Three Colours Plant

It is growing taller and bushier after I trimmed part of the plant. The multiple colours look forever similar as it grows. But will it be able to grow without ending?
 

Sugar Glider's Behaviour

She is a very shy animal. She sticks to the warm clothe/hands and especially feels very secure in my son's hand. She does not like to run around by herself and  sleeps most of the time, especially during the day time.

Official Flowers of Kuching City

The other day I visited the Resource Centre of the Kuching City South Council and I only realised that City Councils have their own official flowers. 
All the while, I thought the official flower for Government  Departments was Hibiscus flower.

Kuching City is divided into City North and City South with different City Councils. The City North adopted yellow Allamanda flowers while the City South preferred Canna Flowers.

Allamanda

Canna

The Perfect Lines of Sea Shell

You only need the shell to protect yourself, but why you create such perfect and beautiful lines on the shell?
The urge to be attractive seems to exist in most living things. Living is not about just surviving, sometimes, you want to leave a mark in this world!

 

Various Expressions of Sparrows

Sparrows are one of the the most common birds in Sarawak, especially in the city. The same applies to my house. They like to sit on my basketball wooden spring board. Sometimes, I could not help laughing by watching their behaviors and expressions.They can be very naughty and bully each other!

These four birds have something caught their attention, but why one just looks in the opposite direction!

 

Light Brown Long-tailed Shrike

This bird seldom comes down to the ground from the tree. It is very afraid of humans and that is why it is hardly seen in the park.
This one spent less than 10 seconds on the ground and then immediately flew away. The bird must have seen an yummy insect that prompted it to risk its life! So do most humans, the moment they see money, they forget the morals and risks.

Yellow Ixora Coccinea Flowers

Yellow is unique if you get use to the red hot Ixora flowers. Most of the plants grown by the Councils in Sarawak produce red hot flowers. Only few are yellow in colour. These yellow flowers can be found Kuching Friendship Park.

 

Variegated Hibiscus

When the leaves are so bright and colourful, it does not need to have beautiful flowers to survive. This flower, though still looks attractive, it is not as refined as the hot red hibiscus flower which I like. 
It is just like comparing the cheap cars with BMW or Mercedes.

 

The Sea Shells and Theory of Evolution

If you want to understand the theory of evolution, studying the sea shells probably help you to understand. No single individual is exactly identical except the twins. Mutation is always the norm, and through thousands of generations, the same species may undergo different paths and change into different sub-species.
 
Just look at each of them, can you notice the differences?

The bushy and Long Tail of the Sugar Glider

The tail is long and bushy compares to its body, actually like a squirrel. When it glides through the air, the long tail probably acts as a rudder, guiding the body to the tree it wishes to land.

Striated Heron (Mangrove Heron)

These few days, I saw the bird standing alone by the lake patiently at the Kuching Friendship Park. 
Don't know where it comes from and how long it is going to be there! It is a lonely bird, only appears by itself.

 

Artistic Sunset

It is another sunset at the country side on the Borneo Island, serene and colourful. Sometimes really have an urge to draw and paint, do you?

Pendulum bell Flower

Still flowering, a tough plant among the weeds in my farm. There are not many leaves but the dark pink bell flowers and buds are distinguishing.

Growing Hill Pineapple

You don't need big land to plant the hill pineapple. Just a small plot in the garden is enough. Yammy, it is growing bigger and bigger. Perhaps, in another three months, it can be harvested.
Hill pineapple is less common than the peat pineapple. It constitutes less than 3% of the pineapple plants in this country.

Light Brown Mushroom bed on the Forest Floor

It looks comfortable to sleep on it but why I could not find any body lying on it? 
I did find some parts peeling off as well as punching a hole through the mushroom. It is actually white in colour.  
But who are these culprits?

 

Zebra Criket

Ya, the black and white stripes make nice pattern  but why the upper body's stripes have to be in perpendicular direction?

