Backyard travels – the colours of Phuket

Much of my work involves exploring Phuket island and the Andaman coast region, but often I need look no further than my own backyard to see some weird and wild stuff.

Lovely lily housing some little dancing bugs.

We’ve had slithery visits from all kinds of snakes including a monocled cobra that made our yard its home for a time. The cobra certainly made for a fascinating spectacle out my office window — especially on the day it caught a rat! — but we arranged to have it taken away. Thought it might be nice for the kids to play outside without fear!

Our tomcat was totally unimpressed with this beautiful baby boa.

Plenty of bugs, bees and birds make their way through our yard, too. And each season brings a new burst of flowers. Sometimes a mango tree will shoot up from a pit I’d tossed out in the dirt, or we’ll suddenly have a big clump of Thai basil, presumably having sprouted from seeds dropped by some of the birds that flit through our trees.

Here’s just a selection of some of our backyard life and colour…

This Asian koel makes a hell of a hoot — seemed to enjoy hanging out in our kratong tree.

Heliconias thrive year-round in the tropics, though they thin out a bit in dry season.

Cicada – bummer I didn’t get a clear shot – they make a screechy awful noise!

Foxtail palm seed, one of many strewn across the grass. Love the texture.

Millipede. These really come out in the rainy season. Harmless, thankfully!

My son testing out the sprinkler on a hot sunny day. Bamboo & coconut trees in the background.

Golden shower tree. Goes from drab dry to full bloom within a week or so. Amazing transformation!