Spider Abdomen Depicts Mesoamerican Symbology via Riemann's Cut
I came across the image above on Ristorante Mystica today. While the spider might look a little bit peculiar it is in fact an example of the Cyclocosmia or "Trap-Door" spider. It uses that unusual shell-like back to block burrows it makes for itself.
What struck me about the imagery though was the actual pattern on the spider's abdomen. It reminded me of Mesoamerican depictions of the Sun God. Sure enough, after a little bit of searching I found a suitable image of Tlatlauhaqui, the Zapotec Sun god. I edited the image slightly (colouring etc.) to allow for a clearer match up between the two.
A little bit of something; make of it what you will....
A SuperValu lorry delivers produce to their store in Dingle, Co Kerry a number of months ago. While the rest of the country basked in the first rays of a beautiful Summer we were lucky to get two nice days out of seven.
Love the area though, and the staff of the Dingle Skellig Hotel took great care of us!
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Daffodils at the end of our estate line the edge of the road in a beautiful display.
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Bare trees reach for the sky by the Atlantic Pond and Marina in Blackrock, Cork.
Shot in April 2008.
woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof woof….
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The roofed gates of Abbeystrowry Cemetery near Skibereen in County Cork.
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A seagull calmly swims by a small boat in Baltimore Harbour, County Cork.
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A disused chain lies forgotten on the ground near the lighthouse on Mizen Head, County Cork.
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Look up and see naked branches cover the sky with their evil and treacherous appendages, and then walk straight into some dog sh*t that an uncaring owner neglected to clean up.
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Bare naked trees are all you’ll see along the Marina in Blackrock at this time of year but in April the leaves are budding and life is returning.
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Flowers in a garden centre, probably the one out in Inniscarra.
In the new year I’m sorely tempted to change the posting frequency on this blog from daily to every third day. Blogging should bring pleasure and be a means of expressing oneself while stimulating your audience and improving oneself. I have so little time to post that I do a quick 5 minute job on most photos, write a one line post and hit “Publish”.
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A field in Bantry, County Cork. Way up in the hills surrounding the town.
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An Alpaca stared intently at me while he munched on some straw in Blarney on Saturday.
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Water laps the shore at Fountainstown Beach on a crisp September evening.
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No matter how bad the day, how crummy and wet the weather is, there’s always a silver lining. This day on the Slea Head the silver lining was the fact that our toddler slept the whole drive around, and of course this photo.
This is the beach at Couminole on Slea Head in County Kerry. It had been pouring rain earlier in the day, it was very windy and cold but the waves pounded the sand and I lapped up the view. Love the countryside in County Kerry!
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That same fence again, this time against the setting sun and reflected in a pool of water from the recent rains. Loved taking this shot and others at the time, they turned out almost as good as I imagined they would!
My sister-in-law’s husband Ed has published a short story and is using one of my photos to illustrate it! Read Almost a Murder Story, the story of two boys living in the North Side of Cork City who planned a murder.
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This is my desktop background. I love it! After Inch Strand on the way to Dingle in County Kerry the road gets very narrow and winds through the hills before coming down to sea level again. The picture above should be a familiar scene to anyone who has travelled that road!
The day we drove down to Dingle was a stormy one but the sun suddenly broke through the clouds and I had to pull over and get half a dozen shots of the beautiful golden light, the countryside and the rainbow. Stunning, even if I do say so myself!
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Clouds over the Atlantic off Slea Head play with the light beams hitting the water.
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A fence on the road on Slea Head in County Kerry. The waters of the Atlantic lie just beyond.
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The gorgeous Autumn colours contrast with the dark and rough texture of the old wood of a fence.
Shot in Quebec of course.
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Irish countryside through the clouds.
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Geese at The Lough feeding on the ground near the water’s edge. Most have their heads down pecking at scraps but one stubbornly kept a look out ..
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Red roses in my father-in-law’s garden, I think. This was shot way back in August but I’m fairly sure of the location.
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Montmorency Falls in Quebec, as seen from the top of the nearby hill. Lots of steps to walk up!
PS. In unrelated news, I received the following email from Siobhán Duggan:
Hi Donncha,
while doing some research on the lough recently I came across your blog regarding a Lough Photography day you organised last year. You may be aware of the diminishing population of wildlife in the Lough over the past few months. I am part of a voluntary organisation called JCI Cork (junior chamber international) and as a group we have decided to fundraise for the Lough by holding a table quiz in the Hawthorn Bar near the Lough. I have attached a flyer that you might please send to some of your colleagues that may be interested in supporting the Lough by taking a table on the night (Friday November 6th).... 
A waterfall near where I’m staying in Quebec. To get to here you need to descend about 100m of steep steps but there are frequent observation platforms to observe the waterfall. On the way back up, those platforms were a welcome break from the hard slog of climbing. My legs were like jelly by the time I reached the top.
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The outgoing tide on Fountainstown Beach leaves behind wet stones and seaweed as it retreats.
This is a long exposure shot of one second with my camera resting on one of those rocks!
By the time you read this I’ll be on a plane, in the air most likely, or waiting for a connection in Heathrow more likely. More details to follow.
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A white cat that lives at the top of Patrick’s Hill, taken very near to where this was taken many years before.
Lots more Life photos of Cork too. Many of recognisable locations.
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The view from a friend’s new bungalow near Kinsale in County Cork.
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The view from my office on a damp misty and foggy morning 10 days ago. I live on the side of a depression between two slight hills and fog builds up inside there occasionally.
Photowalk on Saturday! See the link above and please comment if you’re coming! We need numbers for the complementary lunch at the end
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This is Mother Cat. Matriarch of the local cats. Her litter of kittens are growing up and make a daily appearance in our garden. They’re all a little wild though. The kitten’s dad, Patches, was the polar opposite. He was friendly to us humans and loved to be rubbed and scratched behind the ear. He adored my wife, and even put up with Adam chasing him around!
Unfortunately he disappeared a few weeks ago, on the very day my wife bought antibiotics for a bad cut on his leg. A few days later a neighbour reported seeing his remains on the back road. A car must have hit him.
I think the cats noticed his disappearance. Or it could just be us projecting our human thoughts and feelings on a sad situation. The kitten in the background of this photo is the spitting image of Patches.... 
Arachnophobia, the fear of spiders is a common one. Who really likes the creepy crawlies that come into your house and lurk in the corner? Look at those big fangs, and the long hairy legs!
This one was actually on my wall (I rotated the image 90 degrees) and just after I took the photo he dropped to the floor where I lost sight of him. He could still be here, in my office. Just waiting for me to .. What’s that???
I’m usually the one to remove them from our home actually. A glass and a thin magazine do the job really well. Don’t want to hurt them as they trap the flies and other nasties that buzz around the place.
One time at my last job I saw a fly get caught in a spider’s web. The spider darted out of a small hole in the window sill and grabbed the fly, still...