Mr 2 and I returned to the mangroves this morning, for a meandering walk. It’s more peaceful with only one child.

Our first stop was one of the replanted trees in the

bush leading to the mangroves, interesting buds, and seeds, peeling paperbark and an ant with a golden abdomen. Mr 2 took a photo too. Spiderwebs were hiding in the bark.

 

 

Further down the path a dirty feather, once admired became a broom to carefully move the stones aside.  Mr 2 was very excited to create “footprints”.

As we walked along the gravel I found the spiders I was looking for stretched between trees and over the path.

Around the corner a golden orb had built her web in the corner of the path… over the water rather than where the visitors wander and more webs stretched to the trees from the board walk.

Mr 2 was absolutely fabulous at helping me find all these webs. He has a gift. And lots of patience while I took multiple photos.

 

 

This walk proved to be a feast of photo opportunities. More birds than I’d ever noticed before, probably because Mr 2 is so relaxed and peaceful when he’s on his own. The tide was low and after sitting quietly for a while we were able to spot hundreds of tiny crabs. None with bright colours.

Mr 2 entertained himself propping the feather he’d collected into screw holes and pretending to drill these and fix the fence and benches. My entertainment was trying to capture a photo of the tiny finches in the mangroves. They were only as big as a mangrove leaf. Mr 2 thought I was imagining them and until he finally saw one swoop and dart away from the tree. “It’s a butterfly!” he exclaimed.

 

Back around the corner, while Mr 2 and I were admiring a leaf swaying in the breeze hanging from the strong silk of the orb spider’s web, the finch curiously eyed us a metre or so from the boardwalk, before flitting down to the mud. Amazing camouflage.