Calm before the storm?
Calm before the storm? I have been frantically trying to get everything sorted this week, trying to get my paperwork down to a manageable level, making sure everything is fed and everywhere is as clean and tidy as it can be. The reason for all this activity is that I have a huge number of new bugs and beasts coming in this weekend. I am going to a bug show and have already pre-ordered way too many spiders and of course I will be looking out for many requested creatures at the show. I am seriously concerned about having the time to sort it all out next week. I need to invest in some new fruit beetles, they really are the 'in thing' at the moment and I am doing very well with them. My New Year's Resolution keeps echoing through my head "don't overwhelm yourself with too many bugs to look after", the trouble is the opportunity to buy such great stock doesn't come up that often.
I am fed up with buying through the post as our postal deliveries are totally erratic. I've said it before our post seems to be delivered by whoever is available and at a time that Royal Mail can fit it in. There is no rhyme or reason so I consequently need to stay in until anything that I have ordered arrives (often late afternoon). This is so impractical when I am busy, I cannot afford the time to hang around listening for the doorbell all day. My next door neighbours used to take in most of my parcels but sadly Fred died and his widow is due to move within the next few weeks. Our sorting office is miles away in the middle of town. There is no car parking and it has very limited opening hours. I have thought about getting my parcels delivered to the local post office but I'm pretty sure it is a monthly fee rather than one off payment and I really don't receive that many parcels. I will try and remember to check this when I am next in the post office. I spent two days waiting for my weekly supply of crickets this week, they should have arrived on Tuesday but didn't arrive until Wednesday. It would have been easier to drive down to West London to pick them up, I usually do but didn't feel I had time this week!
I actually weighed the bag of rotten leaves and rotten wood that I collected in the woods, for my beetles this week. No wonder I found it such a struggle, it weighed 11.2kg, that's nearly two stone! I think half of it was water, will it ever stop raining? Still, I mustn't moan as we haven't had any snow (horrible cold stuff). We are now at the end of January, only February to go and then March is spring!
Did I mention that I have joined a new gym? It is called the Anytime gym and is open 24 hours a day. I won't be using it at night but I will certainly be there as often as possible. I love the gym, lifting weights is my idea of relaxation. It gets me away from the bugs and is the reason that my office hours finish at 4pm as that's my gym time before cooking the dinner.
Must get on, still things to do in preparation for the avalanche of new stock arriving. The bug room is looking really good right now, I should take some photos because it clearly won't look as good for some time to come.
Hopefully my hubby will be able to put the photo of the part male/part female Jungle Nymph on the blog this week. I mentioned the fact that he/she has matured a couple of weeks ago. A fascinating creature!
Some of the spiders that I should have next week, all captive bred, no prices or sizes as yet but most will be small/juvenile size: Cyriocosmus elegans, Aphonopelma aberrans, Aphonopelma serratum, Ephebopus murinus, Ephebopus rufescens, Lampropelma violaceopes, Lyrognathus robustus, Monocentropus balfouri, Poecilotheria metallica, Vitalius paranaensis, Heteropoda sp.Petchaburi.