Tuesday, August 10, 2010

a 'critters & crawlies' fix...

busybusybusy!  between work...home chores...cleaning out the camper for vacation and checking off my list of things to take...i wanted to try and get in at least ONE MORE post before we take off on saturday!

i've had so many comments on some of my posts...and have tried to keep up...answering/commenting back...but just in case i fell slack...let me just say THANKS to everyone who has stopped by...and to those who have also left me a note! i'm kind of embarrassed from all this attention...honored and humbled...and excited too, that i've been able to reach and touch so many people who share in the same love of nature's 'little things'...whether they be crawlies, slinkies, flowers, webs...thankyou!!  :)

i haven't been doing much 'artsy' stuff lately. not that taking pictures isn't artsy...but i love 'creating' with my hands too...decorating bottles, bones and so on. guess i've just been busy with all this blog stuff, FB...work...and getting ready to 'take off'.  hopefully i'll get back into creating after having a break...

i've taken a few pretty cool pictures over the past few days....



the florida 'anole'
(sitting on a spiral ginger plant)










2 pic's of the same 'walking stick' / 'stick bug'




the gulf fritillary butterfly...we have so many of them...they love the yellow lantana

























If you don't get lost, there's a chance you may never be found.




i love the dragonfly! 
those intricate wings!!!












...and the intricate spider webs!
i have to admit, i love taking pictures of these too...especially in the early morning when there's still dew clinging to them!! they sparkle!!

the only downfall to so many spider webs, is that when we're out riding the 4-wheeler...you might occasionally have one smack you in the face as you're riding between the trees! 








 i looked this one up and it's capable of squirting a strong smelling defensive spray that is painfully irritating to the eyes and mucous membranes!













"Not until we are lost do we begin to understand ourselves."
  ~Henry David Thoreau 


"Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful;
they are sunshine, food and medicine to the soul."
~ Luther Burbank


when i came inside the other day...these were on the kitchen counter...
(sam picked them up in the yard...very cool additions to my ever-growing collections)

**************
ok...and now...i saved the best for last...
'Milo'...who will be going camping with us!!  :)
well...that's it...
if i don't get back on here before we 'hit the road'...
i'll see ya in 2 weeks...

have a safe journey...wherever you happen to roam...
stay cool   :]   laura


63 comments:

  1. Love your pics, as usual! ~ Hope you have a great time camping! We have a camping trip to the beach planned in September. I can't wait!

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  2. oh laura those r some amazing pics..
    u knw wat there this lizard which sorta looks like the blue tail skink...only dat it doesn't hv a blue tail (n practically i dunno wat it is)...v hv a myth saying this lizard has a very devastating breath which causes boils over the skin which comes in contact...
    N i actually wanted to knw u get to c so much of cool nature stuffs n many campings..wat do u do(not occupation)??

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  3. got here thru blogs of note :)

    Your cat is so cute...

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  4. nice space.
    These pictures are so relaxing.

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  5. I've always loved the "stick" bugs and lizards with the pretty blue tails. That's one cool looking feline you've got there too!

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  6. You're very talent to have a meticulous eye for detail. =)

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  7. Loved the pics. I don't get to see the green anoles too often down here anymore as the common brown lizards apparently eat them and the overbearing curly Q tail ones are becoming ever more present and they definitely look like the eat them. But I love those green guys. Loved the pics. Enjoy your vacation. :)

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  8. Gorgeous shots. I love the spider. That web is something else. My husband hopes to buy a trailer someday and drag our poor cat along on vactions, too. Have fun!

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  9. Fantastic pictures! Each better than the previous. Beautiful! And MILO sure looks all excited about the Camping Trip! :)

    Have fun Laura! :)

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  10. I really enjoyed all your great photos, but I think my favorite was of the extremely cute Milo. Have a good trip.

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  11. Love the creepy crawlies pics. Have fun on your vacation. I'm headed down your way myself next week to visit the folks and see the new Harry Potter section at Universal. Safe travels.

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  12. Beautiful and detailed pictures, they come out so clear! I love and envy the amount of life and wilderness you have around you.

