Autumn is a lovely time of the year when the days still tend to be warm and sunny, while a chill begins to creep in at night. The garden is still green and although most birds have already raised their families, I still find the odd eggshell below trees. They might be older than I think and blown there by the wind. This mottled one blends in well with its background:
While walking around the garden with my eyes on the ground, I came across this hole in a drier part of the lawn. It looks as though it has a tower of finely chewed grass surrounding it:
This is the time of the year when I come across fungi in unexpected places:
Snails also abound – I mostly find them on walls or steps. This one seems colour-coded with its background:
Lastly, because so many readers have commented on not having seen aloes in flower, here is an example of the first to bloom in my garden:
Something Over Tea 
Oulike versameling, Anne. Ons vuurpyle blom ook te pragtig.
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Baie dankie. Ek wil nog graag vuurpyle aankoop vir my tuin want hulle lyk SO mooi!
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We have had an abundance of snails this year. Conversely, Parktown Prawns, which tend to keep the snail population under control, have hardly made an appearance at all this summer. I suspect too much rain.
For the first time ever my wife mentioned that she ” missed ” them!
Eeek!!
Any idea what is that variety of fungus? I saw some on a dog walk last week.
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I know very little about fungi and, given the variety I see around here, suspect I shall have to find a friendly guide to them before long.
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I do like your colour coded snail
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Thank you, Derrick. I don ‘t often see greenish looking ones 🙂
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I don’t think I’ve ever seen one
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Have you any idea what might live in that hole? It looks interesting. 🤔
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I suspect it has been made by an African mole cricket (Gryllotalpa Africana). I detect a little creature just inside the hole, however when I tried to get a closer picture with my cell phone camera it disappeared.
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My first thought was that your hole might belong to some sort of crayfish, but I learned they aren’t native there, so the mystery remains. Perhaps it’s some sort of burrowing insect.
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Yes, I suspect it is an African mole cricket 🙂
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I, too, was wondering what might have made that hole, and then I saw what you wrote about it being an African mole cricket. Aptly named, it seems, as it digs like a mole. I always love to note the changing of the seasons. It never gets old.
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Our autumnal changes are a lot more subtle than most of the northern hemisphere seems to experience.
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Still, there is a change.
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I am surprised the eggshells aren’t eaten by critters.
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Some might well be; I don’t see very many of them around – which is why I tend to photograph the ones I do.
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A most interesting hole. I hope that you keep an eye on it for us.
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This is the time of year when hitherto unseen features are revealed as the summer growth slows down.
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Som interesting finds, Anne.
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Thank you, Belinda 🙂
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I love how you pay attention to the fine details of life in your garden, Anne. I think the hole belongs to a kind of spider, perhaps even a baboon spider.
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This is an interesting thought, Dries. I dismissed it though as there is no sign of either silk or even the remnants of a flap. When I enlarged the photograph (taken with my cellphone) I could see a dark, shiny-looking creature just inside – which is what made me think of the cricket. Granted, many other holes do not have the finely chewed grass rim around them and yet some do. I shall have to keep a closer eye on them.
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I’m sitting on the edge of my seat to see how the mystery unravels!
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That’s a nice close-up of the snail Anne. I’ve seen huge slugs and their trails in the Summer here. Sometimes when walking to the Park through the neighborhood, if the sun catches it just right, the slimy trail they made crossing a sidewalk or driveway becomes iridescent.
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I enjoy seeing their trails shining in the sunlight too.
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It looks pretty actually, like Mother of Pearl.
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Reblogged this on Wolf's Birding and Bonsai Blog.
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