thanks!! and creepy crawlies & critters

((yikes!!))  my eyes are wide...in astonishment at ALL the comments...followers...and stopper-bys that i've received since yesterday.  a few of the comments had said something like "congrats on your BON!"  i had no idea what this meant.  Blog  Of  Nature??  WHAT?!  and then finally...someone said it...Blog Of Note!!  i had to go look this up. i just started this blog in april...and i'm still learning. no, i'm not a slow learner...but there's just so much information. and it all takes TIME. you know how it is...you sit at the comp...online...click here...and there...before you know it....the sun's coming up...or your hair's turning grey.  time stands still. til you look at the clock. WHOA!

anyway...i am HONORED!!  HUMBLED!!  and embarrassed at all the attention! and although i've been (trying to) comment on comments left by others...i see now...i would NEVER be able to get anything else done! so what do other people do when comments are left? do you email thanks? comment back? just read...smile...and carry on?!  anyway, i'm sure the comments will slow down...prob later today...it's just the NEWNESS.

so i want to say THANK YOU to everyone who stopped by...and to ALL those who left  a 'comment'...i truly appreciate all your kind words. to everyone who dropped in to take a peek at my blog...thanks!  it's nice to know there are others out there who appreciate all the little things in nature. from the tiniest little bug...to the magnificent sunset...it's amazing!  ok...enough laura...you've already spent the past FOUR hours giving THANKS!!  time to move on....  =-)
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the other day i saw this little caterpillar on the front porch. certain times of the year (like now i guess)...they're all over the place. but this is the first one i've seen this year, so it must be the start of their season here. anyway, i grabbed my camera.

the hairs on this caterpillar can cause severe allergic reactions!

here's what the male white-marked tussock moth looks like :

(not MY photo...copied from online)

the adult females are flightless. they lay a froth-covered mass of up to 300 eggs on old cocoons, after mating.

here's a couple of more pictures...just around the house...in the yard...

this one's a skink...caught in the act of munching on an inch worm. he kinda blends in pretty good to the ground and leaves. 

       a stick mantis!
    

look at the 'smiley face' on this banana spider!  i never noticed that before! i'm guessing it must be to 'scare away' predators?!!

dragonfly...head on!











noon...no work today...but i DO have some chores to get done!    stay cool!  :-)

'scuse me while I kiss the sky.  ~jimi hendrix