I saw a thing in the garden (3 Viewers)

[magicbastarder]

no. dessicated. found him in the garage.

 

[therealjohnny]

no. dessicated. found him in the garage.

aww.

 

[seanc]

Went out for a cigarette and watched a spider construct a web. Amazing. It did a scaffold first and worked off that. Four cigarettes later she only just started on the classic spider web thing. Very efficient, where does this silk and energy come from? This spider is smarter than most people I know.

Also, strangely, someone at work mentioned that he's from the same clan as Robert de Bruce. He's English. I thought that was interesting and we had a joke about spiders and trying, but our other (also English) colleague was looking at us like "That seems like something really important that I should know about, but I don't have any idea, and now I don't know what to do". We politely changed the subject.

There's some kind of serendipity about me spending 20 minutes watching a spider make a web considering that conversation. Or something.

 

[egg_]

It’s all starlings and house sparrows around here at the moment. Starlings are all over the garden right now, sparrows take the morning shift.

Lots of European starlings overwinter in Ireland, maybe the rush is beginning?

 

[magicbastarder]

just watched the chris packham/megan mccubbin nature roadtrip program on BBC2; great stuff, he's gloriously cranky and she's the perfect foil for him. the welsh coast looks fantastic too.

 

[flashback]

I heard the barn owl last night. I've been fairly sure I've been seeing an owl here and there, but it's always just a fleeting glimpse. I reckon I heard him though, doing his weird shriekey thang.

 

[flashback]

just watched the chris packham/megan mccubbin nature roadtrip program on BBC2; great stuff, he's gloriously cranky and she's the perfect foil for him. the welsh coast looks fantastic too.

I believe he's Asperger's / on the spectrum.

 

[Cornu Ammonis]

My daughter found a mystery parasitic wasp in my living room. Twitter is torn between it being the resident Ichneumon extensorius or the rarer Ichneumon xanthorius.

 

[flashback]

My daughter found a mystery parasitic wasp in my living room. Twitter is torn between it being the resident Ichneumon extensorius or the rarer Ichneumon xanthorius.

I've been seeing a couple of parasitic wasps knocking around over the last while.
There was a guy yesterday who was working her way up and down a stone wall here, stopping at every crack, darting inside to check for I'm guessing some other kind of creature, and then back out.
The search pattern was interesting, it was almost straight up 10cm to the side and straight down. She'd veer off a tiny bit if the crack didn't line up, but it was pretty algorithmic looking.

 

[magicbastarder]

I believe he's Asperger's / on the spectrum.

yeah, he made a documentary about it IIRC.

 

[flashback]

yeah, he made a documentary about it IIRC.

Hm. Nice.

There's a load of probably decent BBC content created over the last couple of decades I'd like to be able to watch. Is the normal way of doing this trying to set yourself up with a VPN and use BBC's iPlayer?

I'd be fine with paying them for some kind of access to their stuff. Is that a thing?

 

[pete]

My daughter found a mystery parasitic wasp in my living room. Twitter is torn between it being the resident Ichneumon extensorius or the rarer Ichneumon xanthorius.
View attachment 15117

there's a small collection of dead wasps (RIP) outside my backdoor and i don't know if i should be worried or relieved

 

[JohnnyRaz]

there's a small collection of dead wasps (RIP) outside my backdoor and i don't know if i should be worried or relieved

did you do the killing?
are they in one piece or chopped up?

 

[magicbastarder]

Hm. Nice.

There's a load of probably decent BBC content created over the last couple of decades I'd like to be able to watch. Is the normal way of doing this trying to set yourself up with a VPN and use BBC's iPlayer?

I'd be fine with paying them for some kind of access to their stuff. Is that a thing?

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[pete]

did you do the killing?
are they in one piece or chopped up?

nothing to do with me - just noticed them yesterday. seem to be in one piece.

 

[JohnnyRaz]

nothing to do with me - just noticed them yesterday. seem to be in one piece.

could have tracked poison into a nest (wasp powder works like this), any cracks/crevices into a void (wall cavity, facica box) near by.

or maybe the wasps have left you a blood offering as the local WASP GOD

 

[pete]

could have tracked poison into a nest (wasp powder works like this), any cracks/crevices into a void (wall cavity, facica box) near by.

or maybe the wasps have left you a blood offering as the local WASP GOD

I dunno there were about 6 or 7 of them all within about 3 feet of the door so I’m assuming it’s the latter.

 

[JohnnyRaz]

I dunno there were about 6 or 7 of them all within about 3 feet of the door so I’m assuming it’s the latter.

arranged in any eldritch glyphs?

 

[pete]

arranged in any eldritch glyphs?

Nah just a pentagram.

 

[JohnnyRaz]

Nah just a pentagram.

you're grand so.
satanist wasps are the pussies of the wasp family.