Hooked on Macro World

Some macro shots of tiny mushrooms.
Sorry no scale comparison to show size but these are the size of a pinky fingernail.

Another Electrifying Moment

Another storm in the near distant and another of mother nature's spectacular display of power. Missed an earlier strike that was much grander but the Nokia E-70 stood up to task for this.

Weather gone wonky

Its been like this everyday for the past few weeks; One minute it will be blistering hot, and the next, thunderstorm.

This was the storm viewed from my office on Friday evening just before quitting time.


Lightning is awesome and frightening... depending on your proximity from the storm. Here's one I managed to capture using the camera on my mobile phone.


Pictures above taken with the built-in camera on the Nokia E-70. Better something than nothing.

World's Largest Flower

Rafflesia (rafle'zhə) , any of a genus (Rafflesia) of parasitic flowering plants native to the rain forests of Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, and the Philippines. The plants have no roots, stems, or leaves, consisting of threadlike growths on the tissues of the Tetrastigma vine that hosts them.

This is a Rafflesia Cantleyi. Compare the size to our Semai guide, Ngah.

The flowers have no leaves and hardly any stem, just a huge speckled five-petaled flower with a diameter up to 106 cm, and weighing up to 10 kg. The flowers will only last for 2-3 days then it will start to turn black and wilt. That is when it will smell like rotting meat, hence its local names which translate to "corpse flower" or "meat flower".

From seed to bud, it takes no less than about one and a half years while from bud to full bloom takes another nine months! The seeds germinate and spread fine threads inside the vine.

This is just another 2-3 days to full bloom.

Tacca Integrifolia

a.k.a. Black Lily, Bat flower...

Pretty wings

This mantis was caught in a spider's web and was struggling. It did manage to break free.


Another look at the pretty wings.


A damselfly basking in the sunlight.


Here's a little fella with "tails". Only manage this one shot before it took off.

When the rain has passed

Mother nature adorned with jewels after a refreshing shower... well, in our case here it was a torrential downpour.

Shy Lizard!

The subject 'blushing' from all the attention its getting..



Here's Moggie stalking up the tree to shoot the lizard after it tried to get away from the attention.

Sneaky Shots

Brown birdie probably has a nest nearby. Managed to get this shot through the bushes.



Two male Rajah Brooke's Birdwing butterflies having a drink at the stream.


These two otters were still asleep when we dropped by at 9.30 in the morning. Maybe they had a late night out ;-)

Thecostele Alata

Three stalks of flowers :) Thanks to Moggie for ID'ing the orchid.
The first one that started (longest hanging below) seems to be still going strong.
The blurry stalk is the latest to start blooming just a week back.



This is what the tip of the stalk looks like... It just keeps going and going and going ... like the energizer bunny.



The flowers up close.

Yo-ho me hearties!

A different kind of 'sailboat'.