Creative non-fiction makes true stories from the raw material of experience, and settings are an important part of the storyteller's craft. Time, place, weather - they can be much more than just the background against which the action of your story plays out.

(Weather and other elements in your Settings can intensify the mood or power of a scene).

CREATIVE NON FICTION
1. Use the weather and other elements in your setting to intensify the mood or emotional power of a scene.
2. Show, don't tell

 

----------------------------- 

Alertness
Territorial

 

------------------------------- 

14 Sep 2025. 12.24pm.
Rainforest Wild Asia. Red Arowana fish (Dragonfish)
Afternoon.  

Hot dry sunshine of 12.24pm
Ultraviolet rays burn your face
No sun hat

 

Symbols of wealth and prosperity 

 Canon R5 58mm, 1/2000 sec, f/4.5, iso 500

 

 

4528. Teleconsultation - swelling in a 6-year-old red-eared slider on both sides

 

 

TELE-CONSULTATION with
Dr Sing Kong Yuen, BVMS (Glasgow)

26 November 2025. 

A 6.5-year-old male red-eared slider has two  bulges in his groins (front of his hind legs meet the plastron) when he is walking on the floor. The bulges disappear when the slider is inside the tank swimming.

The slider is bright, alert and active. He is eating and pooping normally.
The owner does not know how long has this medical condition been present.

Owner asked if they are abscesses or infections.

Video shown.

Differential diagnosis:
1.  Abscesses
2. Neoplasia such as lipomas (fatty tumours)
3. Cysts
4. Hernias - inguinal hernias are very rare in sliders.

Tentative diagnosis:
Inguinal hernia. More tests are needed.

Proper veterinary examination at Toa Payoh Vets is needed. The owner will make an appointment.

 

Updates: https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2025/11/4528-teleconsultation-swelling-in-6.html

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

A hernia is a protrusion of internal organs or tissue through a defect or tear in the muscle wall.
An INGUINAL HERNIA is a bulge of internal organs through a defect in the muscle wall of the groin showing a bulge or swelling between the plastron and hip area.

TELE-CONSULTATION VIA WHATSAPP
WITH TOA PAYOH VETS

 

26 November 2025:

Hello Dr, I have a 6 year old turtle and recently noticed a swelling on the side of its body towards the rear. The turtle is otherwise active and eating normally. I wanted to ask if this could be an abscess or infection and whether I should bring it in for an examination. Please let me know the earliest available appointment. Thank you.

 4-SEC VIDEO SENT

 

 

 

 Please phone 62543326 now for appointment. How old is it? Male?
Please send another longer close up of swelling

27-SEC VIDEO SENT

Swelling seems to be on both sides
He is male and around 6.5 years

How long has the swellings been present?
Just noticed it today morning

Do you have videos last week when there is no swelling?
No don't really have any recent photos

Do you know whether swellings have been present for some weeks?
No one in my family has noticed it recently
it appears enlarged when he is out of the water. when inside the tank it is barely visible

Please make appointment with vet tomorrow to get it checked. Phone 62543326 at 10am
Ok thanks

 

DR K Y SING'S COMMENTS:

 A hernia is a protrusion of internal organs or tissue through a defect or tear in the muscle wall.

• A visible bulge or swelling in the inguinal (groin) area, the region where the hind legs meet the shell (plastron).
• A soft mass that might be more prominent when the turtle is active and potentially less so when resting.
• Pain, lethargy, or a decrease in appetite if organs become trapped or strangulated.
• Difficulty with normal bodily functions such as defecation or movement. 

 

BLOG:
 https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2025/11/4528-teleconsultation-swelling-in-6.html

 

 

--------------------------

 

 

Inguinal hernias

are rare in reptiles like the red-eared slider. If you observe a suspicious lump or swelling near the hind limbs or tail, it is a serious medical condition that requires immediate evaluation by a qualified reptile veterinarian to prevent complications. 

 

Identifying a Potential Hernia

A hernia is a protrusion of internal organs or tissue through a defect or tear in the muscle wall. In red-eared sliders, signs of a potential hernia would include: 

• A visible bulge or swelling in the inguinal (groin) area, the region where the hind legs meet the shell (plastron).
• A soft mass that might be more prominent when the turtle is active and potentially less so when resting.
• Pain, lethargy, or a decrease in appetite if organs become trapped or strangulated.
• Difficulty with normal bodily functions such as defecation or movement. 

Importance of Veterinary Care

Due to the unique anatomy of turtles, the protective shell makes both diagnosis and surgery challenging. Diagnostic tools a veterinarian might use include physical examination, palpation (feeling the area), radiographs (X-rays), and ultrasound to determine the contents of the mass. 

