today and long may it continue. I keep getting emails from Royal Mail telling me that it is the last day to post to outer Mongolia or somewhere like that. I just hope they don't decide to cancel the next day delivery guarantee on Special Delivery this year. I know the weather was pretty bad but not the entire month of December and that's how long their ban lasted (what a great excuse to not give anyone their postage back when a parcel was delayed). Anyway back to sunny October - I have had lots of new stock in this week. Yesterday I had a multitude of spiderlings arrive, I'm not sure how many species but lots! I have entered them all on the site today, it took me until 8pm last night to feed and house them all. I even dragged my husband out to the bug house to help, now that is really desperate. He didn't get involved with the spiders but he made up some houses and put the labels on the boxes. I always feel like we are on the Generation Game when anyone helps me with this task (some of you may remember the television program with Bruce Forsythe). I am very fussy that there is just the right amount of peat in the tub, then moss, then a little hidey hole and then the label has to be put on correctly and air holes made in the lid (I must say my daughter is better at this task but she was out). I now have trays of spiderlings in tubs all over the bug house, I need to sell some quickly! It is a pain that Special Delivery doesn't operate at the weekend, Monday is always the busiest day of the week as I have a back log of orders to send out.

I also got a large number of stick insects in this week. I seem to have quite a few species feeding on Privet, this isn't great when I only have one Privet bush in my garden. I have a couple in my greenhouse which I haven't got around to planting out but I don't think they are going to grow much until next year. I can feel some super special offers coming up on stick insects very shortly!

Everything in the bug house seems to be going well. I went mad this week and put my male spiders in with the females, even if I wasn't sure whether they were adult or not. I'm really pleased to say that the Trinidad Mahogany (Tapinauchilus plumipes) immediately mated with the female. I didn't realise that Tapinauchilus spiders are quite small as adults until I went to the AES show a couple of weeks ago. I took along an adult Violet Tree spider (Tapinauchilus cupreus) and someone there said they had an adult female. When I looked at the adult female I realised that I had one like that at home! I'm not sure if the Violet Tree spiders did mate, I have my suspicions that the female has one more moult until she is fully mature but of course I will be keeping her now just in case. I also put together my Chile Beauty spiders and my Golden Starburst Baboons. I sat and watched them for ages but then decided I would have to leave them together for the night. I rushed out to the bug house the next morning and was delighted and amazed that not one of the males had been eaten. I was careful to make sure that the females all had plenty of crickets before I introduced them but I think it was pretty good that all the males survived. The poor Golden Starburst male was hanging from the roof of the cage, I think he probably needed to make a hasty retreat. This species is extremely aggressive but he was undamaged and quite happy once I put him back in his box. I have now labelled all the females and moved them into suitable containers for egg laying, it's just a case of fingers crossed and waiting now. I know 'patience is a virtue' but I really don't have any. I mated two Chile Beauty spiders weeks ago now, both females are looking huge but neither has laid an egg sac. I keep opening the lids and taking a peek, I know I shouldn't keep disturbing them.

We went on the Eurasier society walk last Saturday with our gorgeous Eurasier doggy Teddi. It was great fun and she was very good. She was the youngest dog there, she will be one year old next month. We are so taken with this breed that we are considering getting another one. I think Teddi needs a play mate. She continually follows me up and down the path from my office indoors to the bug house at the end of the garden but I am always busy and I think she needs a friend. She loves it in the bug house as there is always at least one cockroach to chase around the floor! My hubby thinks we have enough animals but I don't think you can ever have too many pets!

Just about to upload this blog to the website, I thought I should mention that although it is Friday now (the correct day for my blog). I actually wrote the blog last night as I have a busy day ahead of me today and may not have time.


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