Bright Pink Hibiscus and Evolution

I have plenty of honey, I am colourful too, but why there is no insect visiting me. 
Look like I have to scream internally and ask the DNA to change so that I can survive through this competitive world! It does not work in this way.
How evolution actually works? Charles Darwin has no answer to this too. Scientists have now come out with an answer, mutation in DNA by radiation, chemicals and now artificial change have caused us to mutate to good or to bad. The best one will survive while the bad ones will die off, which complies to "fittest to survive through natural selection". But human will probably do more, change of DNA to make super beings which in the turn extinct the natural evolved human race! 
Anyway, human came into existence also by chance, so there is nothing sad about this. It is also part of the evolution.

My Water Lily Plant

First, the floods for more than a month and now the hot weather. Luckily, it survives but the growth has been curtailed. 
When am I going to see the first flower so that I can paint like Claude Monet? Oh, not paint, just taking photographs, I do not possess such talent!

 

The Big Eyes of Sugar Glider

Sugar Glider's big eyes remind me of the tarsier, the small tree dwelling mammal that evolved into humans. It has fiver fingers too but the ears are exceptionally big. It likes to attach to human the moment it finds safe and comfortable. It can make various noises to get your attention. It is nocturnal, which explains the big eyes.

Bougainvillea  Flowers

Please please look at us, we are the main players of the plant not the bracts. See how beautiful we are actually!!

No-no-no, the moment your DNA chose to brighten up the bracts with various colours and could be propagated by cuttings, you were of no more importance! Blame your DNA not me, You are too small to be noticed!

Striated Heron

This bird is not kingfisher, it is called striated heron or the mangrove heron. It is rarely seen in the Park. It is non-migratory.

It has blackish grey on the upper head and beak, light grey around the neck and darker grey at the wings with some whitish pattern lines. The belly is whitish and the tail seems to be short. It appeared at the Kuching Friendship Park Lake between 9.30-10.00am, hunting for fish in the lake. The weather was cloudy and mild.

Lovely Red Hot Hibiscus Flower

It cannot be found in my garden anymore but I can still appreciate it in the Friendship Park, thanks to the Kuching Council, one of my favorite flowers.

 

Sugar Glider (petaurus breviceps)

What? Why this marsupial creature crawls around the house?
My son was so attracted to the two large eyes that he bought the baby animal from a pet shop!
Walo! This Australian/Papua Guinean creature is raised in the pouch and that is why he likes to be wrapped in the warm red cloth. It takes apple as food and sleeps most of the time.
It made funny noise when he saw human movement and gave me a "shock" in the middle of the night when I was half awake.
When it is fully grown up, he will develop gliding membrane to glide through the air from tree to tree.

Hot Hot Weather

In some areas of Malaysia, day time temperature has reached 42degC, forcing some schools to close. Kuching is lucky to be quite often cloudy and occasionally rain, but when the sun shines, it is scorching! Why, why, why?
Some said due to el-nino, some said due to weather change and some said humans own doing, you pick.

Light Grey/Silverish Metallic Wood Bug

It looks very mechanical and robotic, but it is very much alive. 
It moved on the surface of the rotten wood and wriggled through the debris before emerging again. 

Sometimes, I had these thoughts that some creatures were made by some body to explore or to have certain functions on this Earth, just like the Mars Rover exploring the red planet.

 

Borneo Monkey-Handsome Face

For those who are interested in my look, this face is a reflection of mine, old, serious, thoughtful but handsome!

 

Nice Clothing, Little Pigeon.

Nice pattern and colour of feather, quite unlike that I saw in London. Perhaps the London pigeons should pick up the latest fashion of the tropical pigeons!

Green Diversity

I just ignored this part of the cleared land for three months, this area was filled with green plants, so diversified that I was just amazed.
There are at least twenty types of plants in this small area, the seeds brought by wind, insects, birds animals and buried seeds plus underground roots.This is due to tropical weather, plentiful of sunlight and rain. 
There is no worry that the area will become desert and erosion will stop in short time. But it is great worry to me, how to maintain the farm without using pesticide!

Not-So Round Sun

I was always amazed by the very round Sun and Moon photographs that I had taken, perfect round.
But this one I took recently at Miri after I saw the sky and sun was covered by smoke due to forest fire.
Surprisingly, the sun did not seem to be round! Why? Optical illusion?

One of the Matured Wild Umbrella Mushrooms

When this common wild umbrella mushroom is matured, it looks like this, large and fleshy.
But I always ask myself what species it is and whether it can be eaten. 
Since there are so many wild fungi in my farm and I cannot find details in the books and internet, perhaps, one day, detailed studies shall be made and a mushroom museum to be set up!

