A Bug's Life

Close-up of a dragonfly.

Conrad has been a bit obsessed with bugs lately. His backup pet is a tarantula if he can't get a dog when we go back to living on land.

He has been getting some great shots of the many critters crawling around the Solomons. But as we struggle to keep creepy crawlies off the boat (flies, mosquitoes, and other flying pests, not to mention weevils in rice, pasta and flour that we buy), Conrad fights to keep every manner of creature that he encounters. He begs to bring aboard grasshoppers and crickets. We have an orb weaver spider on board that looks about ready to hatch a million eggs. We will have to liberate it onto land before the spider babies arrive.

Conrad is honing his macro skills.

We are getting ready to leave the Solomon Islands after nearly six months, which involves buying a bunch of fuel and food. We'll head to Papua New Guinea, where we plan to spend almost all our time in remote areas. This should be safer and nicer.

As we head into the so-called fall and winter in this area, the nights are a little cooler but the days are just as hot as ever. At least the wind is picking up, which means we're using the sails for the first time in months. We shook out a few swallow nests from our mainsail and had to grease our headsail roller furling. We'll have to order some new bearings for installation down the line. Boat equipment definitely benefits from use.