 

If a hernia is diagnosed, surgery is the typical treatment to prevent serious complications like a strangulated hernia, where the blood supply to the tissue is cut off. There are specific surgical techniques for chelonians, such as the prefemoral approach (an incision in front of the hind limbs), which require specialized knowledge. 

 

Do not attempt to treat the condition yourself. Use resources like the Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians (ARAV) website to find a veterinarian experienced with reptiles.

 

4527. How are crown flowers pollinated?

 HOW ARE CROWN FLOWERS POLLINATED?

The crown flower (Calotropis gigantea) is primarily pollinated by insects, specifically large bees and butterflies, through a specialized and complex mechanism. The flower structure ensures that the pollinators transfer pollen from one individual plant to another, as the plant is not self-fertile. 

The Pollination Process

The crown flower, a type of milkweed, has a unique floral anatomy that facilitates this specific interaction with pollinators. 

• Pollen in Pollinia: Unlike most plants that have loose, powdery pollen, the crown flower's pollen is contained within sticky, waxy sacs called pollinia.

• The Trap Mechanism: The flower has narrow slits (stigmatic slits) between the anthers. When an insect, such as a large bee or a butterfly, visits the flower to feed on nectar, its leg or other appendage can slip into one of these slits.
• Pollen Attachment: As the insect struggles to pull its leg out of the narrow opening, a sticky disc attached to the pollinia gets hooked onto the insect's leg, and the entire pollen sac is yanked free.
• Pollen Transfer: For pollination to occur, the insect must then visit another crown flower. If its pollen-laden appendage slips into the stigmatic slit of the new flower, the pollinia can be deposited onto the stigma, thus fertilizing the new flower.

 

 

 

Key Pollinators

• Bees: Large and powerful bees, such as bumblebees and carpenter bees (Xylocopa spp.), are the primary and most effective pollinators because they are strong enough to free themselves from the flower's grip with the pollinia attached.
• Butterflies: These insects also visit the flowers for nectar and can aid in pollen transfer, though the mechanism can sometimes trap smaller insects, which may struggle to escape. 

This intricate system, while effective with the right pollinators, can be a challenge for smaller insects, which sometimes get stuck in the flower's mechanism and perish or lose limbs. 

 

 

 Milkweed flowers have a fascinating pollination process. They do not have loose pollen, but they have nectar. When a bee or other insect visits to drink its nectar, it may stick its leg in the stigmatic slits. As the pull away, pollinia sacs attach around their legs and travel with them to the next flower. If all goes well, the pollinia sacs gets inserted and the cycle continues. Occasionally, honeybees, and other insects, are too weak to pull away and wind up "shackled" to the plant. You may find them hanging from the flowers.

 

 

 

 

https://collection.ento.vt.edu/2016/08/05/milkweed-pollinia-revisited/

 

 Milkweeds (Asclepias spp.) are herbaceous perennials that tend to have brightly colored clusters of flowers with abundant nectar. There are over 100 described species and subspecies of milkweed in North America. The monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus (L.), may be the most well-known visitor to milkweed flowers, but milkweeds attract a large suite of butterflies, flies, beetles, bees, and wasps. Many people grow milkweeds for pollinators and other beneficial insects that feed on the plant’s copious nectar

 

Unlike most flowers, milkweeds do not produce loose pollen. Waxy masses of milkweed pollen are grouped into sacs called pollinia. Orchids are the only other group of plants known to use pollinia. Bees don’t collect pollinia to use as food for their larvae the way they do with the loose pollen of other flowers. Nectar is a pollinator’s only reward for visiting milkweed flowers, but there’s a lot of nectar to be had on milkweed. The design of the milkweed flower is all about attracting pollinators with nectar and ensuring that the pollinators pick up and move pollinia to a different flower to complete pollination. Let’s take a look at the unusual structure of the milkweed flower to understand that process.

Each individual milkweed flower has an attractive star-shaped corona on top of a short central column and with outward flaring petals below the column. In the photo below of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca L.), the corona is a lighter pink than the lower petals. Insects will find nectar on the top of the flower in those stars.

 The botanical illustration below shows a milkweed flower from a lateral perspective. The star-shaped corona of a single flower (A) has five hoods (h) with a  corolla (c) of lower reflexed petals. A closeup of a flower (B) shows a slit-like opening (f) between each hood formed by the fusion of the anthers at their top and bottoms. Each slit leads to the stigmatic chamber, where the pollinia are housed. Each pollinium (C) is a paired, winged structure with a central body (d).

 

 

 

 

Botanical illustration of individual milkweed flower.
By Internet Archive Book Images [No restrictions]
via Wikimedia Commons.

