Spiders, spiders, everywhere ...

Over the past week or so we've been invaded by spiders.  Well, actually, by spiders and bull-ants.

I don't think I've ever seen so many spiderwebs.  Every morning when I go out back to check on the swimming pool, I either walk into one or just avoid one.  There's even been webs woven right across the swimming pool.

Normally spiders don't worry me too much, except the other night Matt and I watched a movie called "Ice Spiders" which basically involved giant spiders eating everybody at a ski resort.  That is, eating them after a) ripping their limbs off, or b) crushing their heads or c) paralysing them and wrapping them in a cocoon.

So every morning the sunlight catches webs on fences (like above), or in the roses, or just about anywhere.  I can't work out how one managed to spin a web right across the pool to a tree on the other side.

The bull-ants aren't as scary, but if we are sitting on the floor watching TV we sometimes see the inch-long ants exploring.  It's not too bad unless you see one about to bite your finger or something.

I got a new f1.8 lens the other day, so I've been playing around with it so see how well it performs.  I got it to allow me to take better indoor photos without a flash, but it seems to take nice sharp photos outside as well.

Stop Press:

I just went outside and another spider, or maybe the same one as previously, had strung a single strand across the width of the pool and was building a new web.  It moved so quickly it was hard to take a non-blurry photo in the evening light.  I guess that means that we'll have good weather tomorrow.

GPS shopping ... grrr

Today we went shopping for a new GPS for Karyn's mother.

It seems that most of the shops don't actually want to sell you a GPS.  There was either:

• nobody around to sell you one (various stores)
• when there was someone to serve you they were from the TV section and didn't know anything about GPSs (Dick Smith)
• a problem with their GPS display so they couldn't actually turn one on and demonstrate anything to you (David Jones)

Thank goodness for Harvey Norman.  They had staff who knew about GPSs and were capable of discussing their relative features, a display stand that let you play with the GPSs, and importantly, a post-Christmas sale that made a purchase attractive.  So of course we bought one from there.