NEON CUCKOO BEE

CLASS: Insecta;  ORDER: Hymenoptera;  FAMILY: Apidae;  GENUS:  Thyreus; 
SPECIES: nitidulus;  COMMON NAME:  Neon Cuckoo Bee

This is a black bee with metallic blue spots on the back and sides.  They are called cuckoo bees as they lay their eggs in the burrows of other bees.

They will lay their eggs in the burrows of blue-banded bees or Teddy Bear bees (members of the Amegilla genus).  When the Cuckoo Bee egg hatches it feeds on the Amegilla bee egg or larvae.

A relative of the Cuckoo bee is the Thyreus caeruleopunctatus.  It has light blue patches on the back and sides.  Otherwise its description is the same as for the Thyreus nitidulus.

I do quite often see solitary little blue bees in our garden and now wonder if it is one of the above.

NEW ZEALAND HEADING DOG

I chose this particular canine as I love New Zealand and when we went to a sheep station on one of our visits to that country and were intrigued by the prowess of their farm dogs.

The New Zealand Heading Dog or New Zealand Eye Dog is a farm heading dog that uses its eyes and quick movements to control sheep.  It was predominantly bred from the Border Collie, and there is generally black and white, although sometimes tan in colour.

The Border Collie was a common farm dog around the Scottish border in the U.K. and early British settlers to New Zealand brought these dogs with them.  The Border Collie is long haired and has a tendency to lie down, and this trait was not desirable in the new country.  To counter the warmer environment, shorter haired dogs were bred.  They could be spotted by the farmer from a further distance since they no longer had the tendency to lie down.  (NOTE:  They didn't explain why they no longer laid down.  Was this because of the shorter hair?  Surely not.)

 The New Zealand Heading Dog has been integral to sheepdog trials which likely began in New Zealand as early as 1867 in Wanaka.  The competitive dog sport involves herding sheep around a field and into enclosures.  The sport became popular on television in the 1980s when "A Dog's Show" was broadcast to New Zealand audiences.

This dog has been bred with natural abilities of being aware of its surroundings, and adapt to quick movements in its line of sight.  They are classified as medium to large lass dogs with long, smooth and straight hair.  These types of dogs are specially bred and trained for work in farms to circle sheep.  It needs a large quantity of space like farms, therefore not intended to be kept as house pets.  They are extremely intelligent and should not be left alone for a long duration of time; they are capable of herding animals as a natural ability and, if left along for too long, they will try to escape or try to herd small animals or children.

The New Zealand Heading dog is at all times, other than when asleep or tired, extremely active and therefore leaving them indoors or chained to backyards is inappropriate.  If they are left indoors, destruction of furniture and other household products will be guaranteed.

The most famous shepherd from the settlements of New Zealand was a man known as James Lillico. Both New Zealand heading dogs and border collies are known for their ability to take commands from the shepherd to lie down and stay still and to circle sheep as they are are commanded. Heading dogs would herd sheep packs together by running in circles and stopping to watch sheep close enough to stop one or more sheep from running away from the direction they do not want them to go.  If heading dogs were to be in the wilderness, the step after heading the sheep or other animals would be to pursue and hunt them down for the kill.  The traditional trait of any heading dog would be the keen eye contacts it uses to notify the sheep that it is not supposed to run for its freedom and with the stare from its eye, the sheep will stop its movement and hurry back to the pack.  The "eyeing" of heading dogs comes from the skills of its natural "heading" ability which is commonly known as a trait in heading dogs.

NORWEGIAN FOREST CAT

I know I keep choosing cats that remind me of our Precious but I've always loved this breed anyway so thought I'd include it today.

The Norwegian Forest Cat is a breed of domestic cat native to Northern Europe.  It is a natural breed adapted to a very cold climate, with a top coat of glossy, long, water-shedding hairs, and a woolly undercoat for insulation.  Although this is uncertain, this breed's ancestors may have been a landrace of short-haired cats brought to Norway by the Vikings around 1000AD, who may also have brought with them long-haired cats, like those ancestral to the modern Siberian and Turkish Angora breeds.  Many people believe that the ancestors of these cats served as mousers on Viking ships.  They lived in the Norwegian forests for many centuries but were later prized for their hunting skills and were used on Norwegian farms.  They would continue acting as mousers on farms until they were discovered in the early twentieth century by cat enthusiasts.

 During World War 2, the breed became nearly extinct until efforts by the Norwegian Forest Cat Club helped the breed by creating an official breeding programme.  It was not registered as a breed with the Federation Internationale Feline until the 1970s, when a local cat fancier Carl-Fredrik Nordane, took notice of the breed and made efforts to register it.  Currently the Norwegian Forest Cat is very popular in Norway, Sweden, Iceland and France.

It is a big, strong cat, larger than an average cat and similar to the American Maine Coon breed, with long legs, a bushy tail and a sturdy body.  It is every good at climbing since they have strong claws.  Their lifespan is usually 14 to 16 years, though kidney and heart diseases have been reported in the breed.  It is well adapted to survive Norway's cold weather.