 

 

 

 Closeup of a Melissodes trinodis Robertson (Hymenoptera: Apidae)
leg with attached pollinia. By USGS Bee Inventory and Monitoring
Lab from Beltsville, Maryland, USA [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

 

A visiting insect trying to reach the nectar offered at the top of the star-shaped corona will slip one of its legs or another appendage inside the anther slits between the hoods. The pollinia inside the stigmatic chamber sticks to the insect’s setae or tarsal claws. By pulling its leg out of the slit, the insect extracts the pollinia and carries them off to another milkweed flower. Again the insect’s leg or another appendage will likely slip inside a slit while feeding. The flower will be pollinated successfully if the donor pollinia remain in the recipient anther slit. [For more information on this process and in greater detail, see Betz et al. (1994) and Borders and Lee-Mäder (2014). Both Eye on Nature and Robert Klip at Ohio State have nice blog posts on milkweed pollination and great closeup photos of pollinia, too.]

 

 

4525. PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS: Nanyang Polytechnic sign.

Google Review. 5 stars

 

 

 6 November 2025: 

PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS - NANYANG POLYTECHNIC.

It is difficult to get a good shot of Nanyang Polytechnic as there will be people walking past, HDB flats and vehicles. Lighting is poor if the sky is overcast.

Today, at around 6.22pm, I was in the passenger seat in the front of a car facing the sign. Bright sunshine and fewer vehicular traffic. I took four shots focusing on "Nanyang Polytechnic. They were sharp. The two cars gave a sense of scale.

I share this "attractive"" photo with viewers.
Canon R5, 26mm, 1/100 sec, f/4.5, iso 160. tv mode.

I used Photoshop to remove the tree and HDB flat above the arch of the arch to present a clean photo free from distractions.

To buy photo:
www.shutterstock.com/g/toapayohvets

 

4524. The Common Parasol in Singapore

 Description

Range and Habitat

Life History and Ecology

Threats

Conservation and Management

Recommendations 

 

--------------

Common Parasol (Neurothemis fluctuans) 

 Common Parasols are Singapore’s most common dragonflies. They are not easily startled, even when approached from as close as 30 cm away

 

 Use the SGBioAtlas app to help you identify common species. The app is available for Apple devices (iPhone and iPad) on the App Store, and Android devices on the Google Play Store.

4523. Cargo planes - Boeing 747-400 Dubai Royal Air Wing

 Boeing 747-400 A6-COM
 Dubai Royal Air Wing is a VIP/Cargo plane

 

 

4522. Boeing 787 Dreamliners in Singapore Airlines.

 

Singapore Airlines has 23 Boeing 787 Dreamliners in service, which consist of both Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 models. As of November 16, 2025, their fleet of 787s is comprised of 23 aircraft in service out of a total of 26. It does not appear that Singapore Airlines operates any Boeing 787-9s exclusively, and the number of 787-9s is part of the total 23 Dreamliners currently in their fleet. 

• Total Boeing 787 Dreamliners: 26 (23 in service)
• In-service models: A mix of 787-8 and 787-9s
• 787-9s in service: The number of 787-9s is not specified separately from the total 787 fleet. 

Therefore, there is no separate figure for just the 787-9 model, as it is a part of the total Boeing 787 Dreamliner fleet. 

Singapore Airlines only operates one Boeing 787 variant: the 787-10. It is one 

of 10 airlines that use the least popular Dreamliner variant. Unlike the smaller 

787-8 and 787-9, it can carry the highest payload but has the shortest 

range because of its higher weight. The first 787-10 was delivered to  

Singapore Airlines in early 2018. The Star Alliance member 

remains the variant's largest user more than six years later.

337 seats

 

-----------------

 

 

Scoot Airlines has 10 Boeing 787-9 aircraft in its fleet, in addition to its 13 Boeing 787-8s. The airline had originally ordered 20 Boeing 787-9s but has since taken delivery of 10 and has four more on order. 

• Boeing 787-9: 10 in service
• Boeing 787-8: 13 in service
• Other aircraft: The fleet also includes other aircraft such as the Airbus A320 family and Embraer E190-E2s. 
•  
•  
  As of August and November 2025, Scoot Airlines has a fleet of 10 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners in active service. They also have one additional Boeing 787-9 on order. 
  Scoot's Boeing 787-9 aircraft are configured with 375 seats in total: 35 "ScootPlus" seats and 340 economy class seats
   
   

  The length of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner varies by model: the

  787-8 is 56.7 meters (

  

  $186$

  ft), the 787-9 is 62.8 meters (

  

  $206$

  ft), and the 787-10 is 68.3 meters (

  

  $224$

  ft) long. 
   
   

  Boeing 787-9

  Aircraft model

  Range: 14,140 km

  Unit cost: 249,500,000–249,500,000 USD

  Top speed: 956 km/h

  Engine types: Rolls-Royce Trent 1000, General Electric GEnx

  First flight: 17 September 2013

  Number of seats: 290

  Length: 63 m