Rush, rush, rush

Rush, rush, rush, I have my nephew's three kids today so I need to get this blog written before they arrive. I had intended to write it really early (as in yesterday) but events overtook me and as is the story of my life, I ran out of time. I am still catching up from being on holiday and have spent a lot of time either on my computer replying to emails or in the bug room feeding and cleaning this week. It is typical that I have been stuck inside while the weather has been hot and sunny and then today when I have the kids and planned to go out and about, it is overcast and rain is forecast.

The bugs are doing well but there are a number that require a complete clear out, like some of my large cockroach colonies, beetles in boxes and millipede cages. I have no plans for this weekend and hubby is working so I intend to try and get back on top of things. The paperwork is piling up again. I have had a lot of enquiries this week, I do try to answer all emails but some are just too complicated so I ask people to call me. It is such a shame that so many youngsters just don't seem to have the confidence to speak on the phone these days, as I am always saying "I can talk much faster than I type". It is more friendly and I can convey a lot of information on the phone that is impossible in an email as there is no interaction. I'm pleased that I have had a few more calls this week, I don't bite (honest), it is good to talk to people (I love talking). I bought a new landline phone before we went on holiday and deliberately purchased a model without an answer machine. I had no idea that our line provider have an automatic answer machine service. My hubby has now managed to get this service deleted but I'm sorry if you left a message on this phone and didn't hear back from me. I have to keep the landline as it is my internet connection. The best number to call me on is my mobile, I always have it on me and if I am busy you are welcome to leave me a message (please during office hours only) and I will call you back. I still can't believe that mobile phones don't have an engaged signal. Most the time when people don't get an answer from me it is because I am already using the phone but of course nobody knows that because it just keeps ringing. Why is there no engaged signal on mobile phones? Someone must know!

I had a big disappointment yesterday when I opened up the bug room in the morning. I had put my beautiful, adult pair of Madagascar Fishing spiders together the night before, they had plenty of food and hiding places but the female ate the male. At a glance I thought "please tell me the spider is moulting" but then it became obvious that what she was holding was the male's shrunken body and long legs. I was really upset, he was a stunning creature. They matured just before I went away and I had been waiting until I had time to introduce them. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, I obviously should not have left them alone overnight! I just hope they mated, I 'think' the female is mature but having never kept this species before she may have another moult to go. Hopefully she is mature and at least lays an egg sac. They are so pretty and have been really easy to keep. She has now lost her large breeding cage and has been put back in her sweet jar in disgrace. I need the Exo Terre vivarium for some Small Tortoiseshell butterfly larvae that I rescued earlier in the week. This species has been in massive decline over the last few years but this year they seem to have really picked up. My garden (jungle) is full of flowers and thankfully butterflies too. I didn't want to keep the caterpillars but they were on stinging nettles in a narrow alleyway almost opposite my house. The alleyway is in constant use and the greenery is randomly cut down. Hence they are taking up space and time in my bug room. I am collecting new nettles for them every day and they are growing fast so hopefully it won't be too long until they pupate and I'm sure my little nieces will love releasing them in the garden when they hatch into adult butterflies.

One job that I must do this weekend is to separate as many of my home grown spiderlings as possible. Why on earth are these spiderlings not selling? I have the Kilimanjaro Baboons and Trinidad Olive on the website at really cheap prices, £2.99 for one, £9.99 for 4 or £19.99 for 10. I can't sell them any cheaper as they have to be packed individually and it takes ages. I dare not leave them together any longer as they will surely eat each other and I will be left with one big fat one eventually. If anyone wants a number of them and is near enough to collect give me a call today, I am open to offers!

I was going to bore you with more details of my bug hunting exploits in Cyprus but I don't really have the time now. I will just say that there were praying mantis nymphs everywhere, hubby found one on his head when we were eating dinner on the terrace one evening and I even found one on me in bed one night. There were several different species. I was poking around in a dried up river bed one day when I saw a large, moulted crayfish skin. I then searched around and found two beautiful, bright orange crayfish hiding behind rocks. Unfortunately they were very shy and soon disappeared. Swallowtail butterflies were all around but we only saw one Hawkmoth (my favourite moths).

Better get going now, one of the jobs that the girls can help me with today is a 'photo shoot' for my new birthday card. I often send out orders for birthdays and I used to have a homemade card to pop in with the order. It's a job that has been on my list for a long time so hopefully I will get it sorted today. I have a couple of ideas but things rarely go to plan, especially with animals and children! It is sure to be as daft as my Christmas cards always are.

Hope everyone has a good weekend and lots of rain at night for the garden but warm sunshine during the day.