Norwegian Forest Cats have a quiet voice but can develop a loud voice if kept in a house with a dog.  They are friendly, intelligent, and are generally good with people.  They have lots of energy and can be very demanding of attention.  Those that live outdoors become swift and effective hunters, but they can adapt to indoor life.  If bought from a registered breed in the USA they tend to cost from $550 to $800.  As they are heavy-boned and tall they require more food than most other domestic breeds.  Males are considerably heavier and larger-boned than females.

These kittens range in age from 1 week to 18 months.

Thanks once again to Wikipedia for the information and beautiful photographs.

FRIDAY FUN

A few more happy pics to share with you this Friday.   I think we all need something to make us smile at the end of our week so here goes:

I hope everyone will enjoy the best weekend possible. 

THOUGHTS ON THURSDAY

This week my thoughts have been very much with the family and friends of, and the people aboard that missing Malaysian airliner.  The not knowing must be truly heart wrenching and I sincerely hope that some trace of the plane's whereabouts is found soon.

I am happy for my #2 granddaughter.   She bought some birds last year and is doing very well with them.  She sold some baby finches last week and now today I find she has some baby quail hatched. Well done Aimee.

Otherwise, not much has happened to make me feel everything is 'right' this week except, as always, I am grateful that Phil and I are still keeping our heads above water (wrong choice of words there after what I did to our kitchen!).

No word about our kitchen yet.  Have had two builders to inspect it and submit quotes to the insurance company.  If nothing heard by Monday I will ring and check on how it's all going.  Dreading the upheaval but also wanting to get it over with.

Visit to my GP this week.  "Getting a bit wheezy" said I.  Now off have to have chest x-ray and a full lung function test so that should be fun.  Also blood test to check iron levels again.  I've been on liquid iron for a year or more so best to check how it's all going.   Had my vitamin B12 shot as well but 'flu vaccine not available yet.  Doctor said he's been told 18th March so perhaps next week.  They say this could be a very bad 'flu season in Australia so best be protected as much as possible, especially we oldies.

Good to see the AFL football season starts on Friday with the team I support going to Melbourne to play so all the best to them.  If they win then there will be a big 'RIGHT' next week to brag about.

MANTIS

CLASS: Insecta;  ORDER: Mantodea;  FAMILY: Mantidae;  GENUS: Mantidae family;
SPECIES:  common name:  Mantis

This MANTIS is bright green with wings that cover the full abdomen.  The eyes change colour - they are pink during the day:

but change colour to ruby red at night:

The front claws are orange.  The abdomen has yellowish spots on the underside.  The thorax is yellowish underneath and has a pinkish wash on the edges.  It moves quite rapidly and appears to be active by night and day.  It grows to 50mm in length and eats small insects.

We seldom see these in Perth these days.  I think when they sprayed for Argentine ants back in the 1940s many of this type of creature disappeared.  I can't remember the last time I saw a grasshopper and one would be fortunate to see perhaps one mantis a year.

I just realised I'm a few days early.....I should have saved this one for Monday.  : )

TELLING IT ON TUESDAY.....(part 10)....1950

It is now 1950 and I am 18.  I am still working with Val, Wilma and the other girls for insurance assessor Norman Stehn and mum, dad and I are still living in North Perth.  Several events occurred during 1950 so am devoting this post to that year alone.  Some of it is a little personal but I hope you will bear with me as I remember people that were so much part of my life.

After Laurie and I parted company I did meet another young man, Terry Woodthorpe.  He lived within walking distance from our place which was very convenient as he also didn't have a car.  He was a very pleasant fellow and we had lots of good times together.   I am not sure how long this relationship would have lasted but it was quite casual and one day he told me he had met another lass and would love me to meet her and him give my opinion.  I thought this quite unusual but was more than happy to do so as Terry was someone who deserved to be happy.  Terry arranged that we should go and have a drink in a quiet hotel in Perth and to make up the foursome his friend Brian Treasure (who also worked at WA Newspapers where Terry was a compositor) came along.  I liked Mary very much and told Terry so the next day.  (Brian later went on to become one of the two people that set up TVW channel 7 in Perth as well as being involved in many other entreprenurial ventures, too many to mention. He seemed to have the knack of making a success of everything he undertook.   I only met him a few times (and never to actually go out with) and I remember him as a quiet but very gentlemanly young man.  Brian died in 1992 after being Perth's first liver transplant recipient. The operation was successful but there were serious complications which he didn't survive.  He was only 64.).

Terry and Mary were married in 1951and had two children, both of whom attended North Perth Primary School where my two children also went so they knew each other.  Everything seemed to be going well until in 1962, at age 33, Terry took his own life.  Whether anyone knew why this happened I don't know but it seemed such a waste of a young life and I always remember Terry with much fondness and hope that Mary and the two children were able to get over such a dreadful shock and make a good life for themselves.  This photo was taken of Terry in the back garden of my brother's North Perth home in about 1949 (he would have been about 20 at that time).

