A New Baby and a New Book

A new baby and a new book

Thibié at one hour old

My daughter’s baby was born yesterday at 2:06 pm. He’s a healthy 8lb 4oz beautiful boy and as yet unnamed. The names Susannah and Nick favoured before he was born don’t seem to ‘fit’ him but I’m sure they’ll find something to suit very soon. I call him Thibié - that is, TBA - To Be Announced!

We’re hoping to go and see him in the next couple of days, though we may wait until mother and baby are at home. Susannah is feeling done in after a Caesarean section and barely able to stand up so doesn’t want to see anyone other than Nick until she’s stronger. I remember that feeling so well and at least I can reassure her it is all completely normal and she will improve little by little each day.

Thibié at twenty-four hours old

Meanwhile, the previous day, and after much work as an amateur compositor (!) by my husband, my first novel was published on Amazon. ‘The Sweets and the Bitters of Love’ is in Kindle format and is available free for loan to Prime customers, or can be purchased at the exorbitant price of £0.77/$1.23. Do go and have a look if you’re curious and maybe even read it and write a review.

If you find yourself wondering about the author’s name, Jane Hartley May, the reason is that my mother wanted to call me Jane but couldn’t because my surname was Mayne – Jane Mayne – you can imagine I would soon have become Plain Jane Mayne – so she called me Janice. To honour her I took her preferred choice of name and added her maiden name to it and shortened Mayne to May, so there you have it – Jane Hartley May.

Camera Critters #147, Pets Forever

It's amazing what you can get from Amazon these days!

Opening the box is always exciting.

. . . a glimpse of something warm and furry . . .

I think we should have called Winston 'Amazon'!

Click to see more Camera Critters and  Pets Forever.

Beware the Bullet Ant!

Whenever I'm working around the house I listen to the radio. One day I heard an item about the Bullet Ant, a fascinating creature if ever there was one! I found further information through internet research.
The Bullet Ant (Paraponera clavata) of the Amazonian rain forest has a sting 30 times worse than a bee sting and so painful that it is likened to being shot with a bullet. There is no antidote and the waves of intense, throbbing pain last for 24 hours. This inch-long (25mm) ant lives in colonies of several hundred at the base of trees and jumps on anything it considers to be a potential threat. Before it leaps it screams a warning. Its grip is so powerful that if it bites something too hard to break it will be thrown into the air from the force of its jaws.

Image courtesy of Hans HillewaertIt would seem advisable to keep well away from such vicious creatures but the Satere-Mawé people of Brazil, who know them as Tucandera, use them in an excruciating initiation ritual shown in the video clip below.