Uppermill Alpacas

and the Alpacas arrive!

David Blades — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 11:25:11 +0000

Saturday 23rd July 2011 our first Alpacas arrived at Uppermill

April Vokey – what an addition to fly fishing!

David Blades — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 17:37:58 +0000

April Vokey – I can only guess how much good she has done for fly fishing and encouraging younger girls to take up the sport!

British Tarantula Show 2009

David Blades — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:01:37 +0000

A very successful show this year

Poecilotheria metallica

David Blades — Mon, 11 May 2009 06:33:29 +0000

Poecilotheria metallica

Name

The name Poecilotheria is derived from Greek “poikilos” – spotted and “therion” – wild beast. Metallica reflects brilliant metallic blue color. This whole genus of arboreal tarantulas exhibits an intricate fractal-like pattern on the abdomen. The spider’s natural habitat is primarily Southeastern India and Sri Lanka. The P. metallica was first discovered in a town in central southern India called Gooty. Hence, the P. metallica’s common name is Gooty Sapphire Ornamental Tree Spider, or simply Gooty Sapphire.

Behavior

The P. metallica’s behavior parallels that of many arboreal spiders. In the wild the P. metallica live in holes of tall trees where they make asymmetric funnel webs. Their primary prey consists of various flying insects, which they catch manually (not in a web) and paralyze. It is not unknown for the spiders of this genus to live communally when territory, i.e. number of holes per tree, is limited.

This species is desired by many tarantula enthusiasts with adults sometimes pricing above $500 in the USA. Demand for 2-week old unsexed spiderlings at US$300 is high, and there are examples of them being sold for much more. Prices can vary in other locations, particularly Europe. Like many spiders, the gender can influence price; females live for about 12 years, 3-4 times longer than males, making them more expensive. Also females are considered to be more useful for breeding, making demand higher. They are hardy, relatively fast growing spiders that are generally fed crickets, but can take on anything from a common fruit fly to a new-born (pinky) mouse or anole. They measure between 6-8″ in legspan when fully grown. In captivity, they prefer hot, humid environments with temperatures between 78° to 82°F with a humidity level of 75 to 85%.

Bites

Although there has never been a recorded death from any tarantula bite this species is considered to have a medically significant bite, with venom that may cause intense pain, judging from the experience of keepers bitten by other spiders from this genus^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]. They can move rapidly and may attack when cornered, although they generally prefer flight to fight.

References

^ Gabriel,, R. (2002). “Notes and Observations Regarding the Bite of Poecilotheria pederseni“. British Tarantula Society Journal 17 (2): 61–64. http://www.thebts.co.uk/Bite_ppederseni.htm.
^ Poecilotheria metallica – Arachnoboards
^ Phong’s Tarantulas! – Tarantula bites
^ Schmidt, G. (1988): Wie gefährlich sind Vogelspinnenbisse ? Deutsches Ärzteblatt 85 Heft 28/29(2): 1424-1425. (u. a. Infos about Poecilotheria fasciata)

The glasshouse…

David Blades — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 15:46:45 +0000

The glasshouse…, originally uploaded by David Blades.

A windswept, seaside hillside of bracken and rushes might not seem the ideal choice of site for a garden, but James Arthur Campbell was obviously not deterred when he ‘turned the first sod of the garden in August 1895′, according to his journal.

J. Arthur Campbell was a descendent of the Campbells of Inverawe in Argyll, and in the mid-1880s, on his return from managing the family tea estates in what was then Ceylon, he looked about for a site to build a house. Finally deciding in favour of the ‘green point’ above Asknish Bay, he bought the site from the McIver Campbells of Asknish, built his Mansion House, as he called it, and began to set out the garden in the comparative shelter of the promontory. Apparently McIver Campbell requested that he refrained from calling himself ‘Campbell of Asknish’, so he coined the name ‘Arduaine’, solving the problem and naming the garden in one fell swoop.

