critters and bones...

it's wednesday...HUMP DAY as it's sometimes called...

middle of the work week...2 and a half down...and 2 to go!

as promised...in my previous post...more OWL pic's!!

sam was out back BBQing...came running in...said the owl just flew into one of the trees out back!

i grabbed my camera, hoping he wasn't in the shadows! he wasn't!

<< checking out the yard...

      scratching >>

          

              

The earth does not belong to man, man belongs to the earth. 

~Chief Seattle

this is the Hackberry Butterfly. 

seen on the weedy kind of wildflowers along our front fence line!

the Florida Anole. 

on a brick in the side yard. these little lizard critters are all over the place in florida.

this one is the Brown Anole. i think...because of his spots and line down his back. the TRUE green anoles are the ones that camouflage themselves...changing from green to brown...and in between.

there are a number of these critter pictures on my blog. i never get tired of taking their pictures. they have such personality!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OK...so what do i do when i'm not working...taking pictures...reading...creating...

if you know me at all...you might've guessed,

uh...SHE'S PLAYING WITH HER BONES!

and you'd be right!

i'll leave you with a couple of pictures i took...of my 

bone designs...just laid out on a piece of felt...

then after the pic was taken, the bones went back into the box 

for future creative moments...

me, just having fun with some of my bone collections!

deer, armadillo, raccoon

Art is the only way to run away without leaving home.  

~Twyla Tharp 

have a good day. be safe. stay cool.

laura :]

a few yard visitors...

the first thing i mentioned in my previous post was about that monster of a spider web outside our front door. last night we saw the spider in the middle of the web. BIG bulbous-bodied with markings on it's back! and hairy legs! it took some research...but i finally figured out what kind of spider it is.  an Orb Weaver! they're nocturnal so it's no wonder we didn't see her until night. they're pretty interesting spiders...you can read more about them here!
ANYWAY i tried to get a good picture. hmmm...i haven't used my camera much at night. obviously i need to start practicing!  a little blurry...but it'll do...

here's a picture of...a young cardinal?? i spotted her in the yard yesterday on a 'downed tree trunk'. i say 'young' because she looks a little disheveled...like she has some new fluffy down feathers...and what's sticking out of her beak? feathers? 

and a pretty cool up-close shot of a dragonfly!

and here's a stink bug sitting on the handle of the garbage can!

i heard on the news the other night about a stink bug infestation...how these bugs are coming back...in big numbers. come to think of it...i have seen more than usual over the past few months. not nearly what i'd call an infestation...but, yeah, more than normal.

i  have a few more pictures of the owl...who was in the  backyard again yesterday afternoon.

so i'll post a few of those pictures next time.

ok...gotta get ready for work! 

honestly, i woke up thinking today was sunday.

sam just came out of the bedroom...dressed for work...

i had to do a double-take...wondering WHY he was awake so early...and wearing his work shirt!

yikes!  better get going!

stay cool...laura  ☺

almost october, nature and bones...

my favorite time of day...just before dawn. it's dark...quiet.

my favorite month...october...is almost here.
october brings cooler weather. the leaves are starting to turn shades of red...
and  floating down to the ground.
october also brings halloween! probably my favorite holiday.
zombies. ghosts. vampires & werewolves. all things spooky and dark....and fun!
haunted houses...horror and all things ghoulish...spiders & their webs...

stepping out the front door the other morning...we couldn't believe the
size of this spider web!
from the porch roof...down to the railing!
NOW...it REALLY looks like we were getting ready for halloween!

earlier this week we heard the Barred Owl's  distinctive HOOT out back...it was still light out so i grabbed my camera. usually it's too dark to get a decent picture. i was lucky this day!

   and a few more cool pictures from this past week...

