Can’t believe how busy I am

Can’t believe how busy I am, this is generally my quiet time of year. It’s very welcome because December is always a short month for me. As Christmas approaches the post can be erratic or snow falls and I have to stop sending out orders until the New Year. Last Christmas we also had Royal Mail strikes to contend with so I gave up after a few days into December. Hopefully this year will be better!

All is going very well with my master plan. When I gave up stick insects and the like, I thought my days as the Bug Lady may be numbered but I’m doing really well with my spiders, scorpions, millipedes, cockroaches etc. I am always looking at ways to cut down on my workload and still keep my business going. I will need to adapt next year as our daughter is expecting her first baby in February. I’m thinking I will be needed quite a bit J. Obviously, I am delighted and only too happy to help. Let’s face it, I couldn’t go on holiday if she didn’t look after all my animals so it’s only fair that I help look after the baby!

I have asked my daughter not to give birth early, if she can possibly help it. I really enjoy the SEAS tarantula show, at the end of January each year and it is a great place to restock for the year ahead. My birthday is the beginning of February so as a birthday treat we stay at the hotel overnight and have dinner the evening before the show with the super guys from the Invicta spider club, who run the show.

I don’t usually take part in Black Friday but I was asked last week if I was doing anything and I thought “that sounds like a good idea”. I will be putting the details on my website and Facebook page tomorrow, before the event begins on Friday and continues over the weekend. That is if I can figure out how to do it, my website is quite limited (as is my ability).

I am so grateful for all the 5 star Trustpilot reviews that I continue to receive every week. It really helps my business and gives me a boost too. I know I need to do some advertising but again it’s that terrible thing that I lack most in my life TIME. I should try and get back into Instagram. Perhaps I could just post my ‘pick of the week tarantula’. What do you think? I often take photos of spiders that catch my eye when I am doing the weekly feed. I still enjoy it when the spiders have moulted and look stunning in their new coats. I have a whole shelf of tarantulas that I think are about to moult, that’s why I am always putting them on and taking them off the website, I would hate for any of them to moult in the post. I probably shouldn’t say this buy I can’t remember the last time that happened. After all these years I’m getting quite good at telling when a tarantula is about to shed their skin. Mind you, sometimes they are sitting on the moulting shelf for several weeks J

I read a great article recently, it was in the newspaper but I read it when it appeared in my ELG (Entomological Livestock Group) newsletter. It was all about biofluorescence and that many animals glow under ultraviolet light. It’s fascinating to see scorpions glowing blue/green under UV light but evidently some mammals glow too. I have just placed an order for some new UV torches. There is a guy in Norfolk who takes people out for walks in the dark to see what they can find. It sounds super but Norfolk is a long way from here. Evidently it may be a way of communication between creatures that we don’t yet understand. Spooky! (wish I could find the article, it’s somewhere in my office)

Lastly, I have lots going on behind the scenes. I have many bugs that are not currently showing on my website as I am hoping to breed them. I have two species of Tail-less Whip scorpions that are approaching adulthood and various tarantulas. I do like tropical millipedes but they are very slow growing. I’ve just checked my Vietnam Rainbow babies, they are still there but don’t look much bigger than when I last checked them a few weeks ago. I don’t think I will ever be able to retire with all these long-term projects going on and I certainly don’t have anyone in the family to pass them on to!