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  13. just wanted to say THANKS to ALL of you...becky, pranky, rich, googlover, jules, ally, leah, VM Sehy, june, bunnits, mustang sally, tech monitor, Al 3araby, simply green...wow!! i hope i didn't leave someone out!! thanks for stopping by (a few of you AGAIN!)...liking what you see :) and for taking the time to leave me a note!! i really appreciate it! thanks for the good wishes and you too...safe travels wherever you happen to be heading!!
    OH!! and MILO says MEOOOOW to all the compliments on her good looks!!
    she loves going camping, but doesn't like the leash too much.
    and to PRANKY...what do you mean "what do i do (not occupation)?" i work (massage), chores around the house, take pictures whenever i can, work, create my art stuff when i can...read, write, work in the garden, hike, work, play, try to not stress out...blahblahblah...like everyone...day to day getting by... paying bills...etc... :)

    take care everyone!! thanks again!! laura

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  14. I absolutely ADORE your pictures and I will most definitely stop by regularly to see what you do. The dragonflies especially tug at my heart. I have been meaning to put some water features into our garden (ponds, buckets and bird baths) to draw them to ours. And I love spiders as well. Don't ask me why, but I do.

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  15. The photos are awesome.I completely loved them :D

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  16. I just love the photos of the various beasties in your forest.

    Here in England we just don't get such critters in the Rural Shires!

    Keep it up!

    LCJames

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  17. Oh my gosh, these photos are amazing! I love taking pictures, but I've never really pursued it. Maybe I will try my hand at it now that I feel all inspired!

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  18. Thanks for following my blog! I appreciate it. I love your pictures today. I especially like the perspective you have with the 2nd green lizard.

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  19. what a lovely selection of creatures and insects! Hope you have a good trip!

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  20. I've been browsing your blog for a while but this post really caught my eye since I blog about rare & fascinating creatures on my blog. I think you might be interested in it! Love what you're doing here, keep up the good work!

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  21. i'm still here...saying THANKS...i won't be posting again til we get back home...2 weeks...BUT thanks to YOU...KEDA (dragonflies, spiderwebs...my favorites!! oh, i love the little lizards too...oh, and the baby crickets...and... :) )
    COOKIE MONSTER thanks for loving my pictures! i love taking them and hope to share with others, like you./..who can appreciate all this nature stuff :)

    LC JAMES england, eh? look a little closer...i bet you have all kinds of little critters you just don't notice them. maybe no foxes on your front stoop...but there are other critters...sssshhhhh...listen closely, you can hear them skitter by...at night :)

    BILLIAMPEACE yes!! get that camera out...i'm glad to be the inspirer!! i'm glad you loved the pictures!! :)

    LEVONNE yeah, i have a weakness for those little green (sometimes brown) anoles!! :)

    CRAFTY GREEN thanks!! saturday is almost here! yay!! thanks for the good luck wishes and i'm glad you found me and enjoyed my creatures and bugs! :)

    RICHARD thanks for stopping in and taking time to leave a note!!:)


    thanks to everyone!! see ya in 2 wks!! with (hopefully) lots of ooooooh and aaaaaaah pictures and stories! =)

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  22. I think your work is amazing!I've never seen so much life and vision and power and beauty not even national geographic can compare. I feel blessed to have stumbled upon this.

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  23. I love the "stick bugs"! Too cool! Keep 'em coming!

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  24. Beautiful photos! I used to have morning glory growing outside my bedroom window when I was a child. Brings back fond memories. :)

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  25. what a great blog!!!you are a good photographer too....here is my blogspot http://blogdogcicle.blogspot.com/

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  26. François Comeau-Lapointe8/12/2010 12:35:00 AM

    Man I LOVE this stick bug! Great great pictures, did you really take them all? Great job =).

    -Francois Comeau-Lapointe

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  27. Wow you're nature shots are good! Do you do painting as well?

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  28. the pictures are absolutely a delight to watch, i have a cat too with the same coloring and i love her like crazy, apart from that your pictures are too good

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  29. Your Blog is really Spezial and it's great .

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  30. I just love your point of view and the way you look at nature! Thank you for posting your pics, wow I've found someone I can relate to, THANKS

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  31. Wow. The green beast is pretty cool! Well, about creativity and quality of the photos speak meaningless because it inimitably !)))))