A big event that took place in mid-1950 was the wedding of my best friend Judy Bracey to Barry Tassicker.  This took place on 1st July in a little C/E church in Beaufort Street and I was Judy's bridesmaid.  She had decided on street clothes instead of bridal gear so I made myself a silver grey dress to hopefully complement her blue one.  Here is the bridal party leaving the church:

and Judy and Barry getting into the taxi to travel to the reception:

I first met Judy when I began at Perth College in 1944 but we had little to do with each other.  We met up again a few years later and became bosom friends.  We were quite different in many ways but the one thing we had in common was to enjoy a good laugh and we  had plenty over the years.  We once went on a camping trip together and I could write a entire post just about that as we had so much fun.  I think I was probably in my late 50s at that time.  Judy lost her fight with cancer in 2009 when she was 78, and Barry departed this life just two years ago.

Also this year I went on my first 'camp'  I had been Hon. Secretary of the North Perth branch of the Young Libs for a couple of years.  We used to meet in lovely big room in the Rosemount Hotel which was owned and run by the parents of one of our members, June Trembath.  Each month when we held our meeting June's mum would bring us sandwiches and cups of tea for supper and those sandwiches were always filled with kipper snacks (fish) which were delicious.  They seem to be unavailable in the stores today, which is a pity as I always enjoyed them and I quite often used them as a sandwich filling in later years.  Just mashed them up with a little Worchestershire sauce and perhaps some shredded lettuce....a really tasty sandwich.

Anyway in 1950 a camp was organised to be held in the Bickley Valley for lots of we Young Libs.  There were big dormitories with double bunks and a huge kitchen where we all took turns in cooking, serving and cleaning up.  We had a lot of fun and I am fortunate to have a snap of our own little group... L to R:  Marjorie Newbold, June Trembath, Dorothy, Margaret Johnson, Shirley and me; at the back are John Lewis and Noel Kroll.  They were wonderful people and I have great memories of all of them.

There is quite a story concerning the Austin A40 on the left.  June decided she was going to drive across the Nullarbor Plain to the east coast and Margaret was going with her.  June did a crash course on motor mechanics, made sure she had any necessary spares and off they set.  I remember us receiving a post card from Margaret telling about their journey, adding "there were potholes everywhere and I'm sure June didn't miss one of them".  The road at that time was not sealed and when they eventually arrived back in Perth it took them several weeks to remove all the red dust from inside the car and even their clothes took some cleaning up as well. We all took our hats off to the two girls for undertaking such a big adventure and succeeding with no mishaps.

There was still lots of dancing going on and the occasional ball but I feel I've talked enough about all that and also shown sufficient pictures as well.

I guess you could say it was the biggest event of my young life when in October of 1950 I left to work in Melbourne, Victoria.  I was still very happy in my original job with Norman Stehn but mum got this idea that perhaps I should sit for the Commonwealth exam in shorthand/typing and seek a job in the eastern states.  Even at 18 I did what mum wanted me to so sat for the exam, passed it without a problem and was immediately offered a position with the Department of Civil Aviation in Melbourne.  It seemed a great opportunity to see a little more of this country of ours so I accepted.  I waited until Dad celebrated his birthday on 8 October and left the following week.

This may sound ungrateful, but I had completely forgotten that mum and dad had thrown a farewell party for me at their home.  I was looking through that website of old newspapers the other day and there it was in the "Western Mail" under "These People" on Thursday, 19 October 1950.

Farewell Party.   Before leaving to take up a position with Civil Aviation in Melbourne early this week Miss Margaret Ruston was guest of honour at a party given by her parents Mr and Mrs H.T. Ruston at their home in North Perth...............Miss Ruston, who was formerly a stenographer with a Perth insurance assessor will work in that capacity in Melbourne. etc etc  It then goes on to give the names of some of the guests at the party, all of whom I remember quite well.  This just goes to show what a small city Perth was back then as I wasn't even 'anyone of importance' and in the West Australian on Tuesday, 17 October, 1950 was the following:

"Miss Margaret Ruston left by plane last night for Melbourne where she will take up an appointment with the Department of Civil Aviation".

Over the years I have wondered if mum had a hidden agenda for suggesting I go east to work.  Looking back I feel perhaps she and dad were not getting on very well and perhaps it was best for me not to be at home.  This is only supposition on my part but they did eventually go their separate ways  4 years later when I was 22 and after I had married.  That is another story in itself and I won't go into it here, or perhaps never for that matter.  I will have to consider that seriously before writing about it. I do remember mum once telling me that when I arrived on the scene they made a pact never to have serious arguments in my presence and this was possibly why I was so surprised when told they had decided to separate.  Perhaps a few minor arguments may be good for kids to see which then would make them realise their mum and dad are just normal people with faults like everyone else's mums and dads.

This may be a good time finish this segment and continue next week with the story of my six months in the great city of Melbourne .. 1950/51 style.