((click here for  more info  about spiders & daddy long legs))

...and for those of you that know about my 'bone collecting'...i found a hog carcass earlier this week. or maybe it was a boar? i'm not sure. all i do know is that it stunk...was pretty clean of all meat. BIG rib cage with spine...intact. i wouldn't have even known it was a hog...except for the hooves. obviously dumped along the side of the road by a hunter...it wasn't there the previous day.  my son & i tossed it over the fence, into a field...so it wouldn't get run over or dragged away. i'll go claim it this weekend with sam. and if it still smells, which it probably will...i'll set it way out back...cover it with wire or something...and let the insects and weather continue the cleaning process!

i also finished another "Bone Garden" art piece. (you can check out the Planet Beenderen tab above!)

this one is made of raccoon, armadillo and deer bones. 

"Chief Beenderen: Protector of the Planet"

well, it's nearly 5:00. 

AM that is. 

time for another cup of coffee.

it's kinda funny how i wake up earlier on the weekend than i do during the week. 

i think it's because i don't want to waste any time. 

'my' time. 

'free' time.

i don't want to sleep away any hours.

There are never enough hours in a day, 

but always too many days before Saturday.

have a safe weekend...

enjoy. be adventurous. discover.

laura  :]

just an afternoon quickie...

home early(ish) from work.
massage therapist by day...
nature explorer, collector, picture-taker, artist, reader, writer, thinks-too-much...
the rest of the time!

we live on a few acres, outside the city...with woods and swampy areas behind us...
fields and woods directly across the road. so we have critters. lots of 'em...visiting all the time.

the fields & wooded areas around us, is where i do most of my bone collecting.
i've been asked about my camera...it's a canon 120sx. it's not a big expensive camera. (although i wish i could afford one of those)
this canon is under $200.

how do i get my pictures of the butterflies...lizards...bugs...
i wander around...stealthily...listening...watching...and then when i spot movement...
i wait and watch. if it's a picture i want...i sneak as close as i think i can get...set the camera...
and shoot!

ok...on to a few pictures and then i've gotta run...

have you ever seen such a bug? i've found a few of them lately...dead.
i had to google "beetle with big 'eyes' on back" in order to find out what this strange looking insect was!

they LOOK like eyes, but they're not...they're to scare away predators!

you can read more about the eyed click beetle here.

i'm always posting pictures of the Gulf Fritillary butterfly...which we have around the house every day. they love the yellow lantana out front!

THIS beauty-ful butterfly was on the lantana over the weekend!!

this made me look to see if we had a Hackberry Tree in the yard...i THINK we have 2 small ones so maybe we'll be seeing more of this guy!

yesterday sam noticed Milo...'playing' with something out back...he went to take a look and then hollered for me...AND the camera!



it's a baby black racer!  we carried it to the back woods and set it loose...away from milo's playful paws.

well...this was a good afternoon quickie...

i think!  :)

When one tugs at a single thing in nature, 

he finds it attached to the rest of the world.  ~John Muir

be safe...where ever you may wander... and stay cool!  laura :]

butterfly & skink!

WOW!!

two posts in one day...

but i had to get these two pictures up!

this is the Buckeye Butterfly. 

sam spotted this one along the front fence line!

lucky shot!!  blue tailed skink.

out back on a dead tree.

that's it for now...just a quickie!  :]

laura

faces of nature...

what you won't find here.  ever.

stuff you can see on the news. current events. politics.  blah...
the latest tragedy.  the most viewed video on youtube.   blahblah...
who's dancing with the stars.  who's suing who.  who's divorcing who. blahblahblah.
WHO cares?!   (not me!)

so let's escape for a while...
         pictures that just might make you smile...(i cropped some of my older pic's, in the hopes of capturing...some of nature's smiley faces...)

The question is not what you look at, but what you see.   ~ David Thoreau

The Wilderness holds answers to questions man has not yet learned how to ask.  ~ Nancy Newhall

When one tugs at a single thing in nature, 

he finds it attached to the rest of the world. ~  John Muir

The goal of life is to make your heartbeat match the beat of the universe, to match your nature with Nature.  ~Joseph Campbell 

Every survival kit should include 

a sense of humor.

last year...while camping at Little Talbot Island St Pk (FL)...i couldn't resist snapping these pictures. after the tide went out...i saw these fish heads sticking out of the mud. hmmm...i think the rest of their bodies were used for bait. anyway, i could hear them murmuring....

life's a garden. dig it.

be safe while journeying...

laura  :]