Phonognatha graeffei

 Phonognatha graeffei is a leaf curling spider which lives in our pommegranite Shrub.Wikipedia has a very good article on them. Interesting creatures, they cohabit in the same leaf, though on opposite ends!!!I have tried to get the outline of the web, which in itself is facinating as it is half circular and the leaf opening faces the top of the semicircle. They make a new home it seems every ten days or so. I confess to being an arachniphobe yet this afternoon I brushed a huntsman off our bedroom ceiling into a bucket and carried it outside because I thought he might fade away without anything to eat. He escaped of course into some clothes but I managed to get him and take him out to the rose garden.

 The other interesting thing happening because of the drought, is that our soil is cracking very badly. I have taken photos and used Brian's trick of putting a match box next to a crack to show the proportions. Our neighbour once lost some chickens down these cracks and was only able to retrieve two.The other one no doubt finished up in China!!
The other thing that is intriguing is that I have  tan brown iris a friend years ago sent me from Tasmania. It has been transplanted from Watervale twenty years ago, to our garden here near Willunga. It has the amazing habit of flowering in March and the one in the photo I saved from last year and planted close by the house so I wouldn't loose it again.

I have never seen this colour iris in a nursery anywhere. They are such hardy plants the Iris family, surviving here in our heavy soils with very little attention. Must admit we lost a very dark purple, almost black iris in a drought some years ago when we were also on water restrictions. Our waterbill will be huge this season unfortunately but we look on it as an alternative to travel. It is great to have a place which is lovely to live in and we enjoy our surroundings muchly!!!