first bloom & critters- both breathing and not.

ONE of the nice things about the cooler weather (even here in north florida)...

is that i can walk around and NOT get unexpectedly smacked 

in the face by a spiderweb.

i don't know how they do it. these banana spiders are web-building machines...

spanning their webs from one tree to another...

invariably in my path! 

(this intricate web picture was taken last  year. 

i didn't run into it. at least not THAT day anyway.)

ANOTHER nice thing about the cooler weather...is that i don't sweat!

not that sweating bothers me. it's good to sweat. we rid our bodies of toxins.

but i am a real sweater! and not the fuzzy kind! it's just embarrassing.

in the summer  it can top out around 100 °...and if i'm outside for a mere 5 minutes...

i look like i just got out of the pool...fully dressed. but we don't have a pool! 

the cooler weather also brings the changing of the leaves...

from green to brilliant fire colors! i love it!

then after the leaves have fallen to the ground...

we rake them up into big piles

and have nightly bonfires! 

OK.  what i DON'T like about the cooler weather

is that some of the little critters...

the vast array of insects, lizards, snakes, frogs...disappear. 

they dig into the dirt. bury themselves...hide in dead trees...roots...

until it starts to warm up. i miss all these little guys.

of course we still have the squirrels, red shouldered hawks, owls, deer and foxes.

they hang around all year!   

the nocturnal creatures hang around all year too...

the raccoons, 'possoms, armadillos... 

I WISH i could get a good picture of one of these night time animals...

but my camera is not a really good one...with interchangeable lenses...

so i can't zoom in and do a good night time shot. 

BUT we did find a dead 'possum behind one of the sheds...

gave him a decent burial. 

and, yes, you guessed it...only to be dug up at some point...for the bones!

(he looks like he's sleeping. or playing 'possom as 'possoms do)

here's a poor little lizard (anole) 

who thought he had found the perfect spot to get away from the cold...

inside an old grill. i guess he squeezed his way in, 

and then couldn't get back out.

<<>>

SO,  the weather's starting to 

warm up a little during the day.into the 70's. 

the day after valentine's day...

i spotted a few lizards...creeping out of their hiding places 

to soak up some sun.

yeah! the first lizards of the year!

(anole on a tool box)

(anole between wood frame and screen )

(a fence lizard)

that same day i noticed buds on the azaleas...

and some new leaf growth starting on many of the plants!

and even a few flowers!! another first for the year!

(daffodil)

We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, 

and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend.  

-Robert Louis Stevenson

i found another owl pellet...and took my first picture of an eastern bluebird...

(i've never seen that bird around here before.)

sam is crawling around under the house because we can smell something...dead. ugh!

i passed another MISSPELLED sign on my way to a client the other day.

BUT...i think i've rambled on enough for one day. 

more on all that next time...have to get ready for an appointment.

<<>>

oh boy oh boy. next holiday - St Patty's Day.

i love that one. almost as much as halloween!

wear green.

green beer. green eggs and ham.

corned beef and cabbage.

leprechauns.

lucky four leaf clovers...

take it easy. stay cool.

:] laura

here's a quote i came across...thought it was good...

nothing to do with nature...or the forest...  :))

There are three reasons for breast-feeding:  

the milk is always at the right temperature; 

it comes in attractive containers; 

and the cat can't get it.  

~Irena Chalmers 

ok,  i'm outa here...    :]