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  32. THANKS ALL for taking the time to stop by and comment!! :)

    CHRISTIANNA! i'm glad you stumbled in on me here and enjoyed what you saw!! :)

    SUPERTRAMP! i love those stick bugs too...and there are so many kinds...but that one with the little 'bubble head/eyes'..weird, eh?? :)

    REBECCA! thanks for stopping by!! that morning glory was the ONLY one in bloom! :)

    DOGCICLE! glad you found me...and liked the pictures!! i'll check out your blog when i get back from vacation - end of august! :)

    FRANCOIS! yes, i really take all the pictures!! i think there's 2 i didn't take, and i noted it...the wren bird and the moth! :)

    TASHA! nope, i don't apint. have tried my hand at it...but it's just not my thing...i wish it was...but nothing ever looks how i pictured it! :)

    HENNA! cats are the best!! we love milo!!

    ADMIN! thanks for the compliment!! i really never felt spezial...before...now i'm just in awe...embarrassed of all the attention! :)

    OASIS! yes!! all the little things in nature are amazing!! :)

    KARINA! thanks for stepping in to my little world! :)

    ET!! yes!! they're all pretty amazing!! we should all take the time to notice them...eh? :)

    AHTOH!! good to hear from you again!! (ok, is your name AHTOH or ANTON? i've seen it both ways!...did you figure out the translator ?) thanks for looking at this new post!! :)

    WELL...i'm leaving for vacation saturday morning!! SEE YOU ALL IN TWO WEEKS...NO posts (probably) til then!! love nature... laura

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  33. I like the cat in last picture.

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  34. oh god laura i luv u all the more...
    thats jus gr8 to do all such amazing clicking n art work as a hobby...haha u rock..god u one inspiring lady!!!:Dmost of the tym i jus dunno wat to do n u find ur own work...u the best!!!
    hv a safe journey!!

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  35. Photos are amazing! I love taking pictures.

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  36. lucky milo!
    the camping cat :)

    love the stick insect macros

    happy camping

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  37. Thank you for "Living Out Loud" as I call it! You are a kindred! Peace and Love

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  38. excelente, me gusta mucho tu forma de entender la fotografía

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  39. Laura, I just found your blog and I think your pics are truly some of the most beautiful I have ever seen! Have a great time on your trip.

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  40. VERY COOL! Love your blog!!

    Steve
    common cents
    http://www.commoncts.blogspot.com

    ps. Link Exchange??

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  41. Your blog is so beautiful it made me weep.

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  42. Good expression of Nature through beautiful photos!

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  43. I love these photos! There is so much beauty all around us. I wish I lived closer to nature.

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  44. The pictures are amazing, they really capture the subject well and the colours are great.

    www.rubyccino.blogspot.com

    Ruby
    xxx

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  45. Laura your pictures are truly some of the most beautiful I have ever seen. I love Nature and you have captured it wonderfully.

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  46. love your pictures!
    have fun on vacation :)

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  47. Really nice pictures! I love that butterfly. So colorful :)

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  48. Just started up my own "inspired by nature" blog! Thanks for your version; beautiful pics! Hope you hvae a fabulous, relaxing vacation. :)

    www.landingoncloudywater.blogspot.com

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  49. Some stunning photography in here. Amazing what beaty you can find in nature if you just sit still, relax and look around you.

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  50. Hi Laura, great pics & stories! Enjoy your camper trip. I am also very fond of nature & camping, we drive around with a caravan in Europe. I set up a blog about our last trip to Scotland (2 very delightful months). You might have a look at mysticscotland.blogspot.com
    Cheers from The Netherlands, Sabine

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  51. You have a very special talent..These pictures grasp the perfect detail of each bug making them so articulent.(=

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  52. That's amazing at what nature's gifts you have been able to capture. :) You have been crafting in your own way, taking pictures of the moments of existence. Lovely blog you have here. Keep up the good work on it.

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  53. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  54. i love your blog, interesting and amazing landscapes, pictures and stories!
    an artist from hamburg;-)

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  55. OMG!
    That walking stick thing was awesome - in a creepy kind of way!!

    Your photographs are stunning!

    Ill be snooping around here again!

    gabriele

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  56. you have a beautiful blog!! i love your cat :)

    i'd invite you to my blog but it's a little more

    SCANDALOUS

    than yours..lol
    keep on creating :)
    v

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  57. All of your pictures are really unique. Looking at these makes me want to move to your part of the world.

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  58. so many walking sticks! hope you have a good trip.

    katie

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thanks for stopping by! it's always nice to hear from fellow wanderers!