Happy Saturday

It’s a hot one but I have been out snapping some garden shots to share an update of what’s growing and going on generally with nature.
These guys were the first thing to catch my eye, mating dragonflies. They can actually fly in this coupled position and did move once or twice as I tried my best to close in on them with the camera. Female dragonflies will mate with more than one male and the males are aware of this as they are known to scoop out the semen of the previous male before depositing their own. You can see from this photo that the males penis is right at the end of his abdomen and the females sex organs are half way down her abdomen.

A golden praying mantis was watching me take photos of the dragonflies so I clicked a few of him too.

These are newly germinated ash gourd / winter melon plants. Soon ready to plant on into big bucket pots. Ash gourds are wonderful to grow as they have healing properties as well as nutritional and cooling aspects. A glass of ash gourd juice relaxes the body, alleviating anxiety and stress.
It is a great source of calcium and vitamin C. It reduces acidity in the system and is used in the treatment of coughs, colds and diabetes. It is very effective in treating burns and even helps with withdrawal symptoms from morphine use. An Amazingly diverse plant that we should all be growing and using.