Wildlife Wednesday: My First Post

Tina at My Gardener Says has a feature called Wildlife Wednesday that happens on the first Wednesday of each month. Whenever I see this post and all the people who join in with their photos, I am always fascinated by the vast array of wildlife that is posted. Every time I see it, I think I should post something, but until today, it never happened. Usually, because I can’t seem to keep the first Wednesday of the month on my radar. But this time, I did because I saw an intriguing photo on Facebook over the weekend that triggered my Wildlife Wednesday memory.

OK, now I need to admit that I take a few liberties with my intended postings for this challenge. Some might call it cheating. But I decided that I needed to remove the obstacles to participation that have been holding me back, such as . . .

• I don’t have a garden.
• I take very few pictures of anything, let alone wildlife.
• I don’t blog regularly.
• I don’t have a real blogging plan at the moment.
• I obviously can’t keep the first Wednesday of the month on my radar.

Tina’s rationale for this monthly feature:

Until Wildlife Wednesday, there wasn’t a specific blogging day dedicated to the celebration of wildlife in the garden and I wanted to change that. I’ve invited enthusiastic garden bloggers everywhere to snap photos of the wild visitors in your gardens and then to join me on the first Wednesday of each month to share posts about those wild ones you encounter.  Photograph and write about any kind of wildlife that interests you.

I’d like to be a purist, but obviously I get in my own way. But I have to admit that Tina’s blog has changed my opinion of certain forms of wildlife, like wasps, for example. Don’t get me wrong: I still don’t like them, but I have a little more respect for them and the contribution they make. If you don’t believe me, check it out. Maybe it will change your mind, too.  🙂

So based on the impact of Wildlife Wednesdays on my wasp perceptions and my fascination with garden wildlife in general, I’ve made a few adaptations in the rationale to allow my participation. 🙂

• I don’t have a garden. (Hell, I don’t even have my own place to live . . . yet. But I can approach the world around me as one huge garden, right?)
• I take very few pictures of anything, let alone wildlife. (I’m really not much of a photographer. I get caught up in the moment, and even if I have a camera nearby, I tend to sort of forget. So I’m rarely quick enough when it comes to the wildlife I encounter. However, I have enlisted the help of my husband and a few friends when wildlife happens to cross my path. And they are so cool, they let me use the photos.)
• I don’t blog regularly. (Blogging is something that is gradually becoming more frequent if not quite regular yet. But as I get settled in my new “temporary” home, I’m hoping that trend will continue.)
• I don’t have a real blogging plan at the moment. (I’m going to establish a blogging calendar that has the first Wednesday of the month blocked out for a wildlife entry.)
• I obviously can’t keep the first Wednesday of the month on my radar. (See above.)

So, I have a few ideas (and photos) that would work based on my adjusted rules. I also will only post one photo or a few if it’s one type of critter. No multiple critters in my posts, although I am always fascinated by how many visitors show up in Tina’s garden.

For the first few months, I’m going to focus on some bits of wildlife photography I have from Taiwan. While most of the photos I plan to use are already in my possession, the picture below is my most recent acquisition, picked up just last weekend. Since it was this photo that reminded me of Wildlife Wednesday, I’m going to start with it. Now I know that many people have a thing about spiders, but it’s October–Halloween, and all that spooky stuff. Besides, I’ve always been in awe of the web-making skills of the spider.

So when I saw this photo, I immediately messaged 黃文頤 (one of my former students) to get his ok to post it. Although, I don’t have any specifics about the name or size of this spider, I do know the photo was taken on Xiangshan Mountain (or Elephant Mountain) in Taipei. There are many beautiful things to see there, but here is a very small snapshot of the wildlife that exists there. So enjoy, for those of you who can. For those who can’t, I’ll have less scary photos next month.

If you want to join in or check out the amazing wildlife photos that are generated by this challenge, head over to visit Tina’s blog at: http://mygardenersays.com/2015/10/06/wildlife-wednesday-october-2015/