Many years and much tree planting later, Arthur began the ornamental collection and by his death in 1929, the garden contained some 220 different rhododendrons, most of which were species. The garden was passed to his son Bruce, who after the difficult period of the war years, in turn bequeathed it to his son Ian, but by 1965 it had become impossible to continue and the house was sold, to become initially the Loch Melfort Motor Inn and later the Loch Melfort Hotel. The family retained the garden until 1971 when it was bought Edmund and Harry Wright, nurserymen from Essex, who dedicated the next 21 years to restoration and replanting and finally gave the garden to The National Trust for Scotland in the spring of 1992.

It’s for sale!

David Blades — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 13:12:29 +0000

…

that’s what they said…. needs a bit of work they said…. it’s a snip at £45,000…. all the work you could want (for the next forever)…. plenty of wildlife in the area (rats)…. think I’ll pass if it’s all the same with you!

A very cute derelict cottage close to where I live… quite happy with the way this one turned out!

It’s for sale!, originally uploaded by David Blades.

This girls hot!

David Blades — Sun, 23 Mar 2008 18:18:43 +0000

IMGP0886-Edit, originally uploaded by Brilliant Shadow Photography.

RIP

David Blades — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 11:39:20 +0000

A very sad story…

RIP, originally uploaded by daneli.

This little baby died today of a crushed windpipe. He suffered all night and helpless me could only cry my eyes out. He had to be pulled out by the vet because he was too large to fit through the birth canal.
I know the doctor saved the rest of the litter by doing this…. I cant even see… because i’m crying….
Id like to think it will be fun like this…g o to sleep little baby

Just a note… This is not a picture of a dead puppy…. this was taken a few days before, and I thought he would be okay.

The Aisle

David Blades — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 06:33:39 +0000

The Aisle, originally uploaded by David Blades.

There has been a church here since circa 580 AD when, legend has it, Machar, a companion of St Columba of Iona, founded a church here! Bishop Gavin Dunbar and Alexander Galloway brought about many changes in church buildings in the Aberdeen area and here in the Cathedral they built the western towers in sandstone and inside the building, installed the heraldic ceiling. Today the nave only, survives, and the ceiling is a great adornment, but the message of the ceiling related to the figure of Christ on the wooden screen at the east side of the crossing. The three rows of potentates, representing the kings of Europe, the Pope and clerics of Scotland, and the King of Scots with his nobles, are shown in procession to the King of Kings. The ceiling perhaps illustrates the text from the psalms “the shields of the earth belong unto the Lord”.

The flat ceiling contains 48 heraldic shields in three rows of sixteen. At the east end are the principals of each group, in the centre Pope Leo X is followed by the Scottish archbishops and bishops in order of importance. The Prior of St Andrews represents other Church orders and the westmost shield is that of King’s College, a local church foundation, strongly supported by Gavin Dunbar. On the north side the first shield, with a closed or imperial crown is that of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, who appears on the ceiling in five guises since he was at that time also King of Spain, Aragon, Navarre and Sicily. Henry VIII is accorded the arms of England only. The last shield in this array shows the arms of Old Aberdeen, again a church foundation by Bishop Elphinstone. On the south side James V, King of Scots has an imperial crown and since he is a young boy not yet married, he is accompanied by St Margaret of Scotland rather than his consort. This series is ended with the coat of arms of the royal Burgh of Aberdeen. Here are represented the north-east families of Gordon, Lindsay, Hay and Keith. In the episcopal list the Bishops of Moray and Brechin and the Prior of St Andrews are members of the Hepburn family.

The ceiling is set off by a freize which starts at the north-west corner of the nave and lists the bishops of the see from Nechtan in 1131 to William Gordon at the Reformation in 1560. This is followed by the Kings of Scots from Malcolm II to Queen Mary. Significantly in the list of Kings, Alexander III is followed by Robert Bruce. As far as our sixteenth-century ceiling is concerned, John Balliol was never King of Scots.

St Machar’s Cathedral

David Blades — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 19:35:49 +0000

St Machar’s Cathedral, originally uploaded by David Blades.

St Machar’s Cathedral