Nature right in our backyard and neighbourhood

We may be living a urban jungle with all the high rise buildings all around us but if we would just open our eyes and keep a look out we'll find an amazing variety of critters and nature around us.

I found this rather unusual Grasshopper at the back of my house one evening. It is not your usual grasshopper as you can see. Looks like some kind of Alien from another planet lol. I have probably come across this species of insect a couple times before. After doing a little research I learned that it is a species of Katidids. Curious about the hook shaped belly at the rear, I searched and found the answer - it is a female and the "scythe-shaped ovipositor" is where the eggs will come out. 

This type of snails I have not seen for a long time. Recently spotted a few crawling in the neighborhood grass patch. Anyone knows what the name for this species?

I have seen squirrels many times in pretty built-up areas. This one at Chip Bee Estate.It has a rather longish snout, longer than others I've seen.

Wild mushrooms anyone? I've seen many different types of wild mushrooms but that's one subject that I am totally unfamiliar with. Any mushroom expert?

Spotted this common Kingfisher in a HDB neighborhood, Commonwealth Cresecent. White Throat Kingfisher? Too bad I don't have a long lens but I am glad today's mobile phone comes in real handy with it's camera feature. I have a Sony Ericsson VIVAZ and I like it very much. Give me a mobile phone with a good camera in it. That's all I ask : )

This unusually large lizard, 8" long head to tail, and the skin texture and markings unlike our regular house lizards had been spotted a number of times in our kitchen before I decided to capture it for a closer examination. Unfortunately the tail broke off as they always do. I remember when I was young every time we catch a lizard the tail would invariably break off. I found out that it's a self-defense mechanism. If a predator is chasing them and grabs them by the tail, it'll break off, allowing the lizard to escape. The broken tail will wriggle for quite some time. I released it afterward. I have been told that the tail will regrow.

Being a nature lover I somehow have a heightened sensitivity about their presence. I have seen many different types of Parrots and Parakeets in the Bukit Timah district. Once I spotted a Hornbill perched on a rooftop TV antenna. I am beginning to see one of the many benefits of blogging; it pushes me to seek answers which otherwise I would not have bothered.

Happy ending in Chiliean mine rescue

HUGO INFANTE/GOVERNMENT OF CHILE

HUGO INFANTE/GOVERNMENT OF CHIL

Watching news reports of the successful rescue of the 33 miners who had been trapped in a Chilean mine for more than two months I can't help but compare it to the bungled rescue efforts of a bus hijacking in the Philippines in August that left eight Hong Kong tourists dead. One can't help but feel for the families of the victims in these incidences; it is only human. I felt sad for the families of the Hong Kong tourists killed in the Philippines hijack The Chilean amazing rescue was really something to cheer about, when under pretty difficult conditions both the miners and their rescuers prevailed.

Timeline/Facts

• August 5 Mine collapsed
• August 22 a narrow drill breaks through 2,257 feet (688 meters) of solid rock to reach an emergency refuge where the miners had gathered. 
• August 23 Preliminary estimate it will take 4 months to carve a tunnel wide enough to pull them out. 
• Oct. 9 Sixty-six days after the mine collapse, a drill breaks through to their emergency refuge.
• Oct. 13 The effort to bring the trapped men out of the mine one-by-one begins.
• Escape shaft : 2041ft
• Escape Capsule : Named FENIX 2, 5.1/4ft Height x Slightly less than 23" wide. 
• Though the journey up the shaft was originally estimated to take half an hour, it took only 16 minutes for miners to be pulled up the shaft, with the final ascents lasting only around nine.  
• Rescue time: 22 hours 
• 14 October Rescue ended : 3:35 GMT Thursday,

The way to eat Teochew Muay (Porridge)

I've had these two picture in my file for quite some time. It captures the way the common folks used to eat their Teochew Porridge. Remember that these are mostly the working class as YG have mentioned in his blog http://ivyidaong4.blogspot.com/ and Teochew Muay was something that's most affordable to them. It's not such a common sight nowadays. You can say they are a dying breed. If my memory serves me right, my father told me that in the 50's each bowl of porridge cost just two cents.

Lao Teochew way of eating Teochew Porridge

A popular place for economical Teochew Porridge