Freeloader

Not technically belonging in this blog since this picture was taken in my kitchen. Poor Tom-Tom is overwhelmed. I'm considering acquiring a python to help him in his task (nah, just kidding!).

A friendly reminder: appreciating is welcome, copying without prior written permission is not. Please get in touch with me if you want to use my pictures anywhere.

Yellows

Tiny bush pleasures.

Have a beautiful new week!

A friendly reminder: appreciating is welcome, copying and reusing without prior written permission is not. Please get in touch with me if you want to use any of my pictures. Thank you!

Cobra scare at home

This morning I had some people round to remove a pile of dry wood and bamboo from a corner of my compound when the workers started shouting snake, snake. They proceeded to beat it on the head with a 2*4. I can't blame them for the loss of wildlife, considering it was a Black-necked spitting cobra (Naja nigricollis, Cobra cracheur à cou noir).

A friendly reminder: appreciating is welcome, re-using without prior written consent is not! if you want to use my pictures, please get in touch with me. Thank you!

Blue-bellied roller

I saw this bird at the exact same spot several times. Today I had my camera with me, and it was nice enough to give me lots of time to take a lot of pictures.

Meet the Blue-bellied roller (Coracias cyanogaster, Rollier à ventre bleu). 

  

I feel so privileged to live in this beautiful place, and enjoy such a diverse fauna.

A friendly reminder: appreciating is allowed (and encouraged!), copying without prior written permission is not. Please get in touch with me if you are interested to use any of my pictures. Thank you!

Tenant has left without forwarding address

I've been wanting to take such a picture for a while; the opportunity knocked at my door today, so to speak. This was taken in my garden this morning.

A friendly reminder: appreciation is welcome, re-use without prior written approval is not! please get in touch with me if you want to use any of my pictures. Thank you!

Sansevieria trifasciata

Currently in full bloom around here...

You may know them as mother-in-law's tongue...

Or snake plant...

Or maybe Saint George's sword...

... but they are all one and the same, better known by its leaves, which is a pity, since the flower is so beautiful.

A friendly reminder: appreciation is welcome, re-use without prior written approval is not! please get in touch with me if you want to use any of my pictures. Thank you!

Heads

Because the bush is too lush and the grass too high to make good landscape photo opportunities.

A friendly reminder: appreciation is welcome, re-use without prior approval is not! please get in touch with me if you want to use any of my pictures. Thank you!

Surprise!

When I opened my gate today I thought someone had stuck a piece of chewing gum on the jamb. I was more than a little annoyed, and immediately started reviewing in my head how to remove it without touching it.

This involved looking a little closer. That's when I went to pick my camera in the car. (What? You don't always have your camera on the passenger seat?)

We decided to give a friendly push to our visitor so that it doesn't get crushed when we close the gate or on the ground, when I finally drive into the yard. I consider this one my best picture this year, if not ever.

The whole beast is about 5/8 in (2cm) long. Looking it up on the Internet — and the Internet being what it is, i.e. fantastic —, I discovered that there are frog enthusiasts in Ghana, and that a lot if not most, maybe even all, the frogs you can encounter in the country are recorded in several places.

Based on the information I could find, I think this little beauty is Afrixalus weidholzi. Please do feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!

A friendly reminder: appreciation is welcome, re-use without prior written approval is not! please get in touch with me if you want to use any of my pictures. Thank you!

A new visitor!

This morning, while having our breakfast outside, we were fortunate enough to see a bird we had never noticed before. I looked it up and it seems to be a Vidua camerunensis (Cameroon Indigobird/Combassou du Cameroun). We thought it was black, but it's in fact a very, very dark blue.

A friendly reminder: appreciation is welcome, reuse without prior written approval is not! please get in touch with me if you want to use any of my pictures. Thank you!

A regular visitor in our yard

It's not new (to us), but so lovely we don't miss an opportunity to take and share a few pictures of this Vidua macroura (Pin-tailed Whydah/Veuve dominicaine).

A friendly reminder: appreciation is welcome, reuse without prior written approval is not! please get in touch with me if you want to use any of my pictures. Thank you!

In my 'hood

Larteh - Ayikuma Road:

Twin brothers:

Adolescent aboriginal dog:

Please remember: appreciating is welcome, copying and using without prior authorisation or without attribution is not. Thanks!

White-throated Bee-eater / Merops albicollis / Guêpier à gorge blanche

I've presented this elegant bird on this blog a couple years ago already but this pair was too good and too close (approx. 15m) not to capture on film again. Enjoy!

Please remember: 

appreciating is welcome, copying and using without prior written authorisation is not! Thank you.