 

Rough Miri Sea

The sea was rough and the waves were intimidating when I passed through Miri Tanjong Lobang Sea two weeks ago. Obviously, it was not suitable to swim or even to play near the beach. 
Nature will not be merciful towards anyone who is careless. Almost every year, Lives were lost due to such waves.

 

Road Accident

You may be very careful Driver, but when others are careless, your life may come to a faster end, such as when this Trailer loses control and bangs into you. 

Car accidents have become common along the Borneo trunk road and all drivers are required to predict far away whether nearby vehicles are in disarray.

Good and Bad Grasses

They are all grasses, one of them is good guy for providing us food, and the other two are bad guys for being weeds such that we want to clear them off. 
Why the differences when they all evolved from same ancient parent?

The Longest River in Sarawak

This the Rejang River at Sibu Durin Bridge. It is the longest river in Borneo Sarawak, The river continuously brings the brown water to the South-China Sea. It often flooded Sibu town whenever heavy rain fell. Just travel through the Upper Lanang road or Hua Kiaw Road during high tide and heavy rain, you will enjoy waging through the water. Sibu people are very good in making money from the timber business, but they are not capable of solving flooding problems.

Fire! Fire!

Sometimes, photographs can be deceiving, it does not tell the real story if you just look at a very small part. Is this real fire?
No-no-no, it was sunset in my farm!

Humans like to take one or two phrases out of the whole story and magnify on the sentences to interpret their way just to attack the story teller for their own agenda, are you one of them?

The Green Stick Insect

It really knows how to stretch and bend its body to be similar to the green creeping plant.

Fireball Flower

When the flower was at its prime, it was like a fire ball radiating its red hot beauty. 
But now it is at the sun-set, the flower is left with skeletons.

I Help You, You help me.

This is a very important symbiotic quotation in this country. It applies to the cows and the white egrets too. Each cow is followed by one or two birds. 
How do they help each other?
The birds will perk on the back of the cow of any blood sucking parasites. The cow will graze on the grass and disturb the insects to come out which are subsequently eaten by the birds. When the birds fly away, the cows will also know the danger probably approaching.
I help you, you help me.
You help me to become leader, then I will help myself to put all your money into my pockets.

Where is my Home town, Sarikei?

Oh, no far away from here, just over the far hills 23km away. 
It is located not far from the river mouth, along the longest river of Sarawak, the Batang Rejang, which flows towards the South-China Sea.

The White Moth

I saw it flying in my farm and then hid underneath a leaf. Well, almost manage to camouflage from me. 

Unfortunately, its colour is white. 
If its colour is green, it is easier to hide from predators! I had not seen any green moth, why?

Simple but Pretty Unknown Red Flower

I bought this plant at Sarikei Market, US$2. The vender said the plant could produce lot of flowers throughout the year.

The flowers appear familiar to me, similar to the Crown of Thorns. But this plant has no thorn. The stem looks slender. 

I did not wish to damage the young plant just to see whether it produced white latex.

Harmless Brown Dragon Fly

In the end, I still prefer the dragon fly than many other types of insects which are harmful to the humans, animals and even plants.

Yellow Kissing Bug

I don't think you want to kiss this bug even though it looks like a robotic toy with outstanding yellow and black colour design. The only defective and disharmonious part is the brown oval tail on its back. 
This insect feeds on the vertebrate blood and it is looking for a host, just look at its devilish eyes. But it looks different compared to the American type, which is brownish. Worst of all in America, this insect carries Chagas disease, a type of disease which Charles Darwin was suspected to be infected when he was in South America!

Flying Seed

It dropped on the ground right in front of me, brought by the wind. Soon the hairs will be gone and new plant emerges. This is how some plants spread their genes to very far place, rather than drop right below the mother tree and compete with each other. It can also float on the water and be transported even further away

Brown Pansy Butterfly

Wei, what are doing inside my car?
I just parked the car in the farm and opened the door , this butterfly could not wait and flew into my car.
Well, it is the butterfly season, I saw many butterflies flying around, various colours and varieties. 
I did not know where they hid during raining, but they immediately appeared when the rain stopped!